As many as 20 journalists investigated by secretive CBP division

December 11, 2021
As many as 20 journalists were investigated by a secretive U.S. Customs and Border Protection division beginning in 2017, according to a December 2021 report by Yahoo News.The division, known as the Counter Network Division, would identify and vet individuals, including journalists, by pulling their email addresses, phone numbers and photos from their passport applications and running the information through multiple government databases.Journalists known to have been investigated by the division include then-Politico reporter Ali Watkins, Associated Press reporter Martha …

Journalists for Polish news station were assaulted, chased out of DC’s Lafayette Square park during Cuba protest

July 26, 2021
Journalist Marcin Wrona, a U.S. correspondent for the Polish TV channel TVN Discovery, was filming a live broadcast on July 26, 2021, from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., when members of the public stopped the broadcast and started to throw objects at Wrona and his cameraman, Marcin Wyszogrodzki.Wrona told U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email that individuals in the park repeatedly interrupted their broadcast, which was covering a declaration sponsored by the U.S. State Department calling for freedom in …

White House deputy press secretary resigns after threatening Politico reporter

January 20, 2021
According to Vanity Fair, deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo threatened and verbally harassed Politico reporter Tara Palmeri on Jan. 20, 2021, in an attempt to quash a story about his relationship with political reporter Alexi McCammond, then of Axios.Palmeri, Politico and the White House did not respond to the Tracker’s requests for comment.On Jan. 21, Playbook, Politico’s daily newsletter, of which Palmeri is a co-author, included an item headlined “BIDEN SETS STANDARD FOR PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR” and a quote …
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