AG Merrick Garland raises as many questions as he answers with First Amendment promises

The disclosure of the Justice Department’s targeting of members of Congress and reporters with secret subpoenas has caused a firestorm in Washington. The targeting of the recipients of such information in Congress and the news media constitute direct assaults on Article I and The First Amendment of the Constitution. That will be one of the subjects in a meeting called by Attorney General Merrick Garland with media executives this week. It will not be the first time such a meeting has been held in part because there is no resolution on the meaning of the key term for any protection. As yet another administration seeks to address the targeting of reporters, the question remains: What is a journalist?