FBI raids on journalists' homes are a symptom of decades-long erosion of press freedom in the US. What began as a Nixon-era crackdown on whistleblowers has continued to spread, eventually becoming a hallmark of Trump's national security state.
The Espionage Act, originally intended to prosecute enemy spies, was first used against Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers. This marked the beginning of a long line of abuses targeting journalists and their sources. Under Obama, the law became a go-to tool for prosecutors, transforming whistleblowers into criminals.
Targeting a journalist's source is an affront to press freedom, with consequences that quickly escalate against the journalist themselves. The government's pursuit of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange was an unprecedented effort to prosecute both the source and the publisher. The case was marked by "torturous conditions" for Manning and ultimately ended in a plea deal that convicted Assange.
The normalization of this tactics has been a slow build-up, starting with the 1980 Privacy Protection Act, which aimed to prevent law enforcement from seizing journalists' materials without probable cause. However, the law is relatively toothless, allowing government officials to assert a "good faith defense" and have its efficacy largely depend on police, prosecutors, and judges taking it seriously.
In recent years, we've seen numerous examples of these tactics being used against independent journalists. The FBI raided the home and office of Bryan Carmody in 2019, resulting in a lawsuit and settlement. Similar cases include Tim Burke's newsroom raid over alleged computer crime laws, and Kansas cops' attempt to obtain an illegal warrant for a newspaper last year.
The most recent raid on journalist Hannah Natanson's home marks another escalation in this pattern. The use of the Espionage Act as a tool to intimidate journalists and their sources has become a hallmark of Trump's national security state. It's a deadly weapon that can be wielded against the free press, especially by a president who has shown little regard for press freedom.
The erosion of press freedom is a gradual process, but it's clear that these tactics have been building momentum over decades. As Seth Stern and Chip Gibbons argue, this normalizes an approach to law enforcement that is both outrageous and chilling.
The Espionage Act, originally intended to prosecute enemy spies, was first used against Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers. This marked the beginning of a long line of abuses targeting journalists and their sources. Under Obama, the law became a go-to tool for prosecutors, transforming whistleblowers into criminals.
Targeting a journalist's source is an affront to press freedom, with consequences that quickly escalate against the journalist themselves. The government's pursuit of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange was an unprecedented effort to prosecute both the source and the publisher. The case was marked by "torturous conditions" for Manning and ultimately ended in a plea deal that convicted Assange.
The normalization of this tactics has been a slow build-up, starting with the 1980 Privacy Protection Act, which aimed to prevent law enforcement from seizing journalists' materials without probable cause. However, the law is relatively toothless, allowing government officials to assert a "good faith defense" and have its efficacy largely depend on police, prosecutors, and judges taking it seriously.
In recent years, we've seen numerous examples of these tactics being used against independent journalists. The FBI raided the home and office of Bryan Carmody in 2019, resulting in a lawsuit and settlement. Similar cases include Tim Burke's newsroom raid over alleged computer crime laws, and Kansas cops' attempt to obtain an illegal warrant for a newspaper last year.
The most recent raid on journalist Hannah Natanson's home marks another escalation in this pattern. The use of the Espionage Act as a tool to intimidate journalists and their sources has become a hallmark of Trump's national security state. It's a deadly weapon that can be wielded against the free press, especially by a president who has shown little regard for press freedom.
The erosion of press freedom is a gradual process, but it's clear that these tactics have been building momentum over decades. As Seth Stern and Chip Gibbons argue, this normalizes an approach to law enforcement that is both outrageous and chilling.
. It's like, I get it, national security is a big deal, but not at the expense of press freedom! 
The Espionage Act was meant to protect us from real spies, not investigative reporters trying to do their job. And what really gets me is how slowly this all started building up over the years... like, remember that 1980 Privacy Protection Act? It's supposed to be a safeguard, but it basically does nothing in practice 
. Now we're seeing cases where journalists are being targeted just for asking questions and reporting on something important. It's not cool, dude 
. And it's not just the big players like Julian Assange, it's indie journalists too 
. Bryan Carmody's case is a great example of how this stuff can escalate quickly. I'm low-key worried about the future of journalism and free speech 
. We need to stand up against this kind of overreach and protect our press freedom 
.
. otherwise, we risk losing the very fabric of our democracy 
. it's time for some serious pushback against these tactics... anyone else feel like it's time for a "Spotlight"-style exposé on this topic? 
. I mean, what does he care about press freedom when he can use it as a tool to silence his opponents? Not. A. Single. Thing.
I'm getting so frustrated with the constant attacks on journalists' rights 
It's like we're living in a dystopian novel where whistleblowers are silenced and sources are intimidated into silence 
What's next, are we going to lose our freedom to express ourselves too? 
. The government's got a powerful tool in this law and they're not afraid to use it.
. We need to protect press freedom and make sure journalists can do their job without fear of persecution. It's all about holding those in power accountable, not silencing the ones who are trying to tell the truth 
. The Espionage Act is a super old law, but it's being used way too much nowadays to scare journalists and their sources into shutting up 
It's so frustrating when you think about all the times people have been hurt or intimidated because they dared to tell a story that the powerful didn't want out there 