In honor of a whistleblowing legend: Announcing the Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy
We will honor our friend by fighting for what he fought for his entire life: an end to excessive government secrecy.
Freedom of the Press Foundation statement on whistleblower Reality Winner’s plea deal
Former intelligence contractor and whistleblower Reality Winner has pled guilty to leaking a secret NSA report to the press.
Assange freed, press freedom imperiled
Julian Assange has finally been freed after reaching a surprising deal with U.S. authorities to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act. The plea deal avoids the worst outcome of a court precedent that could be used against journalists, but it still threatens press freedom.
David Petraeus receives no jail time for leaking, while whistleblowers face decades in jail
Former CIA director David Petraeus received his sentence today for the sweetheart plea deal he struck with the Justice Department after he was discovered to have leaked highly classified information to his biographer and lover Paula Broadwell. As was widely anticipated, the celebrated general received no jail time and instead …
Indictment threatens digital journalism
The disturbing indictment against journalist Tim Burke reportedly arises in part from Burke’s dissemination of outtakes from a 2022 Tucker Carlson interview with Ye. Federal prosecutors accuse Burke of “scouring” the internet for news and failing to obtain express authorization before accessing information posted on public websites. Requiring journalists to get permission to report news is, obviously, problematic. Read more in our newsletter.
Appeals court says that Nixon’s attempt to prosecute Pentagon Papers reporter must stay secret — 50 years later
The Nixon admin tried to prosecute the New York Times under the same statute the Justice Department is going after Julian Assange today.
Author Barry Eisler talks about whistleblowers and secrecy at the Association of Former Intelligence Officers
Author and former CIA officer Barry Eisler spoke at the Association of Former Intelligence Officers opposite ex-CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden on Monday. Below is an adaptation of his opening remarks about the importance of whistleblowers and government transparency. Eisler's new novel, "God's Eye View," inspired by the Snowden …
How would Trump shut down reporting on his taxes and COVID case? Look to his Assange prosecution.
Could this presidential administration bring charges against the New York Times for publishing information about Donald Trump's tax returns? Could its Department of Justice claim health privacy laws are being violated when news outlets report on the massive cluster of coronavirus infections currently spreading in the White House?
Police must protect press covering RNC
As journalists arrive at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum to cover the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), we can expect the public to take to the streets to protest everything from Donald Trump’s nomination to the ongoing war in Gaza and the killing of Dvontaye Mitchell.
Press freedom coalition calls on Biden’s Justice Dept. to drop the Assange prosecution
A coalition of two dozen press freedom, civil liberties, and human rights groups call for an immediate end to the prosecution of Julian Assange by Biden's Department of Justice.