Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined his colleagues in blasting President Trump’s continued attacks on the freedom of the press, a fundamental First Amendment right guaranteed by the Constitution. Padilla joined a letter pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi on her decision to change Justice Department policies to make it easier for the Department to subpoena journalists to obtain confidential information about their sources and potentially harass journalists who write stories critical of the Trump Administration. He also cosponsored a resolution calling for the Executive Branch to respect the rights of journalists and demanding they be allowed to perform their duties “without fear of retaliation.”

“We write to express our deep concern with the Department of Justice’s April 25, 2025 memorandum changing the guidance that set limitations on the Department’s ability to subpoena materials from journalists and news organizations,” wrote the Senators in their letter to Attorney General Bondi. “The free press is a bedrock of our democracy and reporters must be able to do their jobs without fear of being investigated or prosecuted.”

“When asked at your confirmation hearing to commit to ‘respect the importance of a free press,’ you said ‘absolutely,’” continued the Senators. “Yet your decision to rescind important limits on the Justice Department’s ability to compel information from the press threatens the ability of journalists to fully perform their critical jobs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.” 

The letter was led by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and signed by Senator Padilla and every other Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee: Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

The bicameral resolution Padilla cosponsored was led by Senator Whitehouse in the Senate and cited President Trump’s various attacks on the operations of the press, including:

• Accusing media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC of “illegal” behavior during a speech at the Department of Justice;
• Claiming CNN and MSNBC networks are “political arms of the Democrat Party” during a speech at the Department of Justice; 
• Excluding the Associated Press from White House press pool access due to disputes over naming conventions, leading to legal challenges concerning First Amendment violations;
• Filing a lawsuit against CBS News over a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, alleging biased editing and calling for CBS to lose broadcast licenses;
• Seeking to defund National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), including launching a Federal Communications Commission probe and issuing an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease providing direct and indirect funds to either broadcaster;
• Refusing to take questions from NBC News reporters, claiming the network is “discredited;” 
• Seeking to impose the Administration’s policy preferences on independent news organizations by forcing PBS to eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion office using threats of government funding cuts and ignoring reporters who list pronouns in their email signatures; and
• Rescinding a Department of Justice policy against subpoenaing journalists, exposing journalists’ sources to the threat of possible identification and punishment.

The resolution is endorsed by PEN America, National Press Photographers Association, American Governance Institute, Radio Television Digital News Association, and Society of Environmental Journalists.

Full text of the resolution is available here.

Full text of the letter to Attorney General Bondi is available here and below:

Dear Attorney General Bondi:

We write to express our deep concern with the Department of Justice’s April 25, 2025 memorandum changing the guidance that set limitations on the Department’s ability to subpoena materials from journalists and news organizations.

The free press is a bedrock of our democracy and reporters must be able to do their jobs without fear of being investigated or prosecuted. When asked at your confirmation hearing to commit to “respect the importance of a free press,” you said “absolutely.” Yet your decision to rescind important limits on the Justice Department’s ability to compel information from the press threatens the ability of journalists to fully perform their critical jobs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. 

Under the previous guidance, the Justice Department was authorized to subpoena journalists engaged in news gathering only “[w]hen necessary to prevent an imminent or concrete risk of death or serious bodily harm.” Under the 2025 guidance, Justice Department officials can take the extraordinary step of subpoenaing journalists merely to investigate “unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies,” extending far beyond disclosures of classified information. In other words, under this new guidance, there is little protection for journalists who publish any story critical of the Administration from being threatened with a subpoena and litigation to enforce the subpoena. The threat to journalists is especially concerning given Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel’s claims prior to his confirmation that the news media is “the most powerful enemy the United States has ever seen” and that he would “come after the people in the media . . . criminally or civilly.” 

Nor does it appear that the Justice Department would subpoena reporters’ records only as a last resort. Under the guidelines, the Justice Department may subpoena journalists after the Attorney General has made only a few subjective determinations, such as whether the information sought is “essential to a successful prosecution,” whether “reasonable attempts” to obtain the information from alternative sources were made, and whether engaging in negotiations would threaten “the integrity of the investigation.” These factors make it far too easy for the Attorney General to compel journalists to reveal sources. 

This change will also deter whistleblowers from coming forward with information to the news media, depriving the public of valuable information about its government. Whistleblowers that violate the law—for example by disclosing classified information—should be subject to the legal consequences of that action, but the government should not be allowed to intimidate or harass journalists who lawfully report the news. 

As the Office of Legal Policy prepares regulations to implement your memorandum, we respectfully request that you provide responses to the following questions:

1. What protections are in place to ensure that journalists are not targeted because they published a news article critical of the Administration?

2. Will you commit to ensuring that issuing a subpoena to a journalist or news organization will be used only as a last resort when there is a compelling and overriding interest in the information, such as protecting national security?

3. Will the regulations require the Department to comply with state shield laws?

4. Is the Department consulting with outside organizations, including organizations representing journalists, as part of the preparation of regulations? If so, what organizations?

5. What measures will the regulations put in place to ensure that the White House is not allowed to order or influence the issuance of a subpoena to a journalist or news organization?

6.  What process for review, if any, will be put in place to ensure the new regulations are being followed and are not being abused for political or any other inappropriate purpose?  

7. Has the Justice Department issued any subpoenas to journalists or news organizations under this new guidance? If so, to whom and seeking what information?

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