Shield Law Is Dead Duck In Lame Duck

At least one Republican senator has put a hold on a bill which would protect journalists and their sources from overreaching prosecutors while carving out exceptions for national security, medical and proprietary business information. Although it has the backing of both President-elect Barack Obama and Sen John McCain, it will not come up for a Senate vote in the lame duck session of Congress. The administration had threatened to veto the bill and Attorney General Michael Mukasey said "10 angels swearing on Bibles" in support of the bill would not change his view that it has major flaws. The shield law bill was introduced with high hopes and bipartisan support in May 2007, with the current session of Congress thought to be the most likely venue for passage in decades, but problems arose over the definition of journalists covered -- bloggers, for instance -- and from the administration over its impact on investigations related to national security and terrorism.