U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has officially ended a Biden-era policy regarding journalists. 

The Washington Examiner reports that Bondi "is revoking a Biden administration Justice Department policy that prevented the DOJ from seeking records and testimony from journalists in investigations surrounding leaks."

In other words, this is another way that the White House of President Donald Trump is trying to clamp down on leakers.

Bondi circulated an internal memo on the situation on Friday. It can be read in its entirety here.

The details

Bondi, in the memo, explains why it is that she is taking this step.

She writes:

Safeguarding classified, privileged, and other sensitive information is essential to effective governance and law enforcement. Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep America safe. This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop.

Accordingly, Bondi says that she has "concluded that it is necessary to rescind Merrick Garland's policies."

These were policies that, according to Bondi, stopped the department "from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks."

Bondi says to expect new regulatory language to be promulgated for these types of scenarios in the coming weeks.

Background

This all comes as the Trump administration has been dealing with leaks.

Axios reports:

Bondi's announcement comes as her office prepares to investigate at least three suspected leakers referred Wednesday by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard. "A leaker within the IC sharing information on Israel/Iran with the Washington Post," Gabbard wrote last month on X. She has not specified what stories or journalists merited a leak investigation.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

The outlet goes on to recall how:

The Defense Department has reeled from a series of embarrassing leaks, including stories that portray Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as paranoid, vain, and careless with sensitive information. CBS also reported that the former Fox pundit had a makeup studio installed at the Pentagon. Four people have been fired or left the Pentagon as a result of the drama on Hegseth's watch. They have denied wrongdoing.

Now, under Bondi's new approach, Axios reports that "the news media 'must answer subpoenas' when authorized at the appropriate level within the Department of Justice." We will see if these changes have their intended effect.