Show Act Acton on the Shield Law The following editorial appeared in Sundays Sunday's Washington Post The moment of truth has come for the Free Flow of Information Act After passing the House with a veto-proof veto majority this month the bill that would extend protection of the relationship between journalists and their sources to the federal level awaits a decision on a course of action from Senate Majority Leader Harry Hany M. M Reid D Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. J Leahy D has placed two options on the Senate calendar for Mr Reids Reid's consideration he needs to pick one The House bill that passed 3 98 to 21 would compel the disclosure of sources in federal court only to prevent bodily harm hann or death to identify a person who unlawfully revealed a business trade secret or nonpublic personal information or to prevent a terrorist attack on the United States or harm to national security The Senate bill applies to confidential sources except if they were eyewitnesses to crimes or if disclosure would prevent a terrorist attack or bodily harm hann While there are other distinctions between the two proposals we support both of them The Washington Post Co continues to lobby actively for a shield law In recent years more than 40 reporters have been taken to federal court and questioned about their sources notes and reports in civil and criminal cases Journalists have had to lawyer up after stories on steroid use in baseball and the Wen Ho HoLee HoLee HoLee Lee spy case Currently 49 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws or court decisions that protect journalists from being compelled to reveal their sources Theres There's no such protection at the federal level Attorney general nominee Michael B. B contention that tinkering with internal Justice Department guidelines is the way to gois go gois gois is a non And so we wait for Mr Reid He could elect for a Senate House-Senate conference committee that would hash out a single bill that would go back to both chambers for a vote The likelihood of that h happening is small since there have been no conference committees in this Congress Or Mr Reid could call a vote on the House bill which would go directly to the president for his signature We urge Mr Reid to move on this quickly Federal prosecutors should turn to the media as a last resort not as the first stop |