Sessions Announces Plan to Go After Leakers, Media

Attorney General Jeff Sessions had some tough talk for leakers and media organizations that publish leaks during a press briefing Friday, saying the "culture of leaking must stop," USA Today reports. "We have made changes and are seriously ramping up our efforts," Poynter quotes Sessions as saying. Trump has been adamant on Twitter that the government do more to rein in leaks. "I strongly agree with the president and condemn in the strongest terms the staggering number of leaks," Sessions said. According to CBS News, Sessions said the number of leaks during the Trump administration has "exploded."

Sessions also said prosecutors are looking into Justice Department policy on issuing subpoenas to the media. He said the department will pursue subpoenas against media organizations that publish leaked information. Sessions said the department respects the media, but that respect "is not unlimited." "They cannot place lives at risk with impunity," Sessions said. The attorney general said the Justice Department has already charged four people with leaking information or not disclosing contacts with foreign intelligence officers. Dan Coats, director of National Intelligence, summed up the plan to deal with leakers: "We will investigate you. We will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law, and you will not be happy with the result." (More Jeff Sessions stories.)