Shield Law Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee

The House Judiciary Committee has once again passed the Free Flow of Information Act (HR 985), a federal shield law, which will now go to the full House for a vote. The bill would extend a qualified privilege from testifying in federal court to journalists and their sources. A similar bill moved through the House during the last congress but was stalled in the Senate. At the time, the Justice Department strongly opposed it, saying it gave too much protection to leakers and not enough to national security.