Weekly civic intelligence report ยท v2.2
Attorney General Bondi announced the DOJ will resume issuing subpoenas to journalists as part of a crackdown on federal leaks, reversing Biden-era protections for news media. This represents a significant shift in press freedom protections.
This scores as List A (Constitutional Damage > Distraction). A-score: 30.3 driven primarily by civil_rights (5/5 - direct First Amendment press freedom impact), rule_of_law (4/5 - reversal of protective norms around journalist-source confidentiality), and separation (3/5 - executive pressure on independent press function). Norm erosion mechanism applies 0.85 modifier as this reverses Biden protections but doesn't create new legal authority. Severity: durability 1.2 (policy can persist through administration), reversibility 0.9 (next administration can restore), precedent 1.1 (normalizes journalist subpoenas). B-score: 20.1 reflects genuine media interest (media_friendliness 9/10 - press covering threats to itself) and outrage potential, but lower meme_ability and modest strategic indicators. The +10.2 delta confirms this is substantive constitutional concern, not manufactured distraction. Scope is federal but affects core democratic infrastructure (free press).
Monitor: (1) Actual subpoena issuance patterns vs. announcement rhetoric, (2) Legal challenges from media organizations, (3) Chilling effects on investigative journalism and source relationships, (4) Congressional response from press freedom advocates, (5) Comparison to Trump 1.0 DOJ journalist subpoena practices. Track whether this enables prosecution of leakers vs. intimidation of press coverage.