Blanche warns media subpoenas may come as leak crackdown intensifies

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled a harder line on leaks and the press, warning that reporters should not be surprised if they are subpoenaed for information about their sources on stories involving national-security-sensitive matters. His remarks on May 12 marked the clearest public sign yet that the Justice Department is prepared to pull journalists deeper into its campaign against classified disclosures.

Blanche cast the crackdown as a national-security necessity, saying prosecuting leakers was a priority because unauthorized disclosures can endanger security and put soldiers’ lives at risk. The Justice Department said it was opening a criminal investigation into selective leaks of classified intelligence information, a framing that places the department’s focus on the source of the leak while still creating pressure on reporters who may have handled the information.

The warning landed as The Wall Street Journal said it had received grand jury subpoenas tied to coverage of the war in Iran. Reporting cited by multiple outlets says the subpoenas were dated March 4 and sought records connected to a Feb. 23 Journal article about Pentagon warnings over the risks of an extended operation against Iran. Dow Jones, the Journal’s publisher, called the subpoenas an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering and said it would fight them.

The move reflects a major shift inside the Justice Department. On April 25, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded Biden-era protections that had limited the government’s ability to seek journalists’ records or testimony in leak cases. New regulations issued on May 1, 2025 restored a more aggressive subpoena posture, including the use of subpoenas and search warrants in leak investigations, although the policy still requires higher-level department approval and contemplates negotiations with news organizations in some cases.

The administration’s push has also been fueled from the top. Reporting says Donald Trump personally urged Blanche to pursue investigations into Iran-war leaks and handed him a stack of articles marked “treason” during a White House meeting. That political pressure has sharpened concerns among press-freedom advocates that the government is broadening the definition of leak enforcement in ways that could chill national-security and accountability reporting.

The core fear is not abstract. If prosecutors force reporters to disclose notes, communications or testimony about confidential sources, journalists covering the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and military planning could face far greater risk when seeking information that affects public oversight. Blanche’s warning suggests that in the Trump administration’s leak crackdown, the line between punishing classified disclosures and pressuring the press has become far thinner.