Imprisoned journalist faces horrifying conditions

Dear Friend of Press Freedom:

An imprisoned journalist in Los Angeles has endured months of violence and medical neglect at the hands of federal agents. Plus, Disney takes a stand against the FCC’s anti-press antics, and you can too.

Imprisoned journalist faces horrifying conditions

Los Angeles-based journalist Carlitos Ricardo Parias has been in ICE detention for more than 300 days. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose wrote for The Intercept about the horrific abuse he’s endured.

The government can’t make a journalist disappear simply by locking him in a cell. But by giving him drinking water filled with fly larvae, deleting surveillance footage of federal agents shooting him, and treating his gunshot wound with vitamin D and Bengay, they’re certainly trying. Rose also discussed Parias’ case on the “This Week On Ice” podcast.

Disney fights back against the FCC

Disney filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that the Federal Communications Commission — led by Donald Trump loyalist Brendan Carr — has been retaliating against it for reporting by ABC News that the president doesn’t like.

As FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said, “It’s about time for someone to take Carr and his FCC to court over their endless campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalism that displeases Carr’s thin-skinned boss.” We hope this will encourage other outlets to fight back too.

You can fight the FCC’s abuses too

Disney’s suit is a significant step in combating Carr’s abuse of power. But he’s seeking to accrue more power to abuse: Trump’s nominee for fourth FCC commissioner is a Carr aide who has apparently been unable or unwilling to rein in Carr’s targeting of the press. If she’s confirmed, it’ll pave the way for Trump to fire the only dissenting voice at the FCC, Commissioner Anna Gomez.

White House statements are only for the wealthiest

While the president is selling advance access to official communications he posts on Truth Social, the Justice Department is working to keep the rest of the president’s records completely hidden from the public, FPF’s Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper writes for MS NOW.

That’s why FPF is suing the administration on both fronts: to stop Trump’s crooked scheme to monetize his posts and to force his administration to comply with the Presidential Records Act.

Dangerous DOJ memo expands presidential secrecy

In an unprecedented move, the DOJ has issued a memo that says executive privilege covers Trump’s communications with advisers outside the White House. That means corporate lobbyists and donors could have the ear of the president on national and foreign policy without any obligation to keep or release the records of their conversations with him.

ICE can watch you, but you can’t watch ICE

ICE has massively expanded its surveillance operations in the last five years, collecting DNA from nearly 1 million people a year, scanning irises, and paying private contractors to spy on people who criticize the agency online. Yet it can’t manage to get its agents to wear body cameras. Allowing the agency to surveil the public while evading transparency for itself is a recipe for rampant abuse.

Release of Biden recordings is a transparency win

In some much-needed good news for transparency, an appeals court just ordered the release of recordings of former President Joe Biden being interviewed by his memoir ghostwriter, tapes that came to light during a special counsel investigation into Biden’s handling of classified records. A different special counsel investigated Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at the end of his first term. The Knight First Amendment Institute is trying to get access to that special counsel’s report, and is pointing to the Biden ruling as it appeals a ruling blocking the report’s release.