The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the Freedom of Press Foundation have filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Justice Department and several intelligence agencies
“The apparent hostility toward the press from senior government officials combined with increasing government surveillance create a dangerous environment for reporters and whistleblowers,” said Knight Institute Staff Attorney Carrie DeCell. “The public has a right to know if the limits on surveillance of journalists are sufficient to ensure a free press.”
“We laud our Columbia University colleagues as they fight to protect the journalists whose work is essential to a functioning democracy,” said Pulitzer Administrator Dana Canedy. “Protections for reporters ensure they remain able produce journalism that provides a public service to ordinary people across the country and around the world.”
In Columbia Journalism Review, the executive director of the Freedom of Press Foundation, Trevor Timm, notes, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said criminal investigations into the sources of journalists are up 800 percent.”
Timm also cites the language of the lawsuit in CJR, writing:
“It is urgent that the government disclose records clarifying the precise limitations placed on its surveillance powers to protect the freedoms of speech, association, and the press
“The public has a right to know those limitations and to know whether the government is in fact complying with them.”
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Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University