Transparency in the 117th Congress: Protecting the Free Press

The Advisory Committee on Transparency and the Fourth Amendment Advisory Committee is hosting a conversation on the status of the free press in the U.S. focused on surveillance of journalists and their sources.

Panelists include:
Jennifer Henrichsen, Yale Law School Information Society Project Fellow
Kathy Kiely, Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at Missouri University
Michael De Dora, Washington Advocacy Manager for the Committee to Protect Journalists
Melissa Wasser, Policy Counsel for The Project On Government Oversight
Sean Vitka, Senior Policy Counsel for Demand Progress (Moderator)

The public recently learned that the Trump administration seized email and phone records from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, sparking fears for the free press and journalists’ sources. Eric Lichtblau, a target himself, wrote thoughtfully on the issues at hand in The Intercept. The DOJ obtained his and three other NY Times reporters’ information in 2020 as part of an undisclosed leak investigation into their sources. The DOJ also sought their email records — a fight the Biden administration continued to wage. Far from a partisan issue, the Obama administration was frequently decried for conducting a “war on journalism.” Join us for a discussion with experts about the significance of the issues, context, and choices ahead.

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