A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration from accessing a sweeping set of journalists’ LinkedIn records as part of a national security leak probe, saying the “overbroad” search would “deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms” and expose countless confidential sources with no connection to the investigation. “Confidentiality of sources is the lifeblood of a free press. Without confidentiality, press coverage would be pushed in the direction of official handouts and outside sources. Without confidentiality, the ability of journalists to report on events of large importance and governmental behavior of dubious legality and integrity could not help but be hampered,” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel.
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