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AttemptedPress freedom / journalist shield law

As a lead Senate sponsor of the PRESS Act (a federal journalist shield law protecting reporters from being compelled to reveal their sources), Durbin committed to keep advancing it: "I will continue to work with my colleagues to see this bill advance."

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AttemptedFact-checker reviewConfidence: 65%

The single cited PRIMARY source (US Senate Democratic Caucus press release) is reachable and confirms the operative facts: the bipartisan PRESS Act was brought to the Senate floor via unanimous consent and blocked when Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) objected — a genuine attempt to advance the bill that failed within normal process. The cited quote is verified: the page states verbatim "Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) blocked Senate Democrats' attempt to pass the bipartisan PRESS Act via unanimous consent" (the rating trims "Republican Senator" and the apostrophe but does not fabricate). The ATTEMPTED outcome is not overstated: the source credits Sen. Wyden with championing the bill on the floor ("I thank my friend, Senator Wyden, for coming to the floor to champion...the bipartisan PRESS Act") and never mentions Durbin, so the rating correctly avoids CHAMPIONED and the rationale honestly concedes Durbin showed no verified leadership. Adversarial caveat: because this lone source does not name Durbin, attributing the floor attempt to Durbin personally is inferential — but as a lead co-sponsor and part of Democratic leadership pursuing the UC, and given ATTEMPTED is a modest rating (bill advanced to a floor attempt, then died with the 118th Congress; no abandonment), the evidence supports the outcome without inflation. Rating upheld as ATTEMPTED.

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