Recent raids on journalists and the jailing of sources, while shocking, represent an escalation, not a new phenomenon. This article traces how successive US administrations, from Nixon to Biden, have increasingly used national security laws like the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers, surveil journalists, and even indict publishers, creating a dangerous environment for press freedom and democracy.
The article argues that recent raids on journalists' homes and the jailing of their alleged sources are alarming acts of authoritarianism, aligning with a broader trend of weaponizing the national security state against the press. While often attributed to figures like Trump, this erosion of press freedom is a long-standing issue in the US, an escalation rather than a sudden rupture. The historical context begins with the Nixon administration's use of the Espionage Act against Daniel Ellsberg following the Pentagon Papers, which, despite failing due to illicit tactics, left the Act as a potential weapon. The Obama administration, despite promises of transparency, normalized the Espionage Act as a tool to prosecute whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou, who revealed war crimes and unconstitutional surveillance. This administration also attempted to compel national security reporter James Risen to name a source, and his alleged source, Jeffrey Sterling, was convicted based on metadata, highlighting the use of surveillance against journalists. The pursuit of WikiLeaks further intensified this threat, with Chelsea Manning facing unprecedented prison conditions and publisher Julian Assange being targeted with an Espionage Act indictment for publishing. The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange, which found him guilty of conspiring to violate the Espionage Act by receiving and publishing newsworthy information, cemented the criminalization of routine journalistic activities. These actions—routine prosecution of whistleblowers, surveillance of journalists to target sources, and ultimately prosecuting a journalist for publishing—have created conditions that enable further attacks on the press, both legally and in public opinion. The article notes a bipartisan acceptance of claims that reporting government secrets is 'illegal leaking' and naming officials is 'doxing.' Despite the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (PPA), enacted to prevent law enforcement from raiding newsrooms, the law is described as 'toothless.' It allows victims to sue but offers government officials a 'good faith defense,' and doesn't bar illegally seized evidence. This has led to repeated disregard for PPA protections, with examples including the 2023 raid of the Marion County Record (resulting in the co-owner's death from shock), the ransacking of Florida journalist Tim Burke's home newsroom by the FBI, and multiple raids on independent journalist Bryan Carmody. These raids, often based on flimsy pretexts and resulting in the seizure of unrelated materials, serve to intimidate journalists and chill press freedom. The article concludes that the normalization of invading newsrooms, combined with decades of targeting whistleblowers and national security journalists under a law that equates them with spies, creates a 'deadly weapon' against the free press, especially under presidents hostile to journalists.
