Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified against a national shield law for reporters today:
WASHINGTON – The No. 2 official at the Justice Department said Wednesday that a shield law for reporters would encourage leaks of classified information.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty also said the proposal to protect reporters from having to identify their sources would “significantly weaken” the department’s ability to obtain information it needs to protect national security. […]
McNulty said an exemption for national security was inadequate because the government would have to prove in court that a news leak harmed security. The Senate legislation would inject the federal judiciary “to an extraordinary degree” into executive branch functions, said McNulty.
The bill has a powerful advocate in former solicitor general Theodore Olson. Nevertheless, I think it’s a bad idea for the reasons I outlined here.