Attorney General Merrick Garland issues policy barring DOJ from using compulsory process against journalists
On July 19, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a Department of Justice memorandum prohibiting federal prosecutors from using subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, or pen registers to obtain information from or about journalists acting within the scope of newsgathering. The policy was codified as a federal regulation amending 28 C.F.R. § 50.10 in October 2022.
Dates: July 19, 2021 (AG memorandum); October 2022 (final rule codified at 28 C.F.R. § 50.10). Individuals and organizations: Attorney General Merrick Garland; Deputy AG Lisa Monaco; DOJ; all U.S. news media. What happened: Responding to bipartisan outcry over the disclosure that the Trump-era DOJ had secretly seized phone and email records of reporters at the Washington Post, CNN, and New York Times, AG Garland issued a sweeping internal memorandum declaring the DOJ 'will no longer use compulsory legal process for the purpose of obtaining information from or records of members of the news media acting within the scope of newsgathering activities.' The memo covered subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, and pen registers, with narrow exceptions for cases in which a journalist is the subject of a criminal investigation unrelated to newsgathering. The policy was formalized as a binding federal regulation in October 2022. Legal authority used: DOJ internal policy and federal regulation (28 C.F.R. § 50.10). Outcome: Remained in effect through the end of the Biden administration. Rescinded by AG Pam Bondi on April 25, 2025 (see rec_035). Why it matters: Press freedom groups described the policy as the strongest executive-branch protection for U.S. journalists in history. It did not have statutory force, leaving it vulnerable to rescission by a successor — which is precisely what occurred in April 2025.