Dear Friend of Press Freedom:
It’s Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary of the deadly attacks on the U.S. and the beginning of the “war on terror.” It’s time for critical records on the attacks to be declassified, but they’re unlikely to see the light of day. Plus, the government gives up on wiretapping charges against a Florida journalist and Congress must do more to protect the press from “Petty” Pete Hegseth.
Crucial 9/11 documents still secret
The executive order covering classification calls for most historical records to be declassified 25 years after they’re created, which means millions of pages about the Sept. 11 attacks qualify for release this December — records that survivors and victims’ families have been trying to obtain for years.
But systemic failures throughout the declassification system mean that these records are unlikely to become public anytime soon. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper wrote for MS NOW about the vital information in these documents, and the path the Trump administration could take to bring justice for survivors and transparency to the public.
Drop the rest of the charges against Tim Burke
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice moved to abandon its appeal of a lower court’s dismissal of felony wiretapping counts against Florida-based independent journalist Tim Burke. Burke exposed unaired outtakes of antisemitic remarks from a Fox News interview with musician Ye, formerly known as Kanye West; the government then raided his newsroom and hit him with numerous charges under the Wiretap Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The ordeal isn’t over — the CFAA charges remain pending, and the government could reindict Burke under the Wiretap Act.
FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern called on the DOJ to drop the rest of the charges, saying, “By confiscating most of Tim Burke’s newsroom equipment for years and getting multiple extensions in court before ultimately dropping its appeal, the DOJ has successfully held Burke’s journalism hostage and used the legal system to punish him for reporting on a clearly newsworthy issue.”
Protect journalists from ‘Petty’ Pete
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is an incompetent propagandist — despite his myriad censorship efforts, few Americans have favorable views of him or his Iran war. But he could get a lot more effective at selling the public on lies if the independent information ecosystem continues to erode. As Stern writes, U.S. lawmakers need to get serious about protecting journalists and whistleblowers to prevent Hegseth and his colleagues in the Trump administration from stamping out independent journalism like their authoritarian idols abroad.
Stars and Stripes censorship looks familiar behind bars
Hegseth remains persistent. One of his more recent efforts to control the narrative has been taking an axe to the staff at military newspaper Stars and Stripes after they published reporting he didn’t like about the USS Abraham Lincoln. To FPF contributor Jeremy Busby, who’s been incarcerated for 28 years in Texas, the crackdown was reminiscent of the fate of Texas prison newspaper The Echo, where the content has been neutered by prison officials. Busby breaks down what happens when news outlets become tools of the state, or vanish altogether.
Government health agencies are lockboxes
Federal health agencies control information of life-or-death importance, but their stonewalling of reporters has reached new heights. At a webinar last week, reporters Bob Herman of the Boston Globe’s STAT, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Robert King of Politico, along with FPF Senior Advocacy Adviser Caitlin Vogus, recounted the obstacles they and others have faced in getting information from these agencies, and the strategies they’ve found for pushing past them to get to the story.
What we’re reading
Historic local news coalition of national, state organizations urge Gov. Newsom of California to support AB 2222
Rebuild Local News
California AB 2222’s proposed journalist employment tax credits would also strengthen reporting capacity, and safeguard essential coverage. That’s why we and dozens of others are calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to support the bill.
Carr warns broadcasters about airing fake polls, says new guidance could be on the way
Broadband Breakfast
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr can call news he doesn’t like fake news and polls he doesn’t like fake polls, but there’s a real First Amendment and he doesn’t get to veto it whenever his thin-skinned puppeteer in the White House gets his feelings hurt.
Kimmel pulls Talarico interview after FCC threat
The Hill
It’s shameful that the FCC is abusing its authority to prevent Americans from hearing directly from candidates during election season. Interviews with political candidates are chilled thanks to the FCC, and news programs aren’t immune from it.
Pentagon employee DataRepublican posts inside info about hacks against the far left
The Intercept
The government’s support for an influencer who praises domestic hacking would mark an escalation in the Trump admin’s dissent crackdown. “It’s the difference between open-source intelligence” and “jumping into people’s machines,” FPF Chief Security Programs Officer Harlo Holmes told The Intercept.
Longread: Mark Ruffalo, Paramount, and weaponized antisemitism
It’s Not You, It’s Media
Paramount officials continue disingenuously labeling those who don’t want the war-profiteering Ellison family using its Trump administration ties to take over more media outlets as antisemites. “How dare they falsely invoke antisemitism for something as selfish as their business interests?” asked FPF’s Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose.
Free speech protection bill headed to North Dakota Legislature next year
KFGO
Red or blue, states across the U.S. have adopted laws against SLAPPs — strategic lawsuits against public participation — because they recognize that free speech deserves strong protection. North Dakota should too. An anti-SLAPP law would keep the state from becoming a magnet for frivolous lawsuits aimed at silencing speech.
Group of bipartisan lawmakers ask US government to ban several hack-for-hire firms
TechCrunch
At least one of these companies was behind a global censorship campaign to silence news reporting about its hacking activities. American companies shouldn’t do business with groups that engage in cyberattacks against Americans and then try to silence journalists who expose it.
stLouIST