Not publishing newsworthy leaks isn’t journalistic integrity, it’s timidity
AP Photo/Jon Elswick
Reporting on leaked information informs the public, while claims of harm are often overblown.
Journalists routinely rely on leaked information to inform the public. Without leaks, we’d be left in the dark about vital information involving the government, corporations, and powerful individuals, who often act in secret.
When government information is leaked, the U.S. routinely claims, without proof, that the leak damages national security. We should be skeptical of claims that leaks cause harm, and of broad leak investigations that can lead to the surveillance of journalists and sources and the chilling of reporting.
Featured Items
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State Dept Launches 'Free the Press' Campaign While DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Force Reporter James Risen Into Jail
The US State Department announced the launch of its third annual "Free the Press" campaign today, which will purportedly highlight "journalists or media outlets that are censored, attacked, threatened, or otherwise oppressed because of their reporting." A noble mission for sure. But maybe they should kick off the campaign by …
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Lessons for Journalists and Sources from the Microsoft/Blogger Privacy Fiasco
Privacy-conscious Internet users were aghast last week when court documents showed that Microsoft looked at the content of a blogger’s Hotmail account without a warrant—or any legal process whatsoever—in an attempt to root out a employee within Microsoft who was allegedly leaking the source code of Windows 8. The …
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Government Opposes Preservation Order in FOIA Lawsuit for CIA’s “Panetta Review”
At the center of the controversy between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA is a report known as the “Panetta review” that apparently matches up with the findings and conclusions of the Senate panel’s own report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. Last December, after Sen. Mark …
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Justice Dept Moves to Drop Charges Against Journalist Barrett Brown That Could Criminalize Linking
In a win for press freedom, the US government moved to dismiss 11 of the 12 charges in their criminal indictment against journalist Barrett Brown today. The charges against Brown had been widely criticized for potentially criminalizing routine journalistic behavior and could have had far reaching effects on the rights …
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Guilty Plea In Fox News Leak Case Shows Why Espionage Act Prosecutions Are Inherently Unfair to Sources
Former State Department official Stephen Kim announced today he will plead guilty to leaking classified information to Fox News journalist James Rosen and will serve 13 months in jail. The case sparked controversy last year when it was revealed the Justice Department named Rosen a “co-conspirator” in court documents …
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Mike Rogers' Comments Are Latest in Disturbing Pattern of Intelligence Officials Attacking the First Amendment
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) accused a group of journalists of committing a crime yesterday, falsely stating at a committee hearing that NSA reporters are “selling” the leaked Snowden documents and are breaking the law. Mike Rogers indicated in an interview afterwards that he was referring …
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Will Eric Holder Condemn DNI James Clapper For Suggesting That Journalists Are Criminal 'Accomplices'?
In a Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on NSA surveillance today, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper insinuated dozens of journalists reporting on documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden were “accomplices” to a crime. His spokesman further suggested Clapper was referring to journalists after the hearing had concluded. …
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DOJ: Feinstein’s Committee Controls Torture Report; Has Final Say Over Public Release
A report completed more than a year ago by a Senate panel that investigated the CIA’s torture program can only be released by the committee, which maintains complete "control” over the highly classified document, the Justice Department said in a court filing late Friday. The Justice Department made that …
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Before Snowden, Nixon Admin Pioneered Evidence-Free 'Russian Spy' Smears Against Daniel Ellsberg
The New Yorker published an interview with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden last night in which he explains why recent claims by Rep. Mike Rogers that he is a Russian spy are “absurd.” Rep. Rogers, who made the allegations on Sunday, did not present any evidence to support his …
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Intel Committee Publishes Fact-Free Press Release About Secret 'Damage' Assessments of NSA Leaks
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers and his Democractic counterpart Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger published a press release today touting a classified Defense Department report alleging that Edward Snowden’s leaks—and by proxy, stories published by news organizations—threaten national security and “are likely to have lethal consequences for our troops in …
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