Lawmakers chide Mukasey on press freedom

Lawmakers chided Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday for claiming national security concerns in opposing legislation that would allow reporters to protect the identities of confidential sources.

"Ten angels swearing on Bibles that that bill is harmless would not change the provisions that are in it," Mukasey told the House Judiciary Committee.

A few minutes later, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., defended the bill he said was carefully written to discourage leaks of classified or other sensitive information that could risk security. Without it, he said, long-standing press freedoms would be threatened.

"If 10 angels swearing on Bibles wouldn't change your view of this bill, would 40 American journalists subpoenaed, questioned or held in contempt do it?" Pence asked.

He added: "This is a constitutional statutory response to a rising erosion of our First Amendment freedom of the press."

Mukasey, who once successfully represented the New York Daily News in a libel case, said he was open to considering compromises. But he said current laws limiting the government's ability to force reporters to reveal their sources are adequate.

"I'm not willing to take steps that will essentially do more to protect the leakers than it does to protect journalists," he said.

Mukasey testified for 4 1/2 hours, facing questions on everything from terror detainees and executive authority to immigration laws and upcoming Justice Department policies that critics fear will lead to racial and ethnic profiling. On the last issue, he denied that they would.

Several Democrats on the panel raised concerns about the Justice Department's efforts to ensure fair elections this year amid an expected higher voter turnout than usual.

Committee chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said the department hasn't agreed to cooperate with Congress on voting rights issues, and what work has been done is largely ineffective.

"As we sit here today, probably 100 days before the election, we don't know specifically how our government will respond to the problems that made the elections of 2000 and 2004 so problematic and so controversial," Conyers told Mukasey at the start of the hearing.

He said it's unclear whether voting machines will be fairly allocated and how federal election monitors will be deployed across the country.

Responding, Mukasey called making sure the Nov. 4 elections run smoothly one of his top priorities. The department will work with civil rights groups and state and local officials to solve any problems that might arise, and plans to dispatch hundreds of election observers to the polls, he said.

"We anticipate much higher turnout this year, and we're doing what we can," Mukasey told Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C.

The Justice Department has briefed lawmakers on voting rights issues twice this year and plans to again before the election. It recently held a training session for lawyers and agents who will be working on ballot access and other voting matters throughout the election season.