[An Nahar] The White House threw its weight Wednesday behind a bid to pass a law to strengthen journalists' rights to protect their sources, amid controversy over the seizure of a news agency's phone records.Following allegations that federal Sherlocks had gone too far in their move against the News Agency that Dare Not be Named, a front man said President Barack Obama
Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back...
had contacted politicians to ask that the bill be brought forward.
"The president has long supported media shield legislation in the Senate during the 2008 campaign and as president," Carney said, adding that Obama had spoken to Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower.
to press his support for the bill.
"We are glad to see that that legislation will be reintroduced, because he believes strongly that we need to provide the protections to the media that this legislation would do," Carney told news hounds.
This week's revelation that Sherlocks probing alleged leaks of secret or classified information had secretly obtained phone records for numbers used by News Agency that Dare Not be Named news hounds triggered a political firestorm.
Several commentators and a coalition of media organizations accused Obama's administration of trampling on press freedoms in its pursuit of government leaks and whistleblowers.