Executive director, @FreedomofPress. Views here are mine only.
Dec 6, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
I met Norman Lear only once, but it left such a mark on me that I have to share the story.
And it involves his clandestine support for whistleblower Chelsea Manning. nytimes.com/2023/12/06/art…
In 2013, we won the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award for founding @FreedomofPress. Norman Lear also won a lifetime achievement award that year. Here’s the photo. (Also pictured are our other co-founders: @raineyreitman, JP Barlow and Daniel Ellsberg.)
Jun 9, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Several disturbing/interesting details in this first-person account from CNN's lawyer over the gag order he faced in the network's battle with the Trump admin over its reporter's email records: cnn.com/2021/06/09/pol…
First, not only was he barred from telling his client about the existence of the legal affecting her email records, but he was denied basically all basic info about the case:
Mar 8, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The trial of reporter Andrea Sahouri, arrested while covering a protest for @DMRegister last year, is being broadcast live by Drake Law School. Just started: live.drake.edu
Police officer on stand just described "record-after-the-fact" body cameras he was outfitted with.
If you "forget" to record, the footage is still recorded and can be retrieved. And of course, in the case of this arrested reporter, he didn't record and they never retrieved it.
Jan 8, 2021 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
Surprised in this otherwise excellent obit of legendary journalist Neil Sheehan, the @nytimes didn't mention that the Nixon admin tried to charge Sheehan and his wife Susan under the Espionage Act *after* the Pentagon Papers Supreme Court case. nytimes.com/2021/01/07/bus…
The Pentagon Papers Supreme Court ruling is, of course, a landmark First Amendment opinion. But it's bizarre to me that the Nixon admin actually tried to *criminally charge* Sheehan for his reporting, and the case is almost lost to history.
Jan 4, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Wow. The decision was based on the US prison system being so awful and repressive that Assange would be at significant suicide risk.
I get it, people hate Assange. Criticize him all you want!
But please also acknowledge every single major press freedom group in the US: the criminal case against him is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS for reporters—even if you don’t think Assange is a journalist! freedom.press/news/press-fre…
Sep 26, 2019 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
I wrote for @genmag at @medium: The Trump whistleblower case shows why leaks are vital for democracy.
The whistleblower himself didn't leak classified info, but others did—pushing the story further every day until it became the biggest in the country. gen.medium.com/trumps-ukraine…@GENmag@Medium Classified leaks published by news orgs forced Dems to move on impeachment, forced Trump to release the call, forced the DNI to submit to Congress, and forced the complaint itself to be declassified.
Without leaks, it's possible this story would have been buried and forgotten.
Feb 26, 2019 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
This is CRAZY. Journalists were inadvertently given a list of police misconduct reports via a public records request. The California AG is now saying the journalists are breaking the law by merely *possessing* the documents and threatened legal action. eastbaytimes.com/2019/02/26/cal…
When I first read the article, I thought it must have been overstating things. But it's not -- read the full, threatening letter the California AG's office sent the journalists: scribd.com/document/40050…
