Freedom of the Press

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

Billionaires have been hard at work trading away your right to get the news without government interference, but we’re working just as hard to fight back. Read on for the latest press freedom news and how you can join us in standing up for press freedom.

Exposing Paramount’s press freedom sellout

Between the gutting of CBS News and reports of promises to remake CNN to appease the president, it’s clear that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and his father and financial backer, Larry Ellison, see press freedom as just another bargaining chip.

The public deserves to know if the Ellisons are trading editorial independence for regulatory favors. That’s why Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) and Reporters Without Borders filed a demand for records from Paramount Skydance, seeking to uncover the details of its dealings with the Trump administration as it tries to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, and in its past acquisition of Paramount.

And as Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at FPF, explains, “If the Ellisons can’t stand up to their friends in the administration and defend the First Amendment, they should stay away from the news business.”

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Investigating leaks, Kash Patel demands higher proof

FBI Director Kash Patel denies he’s been drunk on the job, but he’s certainly drunk on power.

The FBI has reportedly opened an investigation into Atlantic magazine journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick’s reporting on Patel’s alleged unexplained absences and drinking habits at the bureau. Patel is also reported to have ordered scores of staffers to be polygraphed as part of a panic-fueled leak hunt.

This is the second time in recent weeks we’ve learned that the FBI has baselessly investigated constitutionally protected, highly newsworthy reporting that was unfavorable to its director. The bureau’s actions “show complete disregard for the First Amendment and for the FBI’s supposed mission of stopping crime, not serving as PIs for its leadership on the taxpayer dime,” said FPF’s Stern.

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Financial censorship of SPLC could impact the press next

Rainey Reitman, the president of FPF’s board, wrote for The Intercept about how financial institutions’ decision to cut off funds to the Southern Poverty Law Center after its widely criticized indictment could foreshadow attacks on others the administration dislikes, including the press.

“Given the Trump administration’s open hostility to journalism and its novel legal tactics to attack the press, it’s entirely possible that the next target of financial censorship could be a news outlet,” wrote Reitman, who recently released a book on financial censorship,“Transaction Denied: Big Finance’s Power to Punish Speech.”

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Take action to modernize U.S. Virgin Islands public records laws

The U.S. Virgin Islands is the site of news of both local and national importance, from military facilities to “Epstein Island.” But the U.S. territory’s public records and open meetings laws are badly outdated.

Thankfully, investigative journalist and U.S. Virgin Islands native Shirley L. Smith is helping to spearhead a campaign to modernize the transparency laws. Use our action center to tell local lawmakers to move quickly to improve transparency and accountability in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Take action

Join us to hear tips from former FOIA officials on how to still get public records

Former federal Freedom of Information Act officials will join FPF Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper for a live webinar on Friday, May 15, at 2 p.m. ET to give practical advice for journalists on how to win documents from agencies and explain what to do when an agency prioritizes political interests over transparency.

Submit your questions ahead of time by emailing membership@freedom.press, and don’t forget to register to watch the webinar on May 15.

• Register here

Silenced by the SEC

This week, legendary First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and other experts joined FPF to talk about the dangers of Securities and Exchange Commission’s “gag rule,” which prohibits individuals who settle with the agency from disputing its allegations publicly. We discussed how the rule threatens First Amendment interests far beyond the financial sector, how such an unconstitutional prior restraint can persist for decades, and ongoing litigation seeking to strike down the rule.

• Watch the discussion here

We need a court to affirm that presidential records are public property and categorically reject the radical idea that they’re personal property, FPF’s Harper explained on “1A.”

The Trump administration is taking its weaponization of immigration laws against journalists worldwide, but it won’t stop there. If it could, it would exile any reporter who dares to investigate the president and his allies, no matter where they’re from.

It’s great to see reporting on retaliation against incarcerated whistleblowers and news sources. But this kind of retaliation is certainly not limited to those who participate in reporting about Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplices — it should be covered regularly.

Strong anti-SLAPP legislation in every state and at the federal level would go a long way in assuring news outlets that they can publish the truth without being bankrupted by frivolous lawsuits.

It’s absurd that in 2026, New York state agencies may still require public records appeals to be done via snail mail. FPF and other groups are urging state lawmakers to pass a new bill that would require agencies to accept electronic appeals.

“The fact the [ICE partnership] program is inherently tied to local communities and local policing, and ICE is giving local law enforcement a gag order, is a slap in the face of taxpayers and the public at large,” explained FPF’s Harper.

Further proof that going on offense against the Trump administration’s censorial bullying works. Take these clowns to court — they lose regularly!

Correction: An earlier version of the newsletter item discussing financial censorship referred incorrectly to the name of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The error has been corrected.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, D.C., May 8, 2026 — ABC is accusing the Federal Communications Commission of violating the First Amendment and chilling press freedom, in a regulatory filing in its dispute with the FCC over whether “The View” is a bona fide news program exempt from the agency’s equal time requirement.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“We commend ABC for standing up for itself and the First Amendment. The legal theories the FCC asserts against broadcast licensees are frivolous and unconstitutional, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr knows it, but he hopes broadcast licensees will nonetheless self-censor rather than pick a fight.

“It’s about time news outlets start telling Carr and his Donald Trump lapel pin to kick rocks. Otherwise, he’ll continue manufacturing bogus pretexts to harass and jawbone licensees that air content his boss doesn’t like. News outlets should be emboldened after seeing The New York Times, Media Matters, The Washington Post, and others go on offense against the administration in court and win. Carr won’t stop until a judge forces him to, and hopefully ABC plans to make that happen, both here and in Carr’s equally ridiculous retaliatory license renewal proceeding in response to comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, May 7, 2026 — Today, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) and Reporters Without Borders, Inc. demanded records from Paramount Skydance Corp. regarding potentially corrupt acquisitions and deals that could result in relinquishing editorial control of major news outlets to the Trump administration. Public reports suggest that David Ellison and his father Larry may have tried to secure regulatory approval to acquire Paramount and now Warner Bros. Discovery by, among other things:

• Making a “side deal” to settle President Trump’s spurious lawsuit against “60 Minutes” by providing $15 million to $20 million worth of free advertising.
• Installing a pro-Trump GOP donor without journalism experience as “ombudsman” at CBS News to evaluate complaints of “bias” and to eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
• Promising to make “sweeping” changes to CNN, and to potentially fire anchors and commentators whom Trump dislikes.

Since Paramount Skydance announced its most consequential Trump-friendly changes at CBS News in October — acquiring The Free Press and appointing Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief — the company’s market capitalization has decreased by 40%, wiping out more than $8 billion in shareholder value. Ratings for key programs, like “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil,” have also dropped precipitously. Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders, which are both shareholders in Paramount Skydance Corp., are entitled to inspect the company’s books and records related to these developments under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

“Shareholders are entitled to know when the government uses its leverage over corporate transactions as a backdoor to meddle in editorial decisions that the First Amendment leaves to the press,” said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. “Larry and David Ellison’s capitulation not only harms the public and our democracy, it hurts Paramount by producing news shows people don’t want to watch and tanking the reputations of news outlets in order to appease Trump. If the Ellisons can’t stand up to their friends in the administration and defend the First Amendment, they should stay away from the news business.”

“We need to know what the Ellisons may have promised the president to secure these deals,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, Inc. “This acquisition has all the warning signs of a political capture. The American public deserves to know whether the Ellisons are sacrificing editorial independence to appease Donald Trump and secure regulatory approval from an administration that is openly hostile to press freedom.”

“Our clients are entitled to the same records as any other shareholder in Paramount, and legally, the company must comply,” said Brendan Ballou, CEO of the Public Integrity Project. “If Paramount fails to do so, we are prepared to vindicate our clients’ rights in court.”

Under Delaware law, Paramount has five business days to respond to the shareholders’ request. Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders are being represented by the Public Integrity Project and Ron Poliquin of The Poliquin Firm.

Please email Seth Stern (seth@freedom.press) for any follow-up questions or inquiries.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, May 6, 2026 — The FBI has reportedly opened a criminal leak investigation into Atlantic magazine journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick’s reporting on Director Kash Patel’s alleged unexplained absences and drinking habits at the bureau.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“The FBI’s probe would be outrageous even if The Atlantic reported classified information, which it didn’t. The FBI is reportedly conducting an invasive leak investigation merely to settle a personal vendetta. Separately, it doesn’t make much sense for Patel’s FBI to investigate leaks from what Patel’s lawsuit over the same reporting called ‘sham sources.’ Fake sources can’t leak.

“This is the second time in recent weeks we’ve learned that the bureau has baselessly investigated constitutionally protected, highly newsworthy reporting that was unfavorable to its director — last month, news broke that it investigated reporter Elizabeth Williamson, after she wrote about Patel’s use of government resources for transportation and security expenses for his girlfriend. Both show complete disregard for the First Amendment and for the FBI’s supposed mission of stopping crime, not serving as PIs for its leadership on the taxpayer dime.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

U.S. journalist Alex Colston was detained by Israel for a second time while on board an international aid flotilla to Gaza, along with French and Turkish Al Jazeera journalists and almost 200 activists. He reports that he and other abductees were held for two days in shipping containers, in stress positions and under floodlights, while some endured further torture. Most of them have been released, but the U.S. State Department was of no help. It opted to condemn the flotillas rather than defending Americans illegally abducted in international waters.

Read on for more press freedom news. But first, tell your lawmakers to help put a stop to domestic surveillance by reforming FISA Section 702.

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Bootlicking Brendan’s back at it

Days before the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about President Donald Trump’s mortality. No one protested until after a gunman unsuccessfully attempted to evade security at the dinner. Trump then feigned outrage, claiming Kimmel called for his assassination. Because there’s no other reason to joke that a 79-year-old whose own health secretary says it’s a wonder he’s alive might not be long for this world.

The following day, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and his Donald Trump lapel pin ordered Disney’s ABC, which airs Kimmel’s show, to seek early renewal of its broadcast licenses. It’s the latest escalation in Carr’s never-ending quest to kiss up to his boss by attacking free speech.

We said in a statement, “The FCC is neither the journalism police nor the humor police. This is nothing but illegal jawboning intended to intimidate ABC into kissing the ring.” And Carr’s claims that his attack on ABC is really about diversity, equity, and inclusion — not censorship — is an insult to our intelligence. That he felt the need to cite a pretext only further demonstrates that he knows full well that his prior threats of content-based retaliation were frivolous.

ABC needs to fight back to make clear that Carr’s new tactic won’t work. Otherwise it’s entirely possible he’ll try it again next time a news show inspires a late night rage tweet from his boss.

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It’s almost World Press Freedom Day. Someone forgot to tell the world

For years, World Press Freedom Day on May 3 has helped spotlight global press freedom violations. It’s a day to demand justice for journalists murdered in Gaza and Lebanon, or to celebrate the release of wrongfully detained reporters like Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.

Holding foreign regimes accountable for press freedom is essential, and it’s been a rough year for journalists’ rights all around the globe. But this year, the U.S. — which dropped to 64th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index — needs to take a hard look in the mirror, too.

• Read more

FPF sues for White House texts

FPF joined Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in a lawsuit seeking to establish that federal agencies must abide by the Presidential Records Act, including the provision that presidential papers become subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act five years after the end of the president’s term. The suit follows the Justice Department’s nonsense memo claiming the PRA is unconstitutional and contests the White House’s internal guidance allowing deletion of text messages, despite the act’s requirements.

• Read The New York Times’ report

Hear from experts on the SEC gag rule

Those seeking to settle regulatory actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission are prohibited from publicly disputing the SEC’s claims against them. It’s a dangerous prior restraint, especially as financial regulators deal with new technologies from cryptocurrency to prediction markets. They’re sure to make mistakes, and you deserve to be informed.

We’ve assembled a group of experts, including legendary First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and attorneys from the New Civil Liberties Alliance, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and the law firm Quinn Emanuel, to talk about the dangers of the “gag rule” and current efforts to challenge it at the Supreme Court. Join us on Tuesday, May 5, at 2 p.m. ET.

• Register here

Any longer term extension must include reforms to stop illegal surveillance of journalists and other Americans. Maybe this will help: Sen. Ron Wyden said he “secured a deal that a long-term extension would not move forward without a secretive court opinion being made public, which he says reveals abuses of Americans’ rights through section 702.”

Israel’s excuses for barring international press from entering Gaza were nonsense at the height of the war. They make even less sense now. It’s clearer than ever that Israel doesn’t want the world to see the truth and Americans to see what they’re bankrolling.

“Some executives are asking not, ‘Is the story true?’ But, ‘Is it good for business?’”

News companies have caved to Carr and Trump in the past, but times have changed — Trump is highly unpopular and loses in court regularly. We hope ABC not only defends itself but goes on offense to put a stop to Carr’s jawboning for good.

It’s impossible to look at the firing of FOIA officials after the release of a declassified memo to FPF as “anything other than inappropriate retaliation for a lawful FOIA release,” FPF’s Lauren Harper explains.

Kentucky’s legislature needs to step in and fix this. Government officials can’t be allowed to evade transparency by using personal devices to discuss government business.

For years, World Press Freedom Day on May 3 has helped spotlight global press freedom violations. It’s a day to demand justice for journalists murdered in Gaza and Lebanon, or to celebrate the release of wrongfully detained reporters like Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.

Holding foreign regimes accountable for press freedom is essential. But this year, the U.S. needs to take a hard look in the mirror, too.

Since last year’s World Press Freedom Day, our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented hundreds of press freedom violations in the United States, the equivalent of more than one per day. Taken together, these incidents are evidence of an unprecedented, coordinated assault on press freedom being led by the highest levels of our government.

From the streets of Minneapolis to the halls of the Pentagon, the Trump administration is dismantling the First Amendment right to gather and report the news.

Criminalizing the messenger

The majority of press freedom incidents cataloged by the Tracker since last May 3 are of journalists being assaulted and arrested while covering protests.

Most reporters arrested at demonstrations have their charges dropped later. But not journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, and Junn Bollman. They now face bogus charges under federal prosecution for engaging in obviously constitutionally protected reporting while covering a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church in January.

They’re not the only journalists being prosecuted for covering anti-immigration enforcement protests in Minnesota. Photographer John Abernathy — who was pictured tossing his camera to another photographer to protect it, while being surrounded and arrested by federal agents at a different protest in a Minneapolis suburb last January — is also facing federal criminal charges.

Targeting routine reporting

Outside the context of protests, multiple federal agencies are also trying to redefine routine journalism as wrong or illegal.

Perhaps most notoriously, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tried to ban reporters from the Pentagon unless they signed what amounts to a loyalty pledge promising not to ask sources for information. Even after a court said the ban (and a subsequent rewrite) was unconstitutional, the government continues to fight for the right to exclude reporters who aren’t interested in acting as Pentagon stenographers.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi have tried to chill reporting by accusing journalists of “doxxing” or fomenting violence against federal immigration agents by naming them or photographing them in public. They’ve threatened to prosecute CNN for reporting on an ICE-watching app and coerced app stores into removing that software, a clear violation of the Constitution.

At the FBI, Director Kash Patel launched a retaliatory “stalking” investigation into New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson because Williamson did her job: reaching out to Patel’s girlfriend Alexis Wilkins to ask for a comment on reporting that Patel was using government resources on Wilkins’ behalf. Even the Department of Justice thought that was too much, concluding there was no legal basis for the investigation of Williamson.

But perhaps no government official has done more to target journalism on Trump’s behalf than Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr. By threatening to punish broadcasters for reporting and editing news, and encouraging media mergers meant to benefit the Trump administration, Carr has shown he’s willing to trade the First Amendment (and whatever dignity he has left considering he wears a gilded bust of Trump as a lapel pin) for political points.

Waging war on whistleblowers

The Trump administration is also moving aggressively to shut down journalists’ relationships with their sources.

In January, the FBI raided the home of Washington Post journalist Hannah Natanson, the “federal government whisperer” who’d written about the hundreds of her confidential sources from within the government. When the agency asked a court for the search warrant allowing the raid, the government purposefully omitted any mention of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, a federal law that prohibits such raids in almost all circumstances.

More recently, the DOJ used the Espionage Act to charge Courtney Williams, a former Army employee who spoke to reporter Seth Harp about sexual harassment and discrimination in the military. Like most Espionage Act cases involving reporters and sources, this case doesn’t seem to be about national security. It’s about hiding government misconduct by retaliating against journalists and sources who expose it.

A pattern of persecution

This is only the tip of the iceberg. We haven’t even gotten into the SLAPP lawsuits, the attacks on immigrant journalists, the threats to jail journalists who refuse to burn sources, the yanking of funding from public media, and so much more.

In other words, the U.S. is rapidly joining the ranks of the world’s worst press freedom offenders.

But it’s not too late to fight back.

Newsrooms can sue over press freedom violations and win. Lawmakers can reform the Espionage Act and Privacy Protection Act, and pass a federal shield law protecting journalists and their sources. Journalists can and should write and speak out about press freedom violations. The public can take action to demand that the Trump administration stop treating the First Amendment like a suggestion.

The United States can’t lead the world in defending press freedom on World Press Freedom Day when it’s actively dismantling it at home. It’s time to stop asking the Trump administration to respect the First Amendment. We need to use the courts, Congress, and the power of the people to force it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, April 28, 2026 — The Federal Communications Commission reportedly plans to challenge Disney’s eight licenses for its ABC stations as soon as this afternoon. The news comes after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump feigned outrage about a joke from late night host Jimmy Kimmel. The FCC is chaired by Brendan Carr, a Trump super-loyalist — known to wear the president’s gilded face as a lapel pin — who has made clear that he views the agency’s role as furthering Trump’s agenda.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“The First Amendment and the FCC’s mandate do not permit the agency to use broadcast licenses as weapons to punish broadcasters for constitutionally protected content they air. Brendan Carr was once a serious communications lawyer, and has repeatedly and correctly said that the FCC has no role in policing content, whether news reporting or comedians’ late night jokes.

“Carr’s decision to abandon his principles to kiss up to Trump to advance his career does not change the law that Carr knows full well applies. The FCC is neither the journalism police nor the humor police. This is nothing but illegal jawboning intended to intimidate ABC into kissing the ring.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

Good news first: Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been cleared of all charges by a Kuwaiti court and is expected to be released soon, after nearly two months in detention. Now, news you can use: Congress is still weighing Section 702 of FISA. Use our action center to urge lawmakers to include real privacy protections for journalists and all Americans in any renewal of the law. Then read on for what else you need to know about press freedom this week.

Lessons from a Texas prison about the Paramount-Warner merger

Incarcerated journalist Jeremy Busby has seen firsthand the harms that result when the government chooses the media the people consume.

People’s politics change, but so does their sense of self-worth. When a Texas prison shoved “tough on crime” commentary down the throats of those in its care, they started believing their pasts made them unworthy of common decency and basic necessities.

Busby worries that if people like President Donald Trump and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison seize even more control of what Americans see and read, it’ll have a similar impact on how the rest of us see ourselves. Busby’s peers in prison stopped believing they deserved soap and toilet paper — those on the outside might stop believing they deserve democracy.

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WHCA … WTF?

The White House Correspondents’ Association probably shouldn’t have an annual dinner where journalists hobnob with government officials they cover. And if they really need to have one, they definitely shouldn’t let anti-press authoritarians like Trump, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — all of whom are reportedly attending — anywhere near the entrance.

And yet here we are. Trump is scheduled to address the WHCA dinner on Saturday. He’s reportedly hired joke-writers for a “roast” of journalists. We put together a bingo card to make the evening a little less unbearable for people forced to endure what will surely be one of history’s lamest stand-up routines. And we joined a letter with hundreds of current and former journalists urging the WHCA to forcefully protest Trump’s antics. Our suggestion? Shout “BINGO” when you win (everyone will win), walk out, and do something better with your evening.

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Kash Patel’s probe of journalist is ‘off the rails’

FBI Director Kash Patel started his week by filing a ridiculous strategic lawsuit against public participation against The Atlantic. Days after filing the SLAPP suit, The New York Times reported that Patel’s FBI investigated its reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, after she wrote about his use of government resources to pay for transportation and security for his girlfriend. The bureau says it does not plan to charge Williamson.

We said in a statement, “If Kash Patel was looking to disprove Williamson’s reporting about him using government resources for personal matters, siccing his agency on a reporter for retribution is a very strange way of doing it. … It’s outrageous that a sober-minded FBI would even consider a theory that reporting methods like phone calls and emails might constitute stalking.”

• Read more

To live and lie in LA

It doesn’t take a detective to recognize the Los Angeles Police Department has a problem with mistreating journalists. Last year, a federal judge said there’s “a mountain of evidence.” Victims range from freelancers to Pulitzer Prize winners. Many were simply denied access, but others suffered life-altering injuries from violent officers at protests.

So imagine our surprise when the police chief told the police commission (his bosses) that “working media” have no problems. He even suggested the department’s relationship with the press might be the best in the country. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose went to confront these falsehoods at the next commission meeting — and he brought receipts.

• Watch the highlights

SEC gag rule is unconstitutional censorship

We’ve written before about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plainly illegal “gag rule” prohibiting those who settle with the SEC from talking about their cases, including to journalists. It’s a blatant prior restraint that the government justifies by citing its desire to shield itself from embarrassment — the absolute worst justification for censorship imaginable.

This week we joined a legal brief with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Institute for Free Speech, and the Rutherford Institute, explaining, “When the government permanently silences those it has pursued—as the target’s price of ending that pursuit … [it] has secured for itself exactly what the First Amendment forbids.”

• Read the brief

The Pentagon fired an ombudsman whose role is to preserve Stars and Stripes independence because she spoke out about efforts to undermine that independence. These people behave as if someone else pays their legal fees when they get sued. Oh, right …

Trump’s plan is to berate the press at the WHCA dinner and then leave before they can respond. What a coward. We hope the bone spurs don’t slow down his escape.

If a local Facebook group operator can stand up for her First Amendment rights, so can all the media outlets that Trump jawbones constantly.

Paramount’s retaliation against a journalist that opposed its merger shows that the Trump-aligned conglomerate is already big enough to punish not only its own journalists who step out of line, but also smaller outlets where it advertises.

Officials who have tried to muzzle the press for political gain “have not been treated well by history,” writes Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s Robert Corn-Revere in a letter to Carr.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, April 22, 2026 — The New York Times reported today that the FBI investigated its reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, after she wrote about FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of government resources for transportation and security expenses for his girlfriend. The bureau says it does not plan to charge Williamson.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“If Kash Patel was looking to disprove Williamson’s reporting about him using government resources for personal matters, siccing his agency on a reporter for retribution is a very strange way of doing it. You know the FBI is off the rails if even lawyers in Trump’s Department of Justice had to warn it that its retaliatory investigation lacked legal merit.

“It’s outrageous that a sober-minded FBI would even consider a theory that reporting methods like phone calls and emails might constitute stalking. That would be offensive even if the case didn’t involve the FBI’s own director. Patel’s job is to fight actual crime, not to chug beers in locker rooms, file SLAPP suits against the press, or baselessly investigate journalists.

“There have been instances at the local level of the government characterizing routine newsgathering as stalking or harassment. In 2023, Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers sought a restraining order against a reporter who knocked on her door to investigate her compliance with residency requirements. The same year, the mayor of Calumet City, Illinois, had a reporter ticketed for “hampering city employees” for asking officials questions. But these cases were seen as small-town shenanigans initiated by fringe politicians. It’s disgraceful that the federal government is now following the lead of these widely ridiculed local officials.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

When I heard the news that Paramount Skydance had won the bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and its assets, like CNN and HBO, I cringed. I know how this movie ends.

Inside the Texas prison system where I’ve spent nearly three decades, I have personally witnessed the harm of the government choosing the media the people consume. Propaganda can turn people into individuals they would have once despised.

I earned a college degree during my incarceration. One of my classmates was an elderly guy from Mexico who went by the name Grasshopper. He was an avid admirer of Cesar Chavez, the progressive leader of the movement for farmworkers’ rights in the 1960s (this was long before the recent allegations against Chavez came to light).

Grasshopper and I believed the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan were out of control, and that important issues like housing and health care were being neglected. We felt the country needed new leadership and supported many of the progressive ideas that were being proposed by then-candidate Barack Obama. We agreed on pretty much everything.

Nearing the end of Obama’s first term, the right-wing Texas prison system decided to change the TV stations it made available to the incarcerated population. Without any advance warning, gone was our access to news programming from networks like CNN and PBS. We were now restricted to viewing the newly installed Fox News Channel and Trinity Broadcasting Network’s conservative evangelical Christian content.

Within a matter of weeks, I noticed the new programming transforming Grasshopper’s political views. He began regurgitating the talking points from right-wing commentators and Fox News prime-time hosts like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.

Propaganda can turn people into individuals they would have once despised.

Suddenly, President Obama had become the anti-Christ — the worst president in the history of this country. Fringe conspiracy theories like Michelle Obama being a biological man and the Affordable Care Act rationing out medical care became deeply held beliefs. Our once cordial political discussions turned into heated debates, with me having to constantly challenge what Grasshopper had heard on the latest episode from O’Reilly’s “no spin zone.”

My friend had “seen the light” and was now a die-hard conservative — and not because he’d been persuaded by new information or good-faith arguments for a different political philosophy, but because prison officials had elected to force-feed him nonsense, without the option to change the channel. It was difficult for me to believe I was even speaking with the same individual I’d known just six months prior.

Grasshopper was far from the only person to undergo this ideological shift. I noticed other incarcerated individuals’ political beliefs undergo similarly dramatic transformations after the news programming change.

It wasn’t just presidential politics. We were housed at the prison that was home to Texas’ execution chambers. Before CNN and PBS were removed, a significant number of the guys would hold vigils on scheduled execution days. We would all gather in a circle, say a few words about the things we were grateful for and allow representatives from different faiths to say a prayer for the condemned person and their family.

Once those networks were replaced by Fox and Trinity, our vigil grew smaller and smaller. When I asked people who had stopped coming to vigils why, some of them said they now felt the condemned deserved to die. Influenced by the “eye for eye” messaging they constantly heard in sermons on Trinity, my cohorts now favored capital punishment.

Additionally, incarcerated people adopted the belief of “law and order” commentators that everyone in prison had forfeited their right to be treated humanely. Overnight, guys began viewing themselves as they were portrayed on Fox — as animals. Incarcerated individuals stopped demanding basic necessities like soap and toilet paper from the prison administration, and would get angry at anyone who did. “You are in prison,” they would tell the newly-labeled troublemaker, “not the Hilton Hotel.”

Incarcerated people stopped believing they deserved soap and toilet paper. People on the outside may stop believing they deserve democracy.

By 2024, there were more incarcerated individuals in Texas prisons openly supporting Trump than I had ever seen supporting a Republican candidate in the six presidential elections that have occurred during my incarceration. Most of their views were shaped by misleading accusations. They were convinced, for example, that immigrants here illegally were raping and killing Americans at an alarming rate.

This is the same level of power the Trump administration wants to steer into the hands of its allies. They’re eager for Paramount Skydance and the billionaire Ellison family that controls it to acquire Warner Bros., which owns CNN (Paramount previously acquired CBS News and steered its coverage to Trump’s liking).

At a time of unprecedented infringements on constitutional rights, this powerful media empire could significantly diminish our capacity and willingness to combat authoritarianism.

It can achieve this not just through news but entertainment — the messages embedded into kids’ programs, or the glorification of war and normalization of police states in movies. It all adds up. Incarcerated people stopped believing they deserved soap and toilet paper. People on the outside may stop believing they deserve democracy.

You might think this can’t happen in the free world — people have far more media options available, plus they can go outside, look around, and come to their own conclusions about the state of American society.

That may be true for some. It’s also true for some on the inside, like me. Those with sufficient energy and curiosity find ways to inform themselves. But there are elderly people who mostly see the world through their television screens, rural Americans who imagine cities they’ve never visited as war zones, and “low-information voters” who don’t have the desire or time to dig beyond the surface of the information ecosystem.

That’s enough to not only swing elections but to overhaul the way we see our government, our society, and ourselves.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

Threats against the press are coming from all angles: immigration courts, corporate transactions, bad bills, and digital surveillance, to name a few. Read on for the latest, but before you do, use our action center to tell Congress not to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA without real privacy reforms that protect journalists and all Americans.

#FreeAhmed: U.S. journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin detained in Kuwait

American-born journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been detained in Kuwait for the past six weeks, apparently for reposting footage of a U.S. fighter jet crash in that country. You can sign a petition from the Committee to Protect Journalists to help free the award-winning reporter.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose was once Shihab-Eldin’s colleague at HuffPost. Rose told MS Now, “While we can’t claim the mantle of leadership right now, the U.S. can try to reclaim some dignity if the State Department fights for the immediate release of Ahmed Shihab-Eldin from detention in Kuwait.”

• Read more

Meet the immigration judge who didn’t get fired

The Trump administration’s laundry list of attacks on the free press grows longer almost every day. But its attempted deportation of Rümeysa Öztürk continues to stand out. Öztürk — who has now opted to self-deport — co-wrote an op-ed the administration didn’t like and in response, it sent masked officers to abduct her off the street and throw her in jail. It doesn’t get more blatant than that.

Last week, the Justice Department fired the immigration judge who tossed out that bogus case, along with another immigration judge who had the nerve to uphold the First Amendment. But one judge’s job is safe: Blake Doughty, who issued an appalling and constitutionally clueless opinion ordering the deportation of photojournalist Ya’akub Vijandre. FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote for The Guardian about how the administration is making immigration judges choose between the constitution and their jobs.

• Read the op-ed

Time for the press to follow Hollywood’s lead

Paramount’s pending merger with Warner Bros. Discovery would harm both the entertainment industry and journalists by steering even more control of the content Americans consume to the Ellison family — which has proven itself ready and willing to censor journalists and others to appease President Donald Trump.

But only one industry is making its voice heard and it’s not the press. Thousands of actors, directors, and others have signed a letter objecting to the transaction and the harm it would cause. Journalists should do the same. As Stern said, “There’s nothing biased or partisan about standing up for the First Amendment and the public’s right to know.”

• Read more

Stop ‘kids safety’ censorship bills

The Kids Online Safety Act and other bills mandating age verification online purport to protect children’s safety, but in reality they enable censorship by forcing both children and adults to share sensitive personal information, undermining online privacy and anonymous speech.

These laws can easily be used to silence the press and whistleblowers by encouraging removal of news content and making anonymous posting harder, stunting the growth of upstart platforms on which journalists share their work. Use our action center to urge lawmakers to stop taking the bait whenever a censorship bill is disguised as kids safety.

• Take action

VPN surveillance: Time for transparency and limits on spy powers

Journalists and plenty of other people use virtual private networks to bypass censorship, to protect their location information, and to defend their traffic against network eavesdropping.

This is why we need more government transparency about how U.S. intelligence agencies monitor users of these tools. Are they effectively making an end run around Americans’ right to be free from warrantless surveillance?

It’s also why we need stronger protections for Americans whose communications can be swept up in our government’s foreign spying, starting with reforms of Section 702 of FISA.

• Read more

Is Paramount trying to make the case against its own merger? If the Ellisons are already punishing news outlets, imagine if they owned CNN and their buddy Trump calls in a favor.

The Justice Department and FBI missed a court deadline in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit about abuse of Section 702 and released heavily redacted records right before Congress was set to vote on the law’s renewal. What are they hiding?

Good to see the Justice Department cracking down on President Joe Biden’s abuse of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, like that time he had journalists arrested for covering a protest at a church. Oops, no, that was Trump going after journalists like Georgia Fort and Don Lemon.

The chilling effect in action: After her arrest, Georgia Fort says she’s “refrained from going to report” when she’s received tips about other actions where there may be civil disobedience.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

This week saw President Donald Trump threatening journalists with bogus prosecutions and his administration bringing charges against another whistleblower. But the federal government is far from the only bad actor when it comes to press freedom these days. Read on for more.

Whistleblower prosecution has nothing to do with national security

Courtney Williams, a former Army employee, has been charged under the Espionage Act for blowing the whistle to journalist Seth Harp on sexual harassment and discrimination she experienced and witnessed. Harp cited Williams as a source in his 2025 book, “The Fort Bragg Cartel,” and an article in Politico Magazine.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said, “The notion that an administration that casually posts genocide threats during its illegal wars is worried about national security risks from whistleblowers who expose sexual harassment is absurd.”

• Read our statement

DOJ wants to scrap the Presidential Records Act

FPF Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper wrote for The Intercept about a bogus legal opinion that the PRA — the Watergate-era law establishing that presidents’ records are public property — is unconstitutional.

The Justice Department, Harper writes, “is effectively claiming that the presidency has private ownership over the American story.” You can use our action center to tell Congress to speak out against this attack on transparency.

• Take action

No kings in DC, no compliance in LA

The Los Angeles Police Department obstructed, threatened, and arrested journalists covering the third round of “No Kings” protests — violating a federal injunction.

Watch FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose — who was on the ground in LA that day — explain what he witnessed. And if you’re a journalist who faced a press freedom violation, contact our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which is documenting the violence in LA.

And speaking of injunctions officers violated left and right, Rose has another video about an appellate ruling upholding a similar court order against the Department of Homeland Security for its press freedom violations. There’s plenty more to see on our YouTube channel.

• Watch more

The Republican about-face on Qatari media funding

A few years ago, then-Sen. Marco Rubio and his colleagues successfully urged the first Trump administration to force Al Jazeera to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

But the second Trump administration, in which Rubio serves as secretary of state, is putting its weight behind Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery, even though the deal is financed, in part, by a Qatari sovereign wealth fund. Stern wrote about how the reversal shows that past fearmongering over foreign investment in media, including Al Jazeera and TikTok, had nothing to do with the supposed security risks and everything to do with controlling the narrative.

• Read more

Judge tells Pentagon to stop censoring journalists again. Think they’ll listen this time?

Federal Judge Paul Friedman entered an order yesterday compelling the Pentagon to comply with his prior prohibition on enforcing its unconstitutional press policy.

Stern said in a statement that, although we appreciate Friedman granting The New York Times’ motion to compel, “at this point, any court order that responds to the administration’s blatant lawlessness with anything less than sanctions, contempt of court findings, and attorney disciplinary referrals is a disappointment.”

• Read more

Sources aren’t safe when surveillance is for sale

Government agencies frequently evade the Fourth Amendment with the “data broker loophole” — using taxpayer dollars to buy sensitive, personal data about Americans and others from private data brokers.

FPF Senior Advocacy Adviser Caitlin Vogus explains that the use of data brokers for immigration enforcement has shown just how invasive this surveillance can be and how the government could use this purchased spy power to target journalists and their sources.

• Read more

Trump’s threat to jail reporters deserves bipartisan condemnation

On Monday, Trump threatened to jail unnamed journalists if they do not reveal their sources for reporting about the mission to rescue airmen shot down in Iran. (Later in the week, he bizarrely threatened CNN with prosecution over completely accurate reporting).

Stern said in a statement, “Some of the most important news stories in American history have come from confidential sources, including stories that have brought down corrupt presidents. That’s why Trump is so obsessed with leaks.”

• Read more

So-called ‘antifa’ prosecutions endanger the First Amendment and the press

We joined Defending Rights & Dissent and the National Lawyers Guild for a conversation about the Prairieland case in Texas, which the Trump administration is touting as its first successful domestic terrorism prosecution of “antifa.”

The defendants’ possession of anarchist zines was repeatedly touted as evidence of … something or other, even though the zines had nothing whatsoever to do with any alleged crimes any of them were accused of committing. That’s concerning to everyone who depends on the First Amendment, including the press.

• Watch the discussion

Check out our digital security team’s three-part series to help journalists better understand risks of using artificial intelligence and set boundaries around which AI systems and tools make sense to use, adjust, or avoid.

This isn’t just a tragedy. It’s a pattern enabled by impunity — and by U.S. political and military backing.

A new FBI budget request would give NSPM-7 real teeth. Journalists who report on matters arguably fitting within the nebulous scope of the presidential memorandum on domestic terrorism should take note.

The district thinks a journalist filing 14 Freedom of Information Act requests in a year is a reason to sue to ban him from filing any more. Wait until they find out how many FOIAs FPF files.

Constitutional limits are increasingly being replaced with commercial transactions, putting Americans’ privacy and the free press at risk. But our representatives on Capitol Hill will soon have a chance to plug that gap.

The Fourth Amendment was designed to protect us from government searches and seizures without a warrant. But government agencies can evade this requirement with the “data broker loophole” — using taxpayer dollars to buy sensitive, personal data about Americans and others from private data brokers.

Although we’ve known about this problem for a while, recent reporting about the use of data brokers for immigration enforcement has shown just how invasive state surveillance fueled by data broker purchases can be. That reporting also has important lessons for how the government could use this purchased spy power to target journalists and their sources.

Investigative outlets like 404 Media have been at the forefront of exposing how government agencies are using data brokers to power the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. The commercial data the government is exploiting can be drawn from everyday apps like those for weather, gaming, or news.

404 Media used public records to report on Customs and Border Patrol’s purchase of online advertising data that it can use to follow people’s “precise movements over time” by tracking their phones.

It also reported on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of tools based on commercial location data to monitor phones in entire neighborhoods. This kind of location tracking can identify who is using a particular device by tracking where they live or work, and can then be used to follow their movements.

According to 404 Media, ICE has also turned to Palantir, a notorious data mining and surveillance company, to find neighborhoods to raid and to create dossiers on potential targets for deportation. At least one of Palantir’s tools is powered by a Thomson Reuters product called Clear, which sells “names, addresses, car registration information, Social Security numbers, and details on someone’s ethnicity.”

Together, this and other reporting make it obvious that the Department of Homeland Security is ramping up surveillance capabilities based on the data broker loophole. And this tactic isn’t limited to immigration enforcement. In the past, the government has used data it purchased to track users of a Muslim prayer app and protesters in the racial justice movement, for instance.

With the Trump administration determined to prosecute journalists and their sources, it’s reasonable to be concerned that the data broker loophole could be used in leak investigations, too. The Department of Justice has pledged to target leakers, and the FBI has already raided one reporter’s house in connection with a national security leak investigation.

In March, FBI Director Kash Patel, who once promised to “come after” the media, testified before Congress that his agency was once again purchasing Americans’ data and location histories as part of federal investigations.

Data purchased by the government for leaks investigations could reveal reporters’ contacts with sources, with potentially devastating consequences for reporter-source confidentiality and press freedom. For instance, the government could buy location data for the devices of journalists and suspected leakers to determine if they visited the same locations at the same time. It could purchase internet records to determine if a suspected source visited a news outlet’s website or searched for a particular journalist.

The Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent exactly this kind of warrantless surveillance. But as the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Jake Laperruque noted recently, the government currently operates under a “spy first and ask forgiveness later mentality.”

Now, Congress has a rare opportunity to fix this. A new bill, the Government Surveillance Reform Act, would reauthorize and reform the government’s foreign intelligence surveillance powers under Section 702 of FISA. Crucially, it would prohibit law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying sensitive information that otherwise would require a warrant.

Whether it’s being used for out-of-control immigration sweeps or to spy on journalists and their sources, the data broker loophole has become an insidious bypass to the Bill of Rights. The government shouldn’t be able to buy its way out of the Constitution. It’s time for Congress to close the data broker loophole.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, D.C., April 9, 2026 — Federal Judge Paul Friedman today entered an order compelling the Pentagon to comply with his prior prohibition against enforcing its unconstitutional press policy, which restricts journalists from asking questions to “unauthorized” personnel. The order was accompanied by a 20-page opinion explaining why the Pentagon’s revised policy was just a rehash of the one he struck down, and in some ways worse.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“We appreciate Judge Friedman seeing the Pentagon’s revised policy for the nonsense it is and granting The New York Times’ motion. The Constitution, of course, allows and encourages journalists to ask questions to anyone they want, authorized or unauthorized, and to publish the answers they get.

“But at this point, any court order that responds to the administration’s blatant lawlessness with anything less than sanctions, contempt of court findings, and attorney disciplinary referrals is a disappointment. It’s easy to write opinions listing the myriad ways the administration flouts the Constitution and court orders. The hard part is doing something about it. The administration will likely play more games to avoid complying with today’s order as well. Hopefully, Judge Friedman will rise to the moment.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

In August 2020, then-Sen. Marco Rubio and several of his colleagues urged the first Trump administration to force Al Jazeera to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. A month later, Trump’s Department of Justice granted their request.

The largely Republican coalition argued that Qatar created unspecified security risks by funding a media outlet that operated inside the United States and influenced Americans. Similar arguments led Congress to pass, and the Supreme Court to uphold, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to force the sale of TikTok.

What a difference a few years and a $400 million jet make.

The Trump administration is now putting its weight behind Paramount Skydance’s plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery with help from sovereign wealth funds from Gulf States — including Qatar — which reportedly committed this week to investing up to $24 billion.

Trump, now-Secretary of State Rubio, and the other Republicans once alarmed by the supposed threat of Qatari-funded media are silent on potential significant Qatari backing of CNN and HBO (which Warner owns). The proposed investment has been public knowledge since last year.

The hypocrisy underscores why the government shouldn’t decide who owns or finances media, no matter who is in the White House, particularly absent a specific, imminent national security threat. Such authority will invariably be politicized to steer ownership away from any given administration’s critics and toward its allies, with foreign influence as a mere pretext.

As Justice Hugo Black famously said in the Pentagon Papers case, “the word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.”

The administration doesn’t care if Ellison, the Qataris, or anyone else meddles with CNN, as long as they do so in ways the president likes.

The self-serving Republican about-face on foreign investment proves Black right. Paramount Skydance is led by Trump ally David Ellison, who has a proven track record of MAGA-fying news outlets and who has reportedly promised Trump the “sweeping changes” he wants at CNN. Put simply, Trump is confident that the new CNN will serve his interests better than the old one, precisely because he expects ownership to influence coverage.

Ellison has offered assurances that his foreign investors won’t meddle in news decisions, but there’s no indication that the administration intends to do anything to confirm that’s true. And Ellison has little credibility. He has also said he won’t meddle, which is almost certainly nonsense given his track record.

The bottom line is the administration doesn’t care if Ellison, the Qataris, or anyone else meddles, as long as they do so in ways the president likes.

Similarly, it was never about whether foreign powers’ alleged influence through Al Jazeera (or TikTok) harmed America’s interests. It was about whether those outlets furthered the agendas of those in power, for example, by supporting wars they bankrolled. Foreign ownership just offered the government a hook to punish and harass them when they didn’t.

Fearmongering about threats from Al Jazeera arose largely from the outlet’s critical coverage of Israel and, later, that nation’s U.S.-funded war in Gaza. Israel has taken it further, baselessly labeling Al Jazeera reporters terrorists as an excuse to target and kill them.

But as Trump recently said, “When somebody’s nice to me, I love that person. Even if they’re bad people, I couldn’t care less.” Now that a Qatari sovereign wealth fund seeks to invest in media that he believes will be nice to him, Trump could “care less” about supposed security risks. The U.S. government welcomes Qatari media money.

Same goes for TikTok. The worries about Chinese propaganda were really about anti-war sentiments catching on with young people. The panic about surveillance was a red herring.

If China were looking to surveil Americans’ social media activity, it could have bought the data TikTok allegedly enabled it to monitor straight from the data brokers that the same lawmakers refuse to rein in with comprehensive privacy legislation.

The marketplace of ideas isn’t limited to domestic ones.

Tellingly, when Trump became president and stalled the TikTok sale that was supposedly so urgently needed, none of them seemed to mind.

That’s not to say Al Jazeera and TikTok are above criticism — they’re certainly not. Maybe Qatar and China do influence their content. We can’t prove otherwise, any more than we can prove the British government doesn’t meddle with the BBC. But Americans who don’t like Qatar’s influence, if any, can go elsewhere. The marketplace of ideas isn’t limited to domestic ones.

And any Qatari influence likely pales in comparison to the influence Trump’s administration seeks to exert over private media outlets in the U.S., let alone government-funded ones. Has Qatar ever threatened to jail Al Jazeera journalists for not outing their sources, or to criminally investigate them for accurate reporting, let alone both in the same week?

Trump would probably be insulted by the implication that foreign governments can propagandize his constituents — he and his domestic allies like the Ellisons are doing just fine at that on their own, thank you very much.

In any event, Trump, presumably, won’t be president forever. Assuming the Paramount transaction goes through, what’s to stop a Democratic administration that dislikes the new CNN from accusing foreign investors of dictating its content and demanding it register under FARA, or labeling Qatar a foreign adversary and weaponizing the law used to ban TikTok against CNN’s websites and apps?

Never mind whether the coverage they dislike is really dictated by Qatar, as opposed to the Ellisons or whatever hacks they hire to run their news outlet. Foreigners are far easier to scapegoat. Yes, there’s the First Amendment, but the Supreme Court was all too willing to throw it aside when it came to foreign-funded media in the TikTok case. Just mumble something about national security and data privacy, and you’re in the clear, apparently.

For now, any Republicans who are legitimately concerned about risks to national security (as opposed to their own reputational security) from foreign ownership of U.S. media could prove it by opposing Qatari investment in CNN, just like they did with Al Jazeera and TikTok. They’d be wrong, but at least they’d be consistent.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, D.C., April 9, 2026 — Courtney Williams, a former Army employee, has been charged under the Espionage Act for blowing the whistle to journalist Seth Harp on sexual harassment and discrimination she experienced and witnessed during her military tenure. Harp cited Williams as a source in his 2025 book, “The Fort Bragg Cartel,” and an article in Politico Magazine.

The government’s complaint is vague about what classified information Williams disclosed and what, if any, risk it contends the information posed to national security, as well as on the tactics used to obtain information about Williams, Harp, and their communications.

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern.

“Ask anybody who has read ‘The Fort Bragg Cartel’ which they think is the real threat to national security: Seth Harp’s sources, or the rampant corruption and criminality they enabled him to document. The administration knows the answer to that question, and that’s why it wants to punish whistleblowers and chill investigative reporting by bringing cases like this one.

“The charges also underscore why the Pentagon’s unconstitutional efforts to limit journalists’ access to everything except ‘authorized’ information are so outrageous. Does anyone think Pete Hegseth or his authorized PR flacks would have voluntarily disclosed these abuses to their briefing room of stenographers? Of course not. This is very clearly a retaliatory, anti-transparency prosecution and nothing more. The notion that an administration that casually posts genocide threats during its illegal wars is worried about national security risks from whistleblowers who expose sexual harassment is absurd.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2026 — President Donald Trump today threatened to jail unnamed journalists if they do not reveal their sources for reporting about the mission to rescue airmen who were shot down in Iran. Trump was quoted as saying, “We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security. Give it up or go to jail.’”

The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“Donald Trump has long harbored bizarre fantasies about having journalists arrested and even sexually assaulted in prison for refusing to burn their sources. But journalists don’t work for the government and their right to publish government leaks is protected by the First Amendment which, despite Trump’s efforts, remains the law of the land. It does not disappear whenever the words “national security” are uttered. To the extent that the government is allowed to withhold information, it’s up to the government to keep its secrets, not journalists.

“Confidential sources are the lifeblood of investigative journalism. Sources who come forward at great personal risk won’t do so if they don’t trust that their identities won’t be revealed, as Trump knows well from his days impersonating publicists to brag about himself to reporters. Some of the most important news stories in American history have come from confidential sources, including stories that have brought down corrupt presidents. That’s why Trump is so obsessed with leaks. It has nothing to do with national security.

“In fact, Trump’s hatred of the press runs so deep that, in his haste to lock up journalists for doing their jobs, he may have inadvertently threatened Israeli journalists and officials who were reportedly behind the story with prison. Anyone who for some reason considers taking Trump seriously next time he goes on a half-baked anti-press rant should remember that.

“Just a couple years ago, the PRESS Act — a bill to protect journalist-source confidentiality that would have expressly prohibited Trump from following through on threats like today’s — received bipartisan support, including from many of Trump’s allies, like Sens. Mike Lee and Lindsey Graham. It passed the House unanimously, with nine Republican co-sponsors. Any lawmaker who rightly supported that legislation or otherwise pontificated about press freedom and journalist-source confidentiality in the past but doesn’t speak out now is a free speech hypocrite.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

Court wins against Trump administration censorship keep stacking up. But that’s certainly not stopping them from trying. Read on for more on the week’s press freedom news.

For Brendan Carr, localism is a red herring

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr loves to talk about localism — the idea that broadcasters should serve the needs and interests of their own communities — whenever he’s confronted about his abuse of the FCC’s powers to try to censor the news.

But as we saw last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he touted President Donald Trump’s “wins” against the media, localism is a red herring. As Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote in The Intercept, without exception, Carr’s threats and investigations against broadcast news outlets involve segments on national news that offend Trump. The only time he involves himself with local news is to help consolidate ownership in the hands of conglomerates known for decimating local newsrooms.

• Read more

Centralizing data is about surveillance, not security

FPF Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper joined National Public Radio’s “1A” program to talk about our lawsuit to find out how Trump’s 2025 executive order to eliminate “information silos” is really being used to create a massive centralized database to monitor the activities of Americans.

It’s sure to be abused by nefarious actors both inside and outside the government.

• Listen here

NPR, PBS ruling explains why all Trump censorship is illegal

A judge struck down the administration’s defunding of NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service as unconstitutional retaliation for airing content that displeased it.

We explained in a statement that the court is exactly right — it’s well established that the government can’t condition benefits on censorship it can’t achieve directly. That goes for PBS and NPR, but it also goes for Carr shaking down broadcast licensees, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denying access to reporters who don’t follow his unconstitutional rules, and more.

• Read more

News isn’t contraband

What if the Nixon administration hadn’t asked a court to bar The New York Times and Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers, resulting in the seminal Supreme Court ruling further strengthening the law against “prior restraints”?

Rather than seeking such an extreme judicial remedy, what if President Richard Nixon had federal agents barge into the Times’ and Post’s newsrooms, seize the Pentagon Papers and all other national defense documents in the outlets’ custody, and refuse to return any of them, claiming they’re all criminal “contraband”?

Stern explained that a legal theory floated by the Biden administration in prosecuting journalist Tim Burke and now adopted by the Trump administration could lead to Trump or others censoring reporters by simply taking their stuff, without involving the courts at all.

• Read more

Reform Section 702 of FISA

Section 702 of FISA, the surveillance law that allows the FBI and intelligence agencies to spy on Americans’ communications without a warrant, is up for renewal in Congress. The law has been repeatedly misused, including to monitor journalists and activists. Yet the Trump administration and some Democratic lawmakers are pushing Congress to reauthorize Section 702 without significant reforms. You can tell Congress to reject that effort with our action center.

We wrote about our recent conversation with four experts: Dell Cameron, an investigative reporter for Wired who covers privacy and national security; John Dickas, Sen. Ron Wyden’s deputy chief of staff; Trevor Timm, executive director of FPF; and Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress.

• Read more

“We have seen a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior of Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence. Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.”

The State Department should do everything in its power to secure the release of journalist Shelly Kittleson without escalating the illegal war that may have endangered her in the first place.

The ruling confirms that authorities violated Texas journalist Justin Pulliam’s constitutional rights when they arrested him and kicked him out of a press conference. Read our 2024 interview with Pulliam.

There are steps you can take to keep your communications private even if Congress renews Section 702. Our latest “Ask a security trainer” advice column offers technology measures you can implement now. You can also read about how VPN use may affect your privacy in our latest digital security newsletter.

“Nobody knows what routine conduct the administration is going to figure out a way to go after next,” Stern said. “The only discernible rule that you can figure out if you’re a journalist trying not to be targeted by this administration is to self-censor.”

Kevin Gosztola interviewed FPF Board Chair Rainey Reitman about her new book on how journalists are targeted for financial censorship.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026 — A federal judge today blocked the Trump administration from ending federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

The following can be attributed to Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF):

“As the court said, it’s long been the law that the government can’t circumvent the Constitution by conditioning benefits on censorship where it can’t censor directly. That goes for publicly funded media, but it also goes for Brendan Carr’s FCC conditioning broadcast licenses or merger approvals for private media companies on editorial concessions to please Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth conditioning access to the Pentagon on journalists forfeiting established rights, or Trump himself steering transactions like the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger to supporters of his who promise him ‘sweeping changes’ to bend the news to his liking.

“Virtually all of the administration’s ‘wins’ in reshaping the media that Carr and Trump have bragged about at CPAC and in social media posts violate this well-established constitutional principle. More news outlets should sue and win.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Section 702 of FISA, the controversial surveillance law that allows the FBI and intelligence agencies to spy on Americans’ communications without a warrant, is up for renewal in Congress. The law has been repeatedly misused, including to monitor journalists and activists. Yet, the Trump administration and some Democratic lawmakers are pushing Congress to reauthorize Section 702 without significant changes.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) recently spoke to four experts about Section 702: Dell Cameron, an investigative reporter for Wired who covers privacy and national security; John Dickas, Sen. Ron Wyden’s deputy chief of staff; Trevor Timm, executive director of FPF; and Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress.

We talked about how surveillance affects freedom of the press and other First Amendment rights, and how Section 702 should be reformed to help limit the government’s power to spy on Americans.

Vitka emphasized how the government has overreached using Section 702 powers, highlighting examples of spying on Black Lives Matter protesters, elected officials, and judges. “When the executive branch gets to decide who they’re spying on and at what degree they can spy on them on its own, they inevitably do too much,” Vitka said. “They do things that chill our speech.”

Vitka said that Congress should not reauthorize the law without requiring a warrant before the government can search data collected under Section 702 for Americans’ communications. Congress must also close the “data broker loophole,” Vitka said, which currently allows the FBI and other agencies to buy data on Americans that they otherwise would require a warrant to access.

Timm, too, explained that Section 702 surveillance can be abused, including in ways that impact the press. “A journalist’s lifeblood is their ability to keep their sources safe and confidential from government intrusion or any other control, any other intrusion,” Timm explained. “If the government is able to vacuum up, for example, all of a journalist’s international contacts and communications, they would essentially be able to find out who all their international sources are, despite the fact that a journalist was completely complying with the law and just doing their job as they are allowed to under the First Amendment.”

Cameron highlighted his reporting about the government’s systemic noncompliance with the law when it comes to Section 702, noting that even the FISA court that oversees the program has cited the FBI for “persistent and widespread violations” in the past. Meanwhile, internal mechanisms intended to monitor the FBI and other agencies have been dismantled, Cameron said.

A lack of transparency and secret government interpretations of the law also make it difficult for journalists to report on it, and for lawmakers and the public to understand how Section 702 is being used.

Cameron noted his recent report for Wired on a letter from lawmakers, including Wyden, to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, asking her to clarify whether Americans using virtual private networks are vulnerable to spying under Section 702. It’s important to remember, Cameron said, that Section 702 is “being used in ways that we can’t really calculate, can’t understand, maybe never will.”

Dickas discussed Wyden’s efforts to protect Americans’ privacy and call attention to secret executive branch interpretations of Section 702 that have expanded the government’s surveillance power in the past. “Senator Wyden agrees that there is value to American’s national security in Section 702, but he’s also arguing pretty vociferously that it’s possible to make reforms to protect the privacy of Americans that do not diminish Section 702 national security value,” Dickas said.

A bill co-sponsored by Wyden and a bipartisan group of senators, the Government Surveillance Reform Act, would reauthorize Section 702 while also making urgently needed reforms to the law, Dickas explained.

Watch the full conversation here.

You can tell your lawmaker not to renew Section 702 without including privacy reforms for Americans using FPF’s action center.

You can tell Congress to close the data broker loophole and stop AI-powered mass surveillance here.