Becerra has also pushed back repeatedly on the notion that the Jan. 29 letter contains legal threats. But I don't know how else to read that letter. When the highest law enforcement officer in the state sends you a letter saying you have records that we can prosecute you criminally for possessing, so please give those records back, he's saying "give those records back or we may charge you with a crime," even if he doesn't expressly say it that way. The problem, of course, is that the AG can't charge journalists with this crime, either under the California statute itself or under the First Amendment. So why cite the Penal Code section at all? Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere. Thanks for signing up for our newsletter. You are not yet subscribed! Please check your email for a message asking you to confirm your subscription. The two reporters in possession of the document are both affiliated with the UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program. The program’s director, John Temple, also expressed disappointment at Becerra’s statements via email with Freedom of the Press Foundation: We think it's unfortunate that the attorney general of California is taking the position that reporters doing their job is a criminal activity potentially deserving of prosecution. It did not seem that he was fully versed in what we had received in response to public records requests or the state law specifically exempting journalists from prosecution in such cases. At least he did say we didn't do anything wrong in requesting the documents. That's a start. In particular, Temple objected to Becerra’s argument that reporters Robert Lewis and Jason Paladino may have legally obtained the document at hand, but can no longer legally possess it: Even the attorney general acknowledges the information we received from the government was lawfully obtained. The California Supreme Court crafted a narrow exception for attorney-client privileged documents. But nobody asserts the documents the state sent us fall under that protection. Finally, Mr. Becerra himself has told reporters that "once you disclose a document," even if it's "confidential and private, you can't take it back.” He also objected to Becerra’s characterization of the Jan. 29 letter as “only a request” and not a threat of legal action: Mr. Becerra might want to go back and read the letter from his office. It is true that it does use the polite word "request," but he fails to mention what comes after it. Here is what his office wrote: “If you do not intend to comply with our request, the Department can take legal action to ensure that the spreadsheets are properly deleted and not disseminated." How would you read that? I think it's fair to say that reasonable people would conclude that is a threat. Excerpts of Becerra’s full remarks, made during press conferences and in response to reporters' questions, are included below. Becerra: There’s also a separate issue I’d like to mention as well relating to police records. There’s a false narrative circulating out there about police officer conviction records. Under the Public Records Act I mentioned of a particular organization, records were released from [the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training], uh, by POST, to this organization, and my office which is responsible for maintaining the automated criminal history system which contains a lot of these records, is involved because after providing these data to POST at its request, to make determinations about police eligibility qualifications to be hired or retain their service in law enforcement, was a job that we were obligated to do at the request of POST to provide this confidential information. POST inadvertently, after a Public Records Act request, sent this information to an entity that requested the information under a PRA. That information is, by law, unauthorized for disclosure except for disclosure to those that have a legal right to possess it, as POST has that right. But the entity that received that as a result of the PRA submitted to POST does not by law have a right to possess that information. That database information that we sent to POST contains every Californian’s criminal history including arrest and court proceedings. It includes information about an individual who may have never been convicted of a crime. Simply because you have been arrested does not mean you have been convicted of a crime. And certainly most people would not consider that criminal history to have been arrested, especially if the arrest was not one that was grounded.