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Sessions says Justice Department will boost investigations of leaks, may pursue reporters

The following article by Joseph Tanfani was posted on the Los Angeles Times website August 4, 2017:

Credit:  John Locher/AP

Under pressure by President Trump to stanch unauthorized disclosures of classified information to the media, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions on Friday announced new efforts to find and prosecute those responsible for what he called an “unprecedented rise in leaks” and threatened a more aggressive stance toward journalists.

Sessions revealed no new cases, but said the Department of Justice has tripled the number of leak investigations this year. The pace is so heavy, he said, that the FBI has increased resources for leak cases and has created a new counterintelligence squad to manage them.

He also said he was reconsidering policies put in place during the Obama administration that limited the information prosecutors could demand from reporters.

“We are taking a stand,” he said. “This culture of leaking must stop.”

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