News

Dems freak when DOJ updates manual; deletes language on press freedom and adds a ‘Comey clause’

April 30, 2018 | | Print Article

Because if it’s not in an internal government manual, it just isn’t so!

With the left desperate for a pivot away from the over-the-top personal attack on White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Saturday, BuzzFeed News is out with a timely article about the Department of Justice overhauling its manual for federal prosecutors.

The piece runs with a screaming headline on how the DOJ “deleted language about press freedom and racial gerrymandering.”

More from BuzzFeed:

In: Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tough-on-crime policies. Out: A section titled “Need for Free Press and Public Trial.” References to the department’s work on racial gerrymandering are gone. Language about limits on prosecutorial power has been edited down.

The changes include new sections that underscore Sessions’ focus on religious liberty and the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on government leaks — there is new language admonishing prosecutors not to share classified information and directing them to report contacts with the media.

 

The article notes that the manual’s media contacts policy was updated in November, with a subsection, “Need for Free Press and Public Trial,” being removed entirely.

It also reported on a new section that may or many not have been inspired by former FBI director James Comey, who admitted to leaking information to the press. Let’s call it the “Comey clause.”

New sections were added to the media contacts policy. One states that it is illegal to share classified information with someone who isn’t authorized to receive it. Another directs DOJ employees to report “any contact with a member of the media about a DOJ matter.” And another outlines protections for government whistleblowers, detailing the protections in place for prosecutors if they report concerns internally.

 

For what it’s worth, DOJ spokesperson Ian Prior told BuzzFeed News in a statement that the manual is a “quick and ready reference” for lawyers, not “an exhaustive list of constitutional rights, statutory law, regulatory law, or generalized principles of our legal system.”

Nonetheless, breathless liberals seized on the article to distract from the shameful display seen Saturday evening when a vile comedian insulted Sanders at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Here’s a sampling of the ambitious campaign, as seen on Twitter.

And the Kool-Aid drinking zealots were only too happy to inject any needed drama to ensure a good and proper controversy:

 

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

$10
$15
$25
$50
Other
$
Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Tom Tillison
Latest posts by Tom Tillison (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles