Furthermore, forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes called shield laws protecting journalists' anonymous sources.
[3] The United States Department of Justice created self-imposed guidelines intended to protect journalists by regulating the use of subpoenas against the press.
These guidelines state that the government "should have made all reasonable attempts to obtain the information from alternative, non-media sources” before considering issuing a subpoena to a member of the news media.
Miller and Cooper were both served with grand jury subpoenas for testimony and information, including notes and documents pertaining to conversations with specific and all other official sources relating the Plame affair.
[11] Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced separate legislation that created a seemingly broader protection than the Pence/Lugar bill.