As leak investigations surge, our new lawsuit seeks the Trump admin's guidelines on surveillance of journalists
Freedom of the Press Foundation
November 29, 2017
NEW YORK (November 29, 2017) – Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit today after the government failed to disclose criticalportions of its internal guidelines relating to the surveillance ofjournalists. The lawsuit follows Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recentstatement that the Justice Department currently has 27 open leak investigations,nine times as many investigations as last year.
“The apparent hostility towardthe press from senior government officials combined with increasing governmentsurveillance create a dangerous environment for reporters and whistleblowers,”said Knight Institute Staff Attorney Carrie DeCell. “The public has a right toknow if the limits on surveillance of journalists are sufficient to ensure afree press.”
In October, the Knight Instituteand Freedom of the Press Foundation filed Freedom of Information Act requestswith the Justice Department, the National Security Agency, the CIA, and otherfederal agencies, seeking records concerning the surveillance of journalistsand other investigative tactics that threaten the freedoms of speech,association, or the press. In response, those agencies have disclosed only two publiclyavailabledocuments, prompting the lawsuit.
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The organizations areparticularly interested in uncovering any relevant revisions to the JusticeDepartment’s “Media Guidelines,” which, notably, contain media subpoena policiesthat Attorney General Sessions indicated last August hewanted to revisit.
The Knight Institute and Freedomof the Press Foundation also sought any revisions to the FBI DomesticInvestigations and Operations Guide (known informally as the “DIOG”) thatconcern the use of secret “national security letters.” Apparently not subjectto the Media Guidelines, national security letters may be used to compel athird party (such as a cellphone provider) to disclose customer records (suchas a journalist’s call log). In 2016, the news organization The Intercept publishedleaked portions of the DIOG indicating that FBI agents have been secretly authorizedto obtain journalists’ phone records with the approval of only two internalofficials. Emails released to the Freedom of Press Foundation indicated thatthese portions of the DIOG may since have been updated, although any updatesremain secret.
“The fact that the Justice Departmenthas completely exempted national security letters from the Media Guidelines andcan target journalists with them in complete secrecy is an affront to pressfreedom,” said Trevor Timm, executive director of Freedom of the PressFoundation. “There’s absolutely no reason why these secret rules should not bepublic.”
The organizations intend to publish any records disclosed as aresult of their lawsuit.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation is a non-profit organization that protects and defends adversarial journalism in the 21st century. FPF uses digital security, crowdfunding, and internet advocacy to support journalists and whistleblowers worldwide.
For more information, contact the Freedom of the Press Foundation at [email protected].
The Knight First AmendmentInstitute is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization established byColumbia University and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to defendthe freedoms of speech and press in the digital age through strategiclitigation, research, and public education.
Formore information, contact the Knight Institute at [email protected].