stLouISTDeclassify Khashoggi records now
Dear Friend of Press Freedom,
Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here.
Time for Biden to declassify Khashoggi intelligence
This week marked six years since Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by the Saudi Arabian government. The U.S. government has declassified some information on the murder, including its belief that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman approved the order to “capture or kill” Khashoggi.
But too much remains hidden, and this secrecy prevents accountability and serves to endanger other journalists. In an op-ed for The Daily Beast, Lauren Harper, Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy for Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), urged the Biden administration to declassify more intelligence on Khashoggi’s murder.
Declassification would prioritize the public’s right to know over America’s relationship with an autocratic ruler. You can read the full op-ed here.
Sheriff in Texas extorts journalist with his own equipment
Back in 2021, sheriff’s deputies in Fort Bend County, Texas, illegally arrested citizen journalist Justin Pulliam for filming them conducting a mental health check. They also seized his phone and equipment, in clear violation of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980.
The charges against Pulliam were dropped in May, but he recently told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — a project of FPF — that the phone and equipment illegally seized from him when he was arrested has yet to be returned. The reason? He declined to sign a waiver releasing the sheriff’s office from liability in order to get back his property.
Read more about this, and the sheriff’s other unconstitutional acts, on our website. The officers involved shouldn’t be released from liability -– they should be released from their jobs.
Frivolous SLAPPs stalk journalists
A small nonprofit newspaper in Wisconsin recently won a legal victory against a frivolous defamation lawsuit. But the case shows that sometimes winning isn’t enough.
The lawsuit against the Wausau Pilot & Review is a prime example of how resentful subjects of reporting can weaponize the legal system to attack the First Amendment. The costs of SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, can be staggering.
We explain on our website that without strong laws that protect against SLAPPs at both the state and federal level, even journalists who win can lose.
Release Camp David documents for President Carter’s 100th birthday
Former President Jimmy Carter turned 100 this week. A fitting birthday present would be for the CIA to fully declassify its records on the 1978 Camp David Accords.
Releasing the full record of the peace talks between Israel and Egypt, one of the highlights of his administration, would not only commemorate Carter’s foreign policy legacy, it would add important context for policymakers as escalation continues between Israel and its neighbors.
Lauren Harper has more on our website about why it’s time for this unnecessary secrecy to end.
Lawsuit seeks transparency on Assange prosecution
The U.S. government’s prosecution of Julian Assange ended earlier this year, but plenty of questions about its decade-plus pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder remain unanswered.
A new Freedom of Information Act lawsuit — filed against the FBI and Department of Justice by our friends at Defending Rights and Dissent — seeks to change that.
We held an X Space discussion with DRAD Policy Director Chip Gibbons and Kevin Gosztola, editor of The Dissenter and author of “Guilty of Journalism: The Political Case Against Julian Assange,” to discuss the secrecy surrounding Assange’s case. Read about it or listen here.
What we’re reading
Heritage Foundation staffers flood federal agencies with thousands of information requests (ProPublica). The problem isn’t how many FOIA requests the Heritage Foundation filed, or their subject. It’s that government agencies are incapable of effectively searching and reviewing large amounts of records. Agencies like the CIA and FBI don’t need more help denying requests they don’t like and requesters they deem “vexatious.”
I'm a journalist from Gaza. Israel's recent Ramallah closure is bigger than Al Jazeera (MSNBC). “By attacking journalists, whether through the bombing of their homes, as in my case, or shutting down newsrooms, as we saw in Ramallah, Israel is sending a chilling message: Telling the truth is dangerous work with a steep price.”
On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom (Committee to Protect Journalists). As part of its special election report, CPJ calls on both U.S. presidential candidates to endorse the PRESS Act to protect journalists from secret surveillance and the threat of jail.
California governor vetoes bill expanding media access to prisons (The Desk). There may have been good reasons to veto this bill, but the risk of making inmates famous isn’t one of them. Journalists covering prison face countless obstacles. The dangers of the status quo far outweigh the risk of a bad guy getting 15 minutes.
Federal judge blocks police buffer zone law in media lawsuit (Indiana Capital Chronicle). Courts recognize a constitutional right to record police. But anti-transparency lawmakers have a workaround: barring people from getting close to them. These buffer laws are blatantly unconstitutional. Good for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for fighting back.
Texans’ right to free speech is under attack … again (Hill Country News). The Texas legislature held a hearing this week on the “use and misuse” of the Texas anti-SLAPP law. The law protects journalists and all Texans who want to speak freely. We must protect it.
Trump rages at Google, says he will ‘request their prosecution’ at the ‘maximum levels’ as president (Mediaite). Turns out the “maximum level” at which Google can be prosecuted for displaying news stories that Trump dislikes is exactly zero, because of the First Amendment. No politician should get to decide what news we can and can’t read.
Come see us in Washington or London
The Double Exposure Festival & Symposium, Nov. 7-10 in Washington, D.C., will have panels, workshops, and master classes focused on investigative storytelling. Don’t miss our Director of Advocacy Seth Stern, who will discuss dangerous government efforts to limit who is a journalist — such as by excluding documentary filmmakers. Purchase your tickets or passes here.
Or come see us in London, where we’re co-hosting Source! the London Logan Symposium with The Centre for Investigative Journalism Nov. 14-15. Hear from journalists from all over the world about press freedom issues and the challenges they face in protecting themselves and their sources. Register to attend here.
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