Sen. Tom Cotton stymied the Senate from passing the first-ever federal press shield law on Tuesday, contending that if enacted, the legislation could put national security in jeopardy.
The Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act), passed the House back in January via a voice vote and garnered sweeping bipartisan support — except from Cotton (R-Ark.), who seized upon the unpopularity of the press in his opposition speech.
“The liberal media doesn’t deserve more protections,” Cotton declared during a brief speech on the Senate floor when he objected to unanimous consent to wrangle it through. “The press badge doesn’t make you better than the rest of America or put you above the law.”
“For several years, the media has conducted itself in a disgraceful manner and destroyed its reputation with the American people,” he said. “Yet some in Congress, maybe the only institution less popular than the press. now want to give it more privileges.”
Cotton is poised to helm the Senate Intelligence Committee and nabbed the Senate GOP conference chair position for next year.
The legislation had been sponsored by a range of senators including Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had championed it as well.
President-elect Donald Trump, however, publicly urged Republicans in the Senate to spike the PRESS Act last month.
The PRESS Act bars the federal government and courts from compelling journalists to cough up information about their sources, with an exception for instances when there are concerns about acts of terrorism against the US.
More specifically, it restricts the feds from taking compulsory actions such as subpoenas and search warrants to disclose their sources — with limited carveouts. Those protections extend to potential showdowns between the media and private companies as well.
“Journalist” under that bill encompasses a range of individuals, including “citizen journalists,” freelancers and primary-source publishers.
While there hasn’t been a so-called shield law for the press of that scope at the federal level, most states in the US have a similar policy on the books.
“No democracy can survive without a free and open and thriving press. The free press keep governments accountable to the people, exposes abuse and wrongdoing, informs the public about what is happening in government,” Schumer argued during his floor speech in support of it.
“When there are too few protections for journalists, our democracy is at the very real risk of eroding away.”
Schumer cited the erosion of the free press in other countries such as Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has courted Trump.
Wyden, who backed the bill underscored that it “is about as bipartisan as you can get,” highlighting its support from conservative pundit Tucker Carlson and the full support of the House of Representatives.
Cotton previously objected to the bill, which prompted a number of adjustments to the PRESS Act to clarify the exceptions for the pressing national security concerns.
“I think America would be stronger and freer if we were passing this legislation. But we’ll be back,” Wyden lamented after Cotton blocked it Tuesday. “This is just about as important as it gets. Free speech is fundamental to what makes our country so special.”
Efforts to pass the PRESS Act through the Senate come amid a high-profile case against veteran journalist Catherine Herridge, who previously worked at CBS News and Fox News and was held in contempt by a DC court for refusing to divulge the source behind her reporting on a probe of a Chinese American scientist.
That scientist had been demanding the information for a suit against the Justice Department. Due to her defiance to turn over the source, she was slapped with an $800 per day fine.
Schumer had previously been optimistic about the PRESS Act and told The Post that he was hopeful the Senate could pass it this year.
Wyden indicated that Democrats will go back to the drawing board and try to chart out ways to get the bill over the finish line.
