Snowden anniversary a reminder of the need to protect whistleblowers and journalists
AP Photo/George Brich
Whistleblowers are essential to a free and unfettered press.
Whistleblowers play a critical role in informing the public and holding the government to account.
Sources who act out of conscience to leak information to the press further our democracy. Whistleblowers like Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden, have exposed some of our government’s gravest abuses.
Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often prosecuted and jailed. That’s wrong. Whistleblowers and the journalists they work with should be celebrated, not punished.
Featured Items
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Amazing New Book Reveals Whistleblowers of J. Edgar Hoover’s Illegal FBI For the First Time
Whenever NSA overreach is discussed, many—even the NSA’s biggest advocates—refer back to J. Edgar Hoover's illegal FBI domestic surveillance program in the 1960s and 70s as the prime example of an out-of-control intelligence agency and the dangers of a surveillance state. But rarely, if ever, does anyone refer to how …
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Sen. Schumer is Wrong; Snowden Would Be Barred From Arguing His Case At Trial
It seems every week a new member of Congress goes on a Sunday talk show and incorrectly states that if Edward Snowden came back to the United States to stand trial, he would be able to tell his side of the story to a jury and argue he is a …
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If Snowden Returned to US For Trial, All Whistleblower Evidence Would Likely Be Inadmissible
There seems to be a new talking point from government officials since a federal judge ruled NSA surveillance is likely unconstitutional last week: if Edward Snowden thinks he's a whistleblower, he should come back and stand trial. National Security Advisor Susan Rice said on 60 Minutes Sunday, “We believe …
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Freedom of the Press Foundation Launches Campaign to Support Encryption Tools For Journalists
Crowd-funding Campaign Will Support A Variety of Open-Source Encryption Tools That Make Communications Between Journalists and Sources Safer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE San Francisco, CA – December 5, 2013 – In its first year, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) crowd-funded over $480,000 that went directly to cutting-edge journalism focused on …
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How we crowd-sourced transcripts of the entire Manning court martial
On May 9, 2013, we made a bold claim on this website. We promised to crowd-fund enough money to hire independent court reporters to provide transcripts of the entire Manning court martial. We knew that it was vital that the public have a virtual seat in Chelsea Manning’s trial1 …
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Committee to Protect Journalists Issues Scathing Report on US Press Freedoms
It’s nearly impossible to gauge the full impact of harassment of the press. How do you measure the stories that go untold because a journalist felt intimidated? How do you quantify the corruption that won’t be exposed because sources are afraid to talk? When the impact of threats is silence, …
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Freedom of Information Act Requests to the NSA Up Over 1000%
This blog post originally appeared on MuckRock, an open-government journalism organization that was one of Freedom of the Press Foundation's first beneficiaries. A veritable Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) frenzy ensued in 2013 following a series of leaks about NSA surveillance programs, recently released documents show. The emails were …
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Will Attorney General Eric Holder Guarantee the First Amendment Rights of the NSA Journalists?
The essay was originally published in the Guardian. Another week and another wave of stories on the NSA and the unconstitutional out-of-control surveillance state hit the digital newsstands, showing once again why the tide is turning. Some revelations are so surreal, it's hard not to assume they're satire …
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Senate’s Broadened Definition of Journalist Is an Improvement, but Still Not Enough
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s amended federal shield law bill passed today by a 13-5 vote, and importantly included Sen. Feinstein’s (D-CA) new amendment broadening the definition of who qualifies as a journalist. But as her condescending remarks about the purpose behind her amendment reveal—that it is intended to ensure that …
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Journalist Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Justice Dept For Copy of Senate's CIA Torture Report
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/782493-leopold-foia-lawsuit-against-justice-department.js", { width: 600, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, pdf: false, container: "#DV-viewer-782493-leopold-foia-lawsuit-against-justice-department" }); //--><!]]> Late Monday evening, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice to obtain a copy of the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on …
