U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is proposing legislation that would set additional rules for how leaks about government secrets are investigated.
Schumer said yesterday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that when the government is going to ask a news organization to divulge information it first must go to a judge. He says that judge would "impose a balancing test" to determine which is more important, the government's desire to find the information or the robust freedom of the press.
Under current rules, news organizations are supposed to get advance warning so that they can fight a subpoena in court, except if the notification could compromise the investigation.
In recent weeks, the administration has acknowledged secretly seizing portions of two months of phone records from The Associated Press. The AP received no advance warning.
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