first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2024-03-15 18:24:05.055521+00:00,2024-03-15 18:34:59.781042+00:00,Two journalists in different states say police called on them while reporting,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-in-different-states-say-police-called-on-them-while-reporting/,2024-03-15 18:34:59.694217+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2024-02-20,False,Multiple,None,None,None,"
In February and March 2024, two reporters in separate states said they had the police called on them while they were conducting everyday reporting duties.
Tampa Bay Times reporter Justin Garcia had the police called on him on Feb. 20, 2024, by the city’s fire chief after he showed up at the Tampa Fire Rescue department headquarters, looking for documents about a firefighter who had recently been fired, according to Garcia, who spoke to the U.S Press Freedom Tracker, and the newspaper.
Garcia told the Tracker that he was informed that he needed to submit the request through an online portal, which he had already done. According to Garcia, he also cited Florida's Chapter 119, which states that “all state, county and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person.”
After going back and forth with Personnel Chief Robbie Northrop, who is not a public records custodian, the police were called, even though Garcia was acting within his capacity as a reporter, he told the Tracker. Garcia left before police arrived and was not arrested.
According to records obtained by the Times, Northrop first asked a lower-level employee to call the police, who said she did not have time to make the call. Fire Chief Barbara Tripp eventually called the police on Garcia, the Times reported, adding that it was unknown who asked Tripp to call the police.
“No one ever should call the police on a reporter even if that reporter is being belligerent, obnoxious and aggressive,” Adam Smith, spokesperson for Mayor Jane Castor, told the Times. Both the Times and Garcia maintain that he never raised his voice or was disruptive in any way.
In the second incident, WTIC-TV news reporter Matt Caron said in a tweet on March 8 that Connecticut public school officials had called police while he was reporting live about “racism and bullying” that his outlet’s reporting had exposed.
“I was standing on public property,” Caron wrote. He added that he would use the Freedom of Information Act to request the bodycam footage “to see what was said.”
Caron did not reply to a request for comment.
A Kansas state senator called on Feb. 8, 2024, for the legislature to eliminate all funding to Kansas PBS stations in retaliation for a documentary broadcast by Topeka’s public TV channel, KTWU. The proposed budget cut was initially reduced and then overturned by another legislative committee.
Sen. Caryn Tyson, during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Commerce, sought to have it strike the $500,000 typically allocated for the state’s six PBS stations, citing her outrage over a program that included criticism of the committee’s chairperson, Sen. Renee Erickson. While Tyson did not name the program, the Kansas Reflector identified it as “No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas,” a documentary about the plight of LGBTQ+ Kansans.
“I just don’t think we can tolerate it and the way we get the message to them is by impacting their purse,” Tyson said during the meeting. “That’s what the legislature does. We have the hammer, and I’m going to swing this hammer in a large way.”
The committee settled on a 10% reduction. Erickson cast the deciding vote in favor, while stating, “I have not asked for this. I do not make my policy decisions based on personal attacks on me or otherwise.”
Maxwell Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the budget reduction appeared to be textbook governmental retaliation, which was particularly alarming as it came less than six months after a police raid on a newsroom in the state.
“What it comes down to is we have these laws, which are well-known in First Amendment circles and clearly established, yet we have people in positions of power or law enforcement that either don’t know or don’t care to know about them,” Kautsch said. “It’s hard to quantify the chilling effect that this kind of request has had.”
KTWU General Manager Val VanDerSluis told the Tracker that she took the budget proposal as an opportunity.
“I saw it as: I have someone who needs to be educated a bit more on how we program, how we operate, the audiences we serve,” VanDerSluis said. “For me, it wasn’t a threat. I will continue to program our station for our viewing community. I can’t operate off of fear, and it just shows that there are more conversations that need to be had with those that are making decisions about funding.”
VanDerSluis said that she spoke with Tyson after the proposal and, following their meeting, Tyson told VanDerSluis that she would no longer be pursuing cuts to the public broadcasting budget. Tyson did not respond to requests for comment.
Later, when the proposal went before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 14, committee member Sen. Carolyn McGinn said that she would hate to see the budget cut because of hearsay, the Reflector reported. McGinn proposed that that committee not only restore the $50,000 but also increase the overall funding to $700,000. The committee ultimately voted against the budget cut and tabled discussions of an increase.
Kansas State Sen. Caryn Tyson, pictured in the state capital in Topeka in 2018, called for the elimination of state funding for Kansas PBS stations on Feb. 8, 2024, citing her outrage over a program broadcast by KTWU that criticized a fellow senator.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],KTWU,LGBTQ+ rights,,, 2024-02-13 23:11:39.425889+00:00,2024-02-13 23:11:39.425889+00:00,Los Angeles city attorney files second lawsuit against journalist over records,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/los-angeles-city-attorney-files-second-lawsuit-against-journalist-over-records/,2024-02-13 20:38:33.529607+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Ben Camacho (Knock LA),,2024-01-16,False,Los Angeles,California (CA),34.05223,-118.24368,"Journalist Ben Camacho was sued by the City of Los Angeles for the second time on Jan. 16, 2024, in an attempt to hold him and an activist group financially liable in a related suit over the release of police headshots.
Camacho, a reporter and photo editor for the nonprofit community journalism outlet Knock LA, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had previously filed a public records lawsuit against the city after the Los Angeles Police Department refused to release the personnel headshots of officers.
As part of a settlement agreement in September 2022, the city provided Camacho a printed roster of sworn officers, a flash drive containing 9,310 officers’ photos and a letter explaining that officers working in undercover assignments had been excluded from the disclosures.
After the photos were published online in March 2023 by the activist group, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, Camacho said it quickly became apparent that there were more images disclosed than the LAPD had wanted. On March 28, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a police union, sued the city demanding that it recover the headshots. A week later, a group of rank-and-file officers filed a class-action suit seeking damages for negligence.
The city, in turn, filed its first suit against Camacho and the activist group on April 5 in an attempt to force the return of the photographs and the destruction of any copies. The latest lawsuit seeks to have Camacho and Stop LAPD Spying Coalition held financially liable for the damages sought in the negligence class-action suit.
Camacho told the Tracker that he believes Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is pursuing the cases against him without clear support from the mayor or city council.
“This is an elected official who isn’t afraid to ignore First Amendment-protected activity, this is someone who is pro-government secrecy, this is someone who is anti-transparency,” Camacho said. “And she’s also not afraid to go after the California Public Records Act.”
Feldstein Soto lobbied in 2023 for an amendment to the public records act that would make identifying information — including photos — of public employees exempt from disclosure. Camacho told the Tracker that such an exemption would enable the LAPD to operate as secret police. The proposal did not come to a vote in 2023 but could be reintroduced.
In a post on social media, Camacho called the new lawsuit “another stain on the office she holds.”
My full statement:
— camacho (@bencamach0) February 1, 2024
Hydee Feldstein Soto has chosen to further her attack on press freedom. This new lawsuit is another stain on the office she holds.
At a time when the future of local media is threatened, Soto has chosen to push her boot down again on the First Amendment.
1/x https://t.co/kMTIQPH6ah
Knock LA expressed its support for Camacho and condemned the lawsuits in a statement posted on its website.
“Throughout what has become a longstanding battle, Feldstein Soto and her legal team have repeatedly violated the constitutional and First Amendment rights of journalists and the public to report on public servants,” the statement read. “As we continue to lose the local news landscape of Los Angeles to corporate greed and mismanagement, this attack on the free and independent press by the city is especially poignant.”
A portion of a lawsuit filed against Knock LA reporter Ben Camacho on Jan. 16, 2024, attempting to hold him and an advocacy group financially responsible for damages in a class-action suit filed against the Los Angeles Police Department.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,public records,,, 2023-12-21 18:08:07.838214+00:00,2023-12-21 18:08:07.838214+00:00,Republican House member calls for the jailing of journalists,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/republican-house-member-calls-for-the-jailing-of-journalists/,2023-12-21 18:07:50.136180+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2023-12-15,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a Dec. 15, 2023, social media post that journalists and Democrats should be jailed for the investigations into former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, joining a chorus of Trump allies calling for the imprisonment of media figures.
“Democrats and their propagandists in the media put America through hell trying to take out President Trump,” Greene wrote. “These thugs and criminals need to be held accountable — even jailed — for what they did to Trump and our great country.”
Greene, who told the Guardian in August 2023 that she is “on a list” of potential vice-presidential picks for Trump, has joined other Trump allies in mirroring the rhetoric used by Trump throughout his presidency and current candidacy.
The New York Times also reported that in early December two former top Trump political advisers openly discussed plans to target the press. Kash Patel, a former National Security Council adviser who is expected to serve under a second Trump administration, said that a Trump White House would “come after” what he called “conspirators” in the government and media.
“Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice,” Patel said. “We’re actually going to use the Constitution to prosecute them for crimes they said we have always been guilty of but never have.”
Trump himself has called on the government to pursue charges against the media and, in a late-night Nov. 28 post to the social media site Truth Social, accused MSNBC without evidence of baselessly attacking him to interfere with the 2024 election.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is collecting and cataloging reports of press freedom aggressions by candidates and their teams running in federal elections in 2024. Find that specialized tracking project here.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, center, in Washington, D.C., in November 2023, called for the jailing of journalists in a social media post on Dec. 15. Joining a chorus of Donald Trump allies, she referred to the press as “propagandists” and “thugs.”
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],Media,,,, 2023-12-08 19:26:07.869950+00:00,2024-03-14 16:11:44.573800+00:00,Top state legal officers warn outlets against giving ‘material support’ to Hamas,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/top-state-legal-officers-warn-outlets-against-giving-material-support-to-hamas/,2024-03-14 16:11:44.488501+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2023-12-04,False,Multiple,None,None,None,"Over a dozen Republican state attorneys general sent a letter on Dec. 4, 2023, to the heads of The Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times and Reuters warning them that employing allegedly Hamas-affiliated freelancers would be a state and federal crime.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was joined by her counterparts in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
“We, the chief legal officers of our respective States, also remind you that providing material support to terrorists and terror organizations is a crime,” the letter read.
The letter cited “reports” alleging that the outlets had employed freelance journalists who had ties to the armed Palestinian militant group and prior knowledge of its Oct. 7 attack against Israel as the basis for the accusations, but only included a hyperlink to since-debunked claims pushed by pro-Israel watchdog group HonestReporting.
The attorneys general wrote that hiring stringers, correspondents, contractors or other employees with connections to Hamas is a means of funding terrorists, and asserted that the outlets have a “long record of paying terrorists and possible terrorists for their work.”
The letter also highlighted that “material support” for terrorist groups — both a federal and state crime — can include “writing and distributing publications supporting the organization.” It did not elaborate on what would be considered support, potentially chilling any reporting that does not unequivocally condemn Hamas or unilaterally support Israel.
The attorneys general urged the outlets to reevaluate hiring practices and warned that they would be watching.
“We will continue to follow your reporting to ensure that your organizations do not violate any federal or State laws by giving material support to terrorists abroad,” the letter stated. “Now your organizations are on notice. Follow the law.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, also alluded to HonestReporting’s claims in a Nov. 9 letter calling on the U.S. Justice Department to open a national security investigation into the news outlets.
Similarly, a group of a dozen House Republicans, joined by two Democrats, sent a letter to Reuters citing the claims on Nov. 21, and asked the outlet how its freelancers became aware of the Oct. 7 attack and whether the journalists or Reuters had prior knowledge of the planned assault.
On Dec. 7, a group of 15 House Republicans sent their own letter to the AP, CNN, the Times and Reuters citing the claims. The letter asked that the media organizations provide detailed information on each of the six journalists identified by HonestReporting — including their nationalities and employment status — as well as communications, phone logs and financial records between the freelancers and the outlets prior to and since Oct. 7.
The four news outlets previously denied having any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack and defended their reporting. The Times stood by its decision to work with freelancer Yousef Masoud, stating that there was no basis for HonestReporting’s claims. However, CNN and the AP suspended their relationship with freelance photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah, according to the Times. Eslaiah told the outlet that he had no prior knowledge of the attack and had no ties to Hamas.
Freedom of the Press Foundation, which oversees the operation of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, characterized HonestReporting’s claims as a “malicious disinformation campaign” that endangers the lives of journalists covering the war.
“It’s a virtual certainty that, despite HonestReporting’s about-face, its nonsense report will be cited to justify past and future attacks against journalists in what’s already by far the deadliest war for the press in modern memory,” FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern wrote.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, center, led a coalition of state attorneys general in a Dec. 4, 2023, letter putting four news outlets “on notice” that employing allegedly Hamas-affiliated freelancers constitutes “material support” for terrorists.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],"CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times",Israel-Gaza war,,, 2024-01-05 17:51:11.548738+00:00,2024-03-10 20:00:52.985579+00:00,Texas attorney general subpoenas Media Matters after report on X,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-attorney-general-subpoenas-media-matters-after-report-on-x/,2024-03-10 20:00:52.881935+00:00,,LegalOrder object (267),,"Subpoena/Legal Order, Chilling Statement",,,,,,2023-12-01,False,Austin,Texas (TX),30.26715,-97.74306,"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Dec. 1, 2023, demanded that Media Matters for America turn over what the media watchdog called a “sweeping array” of materials related to its reporting, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Media Matters sued on Dec. 11 to block the “civil investigative demand,” an administrative subpoena that is part of a probe launched Nov. 20 by Paxton into what his office characterized as “potential fraudulent activity” under the Texas Business Organizations Code and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The probe followed the Nov. 16 publication of a Media Matters report that found advertisements for major brands appeared next to pro-Nazi posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. Several major companies paused their advertising on the platform shortly after the report and following a post on X by owner Elon Musk that appeared to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Paxton, a Republican, said he was “extremely troubled” by allegations that the progressive, Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit had manipulated data on X. “We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” he added.
The allegations of data manipulation were contained in a Nov. 20 lawsuit filed by X against Media Matters and senior investigative reporter Eric Hananoki in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. X’s suit alleged that the group and Hananoki, who wrote the story, manipulated the platform’s algorithms to produce feeds in which advertisers’ posts appeared next to pro-Nazi content, with the intent of harming X’s relationship with advertisers.
The suit sought unspecified damages and asked a judge to order Media Matters to remove the report from its website and social media accounts.
Media Matters President Angelo Carusone, in a statement after Musk filed the suit, said, “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence. Media Matters stands behind its reporting.”
In its suit against Paxton, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, where Hananoki lives and works, Media Matters said that the Texas attorney general demanded “a sweeping array of materials from Media Matters and Hananoki, including documents and communications about their research and reporting.”
The suit called the investigation “retaliatory” and an “extraordinarily invasive intrusion into Plaintiffs’ news gathering and reporting activities [that] is plainly intended to chill those activities.”
Media Matters accused Paxton of violating the plaintiffs’ First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, as well as its rights under reporters shield laws in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and asked the court to permanently block the investigation.
Carusone, in a Dec. 17 interview with MSNBC about the suit against Paxton, said, “In some respects, it was really our only path because the alternative would be to do nothing and have him continue to barrel ahead with this investigation, which he says could be both civil and criminal.”
Carusone told the Tracker in a phone interview that Paxton’s investigation added a “layer of unpredictability” in terms of “what could be exposed and what information somebody could get access to, and the process for that.” He added that the probe “leads to a culture, internally, of self-censoring.”
Paxton’s office did not reply to an emailed request for updates on the investigation.
Meanwhile, on Dec. 11, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey opened his own investigation into Media Matters. In a letter to the watchdog group, he alleged that it appeared to have used the “coordinated, inauthentic activity” described in X’s lawsuit “to solicit charitable donations from consumers,” and that his office would look into whether this violated Missouri’s consumer protection laws, “including laws that prohibit nonprofit entities from soliciting funds under false pretenses.” Bailey instructed the group to preserve all records related to the case.
Three days later, Bailey announced that he and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry had sent letters to several major companies that paused their advertising on X, including Disney, IBM and Sony, informing them of the investigation into Media Matters.
Bailey’s office told the Tracker in a Jan. 4, 2024, email that there were no further updates in the investigation.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seen at an August 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, subpoenaed watchdog Media Matters on Dec. 1, 2023, after the group reported on X, formerly known as Twitter.
",None,None,None,None,False,8:23-cv-03363,['ONGOING'],Civil,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,Institution,other,State,None,False,[],Media Matters for America,,,, 2023-11-13 20:28:18.796967+00:00,2024-03-14 16:11:02.217229+00:00,Senator calls on Justice Department to investigate news outlets,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senator-calls-on-justice-department-to-investigate-news-outlets/,2024-03-14 16:11:02.138311+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2023-11-09,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Sen. Tom Cotton on Nov. 9, 2023, called for the Justice Department to investigate multiple news outlets for their alleged employment of Hamas-affiliated journalists in the Gaza Strip.
The Arkansas Republican, in a letter to the U.S. attorney general, alleged that The Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times and Reuters had employed freelance journalists who had ties to the armed Palestinian militant group and prior knowledge of its Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The senator cited unspecified “reports” as the basis for his accusations, in apparent reference to since-debunked claims pushed by pro-Israel watchdog group HonestReporting.
“Providing material support or assistance, including funding, to a terrorist organization such as Hamas is a federal crime,” Cotton wrote. “The Department of Justice must immediately open a national security investigation into these four media outlets to determine whether they or their leadership committed federal crimes by supporting Hamas terrorists.”
In additional letters to each of the news outlets, Cotton asked how many journalists employed by the news organizations were embedded with Hamas on Oct. 7 and how many are currently embedded. He also asked the outlets for an itemized total of their “funding” to Hamas and affiliates in Gaza over the past five years.
The four news outlets categorically denied having any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack and defended their reporting. The Times stood by its decision to work with freelancer Yousef Masoud, writing in a statement that there was no basis for HonestReporting’s claims.
“Our review of his work shows that he was doing what photojournalists always do during major news events, documenting the tragedy as it unfolded,” the statement read. “We are gravely concerned that unsupported accusations and threats to freelancers endangers them and undermines work that serves the public interest.”
Both CNN and AP said, however, they have suspended their relationship with freelance photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah, according to the Times. Eslaiah told the outlet that he had no prior knowledge of the attack and had no ties to Hamas.
Freedom of the Press Foundation, which oversees the operation of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, characterized HonestReporting’s claims as a “malicious disinformation campaign” that endangers the lives of journalists covering the war.
“It’s a virtual certainty that, despite HonestReporting’s about-face, its nonsense report will be cited to justify past and future attacks against journalists in what’s already by far the deadliest war for the press in modern memory,” FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern wrote.
Cotton’s office did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment as of press time.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, seen here ahead of a briefing in Washington, D.C., in April 2023, wrote a Nov. 9 letter to the U.S. attorney general calling for an investigation into four news outlets for allegedly employing Hamas-affiliated freelancers.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],"CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times",Israel-Gaza war,,, 2023-12-12 19:26:16.848177+00:00,2024-03-14 16:19:24.732779+00:00,"Senators criticize VOA editorial guidelines on Israel-Gaza war, call for firings",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senators-criticize-voa-editorial-guidelines-on-israel-gaza-war-call-for-firings/,2024-03-14 16:19:24.637479+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,"Carol Guensburg (Voice of America), Patsy Widakuswara (Voice of America)",,2023-11-07,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Seven Republican senators on Nov. 7, 2023, criticized Voice of America’s editorial guidelines for covering the Israel-Gaza war and called for the firing of two staffers at the government-funded, editorially independent outlet.
The senators, in a letter to Amanda Bennett, chief executive officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM — which oversees VOA — expressed “grave concern” about an Oct. 10 internal email sent by Carol Guensburg, the outlet’s associate editor for news standards.
In the internal email, which came in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent declaration of war, and bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, Guensburg advised VOA reporters and editors not to refer to members of Hamas as “terrorists” in reporting, except when quoting others. The Washington Post reported that Guensburg said Hamas’ attack on Israel could be referred to as “terrorist acts” or “acts of terror.”
According to a report by The National Review, Guensburg’s email explained that, “This practice conforms with the VOA News Standards and Best Practices guide and current usage by the wires and major U.S. news organizations, bearing in mind that the language including terrorism is often used to demonize individuals and groups with whom the speaker disagrees. Useful alternatives are militant group or militants or fighters.”
The senators called on Bennett to terminate Guensburg and Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House bureau chief, who suggested in a reply to Guensburg that VOA stories include the context that “the militant group’s attack was done in retaliation for Israel’s decades-long occupation.”
The letter was led by Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and joined by Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. All sit on the Senate foreign relations or appropriations committees, which have oversight over USAGM’s policies and funding.
While VOA’s budget comes from a congressional appropriation, the outlet’s independence from government interference is enshrined in USAGM’s authorizing legislation, the International Broadcasting Act. The act established a “firewall” that guarantees all USAGM outlets, which also include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, full editorial autonomy in order to maintain their “professional independence and integrity.”
In their letter, however, the senators stated that, “As members of the Senate committees with jurisdiction over the policies and funding of [USAGM], we believe that VOA’s editorial policy against the use of the term ‘terrorist’ contradicts VOA’s principle of providing ‘accurate, objective, and comprehensive’ news. Indeed, we seriously question how VOA’s editorial policy advances the interests of the American taxpayers who generously fund this news organization every year.”
The senators noted that Hamas has been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department, and that President Joe Biden had referred to Hamas as “terrorists.”
Major news organizations have set varying policies and standards with respect to terminology for covering the Israel-Gaza war, with some — such as The Associated Press and the BBC — only using the word “terrorist” with attribution. AP’s guidelines explained, “The terms terrorism and terrorist have become politicized, and often are applied inconsistently.” BBC guidelines note that “our responsibility is to remain objective and report in ways that enable our audiences to make their own assessments about who is doing what to whom."
But the senators argued that VOA uses the term “terrorist” to refer to other groups, and alleged that “VOA has created an editorial double standard in which it appears to accept the description of the Islamic State, Al-Qaida, and other officially designated terrorists groups as terrorists, but not Iran-backed Hamas, which explicitly seeks to destroy Israel and kill Jews.”
The senators called on Bennett to review the directive and “hold accountable VOA leadership who issued this guidance for editorial double standards … including the immediate termination of Carol Guensburg and Patsy Widakuswara.”
In a Nov. 27 response to the senators, which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed, Bennett clarified that VOA and other USAGM organizations do not prohibit the use of the words “terror,” “terrorism,” or “terrorist.” She added that each of the entities’ best practices policy guidelines “counsels care and attention in the use of the words but do not place any restrictions on the appropriate use” of those words.
Bennett also said that all USAGM news entities “are reviewing their policies as well as training and implementation of these policies. USAGM has retained an outside expert to review all practices and to make recommendations regarding future training or possible policy changes.”
Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Nov. 9 sent a separate letter to Bennett. In the letter, which was reviewed by the Tracker, Risch expressed “concern” about VOA’s editorial guidelines and sought “clarification” on the outlet’s policy. He asserted that Hamas’ attack “fit perfectly within the VOA style guide’s definition of both terrorist and terrorism,” adding that he looked forward to the outlet “accurately describing Hamas and its members as terrorists” in the future.
In a related incident, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to VOA acting Director John Lippman on Nov. 3 criticizing VOA editorial guidelines and asking for a copy of Guensberg’s email, as well as “a copy of any attached guidance, along with all replies to the email and attachments” by Nov. 9.
In response to an emailed request for comment about the policy, a VOA spokesperson told the Tracker that “VOA has never banned the use of the word ‘terror’ or ‘terrorism.’ It has been used many times without quotes. Nothing has changed.” Hagerty’s press assistant did not respond to an emailed request about any next steps to follow up on the senators’ letter.
A view of Voice of America headquarters in Washington, D.C. Seven GOP senators on Nov. 7 called for the firing of VOA staffers over the outlet’s Israel-Gaza war editorial guidelines.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,Israel-Gaza war,,, 2023-07-20 22:02:22.145424+00:00,2023-07-20 22:02:22.145424+00:00,LA Times journalists accused by police union of ‘stalking’,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/la-times-journalists-accused-by-police-union-of-stalking/,2023-07-20 22:02:13.555079+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,"Brittny Mejia (Los Angeles Times), Libor Jany (Los Angeles Times)",,2023-07-10,False,Los Angeles,California (CA),34.05223,-118.24368,"Two Los Angeles Times reporters were accused of “stalking” by the city’s police union, which emailed the charge to its more than 9,000 members on July 10, 2023, after the pair went to an officer’s home to ask for comment for a forthcoming article.
Reporters Brittny Mejia and Libor Jany were investigating the June 2021 detonation of a seized fireworks cache that went awry, seriously injuring 17 people and damaging homes, businesses and vehicles on a South L.A. residential block. The Los Angeles Police Department repeatedly declined requests to identify the bomb squad officers involved, citing existing law, but the journalists were ultimately able to uncover their identities.
Prior to publication, on July 8, Mejia and Jany went to the homes of several officers without incident, the Times reported. Then the two arrived at the home of Sgt. Stefanie Alcocer, who had been suspended for 10 days for her role in the blast.
The journalists identified themselves and asked Alcocer if she’d like to provide comment, as their article would make her identity public for the first time. Alcocer, who denied her role in the incident, made a call, took their business cards, then asked them to leave. Mejia and Jany did so.
After the journalists left, the Times reported that Jany noticed a missed call from LAPD spokesperson Capt. Kelly Muniz. When he called her back, Muniz reprimanded him for approaching Alcocer at home. LAPD Chief Michel Moore also called Jany and Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida with similar complaints.
In a subsequent interview over text, Moore told the Times, “Such unannounced visits unnecessarily create fear and intimidation on the part of our people and their family (including children) during a time in which we have individuals calling for violence against police officers.”
Two days after the door-knocking, the Los Angeles Police Protective League — a union representing rank-and-file LAPD officers — sent an email to its members asserting that it was “unacceptable” for reporters to approach officers at their homes.
The email alleged that Jany and Mejia had engaged in “stalking” and were “following officers to their homes,” the Times reported. The message also included photos of Mejia and Jany and identified them by name, according to a screenshot Mejia posted on Twitter.
“You do not have to open your door to these individuals,” the email said. “You do not have to engage with them at all, and if they persist in ringing your doorbell or banging on your door, do not open it as their motives are suspect.”
Last weekend, @liborjany and I door knocked LAPD bomb squad technicians to give them a chance to respond to our story.
— Brittny Mejia (@brittny_mejia) July 14, 2023
The police union then circulated our photos to thousands of its members and accused us of following officers home. We didn’t. https://t.co/Xg0GHBmlyf pic.twitter.com/XxdIlHbXzy
Tom Saggau, a spokesperson for the union, told the Times that union leaders decided it was necessary to alert officers, as many are on edge following the publishing of thousands of officer photos online.
A roster of more than 9,000 officers and their photos was released to Knock LA reporter Ben Camacho in September 2022 and subsequently published by the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. In April, following backlash from the LAPD and union, the city of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against Camacho in an attempt to claw back the photos.
Saggau did not respond to questions sent via text by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The LAPD declined to comment further when reached by email.
Neither Mejia nor Jany responded to emailed requests for comment. But Times Executive Editor Merida, in a statement to the newspaper, defended the journalists’ actions as routine newsgathering.
“They are making an effort to give the subjects of their reporting an opportunity to speak for themselves and share their version of events,” Merida said. “As such, they are upholding the principles of journalism.”
Charlie Kratovil, founder and editor of New Jersey newspaper New Brunswick Today, received a cease-and-desist notice after he raised questions during a city council meeting on May 3, 2023, about where a city official lives. Kratovil subsequently filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city and the official seeking protections from possible criminal or civil penalties.
Kratovil told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Anthony Caputo, who serves as the civilian director of police and sits on the board of commissioners for the Parking Authority, has been “extraordinarily absent.”
“Our police director has been really elusive. He has not attended a council meeting in 15 years,” Kratovil said. “I’ve had important questions to ask him over the years, and he typically doesn’t engage, certainly doesn’t have press conferences or anything like that.”
Kratovil told the Tracker he had learned through a public records request that in 2022 Caputo changed the residence on his voter registration to Cape May. The small town at the southernmost tip of New Jersey is more than two hours drive from New Brunswick.
After Kratovil attempted to reach Caputo for comment about his residence — including during a Parking Authority board meeting — the journalist said he raised the issue at a public meeting attended by the New Brunswick City Council.
Kratovil stated the name of the street listed on Caputo’s voter profile and handed copies — which contained the full address — to the council members, asking whether there are residency requirements for the positions Caputo fills. According to the lawsuit filed on Kratovil’s behalf by the New Jersey chapter of the ACLU, the council members did not provide an answer and said they would have to look into it.
Caputo wrote Kratovil on official city letterhead the following day, copying a Middlesex County prosecutor and the New Brunswick city attorney, to assert that he is protected from disclosure of his home address or telephone number under Daniel’s Law. The state statute makes it a crime to post addresses or phone numbers of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, and their families on public websites.
“I do hereby request that you cease the disclosure of such information and remove the protected information from the internet or where otherwise made available,” Caputo’s letter states. “I trust you will be guided accordingly.”
A recording of the public meeting subsequently released by the city was edited to mute the audio not only of Kratovil stating the street of Caputo’s home but his entire line of questioning about the police director’s residency.
ACLU of New Jersey, in its lawsuit filed July 12, argued that the city of New Brunswick and Caputo have attempted to chill Kratovil’s journalism after he reported lawfully obtained information that is in the public interest.
“Government should not threaten news reporters with prosecution or civil liability if they write a news story or share information about something questionable going on with a public servant’s address,” the lawsuit states.
The suit seeks an injunction against the city to protect Kratovil from any attempts to pursue civil or criminal penalties against him for alleged violations of Daniel’s Law.
In a court filing reviewed by the Tracker, attorneys for the city confirmed that Caputo is indeed registered to vote in Cape May, but asserted that he rents an apartment in East Brunswick where he stays during the week.
Caputo did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment as of press time.
An initial hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 23.
A portion of the cease-and-desist notice sent to New Brunswick Today editor Charlie Kratovil after he raised questions during a public meeting about where a civilian police official lives.
",None,None,None,None,False,MID-L-003896-23,['APPEALED'],Civil,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,,,, 2023-05-19 17:26:52.468176+00:00,2023-05-19 17:26:52.468176+00:00,Freelance photojournalist sent cease-and-desist letter by San Diego police union,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-sent-cease-and-desist-letter-by-san-diego-police-union/,2023-05-19 17:26:52.333509+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Joe Orellana (Left Coast Right Watch),,2023-04-28,False,San Diego,California (CA),32.71571,-117.16472,"Freelance photojournalist Joe Orellana received a cease-and-desist letter from the police union in San Diego, California, on April 28, 2023, demanding that he delete tweets about an officer’s testimony during a legislative hearing.
Orellana told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for Left Coast Right Watch, an investigative outlet focused on politics and extremism, covering a push by the San Diego Police Department for smart streetlight cameras and automated license plate readers.
Two tweets in Orellana’s Twitter thread concerned the testimony of San Diego Police Lt. Adam Sharki at a hearing before the city’s Privacy Advisory Board on April 27. Orellana reported that Sharki is on the Brady List, typically compiled by the local prosecutor’s office or police department and containing the names of officers or others who have a history of misconduct that could jeopardize a prosecution.
The following day, San Diego Police Officers Association President Jared Wilson wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Orellana and posted it to the police union’s Twitter, asserting that the claim about Sharki was incorrect and demanding that the tweet be removed.
“You must also refrain from making any further statements that falsely defame or disparage Lt. Sharki,” Wilson wrote. “Failure to comply with this demand will result in legal action against you.”
Orellana told the Tracker that the only interaction he had with the police union before the letter was publicly posted was a comment from the police union on his tweet about Sharki that read, “This is false.” The cease-and-desist letter was sent to him via Twitter direct message less than an hour before it was published on the union’s account.
He contacted the First Amendment Coalition, which on May 4 wrote a letter in support of Orellana and asked the police union to withdraw its cease-and-desist demand.
“Threats of litigation can exert a significant chilling effect on speech protected by the First Amendment,” Coalition Legal Director David Loy wrote. “Regardless of whether correction or retraction of a statement might be appropriate, the First Amendment prohibits claims arising from a statement about a public official unless the plaintiff can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was made with actual knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth.”
On May 6, Orellana deleted the tweets at issue and posted corrections, writing that although Sharki had been named by a third-party website, Orellana was unable to view any government documents that could confirm or refute whether the officer was on the Brady List. Later that day, the police union wrote on Twitter that because a correction was entered it considers the issue resolved. Wilson, the union’s president, could not be reached for comment.
Orellana told the Tracker, however, the legal threat did have a chilling effect on his reporting.
“It slowed down my reporting on other matters while I tried to make connections with people who could help, and I avoided being on city property until I issued the retraction,” Orellana said. “If SDPD felt I didn’t take the letter seriously, I worried they might make it harder to do my job.”
Journalist Matt Taibbi was threatened with the possibility of perjury charges in an April 13, 2023, letter from congresswoman Stacey Plaskett who alleged he lied under oath when testifying before Congress.
Taibbi gave testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government on March 9 after he obtained and published the “Twitter Files,” a collection of internal communications shedding light on how the social media company made content moderation decisions before and after the 2020 election.
Plaskett, a Democrat, wrote in the letter that information “foundational” to Taibbi’s testimony had been found to be false or misleading. After flagging multiple such instances, Plaskett called on Taibbi to correct his statements and provide responses to supplementary questions, including about his communications with Twitter owner Elon Musk.
Plaskett then reminded Taibbi of his oath under penalty of perjury, writing “providing false information is punishable by up to five years imprisonment.”
Taibbi, who did not respond to a request for comment, published a response to the letter outlining why Plaskett’s accusations are themselves misleading.
“I’m not going to lie, it frightens me a little that I even have to offer this defense,” he wrote.
Freedom of the Press Foundation, which oversees the operation of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, condemned the threat of prosecution as an intimidation tactic.
“It’s disturbing that a member of Congress would attempt to threaten a journalist with imprisonment for summarizing his reporting during a congressional hearing,” said Advocacy Director Seth Stern. “Whatever one may think of Taibbi or his reporting on the Twitter files, baselessly threatening to imprison journalists is reprehensible, no matter if the threats are from Democratic members of Congress or Donald Trump.”
Ben Camacho, a reporter for the nonprofit community journalism outlet Knock LA, was sued by the City of Los Angeles on April 5, 2023, in an attempt to force the return of photographs of police officers released to him as part of a public records request.
Camacho told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he noticed a pattern of Los Angeles Police Department officers obscuring their identities at protests by shining lights into cameras and refusing to disclose their badge numbers. Camacho filed a request under California’s Public Records Act seeking a full roster of LAPD officers and their personnel headshots in October 2021, having had success earlier that year with a similar request in Santa Ana.
In January 2022, the department responded that it could provide the roster but not the photographs, as they weren’t digitized. Camacho filed a lawsuit challenging that refusal, and the City of Los Angeles ultimately gave him the images on Sept. 16 as part of a settlement agreement. The city provided Camacho a printed roster of sworn officers, a flash drive containing 9,310 officers’ photos and a letter explaining that officers working in undercover assignments had been excluded from the disclosures.
Camacho said that approximately two months after he received the files, activist group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition contacted him about sharing the records.
“Because I don't see myself as a gatekeeper of a public record that is actually the public’s property, I gave it to them,” Camacho said.
The group released the photos on its website Watch the Watchers on March 17, 2023, and Camacho tweeted a link to a folder containing all of the headshots a few days later.
RAW DATA DUMP: Here's 9,310 of LAPD's headshots. All of these are a public record. I re-uploaded to my cloud in a more stable way. The first folder was buggy with so many files in it.
— benjamin (@bencamach0) March 21, 2023
All of these are public record.https://t.co/rPr2hVQbgI https://t.co/77RXChUjY5
“Almost immediately myself and everybody else realized that there are more images on there than the LAPD wanted to be on there,” Camacho said.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union representing rank-and-file LAPD officers, filed a lawsuit against the City and Police Chief Michel Moore on March 28 demanding that the City recover the officers’ headshots and prevent them from being distributed further. Representatives of the police union have argued that it uses a broader definition of “undercover” than the City did when censoring the records, and it should include officers in “sensitive assignments” involving surveillance and those who had or might in the future work undercover.
A law firm representing 321 allegedly undercover LAPD officers also announced plans to file a class-action suit against the City seeking damages for negligence.
Camacho told the Tracker that the City, LAPD and the police union are attempting to redefine “undercover” in order to allow the police department to continue to operate without public scrutiny.
On March 30, the City sent Camacho a letter demanding that he return the flash drive of photos and delete all copies of the photos in his possession. The letter said that the City would provide an “updated production” of the records, but that in order to protect the identities of undercover officers it would only include the approximately 130 officers listed as command staff on the LAPD’s website — less than 1.5% of the images originally released.
Camacho did not comply with the demands, and on April 5 the City filed a lawsuit against him and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, requesting that a judge bar them from further releasing the officers’ photos and order them to unpublish the images and return or destroy all electronic and physical copies.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office provided this statement when reached by email for comment:
“While there is strong public interest in governmental transparency, there is equally strong interest in the safety of LAPD officers, especially those in sensitive and undercover assignments. That is why we brought this suit — to have the photos of officers immediately removed from the website and to have the flash drive containing them returned.”
The spokesperson declined to comment further, citing the pending litigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to a request for comment and a spokesperson for the police union was not available to comment.
The Media Guild of the West led a coalition of more than a dozen media organizations and press freedom advocates in opposition to the lawsuit, penning a letter to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and Mayor Karen Bass.
“The City’s sweeping demand for censorship defies logic as well as the First Amendment,” the letter said. “The City Attorney’s additional threat of law enforcement seizure sends a chilling warning to any journalist or individual who would lawfully use the Public Records Act to learn about their own government.”
The Times reported that on April 25 Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff denied the City’s motion for a temporary restraining order, which attorneys representing Camacho had argued amounted to an unconstitutional prior restraint.
“The City of Los Angeles’ lawsuit is a thinly veiled attempt to silence Mr. Camacho and other journalists who report on law enforcement,” attorney Dan Stormer said in a statement. “The real motives behind this lawsuit are to shield the Los Angeles Police Department from any measure of accountability and transparency.”
A portion of a lawsuit filed against Knock LA reporter Ben Camacho on April 5, 2023, attempting to claw back photographs of Los Angeles Police Department officers given him in response to a public records request.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,public records,,, 2023-07-27 20:40:38.576966+00:00,2023-07-27 20:40:38.576966+00:00,At least 10 journalists tracked in government migrant caravan database,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/at-least-10-journalists-tracked-in-government-migrant-caravan-database/,2023-07-27 20:40:38.456976+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,"Ariana Drehsler (Freelance), Bing Guan (Independent), Go Nakamura (Freelance), Kitra Cahana (Freelance), Robert Wilson (Freelance)",,2023-03-24,False,San Diego,California (CA),32.71571,-117.16472,"At least 10 journalists were tracked in a database authorized by the U.S. government as part of its surveillance around the migrant caravan in 2019, according to documents released in March 2023 in compliance with FOIA requests from San Diego TV station KNSD.
The NBC station first broke the story in March 2019 that Department of Homeland Security officials in San Diego had created the database as part of “Operation Secure Line” — the government’s code name for its response to the caravan. Agents compiled dossiers on at least 65 journalists, attorneys and humanitarian aid workers, and flagged them for additional questioning, searches and occasionally denials of entry at the border.
A Homeland Security Investigations agent, who later identified himself as Wesley Petonak, told KNSD he was alarmed when he came across a PowerPoint containing details from the database and so leaked screenshots.
“It seemed these people's rights were being infringed on,” Petonak said.
The TV station, together with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, or RCFP, filed FOIA requests seeking documents from Operation Secure Line, then sued in April 2019 when the government refused to produce the documents. In March 2023, the government began releasing the files. More than 4,800 pages have been released as of July 2023, according to reporter Tom Jones, who has led the reporting on Operation Secure Line, first at KNSD and now at WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
According to the documents, officers surveilled journalists, social media influencers, attorneys, aid workers and immigration advocates whom officials suspected were connected to a caravan of more than 9,000 Central American migrants seeking asylum in late 2018 and early 2019. The title of the PowerPoint leaked to the station identified those included as “Suspected Organizers, Coordinators, Instigators, and Media.”
Five of the 10 journalists indicated in the documents released so far were named — photojournalists Kitra Cahana, Ariana Drehsler, Bing Guan, Go Nakamura and Robert Wilson. Five remain unnamed, as the TV station censored the names and images of any individuals who did not provide permission to publish their information.
Cahana, Drehsler, Guan and Nakamura were each stopped at least once for additional questioning when crossing the border and asked about their work covering the Central American migrant caravan’s arrival in Mexico. Several had their equipment searched.
All four photojournalists, along with photographer Mark Abramson, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in November 2019 against the heads of the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, and its agencies U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The suit is ongoing as of July 2023, with discovery underway.
Wilson confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in July 2023 that he, on the other hand, had not been stopped for secondary screening while covering the migrant caravan. He said it may be in part because he was extremely cautious.
“The whole time I was [in Mexico] I kind of assumed I was going to be on a list, so I tried to really minimize my crossings,” Wilson said. “I only went across the border twice, and I waited for the heaviest traffic times and went across on foot.”
Following the initial revelations about the operation, DHS agreed to conduct an internal investigation, according to the station. The Office of the Inspector General for DHS announced it would conduct its own independent investigation.
While the OIG conceded in its final report that some of the “lookouts” placed on U.S. journalists, attorneys and others did not fully comply with U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy, it held that agents had legitimate reasons for flagging the individuals.
“Although we determined CBP’s lookouts on a number of journalists present at an illegal border crossing were unnecessary, we found no evidence that CBP placed these lookouts to harass the journalists,” the report said.
RCFP attorney Katie Townsend told KNSD she believes there is still more to learn about the surveillance effort.
“While the release of these records is a victory for transparency, the litigation is ongoing, and we anticipate that additional information will come to light,” Townsend said. RCFP is a member of the Tracker advisory board.
Jones told the Tracker that as far as he knows, and based on the OIG investigation, this was the only active surveillance effort that included journalists, attorneys and other American citizens.
“But the only reason we know about this surveillance effort is because records were leaked to us,” Jones said. “If it wasn’t for that leak, we would have never discovered this, so who’s to say there aren’t more efforts or lists like this out there?”
Operation Secure Line is not the only instance of CBP monitoring journalists: In 2021, reporters revealed that a secretive CBP division, known as the Counter Network Division, had been investigating as many as 20 journalists beginning in 2017.
According to a report by Yahoo News, CBP agents would run information and photos from passport applications through multiple government databases.
Also, in 2020, DHS compiled intelligence reports about the reporting and tweets of two journalists covering protests in Portland, Oregon, according to a Washington Post article. After the reports were made public, then-Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered the office to cease all collection of information on journalists and announced an investigation into the reports.
A heavily redacted page confirms that journalists were among those surveilled as part of a government program. The pages were released to an NBC TV station in San Diego and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,Media,migrant caravan,,, 2023-03-28 18:41:22.318271+00:00,2023-03-29 13:44:28.843727+00:00,"City manager threatens reporter, outlet with legal action",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/city-manager-threatens-reporter-outlet-with-legal-action/,2023-03-29 13:44:28.710781+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Blaise Gomez (News 12 Hudson Valley),,2023-03-20,False,Newburgh,New York (NY),41.50343,-74.01042,"New York broadcast station News 12 Hudson Valley and one of its reporters were threatened with legal action in a statement released by Newburgh city officials on March 20, 2023.
In the statement, part of a press release around a crime-reduction operation with the FBI in 2022, City Manager Todd Venning asserted that a News 12 reporter created a “conspiracy theory” suggesting the City of Newburgh was falsifying crime and arrest data and failing to submit reports to the state. Venning indicated that the City will pursue legal recourse.
“Legitimate reporters from well-credentialed news organizations don’t always get it right, so it’s not surprising to see a local television personality struggle with basic tenets of professional journalism,” Venning said. “The City will explore its legal options against this presenter and News 12 for its reckless disregard of the truth.”
Venning was referencing News 12 reporter Blaise Gomez’s March 15 reporting in which she outlined a pattern of his office withholding information from the press and public. Gomez first reported on the lack of transparency nearly a year prior, writing that Venning had issued what amounted to gag orders and directed information requests to go through City Hall.
As part of Gomez’s reporting, she interviewed Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler. In a recording of the interview obtained by Mid Hudson News, Gomez asks multiple questions concerning allegations that Newburgh city officials are withholding information about crime in order to improve the city’s image. The interview did not include any mention of state or federal crime reporting requirements.
Gomez declined to comment, directing questions to News 12; the station did not respond to requests for comment.
When reached by phone, Venning told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to direct all requests to press@cityofnewburgh-ny.gov. The email to that address was returned as undeliverable. Michael Neppl, Venning’s chief of staff, responded after publication with an acknowledgement of requests for comment but provided no statement.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect a response from a City of Newburgh representative.
Several McCurtain County officials are accused of discussing how to kill two local journalists and making racist comments following a Board of Commissioners meeting on March 6, 2023 in Idabel, Oklahoma.
The McCurtain Gazette-News first published excerpts from the recording in its April 15 weekend print edition and released the audio in full four days later. Publisher Bruce Willingham told News 9 that he left his recording device in the room following the conclusion of the meeting in an attempt to confirm his suspicion that they were still discussing official business, in violation of the state’s Open Meeting Act.
The Oklahoman, which noted it had not independently verified the recording, published the audio to its YouTube channel and identified six public officials’ voices. The 3-½ hour recording allegedly captures McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Sheriff’s investigator Alicia Manning, Commissioner Mark Jennings and Jail administrator Larry Hendrix discussing the killing of Bruce Willingham and his son Chris Willingham, a reporter for the Gazette-News.
In the recording, an official says he knows of hit men to hire in Louisiana. “I've known two or three hit men, they're very quiet guys, yeah, who would cut no fucking mercy,” the official said.
The group also discussed where to hide the journalists’ bodies, and buying an old military tank in order to drive it into the newspaper’s building, the Oklahoman reported.
When reached for comment, the Gazette-News directed the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to its attorney, Christin Jones. Jones was unable to be reached by phone, and did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The audio was recorded on the same day that Chris Willingham filed a defamation lawsuit against the board of county commissioners, the sheriff’s office, its investigator Manning and Sheriff Clardy. In the suit, he alleges that during a June 2022 teleconference, Manning accused him of exchanging marijuana for pornographic videos of children, connecting him to a man recently arrested for such crimes. Chris Willingham said the accusation was in direct retaliation for his 8-part series of articles investigating allegations of misconduct at the sheriff’s office.
Bruce Willingham told The Associated Press he believes the officials were upset by other articles published in the Gazette-News. The newspaper had filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office for body camera footage and records in the 2022 death of an Oklahoma man.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt called for the resignations of the county officials on April 16, releasing this statement:
“I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County. There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office. I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”
Stitt also announced that he would be calling on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to determine whether the officials had engaged in criminal conduct.
KSLA News 12 reported that approximately 100 people protested outside the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office on April 17, demanding that Clardy and the other officials resign. Later that evening, the sheriff’s office issued a statement on Facebook, writing that, “This is a very complex situation and one we regret having to address.”
The statement goes on to say the recordings have not been authenticated, and that the sheriff’s office is conducting an ongoing investigation into whether Bruce Willingham illegally recorded the conversation in violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act.
Idabel Mayor Craig Young criticized the sheriff’s office for “doubling down” defending itself amid the allegations, according to Public Radio Tulsa, and echoed calls for the officials’ resignations.
Commissioner Jennings resigned his position on April 18, according to the Oklahoman. On April 21 Stitt called on the state’s attorney general to investigate complaints of misconduct against Clardy and remove him from office.
A Florida Republican campaigning for a U.S. House of Representatives seat released an ad on May 5, 2022, boasting about the use of his company’s crowd-control munitions against members of the press.
Cory Mills, who served in the Trump administration's Department of Defense and is now running for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, posted the campaign ad to YouTube and Twitter. The Floridian reported that Mills also made a“six-figure” ad buy in the Orlando media market to air the video on television.
BLM democrats in Congress are “investigating” us for providing riot control gear to law enforcement around the country to stop the riots in 2020.
— Cory Mills 🍊 (@CoryMillsFL) May 5, 2022
Sadly for them, we are really proud of what we do.
If they want to cry about it, we can help them shed real tears.
Watch 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/tZDuzjnoOt
“I came home and started a company making riot control munitions for law enforcement — you may know some of our work,” Mills says in the ad while smiling. A clip then plays of demonstrators and members of the press being shot at with crowd-control munitions and chemical irritants at various protests nationwide.
“Now the liberal media’s crying about it,” Mills continues. “If the media wants to shed some real tears, I can help them out with that.”
On YouTube, the video description reiterates that point, writing, “Cory Mills is always happy to help the liberal media shed some tears.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, released a statement that it was “deeply disturbing to hear a candidate for public office state that he would enjoy targeting journalists with tear gas.”
“Threatening members of the media simply for engaging in critical reporting creates an atmosphere where attacks on journalists are normalized and perceived as acceptable, and sends a message to journalists that they ought to be afraid of public officials,” CPJ Advocacy Manager Michael De Dora said. “This has no place in our political discourse and is dangerous, regardless of the tone with which it is said.”
Mills' campaign office did not return a request for comment.
A YouTube screenshot of Cory Mills’ congressional campaign ad, where he boasts about the use of his company’s crowd-control munitions against members of the press. Press advocacy groups called the rhetoric dangerous.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,Media,election,,, 2022-04-28 19:11:22.311256+00:00,2022-04-28 19:11:22.311256+00:00,"Sheriff’s Department targets LA Times reporter in criminal leak investigation, then backtracks",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sheriffs-department-targets-la-times-reporter-in-criminal-leak-investigation-then-backtracks/,2022-04-28 19:11:22.256266+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Alene Tchekmedyain (Los Angeles Times),,2022-04-26,False,Los Angeles,California (CA),34.05223,-118.24368,"Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian was under a criminal leak investigation during a press conference on April 26, 2022.
The statement came nearly a month after Tchekmedyian first reported on internal documents detailing an alleged cover-up within the sheriff's department around an inmate abuse case. During the press conference, Villanueva displayed a picture of Tchekmedyian and two other individuals, saying all three were connected to the leak.
Today, Tuesday, April 26, 2022, @LACoSheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference to discuss a recent lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. To read the press release and view the video and materials used, click the following link https://t.co/gFBDoqk9ZL
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) April 27, 2022
When pressed to say whether Tchekmedyian was specifically under criminal investigation, Villanueva responded that Tchekmedyian received information and put it to use. “What she receives legally and puts to her own use and what she receives legally and the L.A. Times uses — I'm sure that's a huge, complex level of law and freedom of the press and all that. However, when it's stolen materials, at some point, you actually become part of the story. So, that's up to the L.A. Times to decide that."
Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida immediately condemned Villanueva's comments in a statement to the outlet.
"His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law. We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian's and the Los Angeles Times' right in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities," Merida said.
The sheriff’s attack on reporter @AleneTchek drew immediate condemnation from the newspaper.
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 26, 2022
“His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law,” said @meridak, executive editor of The Times, in a statement. https://t.co/ZDmiTaktrG pic.twitter.com/yiJPDWGNUd
Times’ General Counsel Jeff Glaser published a letter of protest, warning Villaneuva that any attempt to prosecute the reporter would be "an abuse of your official position," and the outlet would “seek every available remedy against you, the Department, and every individual official involved in any such unlawful conduct."
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also condemned Villanueva's comments, calling it “blatantly retaliatory conduct.”
"Publishing newsworthy information about an alleged law enforcement cover up that sought to block an investigation into the use of excessive force is constitutionally protected activity, and clearly in the public interest," said Katie Townsend, RCFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Legal Director.
Hours after the press conference, Villanueva addressed the public outcry in response to his comments.
"Resulting from the incredible frenzy of misinformation being circulated, I must clarify at no time today did I state an L.A. Times reporter was a suspect in a criminal investigation. We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters."
(1/3) Resulting from the incredible frenzy of misinformation being circulated, I must clarify at no time today did I state an LA Times reporter was a suspect in a criminal investigation. We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters. pic.twitter.com/43Ro4kK8HM
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) April 27, 2022
Villanueva also wrote that the sheriff's department would conduct a thorough investigation around the disclosure of evidence.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva indicated LA Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian was part of a criminal leak investigation during an April 26, 2022, press conference for her reporting. He later called it ‘misinformation’.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2022-01-25 18:56:18.815254+00:00,2024-02-29 19:13:47.300787+00:00,Tennessee state representative introduces resolution to reprimand AP for reporting,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tennessee-state-representative-introduces-resolution-to-reprimand-associated-press-for-reporting/,2024-02-29 19:13:47.195356+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2022-01-20,False,Nashville,Tennessee (TN),36.16589,-86.78444,"A Tennessee state representative filed a joint resolution on Jan. 20, 2022, to reprimand The Associated Press following its investigation of racism in the United States military.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Bud Hulsey, a Republican, in response to AP’s May 2021 investigation, “Deep-rooted racism, discrimination permeate US military.” The resolution states AP journalists engaged “in the lowest form of yellow journalism and should be held accountable by the American public and their elected officials” with a reprimand from the General Assembly.
Tennessee outlet WJHL said there are no other instances of state officials reprimanding news organizations. Hulsey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
AP spokesperson Lauren Easton told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that “The Associated Press stands by its reporting,” and referred the Tracker to an AP article on Tennessee’s Black lawmakers efforts to “raise awareness about structural racism.”
Kat Stafford, the lead reporter on the AP investigation, tweeted on Jan. 21 that the resolution was a “career first” and that the AP stands behind the reporting.
A career first: A Republican state legislator in Tennessee introduced a resolution Thursday in response to our AP investigation of racism in the U.S. military. He accused us of “incendiary journalism” & wants the legislature to “reprimand the AP.” We stand by our reporting. pic.twitter.com/PIWx7hbixa
— Kat Stafford (@kat__stafford) January 21, 2022
Stafford also wrote that she and her colleagues spent nearly a year on the investigation and interviewed dozens of service members and experts. “We poured over copious documents & FOIAs. We did our homework.”
In response to Stafford’s tweets, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace echoed support for the investigation, tweeting “Indeed - we stand by our reporting, and our reporters.”
Indeed - we stand by our reporting, and our reporters. https://t.co/KCnInXcJvh
— Julie Pace (@JuliePace) January 23, 2022
Note: This article was amended to include comment from the Associated Press.
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 Mendoza and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, according to the Yahoo News report.
In June 2017, a CBP agent named Jeffrey Rambo contacted Watkins as part of the division’s efforts to combat forced labor, but uncovered in the process that she had had a relationship with James Wolfe, then-director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Rambo told Yahoo News the vetting procedures were standard and he was not a “rogue agent,” as he was described in a 2018 Washington Post article about his interaction with and investigation into Watkins.
“All these things are standard practices that — let me rephrase that. All of the things that led up to my interest in Ali Watkins were standard practice of what we do and what we did and probably what’s still done to this day,” Rambo told Yahoo News.
Rambo said the division’s investigation into Wolfe, referred to as Operation Whistle Pig, was focused only on whether the security director was leaking classified information to Watkins or other journalists. (Wolfe was subsequently arrested and charged with lying to the FBI about his interactions with reporters.)
According to an FBI counterintelligence memo, 15 to 20 national security reporters were also swept up in the investigation, Yahoo News reported. A memo from the National Targeting Center disclosed that the division reached out to reporters at HuffPost, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the AP.
“I’m deeply troubled at the lengths CBP and DHS personnel apparently went to try and identify journalistic sources and dig into my personal life,” Watkins told Yahoo News. “It was chilling then, and it remains chilling now.”
Rambo, his supervisor Dan White and his co-worker were ultimately investigated by the inspector general, which referred its findings to a federal prosecutor for possible charges of misusing government databases and lying to investigators, the AP reported. The Justice Department declined to prosecute them.
AP Executive Editor Julie Pace sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Dec. 13 urging the agency to explain why investigative reporter Mendoza was vetted through the government databases and identified as a potential confidential informant, the outlet reported.
“This is a flagrant example of a federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists,” Pace wrote. “While the actions detailed in the inspector general’s report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine.”
Following Yahoo News’s initial report, Sen. Ron Wyden issued a statement to Yahoo News demanding that the DHS turn over the inspector general’s inquiry into the division’s operation. Wyden, a democrat, is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees CBP.
“If multiple government agencies were aware of this conduct and took no action to stop it, there needs to be serious consequences for every official involved, and DHS and the Justice Department must explain what actions they are taking to prevent this unacceptable conduct in the future,” Wyden said.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, democratic chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued a statement calling for DHS to release information about the unit.
“If true, this abuse of government surveillance powers to target journalists, elected officials and their staff is deeply disturbing,” Thompson said. “The Inspector General must provide this report to Congress to enable critical oversight work."
According to Yahoo News, Justice Department policies on acquiring information from journalists pertain to issuing subpoenas, not searching through information already in the government’s possession.
“CBP vetting and investigatory operations, including those conducted by the Counter Network Division, are strictly governed by well-established protocols and best practices,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a written statement to Yahoo News.
This is not the first report of CBP monitoring journalists: In 2019, NBC 7 reported that Department of Homeland Security officials in San Diego had created a database of journalists, activists and attorneys who were involved in some way with the migrant caravan and had created dossiers on each individual.
In 2020, DHS compiled intelligence reports about the reporting and tweets of two journalists covering protests in Portland, Oregon, according to a Washington Post article. After the reports were made public, then-Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered the office to cease all collection of information on journalists and announced an investigation into the reports.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven accused St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist Josh Renaud of “hacking” a state website on Oct. 13, 2021, after Renaud reported a flaw in the website that exposed educators’ Social Security numbers. The following day, Parson announced an investigation into the alleged hacking and said the state would pursue criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit against Renaud and the newspaper, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Renaud discovered the vulnerability on a website maintained by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education while using a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. While no private information was publicly visible, the Social Security numbers of 100,000 educators were contained in the HTML source code of the pages.
After identifying the flaw on Oct. 12, the Post-Dispatch reported the vulnerability to DESE and held Renaud’s report until the information was removed from the state website, according to the article.
In a letter sent to educators the following day, Vandeven characterized the journalist’s actions as hacking, though she did not identify Renaud by name. Vandeven alleged that, “Through a multi-step process, an individual took the records of at least three educators, unencrypted the source code from the webpage, and viewed the social security (SSN) of those specific educators.”
A cybersecurity professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Shaji Khan, told the Post-Dispatch the data on the website had been encoded but not encrypted, making it easily accessible by anyone with a basic knowledge of web design and functionality.
On Oct. 14, Parson also asserted that Renaud was a hacker during a press conference, and said he had referred the case to the Cole County prosecutor and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Digital Forensic Unit.
“This individual is not a victim. They were acting against the state agency to compromise teachers’ personal information in an attempt to embarrass the state and sell headlines for their news outlet,” Parson said. “We will not let this crime against Missouri teachers go unpunished and we refuse to let them be a pawn in the news outlet’s political vendetta. Not only are we going to hold this individual accountable but we will also be holding accountable all those who aided this individual and the media corporation that employs them.”
According to The Washington Post, the governor’s office indicated that Renaud may have violated a Missouri law against “tampering with computer data” — a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine — and that another Missouri code allows a civil suit for damages.
When reached via email, Parson’s Communications Director Kelli R. Jones said she could not comment any more than what was already public, but provided the same Missouri statutes and a link to the Office of Administration’s press release.
“This information was not freely available, and there was no authorization given to tamper with computer data,” Jones said.
DESE Chief Communications Officer Mallory McGowin also declined to comment further and pointed to the OA press release, noting it is where the Information Technology Services Division is housed.
In response to an emailed request for comment from Renaud, the Post-Dispatch also declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. In a statement provided by the outlet from Post-Dispatch Attorney Joe Martineau, he said Renaud acted responsibly by reporting his findings.
“A hacker is someone who subverts computer security with malicious or criminal intent. Here, there was no breach of any firewall or security and certainly no malicious intent,” Martineau said. “For DESE to deflect its failures by referring to this as ‘hacking' is unfounded. Thankfully, these failures were discovered.”
Freedom of the Press Foundation said Parson’s threats illustrate a fundamental misunderstanding of digital security.
“Whether expressly or unintentionally, this is an effort to intimidate a reporter who is doing important reporting and uncovering a newsworthy story,” said Parker Higgins, advocacy director at FPF, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is housed.
In an editorial responding to Vandeven’s assertions and Parson’s threats, the Post-Dispatch defended Renaud’s actions of alerting the state to the vulnerability and holding the story until the web feature was disabled.
“Predatory hackers don’t behave that way. Responsible journalists do. This is watchdog journalism at its finest,” the Editorial Board wrote. “The reactions by Parson and Vandeven seem designed to distract the public and hide the state’s embarrassment over its own gross negligence.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect comments from the Missouri governor’s communications office and Margie Vandeven’s communications team.
Twitter temporarily suspended the account of Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on Aug. 20, 2021, for violating rules on abusive behavior after a series of her tweets incited harassment and online violence against an Associated Press reporter, according to the outlet.
Florida-based AP reporter Brendan Farrington published a story on Aug. 17, noting that a major funder of the DeSantis campaign invests in Regeneron, a COVID-19 treatment drug that DeSantis has promoted in Florida.
According to the AP and the Tampa Bay Times, Pushaw retweeted Farrington’s article and wrote “Drag them” in a now-deleted post.
AP reported that the press secretary wrote in another tweet that if Farrington didn’t change a story, she would “put you on blast.” She also retweeted a message that said “Light. Them. Up.” in reference to the AP.
Pushaw’s Twitter account was locked for 12 hours after Farrington tweeted that he had received online threats and hate messages about the story. He said: “For your sake, I hope government doesn’t threaten your safety. I’ll be fine, I hope. Freedom. Just please don’t kill me,” according to the AP report. According to the outlet Florida Politics, Farrington said he received death threats.
Pushaw denied trying to direct the governor’s followers to target the AP reporter. She said her “drag them” comment was social media slang and was not meant as a violent threat. She said she deleted it because she didn’t want it to be misinterpreted, according to the AP.
When asked for comment, Pushaw told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: “Criticizing unethical and misleading reporting isn’t ‘harassment’.”
AP’s incoming CEP, Daisy Veerasingham, wrote to DeSantis saying the actions of the press secretary were “both dangerous and in conflict with Florida’s constitutional protections for freedom of speech and of the press.”
Veerasingham also wrote that this kind of harassing behavior can “cause great harm.”
DeSantis responded with an official letter calling the AP story “a false narrative” and the blowback “deserved.”
Brian Carovillano, AP’s vice president and managing editor, said: “This is not pushback, it’s harassment. It’s bullying. It’s calling out the trolls at somebody who is just doing his job and it’s putting him and his family at risk.”
The Tracker approached Twitter and Farrington for comments, but received no response. AP referred the Tracker to the published story.
Farrington’s tweets are now restricted, so the Tracker was not able to see his posts about the incident.
During the spring of 2021, at least 31 journalists covering protests in two cities had their faces, IDs or press credentials photographed by law enforcement agencies, according to accounts from the media and the journalists involved. Those photographed were covering protests in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon. Law enforcement agencies in both cities did not disclose why they documented the identities of the journalists or what was done with the images they captured.
Portland
On March 12, the Portland Police Bureau detained more than 100 protesters and at least six journalists by surrounding them using a “kettle” maneuver in the city’s downtown Pearl District. After initially detaining the crowd, police ordered members of the press to leave the kettle, despite a court order prohibiting Portland officers from dispersing media and legal observers who are monitoring protests. Six journalists who were ordered to leave the kettle said that officers required them to show a government-issued ID and be photographed before their release. Some specified that police took photos of them without masks and with strips of duct tape across their chests on which police had written the journalists’ names and dates of birth.
Photojournalist Maranie Rae Staab, who has freelanced for The Washington Post and The New York Times, posted footage of her forced removal from the kettle.
I was just forcibly removed from the scene by several @PortlandPolice ofcrs.
— Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) March 13, 2021
I am a credentialed member of the press & made clear I wantd to stay & report.
I was dragged out, labeled w/tape & photographed.
This was a deliberate action to prevent accountability. #portland pic.twitter.com/zfF32oW0vY
“I’m a member of the press,” Staab is heard explaining as three PPB officers tell her they’ve asked the press to leave. “It’s my job. I am a member of the press. I want to report, I do not want to leave.”
Officers then proceed to escort her out despite her protestations, and an officer can be heard saying, “You have to leave.”
Independent journalist Adam Costello, who was covering the same Portland protest, wrote on Twitter that officers pulled him out of the kettle and ordered him to identify himself and tell them his date of birth.
“They wrote it on a piece of duct tape and took a picture of me,” wrote Costello, who publishes to social media and the online publishing platform Medium.
Freelance journalist Laura Jedeed, whose work has been published by Salon and Willamette Week, among others, reported a similar experience of being photographed before officers ejected her.
Update: I have been escorted out of the kettle
— Laura Jedeed, Non-Fungible (@LauraJedeed) March 13, 2021
They put my name and DOB on a piece of duct tape and took a picture of me without my mask on
Then they escorted me out past the police line
“The cop told me if I committed criminal activity I would be arrested and I laughed,” Jedeed wrote in a subsequent tweet. “He asked me why I didn’t leave with the rest of the press and I said I wanted to document. Then he let me go.”
Similar experiences were reported by freelance journalists Alissa Azar, Garrison Davis and Suzette Smith.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that the journalists removed from the kettle were escorted more than a block away, where they could no longer see what was happening inside the kettle. According to OPB’s story, bureau spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Allen said that journalists were not forced to leave.
“PPB did not ‘remove’ the press,” Allen said. “Legal observers, press, and medically fragile individuals were all offered a chance to leave if they wished as they were not being detained. Those that stayed were escorted out one by one.”
Allen did not respond to the Tracker’s request for further comment about the law enforcement actions to identify and photograph journalists.
Brooklyn Center
At least 25 journalists covering protests in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, reported having their faces, press credentials and government-issued IDs photographed by local and state law enforcement during a period of several days of public demonstrations.
The demonstrations began after the fatal police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center on April 11, which occurred as a former police officer in nearby Minneapolis was on trial in the death of George Floyd. The events rekindled a nationwide wave of racial justice protests that began almost a year earlier after Floyd’s death. In Brooklyn Center, protests began outside the police department the day Wright was killed and continued daily through mid-April.
One of the first journalists to report law enforcement actions to record reporters’ identities was Sloane Martin, a reporter for Minneapolis CBS affiliate WCCO. On April 14, Martin posted on Twitter that law enforcement officers took photographs of her press credential and her identification while she was covering demonstrations that night.
Martin wrote that she was in a gas station trying to return to her car, and she shouted “Press!” to a line of officers from a distance to identify herself. An officer whom she believes was a Minnesota State Patrol trooper shouted at her to get on her knees, but another officer directed her to come over and show her ID, she wrote. Martin didn’t respond to requests for comment.
I was not asked to the ground but they did the same thing: took pictures of my credential and ID. I was in a brightly-lit gas station, otherwise I would have been nervous to approach the line of law enforcement trying to get back to my car. I shouted “press” from a distance https://t.co/TVZneIXL1D
— Sloane Martin (@SloaneMartin) April 15, 2021
Martin’s tweet was in response to a clip posted by Fox News reporter Lauren Blanchard, who, on the same night of April 14, was ordered to the ground and detained by police alongside her news crew. At least six journalists who were detained or arrested while covering demonstrations that night had their faces and identification photographed before they were released:
Two days later on April 16, Minnesota District Judge Wilhelmina Wright granted a motion for a temporary restraining order barring all local law enforcement agencies from arresting, threatening to arrest, using physical force against or seizing the equipment of journalists documenting the demonstrations. That same day, law enforcement surrounded a crowd that included members of the press in a “kettle” and established a “media checkpoint” where journalists had their faces, press passes and IDs photographed before they were permitted to leave the area.
ACLU of Minnesota’s Legal Director Teresa Nelson sent a letter to Wright on April 17, condemning the actions of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner and the Minnesota State Patrol, which are defendants in a suit brought by the organization. The letter reads, in part: “Last night, hours after the TRO [temporary restraining order] took effect, the State Defendants escalated the level of assault and harassment of journalists to an intolerable degree.”
According to the letter, freelance photojournalists Chris Juhn and Chris Tuite, who were covering protests the day the court order was issued, both were ordered to go to the checkpoint. Tuite said he was also roughly grabbed by officers with enough force to rip his shirt, which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented here.
“To get out of their kettle, we had to take off our gas masks and helmets and hand them our media passes and IDs. They took photos of our faces up close and then of our IDs and media passes,” Tuite said. “They told us nothing of what they were going to do with the photos, and they essentially brushed it off as, ‘We just want to make sure you guys are legit.’”
Minneapolis Star Tribune reporters Susan Du and Liz Sawyer were also directed to the April 16 checkpoint which was set up at a nearby Pump n’ Munch gas station, according to footage Sawyer posted to Twitter that night.
Here’s a photo of me filming members of State Patrol process my colleagues, including @shijundu. Our credentials are huge.
— Liz Sawyer (@ByLizSawyer) April 17, 2021
📸 by @benjovland pic.twitter.com/HBwWfbkcyA
A student journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Tracker she was separated from a group of other student journalists reporting at the protest and found herself in the kettle.
“As people either escaped or were arrested around me, I ended up alone on the completely cleared-out block on Humboldt,” she said. “I approached some state troopers holding out my press pass who yelled at me to join a group of reporters who had already been detained in front of a gas station.”
Both Du and Sawyer were among the journalists in the group the student was directed to join, and she, too, had her face and forms of identification photographed.
“I have no idea what they are using those photos for, we were not told, but I obviously found that disturbing and a violation of our rights as reporters,” she said.
Three AFP journalists — photographer Chandan Khanna, videographer Eléonore Sens and reporter Robin Legrand — were pepper sprayed by Minnesota State Patrol troopers and then ordered to pass through the media checkpoint as well, according to footage Sens posted to Twitter.
Khanna, who is an Indian citizen, told the Tracker that when he showed his ID to law enforcement at the checkpoint, the officer asked to see his passport. Khanna said he didn’t have his passport with him, but the officer pressed him for it. When Khanna pulled up a photo of his passport from an online folder, the officer photographed it and asked to see Khanna’s visa, photographing it as well.
Khanna said he is worried about what will happen with the photographs and wonders what the officer will do with the information.
“It's my privacy, my information. Why will I share my information with anybody?” Khanna said.
At least 10 journalists were ordered to get on the ground or kettled prior to having their credentials and IDs photographed on April 16, which the Tracker classifies as detainments. These journalists include:
According to a statement from the Minnesota State Patrol, troopers photographed journalists and their credentials “in order to expedite the identification process,” and the journalists were allowed to continue reporting after being identified. While some of the journalists confirmed to the Tracker that they were able to resume covering the protests, some left the area immediately. Those that remained said they were directed to a media staging area more than a block away from the kettle, which made it impossible to document police activities.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, signed a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and the heads of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Corrections detailing what it said were violations of the TRO, as well as the concerns of more than a dozen press freedom and media organizations. Among the concerns was that the images might be entered into a facial recognition service such as Clearview AI, which has been used by both the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Fusion Center to monitor and target individuals, including protesters, according to RCFP.
“Whatever the intent behind this ‘cataloging’ of journalists, it was deeply disturbing for those involved, and it has caused much fear regarding what use might be made of these photographs and accompanying identifying information in the future, including full names, dates of birth and home addresses,” the letter reads.
“We hope that any photos that were improperly taken will be expunged rather than stashed away in a law enforcement database,” RCFP said in a post about the violations.
On April 17, Walz told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that law enforcement officers would no longer photograph journalists’ faces and credentials, noting it “created a pretty Orwellian picture.”
Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell also noted that the photographs were “a misstep on our part,” the Star Tribune reported.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here. To learn more about how the Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit pressfreedomtracker.us.
“Here’s a photo of the officer taking my photo,” journalist Suzette Smith tweeted. While covering a Portland protest, Smith became one of at least 30 journalists photographed by law enforcement at protests.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],Media,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2021, protest",,, 2021-04-29 16:36:34.980534+00:00,2021-04-29 16:36:34.980534+00:00,Florida county commission passes resolution sarcastically 'honoring' journalist who wrote critically of it,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/florida-county-commission-passes-resolution-sarcastically-honoring-journalist-who-wrote-critically-of-it/,2021-04-29 16:36:34.945636+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Isadora Rangel (Florida Today),,2021-02-09,False,Brevard County,Florida (FL),None,None,"On Feb. 9, 2021, the Brevard County Commission in Florida passed a resolution sarcastically “honoring” journalist Isadora Rangel, who had written critically of the commission.
Rangel had recently announced that she would be leaving her post as the opinion and engagement editor of Florida Today, the major daily covering Brevard County, for a job at the Miami Herald.
In a video of the commission’s Feb. 9 meeting posted by the Washington Post, Commissioner John Tobia can be seen reading the resolution aloud.
Among the statements he cited: “Whereas because of her eloquent prose the circulation of Florida Today dropped only 16 percent during her tenure” and “Whereas her dedication to Brevard is exemplified by accepting a position with the Miami Herald a mere three years after coming here.”
Rangel had been a frequent critic of the commission. In March 2019, she criticized Commissioner Bryan Lober’s handling of an online squabble with a detractor, and in an op-ed published in January 2020, she called a ceremonial vote to uphold the Constitution “a farce.”
Following the resolution’s initial passage, Commissioner Lober proposed the addition of two amendments. The first, which the commission agreed to add, stated: “Whereas throughout her employment with Florida Today, Ms. Rangel never once let the fact she’s forbidden from voting in this county deter her from commenting on our politics and criticizing numerous Republican elected officials.” And the second, which Lober termed the “less palatable” of the two and which the commission would decline to add: “Whereas despite her recurring and highly partisan criticisms of the manner in which this county, state and country are governed, Ms. Rangel deserves recognition for selflessly remaining in this country, notwithstanding our roughly tenfold higher per capita GDP and approximately one-sixth the murder rate of the country from which she hails.”
Rangel, a permanent U.S. resident who moved from Brazil in 2006, tweeted her reaction on Feb. 11, writing, “When the Brevard County Commission passes a resolution ‘honoring’ you, taking up the public’s times and a commissioner makes a bunch of xenophobic comments because you got under their skin. #winning #BeijinhoNoOmbro.”
When reached for comment, Rangel said she wouldn’t be commenting on the issue any further and referred the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to statements she’d given to the Post and Herald.
Rangel told the Post: “They feel entitled to use that time devoted to county issues for personal issues. Is that really what government is about? Is it the job of an elected official to use his official position to go on personal tirades and issue attacks against people?”
She told the Herald she felt the resolution was motivated by anti-immigrant sentiment. “It should be horrifying not because it was directed to me.... It should be horrifying that in a country built by immigrants, we’re still using this rhetoric,” she said.
Neither Tobia nor Lober responded to the Tracker’s request for comment. Tobia told the Post that the resolution “pretty much speaks for itself,” adding, “We wish her well, but we certainly took a couple of jabs, as she often did in the newspaper.”
And Lober defended the resolution in an email to the paper, writing, “If she can dish it, she should be able to take it.” Addressing the comments about Brazil, he said he wanted to “illustrate how well we have it here, not how undesirable the situation may be in Rangel’s home country.”
A week after the passage of the resolution, Florida Today reported that the commissioner’s office had temporarily closed after threats had been received from an unidentified caller.
“As a result of the inaccurate and misleading reporting, shooting threats were called into multiple commission offices yesterday forcing their evacuation and costing taxpayers in law enforcement response,” Lober told the Herald.
When asked by the Herald to establish a connection between the threats and the media attention surrounding the resolution, the paper reported that the commissioner did not respond.
Andrea Gallo, a Louisiana-based reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune newspaper, was sued by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Feb. 5, 2021, in an effort to block a public records request made by Gallo.
Landry’s lawsuit asked a judge to back up the attorney general’s denial of a request that Gallo had filed Dec. 14, 2020, asking to see a sexual harassment complaint against a high-ranking official in Landry’s office.
Gallo was initially told that the records would be available after an investigation of the complaint was complete, according to The Advocate. On Jan. 22, 2021, after the official under investigation had returned to the office from a period of administrative leave, the attorney general’s office told Gallo that the records would be made available the following week. Then, on Jan. 28, the office declined to release the complaint, saying the document contained private information that was protected by internal confidentiality policies, as well as constitutional disclosure protections.
Gallo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that typically after a records request is denied, she would go to the newspaper’s lawyer and the newspaper might eventually file a lawsuit. According to The Advocate, the newspaper had warned Landry that the publication was prepared to sue for the records.
Then on Feb. 5, Gallo said she received an email notifying her that Landry had filed suit against her. Gallo told the Tracker she was shocked.
In the suit, Landry’s office argued that releasing the records would lead to a chilling effect on employees reporting sexual harassment, for fear that personal details would be made public. The lawsuit also asked the court to seal the records of the proceedings related to the records request, and to order Gallo to cover court costs.
Gallo told the Tracker she feared the attorney general’s action could dissuade people from seeking public records.
“I think that it sends a very clear message to reporters, and to the public of Louisiana, that if you request documents from the attorney general's office you better watch out, because you might be subjected to a lawsuit,” Gallo said.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a Tracker partner, criticized Landry’s lawsuit in a statement.
RCFP legal fellow Gunita Singh told the Tracker that when public officials sue people who request records, it has a chilling effect.
“Public records laws exist to maximize our right to know and to illuminate the actions of government officials and institutions. These laws serve as a vehicle for us to learn about the conduct—or misconduct—of state actors,” Singh said. “So when a records requester gets hit with a lawsuit that has the effect of deterring her from using these crucial laws to the benefit of the public, it’s deeply concerning.”
Singh said in many states, public records laws presume records are subject to public disclosure.
“When lawsuits are aimed at stifling the free flow of information by targeting records requesters, they subvert that presumption of disclosure, to the detriment of not just the individual requester but society as a whole,” Singh said.
Landry’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
After a Zoom court hearing on March 4, a judge ruled in favor of Gallo, ordering Landry’s office to release the sexual harassment complaint and to pay the newspaper’s attorneys fees of $5,625, The Advocate reported.
“I'm hopeful that based on the outcome of this lawsuit Jeff Landry's office and all, like, public agencies in the state have learned that this isn't the right way to go about handling a request for documents,” Gallo said.
After the attorney general’s office released a heavily redacted version of an investigation into the sexual harassment complaint, the newspaper counter-sued, seeking more complete access, according to The Advocate. A judge ruled in favor of Landry, saying the redactions were within his office’s authority. However, the judge ordered Landry’s office to again pay the newspaper’s court costs, saying that Landry’s office had been slow to process the records.
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 from the just-inaugurated president: “I’m not joking when I say this: If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.” The item closed by posing the following: “Serious question on our minds this morning: Does this standard apply to how mid-level press aides treat reporters?”
A little over three weeks later, on Feb. 12, a piece by Vanity Fair seemingly explained why that question may have been percolating for Politico, reporting that on Inauguration Day, Palmeri had contacted McCammond for comment on a story about her relationship with the incoming deputy press secretary. Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo reached out to a Politico editor to object to the story, and then contacted Palmeri directly, allegedly saying, “I will destroy you”; threatening to ruin her reputation; and making other “derogatory and misogynistic comments.”
Following the publication of the article, press secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement saying, “TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out by the President. In addition to his initial apology, he has sent the reporter a personal note expressing his profound regret.” She also announced that Ducklo had been suspended for one week without pay.
In a press conference the same day, Psaki addressed a question from a female reporter about retaining Ducklo in his role after the revelations about the phone call and his comments. Psaki responded that Ducklo’s behavior was “completely unacceptable” and that while she did not excuse it, the story was about his personal life and not about an issue concerning the White House.
Ducklo resigned a day after his suspension was announced, on Feb. 13. Psaki confirmed Ducklo’s resignation in a statement, stating: “We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion with him this evening.” She added that the decision had been approved by White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
Ducklo expressed regret over his actions in a statement posted on Twitter account about his resignation, writing, in part, “No words can express my regret, my embarrassment, and my disgust for my behavior. I used language that no woman should ever have to hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job.”
The Department of Homeland Security has compiled intelligence reports about the reporting and tweets of two journalists covering protests in Portland, Oregon, according to a Washington Post article published on July 30, 2020.
The protests began at the end of May in response to footage of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for more than eight minutes during an arrest. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The incident sparked protests across the country against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Post reported that over the last week of July, the department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis disseminated three reports that included information on New York Times reporter Mike Baker and Editor-in-Chief of the blog Lawfare, Benjamin Wittes, alleging that the journalists had published leaked, unclassified documents about DHS operations in Portland.
The reports included summaries of tweets written by Baker and Wittes, screenshots of the posts and information about the amount of engagement the posts received on the social media platform.
Neither Baker nor Wittes responded to the Tracker’s emailed requests for comment.
Following the Post’s article about the reports, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered the office to cease all collection of information on journalists and announced an investigation into the reports. The acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, Brian Murphy, has also since been reassigned, the Post reported.
A department spokesperson told the Post, “In no way does the Acting Secretary condone this practice and he has immediately ordered an inquiry into the matter. The Acting Secretary is committed to ensuring that all DHS personnel uphold the principles of professionalism, impartiality and respect for civil rights and civil liberties, particularly as it relates to the exercise of First Amendment rights.”
The production of these reports is consistent with the department’s aggressive tactics in Portland, sources told The Post, but such investigations are not intended to detail information about American citizens who have no connection to terrorist activity. Steve Bunnell, a former general counsel for the department, described the reports as “bizarre.”
Wittes posted a series of tweets detailing that it was not the sharing of his tweets and the department’s concern about leaks that troubled him.
“What is troubling about this story is that I&A shared my tweets *as intelligence reporting,* that is, an intelligence arm of the government filed a report on a citizen for activity at the heart of journalism: revealing newsworthy information about government to the public,” he wrote.
“I am not sure how my reporting of unclassified material constitutes any kind of homeland security threat that justifies the dissemination of intelligence reporting on a US person, particularly not one exercising core First Amendment rights and nothing more. I intend to find out.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Tear gas engulfs demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, on July 28, 2020. That same week, the activities of two journalists covering the protests and the federal response to them were the subject of reports by the Department of Homeland Security.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, protest",,, 2020-05-07 20:32:32.256975+00:00,2022-04-06 15:40:19.082479+00:00,Vice President's office reportedly threatens censure over tweet,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-presidents-office-reportedly-threatens-censure-over-tweet/,2022-04-06 15:40:19.019375+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Steve Herman (Voice of America),,2020-04-30,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Vice President Mike Pence’s office reportedly threatened to take punitive actions against a Voice of America reporter for a tweet he posted on April 30, 2020.
Pence’s staff alleged that White House bureau chief Steve Herman had violated an off-the-record agreement after the vice president’s trip to the Mayo Clinic, The Washington Post reported.
Herman’s tweet disclosed that Pence’s office had informed the pool journalists coming on the trip that they would need to wear face masks during the visit in accordance with the clinic’s precautionary policy against spreading the coronavirus.
All of us who traveled with him were notified by the office of @VP the day before the trip that wearing of masks was required by the @MayoClinic and to prepare accordingly. https://t.co/LFqh27LusD
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 30, 2020
Pence received considerable criticism after he was photographed as the only person in the room not following the guideline. His wife Karen Pence said in a Fox News interview that the vice president had not been aware of the guideline until after the visit.
Herman tweeted in direct response to the Second Lady’s assertion, apparently “enraging” Pence’s staff which alleged he had inappropriately shared details of a logistical memo, the Post reported.
The planning document, shared with the Post, is marked “OFF THE RECORD AND FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY,” which is standard operational security on official White House trips. Questions remain, however, about how long publications are barred from printing such details.
Herman told the Post that the White House Correspondents’ Association notified him that he would be barred from further travel on Air Force Two at the behest of the vice president’s office.
Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for Pence’s office did inform VOA that any punishment was still under discussion, pending an apology from Herman or the outlet, the Post reported.
In a statement to the Post, Herman said, “My tweet speaks for itself.”
“We always have and will strictly adhere to keeping off the record any White House communications to reporters for planning purposes involving logistics that have security implications prior to events,” he said.
VOA Director Amanda Bennett told the Tracker in a statement that the outlet adheres to the highest journalistic standards.
“VOA’s credibility relies on presenting ‘a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions,’ as the Charter states,” she said.
Vice President Mike Pence received criticism for not wearing a mask while visiting COVID-19 research facilities at the Mayo Clinic.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,coronavirus,,, 2020-04-15 15:57:09.851657+00:00,2020-04-17 14:03:58.611884+00:00,"Illinois mayor threatens journalist for taking pictures, video on public street",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/illinois-mayor-threatens-journalist-taking-pictures-video-public-street/,2020-04-17 14:03:58.493801+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,John Kraft (Edgar County Watchdogs),,2020-03-26,False,Bellmont,Illinois (IL),None,None,"The mayor of an Illinois village threatened a reporter with assault and called the local sheriff to intervene in newsgathering on March 26, 2020.
Journalist John Kraft, co-founder of state government watchdog blog Edgar County Watchdogs, was notified by residents in Bellmont, Illinois, that Mayor Gary Lance had been recorded allegedly using the village tractor to gravel a parking area in front of his personal residence, which would violate laws barring the use of town property for personal purposes.
Kraft told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he attempted to call Lance multiple times for comment concerning the allegations, and that Lance returned his calls on the morning of March 26.
According to an account of the call published by Edgar County Watchdogs, they spoke about the use of the tractor, which Lance refused to admit belonged to the village. Lance hung up on Kraft then called back soon after to ask for Kraft’s name, telling the reporter that his actions were “none of [his] business.”
Before hanging up again, Lance told Kraft that if the reporter contacted him again he would pursue harassment charges.
“I considered that conversation an invitation to drive to Bellmont and see the new gravel driveway for myself,” Kraft wrote.
Kraft told the Tracker that as he was taking photos and video of the driveway from a public road, Lance drove up and stopped next to his truck. Lance told him to leave or he’d call the Wabash County sheriff.
“I’m not going to move along,” Kraft can be heard saying in a video of the interaction. “Go ahead, I’ll wait right here for [the sheriff]. 911 is their number.”
Lance says, “Maybe I ought to get out and just whip your ass,” to which Kraft responds, “Go ahead and try it.”
Lance then told the reporter that he is “worthless.” Kraft responds, “You’re the one that is.”
Wabash County Sheriff Derek Morgan told the Tracker that the sheriff’s deputy who went to the scene told Lance that Kraft was within his rights to photograph in a public place. Shortly after speaking with the deputy himself, Kraft left the scene.
Lance declined to comment to the Tracker.
On March 31, Lance filed requests for restraining orders against five village residents — including a village trustee — who he alleged were stalking him by taking video of him graveling his driveway and posting the footage online.
Sheriff Morgan confirmed to the Tracker that Lance did not request a restraining order against Kraft.
Reporter John Kraft captures video of a sheriff's deputy interacting with the mayor of Bellmont, Illinois, who had wanted the reporter removed. The sheriff's deputy confirmed that Kraft was within his rights.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2020-01-31 17:41:00.594493+00:00,2021-10-05 20:07:42.868647+00:00,"Tennessee lawmaker introduces bill to declare CNN, Washington Post ‘fake news’",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tennessee-lawmaker-introduces-bill-to-declare-cnn-washington-post-fake-news/,2021-10-05 20:07:42.821349+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2020-01-29,False,Nashville,Tennessee (TN),36.16589,-86.78444,"A Republican State Representative in Tennessee filed a joint resolution declaring CNN and The Washington Post “fake news” for introduction on Jan. 29, 2020.
The resolution was introduced by Tennessee State Rep. Micah Van Huss, and co-sponsored by Reps. Dennis Powers, Bruce Griffey and Mike Sparks. A brief description of the statement of intent or position on the official assembly website reads, “Recognizes CNN and the Washington Post as fake news and condemns them for denigrating our citizens.”
Van Huss told News Channel 11 he had a list of articles and outlets that were “very hypocritical,” but limited the scope of the bill to the Post and CNN. The bill specifically cites the two outlets’ reviews of the same book, “The Cult of Trump,” by Steven Hassan.
Announcing the bill on Twitter, Van Huss wrote, “The State of Tennessee recognizes CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democrat Party. I’ve filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that’s tired of fake news and Republicans who don’t fight.”
The State of Tennessee recognizes CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democrat Party.
— Micah Van Huss (@MicahVanHuss) January 29, 2020
I've filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that's tired of fake news and Republicans who don't fight.
Follow it's progress: https://t.co/7qp6E7q9LT pic.twitter.com/XyqQETtLKy
The language used in Van Huss’ tweet closely mirrors that used in President Donald Trump’s negative tweets about the media. Trump has used the epithet “fake news” in 630 tweets as president, and has targeted CNN and the Post or their reporters in 228 and 116 tweets, respectively.
Brad Batt, who plans to challenge Van Huss for his House seat, told News Channel 11 the bill is “a waste of time and taxpayer money.”
“We should be focused on addressing real problems,” Batt said in his statement.
Once the bill is introduced it must be passed by both the Tennessee House and Senate before going before the governor.
A man wears a 'CNN is fake news' T-shirt at a 2018 California rally for President Trump. A Tennessee state representative has introduced a resolution to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as ‘fake news’ outlets.
,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,"CNN, The Washington Post",,,, 2020-01-29 15:18:07.794241+00:00,2023-12-21 16:43:20.450702+00:00,State Department removes NPR reporter from official trip,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-department-removes-npr-reporter-official-trip/,2023-12-21 16:43:20.358908+00:00,,,,"Denial of Access, Chilling Statement",,,,,,2020-01-27,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"In apparent retaliation for an NPR reporter’s interview with Mike Pompeo, the State Department removed a different NPR reporter from accompanying the secretary on an official trip abroad.
During an interview on Jan. 24, Mary Louise Kelly, co-host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” and a former national security correspondent, asked Pompeo about U.S. policy and Iran and his role in the Ukrainian affair, particularly the dismissal of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
NPR reported that an aide cut off the interview immediately following Kelly’s questions on Ukraine. Pompeo then leaned in, glared silently at Kelly and left the room. A few moments later, the same aid asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo’s private living room at the State Department without a recorder, not specifying that the conversation would be off the record.
“He shouted at me for about the same amount of time as the [9-minute] interview itself had lasted,” Kelly told her “All Things Considered” co-host Ari Shapiro. “He was not happy to have been questioned about Ukraine. He asked, ‘Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?’ He used the f-word in that sentence and many others.”
“He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map. I said yes. He called out for his aides to bring him a map of the world with no writing, no countries marked. I pointed to Ukraine, he put the map away. He said, ‘People will hear about this.’ And then he turned and said he had things to do,” Kelly said.
The following day, Pompeo issued a rare official statement — a medium typically used for condemnations of human rights violations or announcing sanctions — denouncing Kelly and the media as a whole.
In the statement, Pompeo accuses Kelly of lying to him twice: both in setting up the interview and when agreeing to have their post-interview conversation off the record.
“It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency,” the statement reads. “This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity.”
NPR Senior Vice President for News Nancy Barnes and President and CEO John Lansing came to Kelly’s defense, citing her integrity and professionalism, and stood behind NPR’s reporting.
In an interview with “All Things Considered,” Lansing acknowledged that tensions can and do arise when journalists press officials on hard questions. “But this goes well beyond tension — this goes toward intimidation,” Lansing said. “And let me just say this: We will not be intimidated. Mary Louise Kelly won’t be intimidated, and NPR won’t be intimidated.”
Kelly also wrote about the incident in an opinion article for The New York Times, in which she recounted the interview and said, “Journalists don’t sit down with senior government officials in the service of scoring political points. We do it in the service of asking tough questions, on behalf of our fellow citizens.”
Five Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — ranking member Bob Menendez (NJ), Cory Booker (NJ), Ed Markey (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR) and Tim Kaine (VA) — wrote a letter castigating Pompeo’s statement, The Hill reported.
“At a time when journalists around the world are being jailed for their reporting — and as in the case of Jamal Khashoggi, killed — your insulting and contemptuous comments are beneath the office of the Secretary of State,” the letter reads.
At a time when journalists around the world are being jailed for their reporting, Sec Pompeo’s insulting and contemptuous comments to NPR’s @NPRKelly are beneath the office of the Secretary of State.
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) January 25, 2020
Read our letter 👇 pic.twitter.com/x3qaRrUXTM
Pompeo was echoing language often used by President Donald Trump, who has previously referred to the press as “unhinged,” and blamed an absence of “journalistic standards, for waning public trust in the media. Trump has also affirmed critiques of NPR and praised Pompeo’s actions in regards to Kelly.
On Jan. 27, the State Department Correspondents’ Association released a statement in response to the department’s decision to remove NPR correspondent Michele Kelemen from Pompeo’s plane, asserting that the move was “retaliation” against the outlet and urging it to reconsider the decision.
“The removal of Michele, who was in rotation as the radio pool reporter, comes days after Secretary Pompeo harshly criticized the work of an NPR host. We can only conclude that the State Department is retaliating against National Public Radio as a result of this exchange,” said Shaun Tandon, the association’s president.
“The State Department press corps has a long tradition of accompanying secretaries of state on their travels and we find it unacceptable to punish an individual member of our association.”
NPR’s Lansing and Barnes wrote to the State Department on Jan. 28 asking for confirmation of Kelemen’s removal from Pompeo’s official trip and clarification around NPR access. The letter also asked for copies of policy and procedures regarding pool reporters, as well as correspondence regarding the Kelemen decision.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departs early on Jan. 29, 2020, from Maryland for an official trip to Europe. The State Department removed an NPR reporter from this trip in apparent retaliation to Pompeo’s dispute with another NPR reporter.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,['GOVERNMENT_EVENTS'],National Public Radio,,,,Federal government: Agency 2020-03-04 21:06:59.528043+00:00,2022-04-06 17:00:05.758091+00:00,State agency sends cease-and-desist letter to NBC journalists,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-agency-sends-cease-and-desist-letter-nbc-journalists/,2022-04-06 17:00:05.689661+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,"Mike Hixenbaugh (NBC News), Janelle Richards (NBC News)",,2020-01-24,False,Madison,Wisconsin (WI),43.07305,-89.40123,"The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families sent a cease-and-desist letter to an NBC reporter and producer on Jan. 24, 2020, in an effort to block the outlet from publishing information the agency believed was confidential.
NBC investigative reporter Mike Hixenbaugh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he received the letter a few days after he had emailed the child welfare agency requesting an interview. The letter, shared with the Tracker, advised Hixenbaugh and NBC Nightly News producer Janelle Richards that the disclosure of a confidential file is a criminal offense punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and up to a $1,000 fine, under state law.
“Please cease and desist immediately from any further illegal use and disclosure of the documents in the child abuse investigation file illegally disclosed to you, and any information obtained in that file,” wrote the agency’s chief legal counsel Therese Durkin. “Failure to comply will lead to further legal action.”
Hixenbaugh told the Tracker that in all of his reporting on child protective services across the country, never before had a state agency reached out to block his reporting or threaten him.
“It was unusual and surprising to receive a letter that suggested that I could be imprisoned for doing journalism,” he said.
NBC attorney Alexander Ziccardi emailed a response to the letter, noting that the agency had falsely assumed the information used in the outlet’s reporting could only have been obtained from a confidential report.
“[V]irtually all of that information is available from alternative sources that are entirely independent of the CPS investigation file,” he wrote. Ziccardi added that even if NBC did source information from a CPS report it would “unquestionably” be protected under the First Amendment.
Sarah Matthews, a staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that media outlets cannot be held liable when publishing information that a third-party illegally obtained or disclosed. Matthews is also on the Tracker’s advisory board.
Hixenbaugh told the Tracker that his reporting ultimately cited only court records and other legally obtained files, such as hospital records and criminal complaints, making no references to a CPS investigative file.
Thomas McCarthy, communications director for the agency, told the Tracker that the letter was meant not as a threat but as a warning, as the department cannot itself pursue criminal charges.
“We are concerned with how he received the information, but understand and respect his role as a journalist to report,” McCarthy said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers spoke in support of the department’s actions after the letter was publicized by media and First Amendment organizations.
“I believe it’s appropriate that DCF protects the kid in this case. Somebody’s got to stick up for that young kid who was deemed to be abused,” Evers said, according to the Journal Sentinel. “Somebody’s got to stand up for the kind, and we did and I did support that.”
Hixenbaugh emphasized to the Tracker that the privacy of the allegedly abused child was never threatened, as journalistic ethics prevent such disclosures.
“Although through many different means we are aware of her name and identifying information, we did not name her and would never have named her in this situation,” Hixenbaugh said.
NBC News investigative reporter Mike Hixenbaugh was sent a cease-and-desist letter by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2019-12-10 19:34:04.204719+00:00,2019-12-10 19:34:04.204719+00:00,Indiana governor sends cease-and-desist letters to news outlets following investigative report,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/indiana-governor-sends-cease-and-desist-letters-news-outlets-following-investigative-report/,2019-12-10 19:34:03.959504+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2019-11-29,False,Indianapolis,Indiana (IN),39.76838,-86.15804,"On Nov. 29, four days after Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting published a lengthy investigative piece into injuries at Amazon's warehouses, the general counsel for Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb sent the news organization a cease-and-desist letter demanding the story be retracted. The Indianapolis Star, which republished the Reveal investigation in two parts, also received a cease-and-desist letter from the governor.
The Reveal investigation — which looked at injury records for 23 of Amazon's 110 fulfillment centers — alleges that Holcomb personally intervened in the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the death of an Amazon worker who had been crushed by a forklift. Indiana was vying for Amazon's HQ2 at the time.
In his letter to the Indianapolis Star, Joseph Heerens, general counsel for Gov. Holcomb, claims that the stories contain "serious inaccuracies and falsehoods."
"These articles seek to unjustifiably and inexcusably harm the good name and reputation of Governor Holcomb,” Heerens wrote. “But more than that, if these serious inaccuracies and falsehoods are not immediately corrected, they represent a threat to the positive business climate that has been created in our State ... That should not be allowed to happen. You must cease and desist from publishing the articles as currently written and take immediate steps to retract them."
In a separate cease-and-desist letter to Reveal, Heerens goes into further detail about his objections to the story. The news outlets later included a clarification and update to one of those objections.
The Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists issued a strongly worded open letter to Holcomb condemning his cease-and-desist letters, holding they represent a "threat to press freedom."
Signed by the chapter’s board of directors, the open letter stated that Holcomb's order is "designed to intimidate reporters and journalists looking into your administration" as well as "add to the overall climate in the nation that looks to undermine the credibility of journalists and media outlets."
"Although you might not agree with the contents or conclusions of the report in Reveal and the Indianapolis Star, an unusual call by your office for a cease-and-desist order against the media could chill efforts to report an ongoing story," the letter said. An email to Russell for additional comment was not returned as of press time.
The national branch of the Society of Professional Journalists also weighed in with a tweet, calling the cease-and-desist letters an effort to intimidate and silence the outlets:
We support @IndyProSPJ in calling out Gov. Holcomb for trying to intimidate and silence @indystar and @reveal through cease-and-desist letters for their reporting of Amazon worker safety. https://t.co/isKGwSYuYD
— Society of Professional Journalists (@spj_tweets) December 4, 2019
A portion of one of two cease-and-desist letters sent from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb following the publication of an investigative report by Reveal from the Center of Investigative Reporting.
,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,"Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, The Indianapolis Star",,,, 2019-11-06 17:55:27.651760+00:00,2024-02-29 19:50:01.397295+00:00,White House plans to instruct federal agencies to cancel subscriptions to two major news outlets,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-plans-instruct-federal-agencies-cancel-subscriptions-two-major-news-outlets/,2024-02-29 19:50:01.309208+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2019-10-24,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"The White House announced that President Donald Trump plans to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions to The New York Times and the Washington Post, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 24, 2019.
Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told the Journal, “Not renewing subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving—hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be saved.”
Grisham did not provide additional details, such as how many subscriptions the federal government currently has, how the White House intends to compel agencies to cancel the subscriptions and when the order would take effect.
The decision came less than a week after Trump said during an interview on Fox News that the Times wasn’t wanted in the White House anymore.
“We’re going to probably terminate that and the Washington Post. They’re fake,” Trump added.
Neither the Times or the Post communications departments responded to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s requests for comment.
Jennifer Jacobs, a senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg, tweeted that the White House followed through with the President’s threat and that Oct. 22 was the last day physical copies of those newspapers were delivered.
White House says it’s going to do things and doesn’t always follow through, but NYT and WaPo subscriptions were ended.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 24, 2019
Some aides privately expressing regret. But doubt Trump will stop reading either.
WaPo *online* subscription remains.
WH still gets WSJ, Hill, NY Post etc. pic.twitter.com/1H3lzdBtYM
Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, told The Associated Press, “I have no doubt the hardworking reporters of The New York Times and Washington Post will continue to do quality journalism, regardless of whether the president acknowledges he reads them. Pretending to ignore the work of a free press won’t make the news go away or stop reporters from informing the public and holding those in power accountable.”
Axios reported that sources familiar with the president’s iPhone confirmed that Trump has not deleted the Times and the Post’s cellphone apps, maintaining digital access to the two newspapers.
Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric has trickled down to the local level. The same day the White House said it would instruct federal agencies to not renew subscriptions, county commissioners in Florida denied local librarians’ request for funds to provide their roughly 70,000 patrons with digital access to the Times. The Citrus County Chronicle reported that when the request came before the commission, the officials laughed aloud.
Commissioner Scott Carnahan also called the newspaper “fake news.”
“I agree with President Trump,” he said. “I will not be voting for this. I don’t want The New York Times in this county.”
All five members of the commission agreed to reject the library’s request. The Chronicle reported that it spoke to four of them and commissioners Brian Coleman and Chairman Jeff Kinnard cited concerns that approving the request would lead to requests for subscriptions to more “radical publications.” Coleman also said, “I support President Trump. I would say they put stuff in there that’s not necessarily verified.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the media in this 2018 file photo. Trump said in a Fox News interview recently that he wanted to keep specific newspapers out of the White House.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],"The New York Times, The Washington Post",Donald Trump,,, 2019-11-08 21:03:14.738084+00:00,2019-11-08 21:04:52.484473+00:00,Reporter says White House senior adviser threatened to 'delve' into her personal life,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-examiner-reporter-says-white-house-senior-adviser-threatened-delve-her-personal-life/,2019-11-08 21:04:52.368041+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,Caitlin Yilek (Washington Examiner),,2019-10-23,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Caitlin Yilek, a breaking news reporter for the Washington Examiner, wrote that she was berated and threatened by top White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway during a phone call on Oct. 23, 2019.
Yilek had published an article the day before about President Donald Trump considering Conway as his next chief of staff; Yilek included details about the feud between the president and Conway’s husband, George Conway. Tom Joannou, Conway’s assistant, contacted Yilek that evening asking for her phone number.
The morning of Oct. 23, Joannou called and requested that their conversation be off the record, but moments later Conway took over the call, initiating a new, on-the-record conversation. Conway appeared to be furious with the reporter’s coverage, and berated Yilek for what she classified as lazy, irrelevant and sexist reporting.
In a transcript of the call published by the Examiner, Conway says, “So, I just am wondering why in God’s earth you would need to mention anything about George Conway’s tweets in an article that talks about me as possibly being chief of staff. Other than it looks to me like there’s no original reporting here, you just read Twitter and other people’s stuff, which I guess is why you don’t pick up the phone when people call from the White House because, if it’s not on Twitter or it’s not on cable TV, it’s not real.”
Conway also accused Yilek of “trying to undercut another woman based on who she’s married to,” and dismissed Yilek’s explanations of why information about George Conway was considered important contextual information.
Near the end of the call, Conway said: “Listen, if you’re going to cover my personal life, then we’re welcome to do the same around here.” Yilek later characterized the statement as a threat that “the White House would delve into the personal lives of reporters if they wrote about her husband.”
Conway disputed Yilek’s version of events, saying in a lengthy statement, “What I said on that call I’ve said publicly on-the-record before, including on TV, in speeches, in driveway gaggles with reporters. I did NOT indicate the call was off-the-record, but the reporter certainly thought it was.”
Neither Conway nor Yilek responded to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s requests for comment.
In a video published by The Washington Post, a reporter asked Conway to clarify what she meant by “cover her personal life.” Conway responded, “Right, so, don’t use the word ‘threaten’ and don’t use the word ‘investigate’ and stop being so silly.” She did not, however, elaborate on her original intent with the statement to Yilek.
White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway speaks to reporters at the White House in October. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2019-11-20 19:13:23.200951+00:00,2022-04-06 17:23:49.524653+00:00,"Former House Speaker Gingrich says, if he could, he would eliminate the White House press corps",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-house-speaker-gingrich-says-if-he-could-he-would-eliminate-white-house-press-corps/,2022-04-06 17:23:49.476521+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2019-10-21,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said during a CBS News interview on Oct. 21, 2019, that he would eliminate the White House press corps if he had the authority to do so.
While Gingrich appeared on CBSN Monday to promote his new book, he was asked by anchor Vladimir Duthiers whether he would have given a press briefing like Mick Mulvaney did if he were chief of staff. The previous week, Mulvaney gave a news conference during which he appeared to admit that President Donald Trump had asked for help investigating a political rival in exchange for releasing military aid for Ukraine.
.@NewtGingrich on advising Pres. Trump and Mick Mulvaney before Mulvaney's quid pro quo remarks during WH briefing: "If I had had the ability to do it, there wouldn't be a White House press corps in the White House." https://t.co/g1VHZ94AH7 pic.twitter.com/ypMzH0AKkE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 21, 2019
Gingrich responded, "If I had had the ability to do it, there wouldn't be a White House press corps in the White House.”
"Why is that?" asked CBSN anchor Anne-Marie Green.
“They’re all enemies of the president,” Gingrich said. “Why would you call on people who get up every morning saying, ‘I hate Donald Trump. I wonder how I can make his life miserable’?”
Green interjected that press briefings are opportunities for the president to speak to the people. Gingrich dismissed that characterization, echoing the sentiments of White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham when she said she was not planning to resume regular press briefings.
“The president can speak to the people anytime,” Gingrich said. “He doesn’t need to speak to a bunch of reporters who are then going to be distorted by their editors.”
The Hill reported that Gingrich made similar comments in May 2017. According to The Hill’s reporting at the time, Gingrich called on Trump to follow through on his threat to cancel the daily press briefings and advised him to treat the news media as “dishonest opponents pretending to be reporters.”
Grisham and her press secretary predecessor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have effectively ended the daily White House press briefings. In January, Trump tweeted that the lack of regular briefings was the result of directions he gave to Sanders. ABC News reported that Wednesday, Sept. 11 marked six months since the White House held a traditional briefing.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks to the media in New York in this 2016 file photo.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,White House Press Corps,,,, 2021-03-24 17:25:46.795029+00:00,2022-04-06 17:25:36.448356+00:00,NYT report: U.S. Ambassador to Hungary asked Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to circumvent critical reporting of Hungarian government,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nyt-report-us-ambassador-to-hungary-asked-radio-free-europeradio-liberty-to-circumvent-critical-reporting-of-hungarian-government/,2022-04-06 17:25:36.395950+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2019-09-26,False,Budapest,Hungary,None,None,"David Cornstein, who served as United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2018 to 2020, reportedly contacted the federally-funded U.S. Agency for Global Media in 2019 asking that its media services avoid negative reporting about Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, according to a New York Times report.
“The United States International Broadcasting Act prohibits American government officials, including Mr. Cornstein, from interfering in Radio Free Europe’s reporting,” the Times reported on Sept. 6. 2019.
Following the report, eight U.S. senators addressed an open letter to Cornstein seeking to confirm the Times account. No response from Cornstein has been made public, and Sen. Dick Durbin’s office, which posted the letter on the senator’s website, did not respond to a request from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker for information.
Cornstein’s reported request came as the USAGM, an independent federal agency that oversees five state-run broadcasting networks, was preparing for a May 2020 relaunch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Hungary. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is funded by the U.S. government, with a mandate to promote democratic values in countries where a free press is banned or not fully established.
According to the Times report, unnamed U.S. officials told the paper that while Cornstein was still serving as ambassador, he “sought assurances from the agency that its service would not focus on negative stories about the Hungarian government, or investigative journalism, and that it would not undermine his efforts as ambassador.”
USAGM’s CEO and Director John Lansing told the Times, “It’s literally illegal for the U.S. government to interfere in our editorial independence.”
The United States International Broadcasting Act 1994, enacted to streamline the U.S. international media, prohibits U.S. government officials from interfering in Radio Free Europe’s reporting.
In a reply on the matter, Cornstein told the Times, “In general we do not comment on private discussions. That said, I remain as committed today as I was when I made clear during my Senate confirmation hearing, that as ambassador I am committed to promoting American and democratic values, including the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.”
Cornstein, who was appointed to the post in Budapest by President Donald Trump in June 2018, enjoyed a close relationship with Orban, who has been heavily criticized by pro-democracy and human rights groups for cracking down on freedoms.
According to a 2019 report by leading international press freedom groups following their joint mission to Hungary, Orban’s government has dismantled media freedoms, using techniques such as systematic government takeovers of independent media. Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy watchdog organization, downgraded Hungary from “free” to “partly free” in 2019 in its annual Freedom of the World report, citing Orban’s increasing control on the country’s independent institutions.
Despite the concerns of Freedom House and others, Cornstein lobbied to help Orban get a White House meeting in 2019, where President Trump praised him, saying, “Viktor Orban has done a tremendous job in so many different ways.”
The Hungarian service of RFE/RL relaunched on Sep. 8, 2020. “We are very excited to return to Hungary with state-of-the art programming and RFE/RL’s signature commitment to serving the public interest by reporting the issues that our audiences say matter most,” said RFE/RL acting President Daisy Sindelar.
According to a New York Times article published on Aug. 25, 2019, a “loose network of conservative operatives” supporting President Donald Trump have compiled dossiers containing potentially embarrassing information on journalists from outlets deemed “hostile” to the president.
The Times said it spoke with four people familiar with the operation. According to these sources, operatives dig through the social media histories of personnel employed at top news outlets—regardless of their rank or actual influence—in order to publicize information that could discredit the outlet as a whole.
“The operation has compiled social media posts from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and stored images of the posts that can be publicized even if the user deletes them, said the people familiar with the effort,” The Times wrote. “One claimed that the operation had unearthed potentially ‘fireable’ information on ‘several hundred’ people.”
The Times credited this operation with releases about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The Times, writing that the information was publicized “in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his reelection prospects.”
Sources pointed to Arthur Schwartz as a central player in the operation. Schwartz, a conservative consultant who is a friend and informal adviser to Donald Trump Jr., has previously tweeted alluding to knowledge of or asserting involvement with such dossiers on journalists.
I’m done bashing CNN for now. They should spend some time reflecting on the hypocrisy of their attacks on Trump admin folks — attacks that are usually based on old tweets & Facebook posts. I’m told that there are files on 35+ CNN reporters that will be deployed if they don’t.
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) October 8, 2018
The Times acknowledged in its article that it is not possible to independently assess the claims about the quantity or potential significance of the dossiers, and that “some involved in the operation have histories of bluster and exaggeration.”
However, as The Times wrote, the release of information about the operation and its goals may itself be an effort to intimidate journalists or their employers.
“Some reporters have been warned that they or their news organizations could be targets,” The Times wrote, “creating the impression that the campaign intended in part to deter them from aggressive coverage as well as to inflict punishment after an article has been published.”
The White House press office told The Times that neither Trump nor anyone in the White House was involved in or aware of the operation, and that neither the White House nor the Republican National Committee was providing it funding.
Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said in a statement that using these techniques as a warning against and retribution for pursuing coverage critical of the president escalates the president’s campaign against a free press.
“They are seeking to harass and embarrass anyone affiliated with the leading news organizations that are asking tough questions and bringing uncomfortable truths to light,” Mr. Sulzberger said in The Times. “The goal of this campaign is clearly to intimidate journalists from doing their job… The Times will not be intimidated or silenced.”
A New York Times article says that conservative operatives are compiling dossiers on the social media history of some journalists in an effort to discredit them or their media organizations.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,The New York Times,,,, 2020-02-11 16:29:52.372473+00:00,2024-02-29 18:47:55.544469+00:00,Oregon county official accuses local newspaper of criminal conduct,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-county-official-accuses-local-newspaper-criminal-conduct/,2024-02-29 18:47:55.473348+00:00,,,(2019-12-14 11:28:00+00:00) Oregon county official again accuses local newspaper of criminal conduct,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2019-08-14,False,Malheur County,Oregon (OR),None,None,"An Oregon county official accused a local newspaper of criminal harassment and requested a formal investigation into what the newspaper defended as normal reporting practices.
The Malheur Enterprise reported that it had spent months investigating State Rep. Greg Smith and his work as the contract director of the Malheur County Economic Development Department.
Enterprise Editor and Publisher Les Zaitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Smith and his agency have been uncooperative with the newspaper’s attempts to report on its activities and projects for well over a year.
Following the publication of an article on the department, a county attorney made a formal request to the local sheriff’s office to investigate the Enterprise reporters. In a statement published on Aug. 14, 2019, Smith wrote that he and his staff had been “subjected to endless phone calls, hostile emails at all hours of the day and unwelcome visits,” and accused the Enterprise of pursuing a “vendetta” against him and his office.
Sheriff Brian Wolfe confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a county official had asked him to investigate Smith’s allegations
Wolfe told an Enterprise reporter that the newspaper should examine the state crime of “telephonic harassment,” according to the outlet.
According to state law, “a telephone caller commits the crime of telephonic harassment if the caller intentionally harasses or annoys another person” by repeatedly calling or leaving messages at a number they have been forbidden to use. Telephonic harassment is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $2,500 fine.
In a statement published by the Enterprise, Zaitz defended the staff’s reporting activities as professional and customary. Zaitz also said the newspaper’s staff was alarmed by the prospect of a criminal investigation or search warrant on the Enterprise’s offices.
“We are a small, independently owned news source trying to hold public officials accountable,” Zaitz said. “Rather than provide information and truth, local officials appear more interested in criminalizing a profession protected by the First Amendment.”
The Enterprise reported that Smith’s staff had been instructed to turn over email correspondence with the newspaper to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Wolfe confirmed to the Tracker that his office did not open a formal investigation.
“We looked into the allegations and we did not open an investigation because there were no elements of a crime,” Wolfe said.
Smith did not respond to request for comment.
Editor's Note: This article and update have been edited to reflect comment from Malheur Editor and Publisher Les Zaitz.
A Kentucky teen and his family have sued The Washington Post, seeking $250 million in damages for its coverage of his involvement in an encounter with a Native American advocate at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in January 2019.
Filed on Feb. 19, the complaint alleges that the Post “targeted and bullied” 16-year-old Nicholas Sandmann because he was white, Catholic and wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap in order to advance the paper’s biased agenda against President Donald Trump.
“In a span of three days in January of this year commencing on January 19, the Post engaged in a modern-day form of McCarthyism by competing with CNN and NBC, among others, to claim leadership of a mainstream and social media mob of bullies with attacked, vilified, and threatened Nicholas Sandmann, an innocent secondary school child,” states the complaint.
The complaint cites seven articles published by the Post between Jan. 19 and 21, as well as the tweets posted to promote the articles. On March 1, the Post released an editor's note about its coverage around Sandmann and his Covington Catholic High School schoolmates, saying additional reporting, statements and video allowed for “a more complete assessment of what occurred.”
The day after the suit was filed, President Trump tweeted out his support for the lawsuit and repeating his refrain that the Post is “fake news.”
“The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.” Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019
Trump has had a combative relationship with the Post since at least December 2015, referring to it as a “scam,” “phony” and “fake news.” The president has also repeatedly maligned the news outlet indirectly by referring to it as the “#AmazonWashingtonPost” and targeting the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos.
The family is seeking $250 million in damages because, the complaint states, that is the amount Bezos paid for the newspaper when he purchased it in 2013.
A school marker for Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, where one of its students and his family is suing The Washington Post, a move endorsed by President Trump on social media.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, sent letters to two Berkeley-based reporters threatening them with legal action — including criminal charges — if they did not destroy a document obtained through a public records request.
Reporters Jason Paladino and Robert Lewis, both affiliated with UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program, received a list on Jan. 8, 2019, in response to California Public Records Act requests to POST, filed December 2018. The list included 12,000 names of current and former California police officers, as well as police applicants, who were convicted of crimes.
On Jan. 29, Becerra’s office and POST sent Paladino and Lewis very similar letters only hours apart. The letters said the list they received was “confidential” and disclosed “inadvertently”. It also stated that the possession of the spreadsheet was a misdemeanor, and demanded that the records be destroyed.
“If you do not intend to comply with our request, the Department can take legal action to ensure that the spreadsheets are properly deleted and not disseminated,” reads the letter from Becerra’s office.
Both Lewis and Paladino confirmed to Freedom of the Press Foundation that they have no intention of destroying the list.
David Snyder, an attorney at the First Amendment Coalition, noted the presence of two distinct legal threats in the letter: criminal charges for possessing the list, and a court order, such as an injunction, to prevent publication of it.
“As for the first, which says that it’s a misdemeanor to possess the list, the Supreme Court has made clear that if a journalist or anyone else lawfully receives information, they are protected from civil liability for publishing it,” Snyder said.
In a statement provided to Freedom of the Press Foundation, a spokesperson for the California Department of Justice repeated that the information Paladino and Lewis obtained is confidential and was released only inadvertently.
“It’s not like someone clicked ‘send’ on the wrong thing! They did that the first time!” Paladino told Freedom of the Press Foundation, noting that POST released an unrelated document to the reporters before correcting the mistake and sending the responsive record.
Paladino and Lewis have not published the list itself, though a report in the East Times Bay about the legal threat used several examples of California police officers convicted of crimes.
“Part of the reason we haven’t published is to do due diligence,” Lewis said.
Freedom of the Press Foundation followed up with the attorney general’s office to clarify whether it recognized any of the serious First Amendment concerns with the letter, and received a statement through a spokesperson from Attorney General Becerra. His response included no reference to the First Amendment:
“We always strive to balance the public’s right to know, the need to be transparent and an individual’s right to privacy. In this case, information from a database that’s required by law to be confidential was released erroneously, jeopardizing personal data of individuals across our state. No one wants to shield criminal behavior; we’re subject to the rule of law.”
The office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, shown in an August 2018 file photo, has threatened two reporters with legal action for possessing a document obtained through a public records request.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,public records,,, 2018-09-07 21:05:37.997528+00:00,2023-11-22 21:01:43.999168+00:00,Trump tells DOJ to investigate author of anonymous op-ed criticizing him,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-tells-doj-investigate-author-anonymous-op-ed-criticizing-him/,2023-11-22 21:01:43.880173+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,,,2018-09-07,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"President Donald Trump called for the Department of Justice to investigate the author of an anonymous op-ed within his administration, and said he was considering taking action against the New York Times for publishing it.
On Sept. 5, 2018, the Times published an opinion column titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” The anonymous author claimed in the op-ed that he was part of a group of administration staffers who tried to “resist” Trump’s impulsive decisions.
In an editor’s note, the paper said that the person who wrote the op-ed was a “senior administration official” whose identity was known to the Times but who had wished to remain anonymous.
Shortly after the op-ed was published, Trump said on Twitter that the newspaper should reveal the author’s identity to the government.
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
On Sept. 7, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted Attorney General Jeff Sessions to direct the DOJ to unmask the identity of the author. Trump said that this was a national security imperative.
“I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was, because I really believe it’s national security,” Trump said.
"For somebody to do this is very low, and I think, journalistically and from many different standpoints, and maybe even from the standpoint of national security, we'll find out about that," he added.
In a statement, the Times said that any such investigation by the DOJ would be a “blatant abuse of government power.”
“We’re confident that the Department of Justice understands that the First Amendment protects all American citizens and that it would not participate in such a blatant abuse of government power,” the paper said. “The president’s threats both underscore why we must safeguard the identity of the writer of this Op-Ed and serve as a reminder of the importance of a free and independent press to American democracy.”
Trump also said that he is looking into potentially taking legal action against the Times for publishing the op-ed, according to reports from multiple news outlets.
Trump has frequently vowed to take legal action against news organizations whose coverage he finds unfavorable, but he has not followed through on the vast majority of these threats.
El Cajon City Councilman Ben Kalasho threatened East County Magazine reporter Paul Kruze and menaced the journalist with an aggressive dog, according to a statement that Kruze made to police in El Cajon, California, on June 23, 2018.
Kruze told the police that he was exiting a Best Buy on June 23 when he spotted Kalasho’s election vehicle in the parking lot and stopped to take photos.
Kruze told the police that Kalasho told him to stop taking pictures, and then approached him with an attack dog. Kruze said that Kalasho and the dog advanced on him from 40 feet away to within 10 to 12 feet, before he was able to unlock his car door and enter the safety of his vehicle.
“I proceed to my car and he keeps coming closer to me with the dog and letting the dog lurch at me,” Kruze said in an interview with Freedom of the Press Foundation, adding that he feared Kalasho might release the chain on the dog and let it attack him.
“This is stuff you go to see horror movies about,” he said.
During the incident, he said, Kalasho called him a fake journalist and verbally threatened both him and East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery. Raftery told Freedom of the Press Foundation that Kruze called her shortly after the incident.
“When Paul called me, his voice was trembling and he was obviously terrified,” she said. “I was worried about his safety and my own, especially since Paul said Kalasho told him, with the dog snarling lunging toward him, ‘I’m going to take you down and that bitch, Miriam Raftery.'”
On June 24, the day after the parking lot incident, Kalasho published a Facebook post about Kruze, whom he described as a “deranged psychopath” and “lunatic” who was stalking him.
“I did research and found that this so called journalist made a Youtube channel whereby most all of his videos are about me,” Kalasho wrote in the post, which was later deleted. “He even posted a video of me training my dog, and other montage videos of me speaking ranging different dates. This infatuation he has with me is creepy to say the least.”
Kalasho wrote that he had contacted the police and planned to seek a restraining order against the journalist.
A number of Kalasho’s supporters commented on the Facebook post, expressing concern for the councilman’s safety. Some encouraged Kalasho to use violence against Kruze.
“You should get your CCW [concealed carry license],” one commenter wrote.
“Once you become a public figure, you lose most of your rights,” Kalasho replied. “Trust me, had I had a CCW, I would have been on CNN today doing interviews from behind bars.”
Another supporter published a photo of a gun, accompanied by the text, “I would much rather go my grave never needing my gun, than go there wishing I had it.” Kalasho replied, “#Truth.”
Kruze said that it was scary to see Kalasho encouraging supporters’ violent threats against him.
“He just kept on inciting these different followers of his, and then the people started posting,” Kruze said. “There were people saying you should go after this guy. Then they started posting pictures of guns, and then it ended up with another guy who was an optometrist in Ramona, California, suggesting that a .357 caliber bullet be used on me,” Kruze said. “I’ll tell you that finally, that particular post, and the whole Facebook post, it finally hit me. It hit me… All the sudden this is what people talk about for real, and that is damn scary.”
On July 10, Kalasho went after Kruze again, this time in a Facebook video.
In the video, Kalasho says that he threatened Kruze with his dog because he thought Kruze might be carrying a weapon.
“Looking at this person that was approaching my wife and I, like, I don’t know him from Adam,” Kalasho says in the video. “I don’t know if he had a knife, or a gun or anything on him. And every cue and everything that he did lead me to believe that he was going to inflict harm to me or my family. So I used my dog. And anybody listening, watching this just play it through, what’s the alternative? The alternative is having my wife hurt? No, I’d rather my dog maul him, like literally.”
On July 13, the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement, defending the rights of journalists and calling on the El Cajon Police Department to fully investigate the attack:
The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is greatly concerned by the behavior of El Cajon City Councilman Ben Kalasho toward East County Magazine reporter Paul Kruze, as alleged in Kruze’s statements to the police. Threatening or intimidating journalists is unacceptable behavior from any member of the public — but especially from elected officials.
Journalists have a right to do their jobs without fear of violence. We urge the El Cajon Police Department to fully investigate the incident that took place on June 23 between Councilman Kalasho and Mr. Kruze. Our institutions and elected officials must do everything they can to ensure the safety of journalists in the exercise of our collective First Amendment right to a free press.
San Diego SPJ statement on incident
Kalasho has a history of threatening East County Magazine. In November 2017, after the paper wrote about allegations of corruption and sexual harassment made against him, he threatened a libel suit against East County Magazine and then tried to smear the publication on social media.
On July 18, the San Diego SPJ chapter presented Raftery and Kruze with the Gloria Penner Award for political reporting, in recognition of East County Magazine's investigative reporting on Kalasho.
On June 20, 2018, Ken Klippenstein — an investigative reporter who contributes to The Daily Beast and The Young Turks — tweeted that he had received an unsolicited call from Tyler Houlton, the press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Klippenstein said that Houlton asked him about his sources and also asked him not to solicit tips about Houlton on Twitter.
On the afternoon of June 20, Klippenstein tweeted that he had heard troubling allegations about Houlton, and requested that anyone contact him with information. (Though Klippenstein originally identified Houlton as a spokesman for Immigration & Customs Enforcement, he later clarified that Houlton is the spokesman for all of DHS, not just ICE.)
Also I’m hearing some troubling allegations about ICE’s spokesman (unable to verify yet), if anyone has any tips please text me
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) June 20, 2018
About an hour later, Klippenstein tweeted that Houlton had called him.
DHS' spokesman, @SpoxDHS, just called me and demanded I stop soliciting tips about him via Twitter. He also asked who my sources are.
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) June 20, 2018
Why does it feel like this admin hates freedom of the press.
Klippenstein told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that he received a call from a Washington, D.C. phone number that he did not recognize. The caller identified himself as Houlton and then told Klippenstein that if Klippenstein “had something” on him, then Klippenstein should call him rather than asking for tips on Twitter.
According to Klippenstein, he told Houlton that he was a reporter and seeking tips is what reporters do. Houlton then asked who was telling him information about Houlton, and he told Houlton that he cannot reveal his sources.
“When you get a call like that… papers need certain relationships with administrators to get information,” Klippenstein said, adding that his job and lack of dependents allows him to take more professional risks than other journalists. “A lot of reporters would understandably be afraid of upsetting their boss, and I think it would have a chilling effect on reporting. This has concrete effects. It’s not just an unpleasant interaction.”
Klippenstein said that he could not think of any situation in which he would reveal the identity of a confidential source.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I would go to jail before that. This is who I am. It would be betraying what I dedicated myself to.”
Houlton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a tweet on May 9, 2018, President Trump suggested that news organizations publishing negative news about him should have their press credentials revoked.
The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
During the presidential campaign, though, the Trump administration routinely denied press credentials to reporters it did not like. But the White House is not supposed to have any role in the process of credentialing media organizations, which has traditionally been the domain of the White House Correspondents Association, an independent group of journalists who cover the White House. Since assuming office, Trump has not moved to revoke any journalist's White House press credentials, though his former press secretary once excluded certain news organizations from an informal briefing.
The president's May 9 tweet references a controversial analysis conducted by the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, which attempts to gauge the sentiment (positive or negative) of news coverage of Trump on major networks' evening newscasts. According to the MRC's most recent analysis, 90% of the coverage of Trump on ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2018, was negative. That's consistent with MRC analyses from 2017, which found that 91% of coverage of Trump on the evening newscasts was negative.
Although the methodology of the MRC analysis has been criticized, the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends” cited its results authoritatively on the morning of May 9, shortly before the president’s tweet.
In his tweet, the president stated that 91% of the news coverage was "negative (Fake)." But the MRC did not try to analyze whether the news coverage was "fake" (i.e. inaccurate), just whether it portrayed Trump in a positive or negative light. The president seems to believe that all negative news coverage of him is "fake," regardless of whether or not the news coverage is accurate.
Designating negative coverage as “fake news” and threatening to revoke network’s credentials in order to discourage such reporting has become a marked tendency for this administration.
Trump frequently criticizes journalists' reporting on his administration, denouncing it as "fake news" even when it is true. According to the Trump Twitter Archive, he has tweeted the phrase “fake news” at least 40 times this year.
In a statement, White House Correspondents Association president Margaret Talev denounced Trump’s comments.
“Some may excuse the president’s inflammatory rhetoric about the media, but just because the president does not like news coverage does not make it fake,” she said. “A free press must be able to report on the good, the bad, the momentous and the mundane, without fear or favor. And a president preventing a free and independent press from covering the workings of our republic would be an unconscionable assault on the First Amendment.”
On Jan. 4, 2018, President Donald Trump’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to journalist Michael Wolff, the author of an upcoming book critical of the Trump administration, and to the president of Henry Holt & Co., the book's publisher.
The book, titled "Fire and Fury: Inside the White House," offers a close-up account of the chaos of the Trump administration, and was originally scheduled to be released on Jan. 9. Copies of the book have already shipped to bookstores and news outlets.
After the Guardian obtained a copy of the book and reported on its contents, and New York magazine published an extended excerpt of the book, the publication date was moved up to Jan. 5.
The cease-and-desist letter was sent by attorney Charles Harder, who previously represented Melania Trump in a defamation lawsuit against the Daily Mail and a Maryland blogger. Harder has represented a number of high-profile public figures in lawsuits against media organizations, most notably serving as one of Hulk Hogan’s attorneys in the wrestler’s invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker Media.
"Mr. Trump hereby demands that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination of the Book, the Article, or any excerpts or summaries of either of them, to any person or entity, and that you issue a full and complete retraction and apology to my client as to all statements made about him in the Book and Article that lack competent evidentiary support,” the cease-and-desist letter reads.
The letter warns that Wolff and Henry Holt & Co. could be liable for “defamation by libel” if they go ahead and publish the book.
"We see 'Fire and Fury' as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book,” Henry Holt & Co. said in a statement.
On Jan. 3, Harder sent a similar cease-and-desist letter to Stephen Bannon, the former White House senior strategist who is quoted in the book.
Throughout his presidential campaign and presidency, Trump has threatened to sue numerous journalists and news organizations for defamation, but he has never followed through on these threats.
On Dec. 9, 2017, President Trump tweeted that ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross "should be immediately fired."
Fake News CNN made a vicious and purposeful mistake yesterday. They were caught red handed, just like lonely Brian Ross at ABC News (who should be immediately fired for his “mistake”). Watch to see if @CNN fires those responsible, or was it just gross incompetence?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
In the tweet, Trump criticized both Ross and CNN for misreporting news stories related to the ongoing Russia investigation.
On Dec. 1, Ross incorrectly reported that Trump, while a presidential candidate in 2016, had directed campaign adviser Michael Flynn to reach out to the Russian government. ABC News later acknowledged that the story as reported was inaccurate, because Trump had already won the election — making him president-elect, not just a presidential candidate — at the time when he directed Flynn to contact the Russians.
After correcting the story, ABC News suspended Ross for four weeks and announced that he would no longer report on stories related to Trump.
On Dec. 8, CNN reported that Donald Trump, Jr. had received an email that included a link to documents that were publicly released by Wikileaks on Sept. 14, 2016. CNN initially reported that the email had been sent on Sept. 4 — suggesting that the Trump campaign had received access to the documents nine days before the documents were made public. The story was inaccurate, and CNN later corrected it to say that the email was actually sent to Trump, Jr. the same day the documents were released to the public.
In a statement, CNN said that its reporters had followed editorial guidelines and would not be disciplined.
On Dec. 9, 2017, President Trump tweeted that Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel "should be fired" for tweeting a misleading photo of a Trump rally in Florida.
.@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
The controversy began on the morning of Dec. 9, when Trump thanked his supporters for attending a rally the previous night in Pensacola, Florida. Trump tweeted that the "arena was packed to the rafters."
Weigel then tweeted a screenshot of the president's tweet, alongside photos showing a largely empty arena, implying that the president had exaggerated the size of the crowd at the Pensacola rally.
The photos were misleading, though, having been taken before the president's speech began. Trump later tweeted photos of the speech, taken during his speech, that showed a much larger crowd in the arena.
Weigel deleted the tweet once he realized his mistake, and he later apologized for the misleading tweet.
GREAT EVENING last night in Pensacola, Florida. Arena was packed to the rafters, the crowd was loud, loving and really smart. They definitely get what’s going on. Thank you Pensacola!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I'd gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner. https://t.co/fQY7GMNSaD
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017
"Dave Weigel relied on an inaccurate image in tweeting about President Trump’s rally in Pensacola,” the Washington Post's V.P. of communications said in a statement. “When others pointed out the mistake to Weigel, he quickly deleted the tweet. And when he was later addressed by the president on Twitter, he promptly apologized for it.”
Roy Moore, the Republican candidate in Alabama's special election for Senate, said on Nov. 12, 2017, that he would sue The Washington Post, after the paper reported on his alleged sexual misconduct with minors.
“The Washington Post published another attack on my character and reputation because they are desperate to stop my political campaign,” Moore said during a campaign rally in Huntsville, Alabama. “These attacks said I was with a minor child and are false and untrue — and for which they will be sued.”
On Nov. 9, Moore’s campaign said in a statement that the Washington Post report— which was based on interviews with more than 30 people and quoted multiple women by name — was “the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation.”
Moore has not said when he intends to file a lawsuit against the Post.
Moore is not the first Republican politician to threaten a news organization with a frivolous defamation suit. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to sue news organizations, including both the Post and The New York Times, in response to negative coverage.
Roy Moore speaks as he participates in the Mid-Alabama Republican Club's Veterans Day Program in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, on November 11, 2017.
Montana Republican official Karen Marshall said in a radio program on Oct. 19, 2017 that should she “would have shot” Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs if he had addressed her as he did Rep. Greg Gianforte. Marshall resigned from her position four days later.
On May 24, Republican Greg Gianforte physically assaulted reporter Ben Jacobs after he tried to interview the Congressional candidate. Gianforte body-slammed Jacobs to the ground, punched him, and broke his glasses.
Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives the next day. He pled guilty to misdemeanor assault, has publicly apologized, and as part of a civil settlement, agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Marshall, who serves as the vice-president of programs for Gallatin County Republican Women, made her remarks during a Voices of Montana radio segment with attorney and Democratic Congressional candidate John Heenan.
In audio of the radio segment posted to John Heenan for Congress Facebook page, Marshall called herself a friend of Gianforte’s. “If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” Marshall said about Jacobs.
A spokesman for Rep. Gianforte, Travis Hall, denounced Marshall’s comments. Heenan’s campaign released a statement on Oct. 20. “The fact members of [Gianforte’s] party are sort of doubling down and wishing worse harm on Ben Jacobs really bothers me,” Heenan said.
On Oct. 23, Karen Marshall resigned from her position, according to the Gallatin County Republican Women’s Facebook page.
The mission statement of the Gallatin County Republican Women’s website notes that it “stands by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice on which the government of this country is founded.” The Gallatin County Republican Women did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Oct. 11, 2017, President Trump called NBC News “fake news” and suggested that the FCC should challenge the network's broadcast license.
“With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Trump tweeted.
Trump also criticized an NBC News report which said that Trump wanted to increase the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a "tenfold" increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the FCC’s five commissioners, responded to Trump on Twitter.
Not how it works.
— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcel) October 11, 2017
See here: https://t.co/1JgiJyk5wK https://t.co/1aNpYsk7BG
Rosenworcel's tweet included a link to a document on the FCC’s website titled “The Public and Broadcasting,” which outlines the agency’s regulation of broadcasts.
“We license only individual broadcast stations,” the document states. “We do not license TV or radio networks (such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox) or other organizations with which stations have relationships (such as PBS or NPR), except to the extent that those entities may also be station licensees.”
While the FCC regulates which local TV stations can broadcast over the air, it does not — and cannot — regulate which networks those stations broadcast. The agency could deny licenses to local stations directly owned by NBC, but doing so would not prevent other stations from broadcasting NBC News. If the FCC did attempt to deny broadcast licenses to NBC-owned stations in retaliation for the network's coverage of Trump, it would likely be challenged in court and lose on First Amendment grounds.
The Radio Television Digital News Association (which is a partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker) condemned Trump’s tweet.
“Today’s call by the President of the United States to challenge the licenses of networks is not only dangerous to the American people’s right to access responsible journalism, it represents a clear misunderstanding on his part of how much control the federal government can exercise as it relates to networks and cable channels,” RTDNA executive director Dan Shelley said.
Trump is not the first president to try to retaliate against journalism organizations by challenging broadcast licenses.
Newton Minnow, a former FCC director, writes in the Chicago Tribune that John F. Kennedy once called him up to complain that NBC News was broadcasting false information about him.
"I was at home one evening when Kennedy called, furious because of a television news story," Minnow recalls. "Executives in the steel industry announced a price increase, which the president believed was a violation of an agreement he had negotiated to avoid a strike. He asked if I had seen NBC's newscast in which the steel companies' execs bitterly attacked the president. I had. The president bellowed: 'Did you see how those guys lied about me? Outrageous! Do something about it!'"
Minnow refused to do anything and Kennedy dropped the matter.
In the 1970s, Richard Nixon and his allies took more serious steps, challenging the broadcast licenses of local TV stations owned by The Washington Post.
“In 1973, the Associated Press reported on the effort from George Champion Jr., who had been finance chairman for Nixon's campaign in Florida, to challenge the license of a Jacksonville, Fla., TV station — WJXT-TV,” Post reporter Aaron Blake writes. “The station was then owned by Newsweek and The Washington Post Co., which also owned The Washington Post. The Post was at that point well into its Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate investigation of the president.”
Despite Nixon’s efforts, the FCC renewed the broadcast license for WJXT-TV and other stations owned by the Post.
At a White House press briefing on Sept. 13, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that it should be a “fireable offense” for ESPN sports journalist Jemele Hill to criticize President Trump on Twitter.
On Sept. 11, Hill tweeted that Trump was “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
During the Sept. 13 briefing, a reporter asked Sanders whether the president was aware of Hill’s tweet.
“I’m not sure if he’s aware, but I think that’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that is a fireable offense by ESPN,” she said.
Later that day, Hill later tweeted a public apology.
"My comments on Twitter reflected my personal beliefs," she said. "My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light. My respect for the company and my colleagues remains unconditional."
Shortly after, ESPN released its own statement, distancing itself from Hill’s comments.
“Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN,” the statement said. “She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology.”
A Super PAC named The Democratic Coalition has filed an ethics complaint with the Office of Government Ethics against Sanders. Coalition Chairman Jon Cooper told TheWrap, “When Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for Jemele Hill to be fired by ESPN, she crossed the line and put herself in dubious legal territory.”
On Sept. 15, Trump criticized ESPN on Twitter.
ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2017
On Oct. 9, ESPN announced that it had suspended Hill for two weeks in response to a tweet about a potential boycott of companies advertising with the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager of the Cowboys, is reportedly close to Trump and received praise from the president after he threatened NFL players who refused to stand during the national anthem.
“Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines,” the network said in a statement. “She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet. In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision.”
On Oct. 10, President Trump once again criticized ESPN and Hill on Twitter.
With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have "tanked," in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 12, 2017.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2017-08-05 21:33:26.548515+00:00,2024-02-29 20:04:38.715783+00:00,Attorney general considers making it easier to subpoena journalists,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/attorney-general-considers-making-it-easier-subpoena-journalists/,2024-02-29 20:04:38.584121+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,"Sessions, threatening leakers, says DOJ is reviewing policy on media subpoenas (https://mic.com/articles/183349/sessions-threatening-leakers-says-doj-is-reviewing-policy-on-media-subpoenas) via Mic, Jeff Sessions’ Tough Talk On Leaks Heightens Fears Of Jailing Journalists (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sessions-jailing-journalists-media_us_5984dcbae4b041356ebfc875) via HuffPost, Trump Is Going After Legal Protections for Journalists (http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/10/trump-is-going-after-legal-protections-for-journalists/) via Foreign Policy, New guidelines issued for US news media leak investigations (https://www.ap.org/ap-in-the-news/2015/new-guidelines-issued-for-us-news-media-leak-investigations) via AP",,,,,2017-08-04,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Aug. 4, 2017, that the Department of Justice was "reviewing our policies affecting media subpoenas" as part of a broader crackdown on unauthorized leaks of information to the press.
Sessions suggested news organizations had endangered people's lives by publishing stories based on leaked information, though he did not provide any evidence for this claim.
"We respect the important role that the press plays, and we’ll give them respect, but it is not unlimited," he said at the press briefing. "They cannot place lives at risk with impunity. We must balance the press’s role with protecting our national security and the lives of those who serve in the intelligence community, the armed forces, and all law-abiding Americans."
The current Justice Department guidelines were implemented in 2015, after extensive discussion between then-Attorney General Eric Holder and a coalition of journalism organizations and press freedom groups, led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. They direct the Department of Justice to only subpoena journalists for information as a last resort and require the attorney general to personally approve any subpoena of a journalist or news organization.
The guidelines also instruct the department to provide news organizations of advance notice of subpoenas and records requests related to journalism, so that the news organizations have a chance to fight the subpoenas in court before they are carried out.
The "advance notice" policy is a relatively recent addition to the guidelines. It was partly a response to concern that the Justice Department had secretly obtained journalists' communications as part of its leak investigations.
In 2013, it was revealed that the Justice Department secretly obtained access to a Fox News reporter's private email account, and to months of phone records belonging to The Associated Press' newsroom, in an attempt to identify journalists' sources.
If the Department of Justice makes it easier to subpoena journalists, then more journalists are likely to be threatened with jail time. The U.S. does not have a federal shield law, which means that reporters subpoenaed to testify about confidential sources in front of a federal grand jury must either comply — which means violating the promises of confidentiality they have to their sources — or risk being held in contempt of court and jailed.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at a briefing on leaks of classified material threatening national security at the Justice Department in Washington, on August 4, 2017.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,Department of Justice,,, 2017-08-01 01:53:27.210326+00:00,2022-08-10 18:36:20.987986+00:00,White House advisers allegedly discuss leverage over CNN,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-advisers-allegedly-discuss-leverage-over-cnn/,2022-08-10 18:36:20.926042+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,The Network Against the Leader of the Free World (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/business/media/jeffrey-zucker-cnn-trump.html) via The New York Times,,,,,2017-07-05,True,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"White House advisers reportedly discussed using the multibillion-dollar merger between AT&T and Time Warner as leverage over cable news network CNN to sway its coverage of President Donald Trump and his administration, according to an article in The New York Times.
The article, published on July 5, 2017, cited an unnamed senior administration official. CNN’s parent company is Time Warner, and the Justice Department has been investigating the antitrust implications of this merger. CNN President Jeff Zucker said that the merger had not affected his journalistic or management choices, according to the article. Trump’s relationship with CNN is extremely contentious. He has repeatedly called the network “fake news” and “garbage journalism.”
A Time Warner Cable truck returns to its office in San Diego, California, U.S., November 2, 2016.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,CNN,,,, 2017-08-01 12:17:20.534748+00:00,2022-09-22 16:54:57.726705+00:00,Trump tweets video of him wrestling 'CNN',https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-tweets-video-him-wrestling-cnn/,2022-09-22 16:54:57.646458+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,"Trump's tweet (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881503147168071680), Why pro wrestling is the perfect metaphor for Donald Trump's presidency (http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/02/politics/trump-wrestling-tweet/index.html) via CNN",,,,,2017-07-02,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"President Trump tweeted a short video from @realDonaldTrump on July 2, 2017, that showed him wrestling a figure whose head had been replaced by the CNN logo.
The video, which had been posted on Reddit earlier, uses footage from the 2007 WrestleMania, an annual professional wrestling event, during which Trump participated in a mock "battle of the billionaires." CNN's logo in the edited video was superimposed on the head of WWE President Vince McMahon. The tweet was tagged "#FraudNewsCNN" and "#FNN", which stands for "Fake News Network."
The official presidential account @potus retweeted the video the same day.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
Image of tweet from @readlDonaldTrump
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,CNN,Donald Trump,,, 2017-08-30 13:51:18.514591+00:00,2022-09-21 19:03:17.511585+00:00,DHS secretary jokes about using sword on reporters,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dhs-secretary-jokes-about-using-sword-reporters/,2022-09-21 19:03:17.452465+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,DHS head Kelly jokes about Trump’s saber and the press (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2017/live-updates/trump-white-house/trump-comey-and-russia-how-key-washington-players-are-reacting/dhs-head-kelly-jokes-about-trumps-saber-and-the-press/?utm_te) via Washington Post,,,,,2017-05-17,False,New London,Connecticut (CT),41.35565,-72.09952,"After President Trump was presented with a ceremonial saber at a commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard on May 17, 2017, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly made a joking comment to the president, which was caught on a hot mic.
"Use that on the press, sir," Kelly said.
"Yeah," the president responded, chuckling.
Trump was handed the sword as token of appreciation following remarks in which he stated, “No other politician in history… has been treated worse or more unfairly.” He also claimed that “the more righteous your fight, the more opposition that you will face."
Trump's comments at the U.S. Coast Guard ceremony occurred during a tense time for the president and the press. On May 15, two days before the ceremony, the Washington Post reported that Trump had revealed classified information to Russia's foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. during a White House meeting. The following day, the New York Times reported that that Trump had asked F.B.I. director James Comey to consider imprisoning journalists who published classified information.
On July 31, Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as Trump’s chief of staff.
President Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly attend the Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremonies in New London, Connecticut.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,Donald Trump,,, 2017-08-02 02:45:44.593853+00:00,2022-04-06 14:40:25.718307+00:00,Attorney General has repeatedly refused to rule out prosecuting or jailing journalists,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/attorney-general-refuses-rule-out-prosecuting-media-organizations/,2022-04-06 14:40:25.638947+00:00,,,(2017-10-18 02:36:00+00:00) Sessions dodges the question again,Chilling Statement,"Sessions won’t rule out prosecuting media outlets besides WikiLeaks (https://thinkprogress.org/sessions-wikileaks-priority-assange-crackdown-press-freedoms-7f332489db2b) via ThinkProgress, Sessions says he can’t ‘make a blanket commitment’ not to jail journalists (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/18/sessions-says-he-cant-make-a-blanket-commitment-not-to-jail-journalists/) via The Washington Post",,,,,2017-04-21,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"After the Justice Department indicated it planned on pursuing WikiLeaks and its publisher with criminal charges, Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused to rule out using any potential precedent set by such a dangerous prosecution to go after other US-based news organizations.
When appearing on CNN on April 21, 2017, CNN anchor Kate Bolduan asked Sessions whether “folks should be concerned that this would also open up news organizations like CNN and the New York Times to prosecution.”
Sessions steadfastly refused to rule anything out, replying, “That’s speculative, and I’m not able to comment on that.”
Prosecuting WikiLeaks would be a grave threat to all journalists.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,Department of Justice,,, 2017-08-02 02:59:51.510991+00:00,2022-04-06 14:39:54.404008+00:00,The Justice Department and CIA threatens legal action against WikiLeaks for publishing,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/justice-department-and-cia-threatens-legal-action-against-wikileaks-publishing/,2022-04-06 14:39:54.333592+00:00,,,(2018-11-16 17:17:00+00:00) DOJ has charged Assange,Chilling Statement,"Trump's CIA Director Pompeo, targeting WikiLeaks, explicitly threatens speech and press freedoms (https://theintercept.com/2017/04/14/trumps-cia-director-pompeo-targeting-wikileaks-explicitly-threatens-speech-and-press-freedoms/) via The Intercept, Arresting Julian Assange is a priority, says US attorney general Jeff Sessions (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/apr/21/arresting-julian-assange-is-a-priority-says-us-attorney-general-jeff-sessions) via The Guardian, Julian Assange has been charged, prosecutors reveal inadvertently in court filing (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/julian-assange-has-been-charged-prosecutors-reveal-in-inadvertent-court-filing/2018/11/15/9902e6ba-98bd-48df-b447-3e2a4638f05a_story.html?utm_term=.a97be026cc2e) via Washington Post",,,,,2017-04-20,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"After reports in April 2017 indicated that the Justice Department would seek to prosecute WikiLeaks and its editor Julian Assange for its publishing activities, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a group of reporters on April 20 that arresting Assange was "a priority."
“We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks," Sessions said. "This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious.”
He added: “So yes, it is a priority. We’ve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.”
The Justice Department's statements followed a speech by CIA director Mike Pompeo at a DC think tank on April 13, where he called the publisher a “a non-state hostile intelligence service,” claiming that “we have to recognize that we can no longer allow Assange and his colleagues the latitude to use free speech values against us.” Pompeo falsely claimed that "Julian Assange has no First Amendment privileges" because he is "not a U.S. citizen." (Non-citizens have just as many First Amendment protections as US citizens.)
Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo speaks at The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, U.S. April 13, 2017.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,WikiLeaks,Department of Justice,,, 2017-08-01 11:00:27.634361+00:00,2022-08-10 18:39:35.459395+00:00,Morning Joe hosts claim that administration officials tried to use Enquirer story as leverage,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/morning-joe-hosts-claim-administration-officials-tried-use-enquirer-story-leverage/,2022-08-10 18:39:35.395034+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,,,,"Mika Brzezinski (MSNBC), Joe Scarborough (MSNBC)",,2017-04-12,True,New York,New York (NY),None,None,"MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough claimed in a Washington Post op-ed that senior White House officials used the threat of an Enquirer story about their then-private romantic relationship to try to extract an apology from them to President Donald Trump.
According to Scarborough, Jared Kushner was one of the administration officials who spoke with him him about the Enquirer story. Scarborough texted with Kushner in April 2017 and the latter said that the host should personally apologize to Trump for negative coverage on his show, according to a report in New York Magazine.
A Fox News article citing an unnamed White House aide claimed that the exchange with Kushner was not a quid pro quo and that the suggestion of an apology was merely a suggestion for how Scarborough could get back on speaking terms with the president.
On June 30, Trump tweeted, “Watched low rated @Morning_Joe for first time in long time. FAKE NEWS. He called me to stop a National Enquirer article. I said no! Bad show.”
Scarborough says that he never called Trump to apologize.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski arrive for the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, U.S. on April 25, 2015.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2017-08-01 02:23:46.470794+00:00,2022-09-22 16:55:16.347494+00:00,Trump administration calls for changing libel laws,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-administration-calls-changing-libel-laws/,2022-09-22 16:55:16.273851+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,"Transition to Trump: First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams on Trump's power over libel laws (https://cpj.org/blog/2016/12/transition-to-trump-first-amendment-attorney-floyd.php) via The Committee to Protect Journalists, Donald Trump: We're going to 'open up' libel laws (http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/02/donald-trump-libel-laws-219866) via Politico, Trump calls for changes to libel laws in attack on New York Times (http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/30/media/libel-laws-donald-trump-new-york-times/?iid=EL) via CNN",,,,,2017-03-30,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"On March 30, 2017, President Trump tweeted, “The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?”
The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws? https://t.co/QIqLgvYLLi
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017
There are currently no federal libel laws, and Supreme Court has said that plaintiffs must meet a very high standard in order to win a libel suit. Trump would have a difficult time following through on his threat, according to First Amendment lawyers.
This tweet is not the first time that Trump suggested changing libel laws. On Feb. 26, 2016, during the Republican primary campaign, Trump said that he wanted to “open up libel laws.”
Trump says that he will open up libel laws during a campaign event in Fort Worth, Texas on February 26, 2016.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,Donald Trump,,, 2017-08-01 12:35:39.926199+00:00,2022-09-22 16:55:32.525172+00:00,"Trump calls ""fake news"" the ""enemy of the people""",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-calls-fake-news-enemy-people/,2022-09-22 16:55:32.441890+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,"Trump Intensifies His Attacks on Journalists and Condemns F.B.I. ‘Leakers’ (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/politics/white-house-sean-spicer-briefing.html) via The New York Times, Trump Calls the News Media the ‘Enemy of the American People’ (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/business/trump-calls-the-news-media-the-enemy-of-the-people.html) via https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/business/trump-calls-the-news-media-the-enemy-of-the-people.html",,,,,2017-02-24,False,Oxon Hill,Maryland (MD),38.80345,-76.9897,"In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 24, 2017, Trump referred to the media as the "enemy of the people."
A week earlier, Trump had tweeted "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @CNN, @NBCNews and many more) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American people. SICK!"
During the CPAC conference, Trump referenced his earlier tweet, saying that he called the "fake media" the enemy of the people because they had no sources. He also said that the phrase only replied to "dishonest" reporters.
During the conference, Trump also said that journalists should not be allowed to use anonymous sources. "They shouldn't be allowed to use a source, unless the use somebody's name," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S., February 24, 2017.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,Donald Trump,,, 2017-08-01 11:52:58.226582+00:00,2022-09-22 16:50:19.397720+00:00,Trump reportedly urges FBI director James Comey to jail journalists,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-allegedly-urges-comey-jail-journalists/,2022-09-22 16:50:19.310357+00:00,,,(2018-04-19 01:06:00+00:00) Comey memo,Chilling Statement,"Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html) via The New York Times, James Comey memos (https://static01.nyt.com/files/2018/us/politics/20180419-james-comey-memos.pdf)",,,,,2017-02-14,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"During an Oval Office meeting on Feb. 14, 2017, President Trump allegedly asked James Comey, then the FBI director, to consider putting journalists in prison for publishing classified information.
Trump began the private meeting by condemning leakers and telling Comey that he should consider putting journalists in prison, according to a memo written by Comey, parts of which were read to The New York Times by an associate of the former FBI director. During the same meeting, Trump allegedly asked Comey to end the FBI investigation, according to the Times.
The Trump administration released a statement disputing the accuracy of information allegedly contained in the memo, saying that it was not a "truthful" or "accurate" representation of the conversation. The statement did not address the statement related to jailing journalists.
President Donald Trump reaches out to shake hands with Federal Bureau of Investigations director James Comey.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,Donald Trump,,, 2017-08-01 11:21:44.616598+00:00,2020-03-19 14:13:59.102752+00:00,Senior White House official mentions 'dossier' on reporter,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senior-white-house-official-mentions-dossier-reporter/,2020-03-19 14:13:59.022022+00:00,,,,Chilling Statement,Journalist says Omarosa Manigault bullied her and mentioned a ‘dossier’ on her (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/journalist-says-omarosa-manigault-bullied-her-and-mentioned-a-dossier-on-her/2017/02/13/d852926e-f131-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html) via The Washington Post,,,April Ryan (American Urban News Networks),,2017-02-08,False,Washington,District of Columbia (DC),38.89511,-77.03637,"April Ryan, a White house correspondent for American Urban News Networks, claims that she was “physically intimidated” by a political aide in the White House on Feb. 8, 2017. Omarosa Manigault, the Director of Communication for the Office of Public Liaison, and Ryan got into a heated argument near the White House press secretary office, according to the Washington Post.
Among witnesses of the confrontation were various White House staffers and Washington Post reporter, Abby Phillip.
Ryan claims that Manigault, who was appointed by president Trump and served as his campaign's Director of African-American outreach during the campaign, accosted her and threatened her with a “dossier” containing negative information. Ryan said that Manigault told her that several African American journalists were subjects of dossier, according to the Washington Post.
Omarosa Manigault (L), aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, stands beside White House spokesman Sean Spicer (R) at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017.