The FBI's latest move to raid a journalist's home is merely another example in a long history of the US government trying to silence its critics. The raid on Hannah Natanson, which resulted in her alleged source being jailed, is simply the latest escalation in a decades-long trend of backsliding by the US government towards authoritarianism.
The roots of this problem go back much further than Trump's presidency, however. Following the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, President Nixon turned to the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, a model for later FBI and CIA break-ins. The act has since become a loaded gun against journalists and their sources, largely unfired until the Obama administration normalized it as a go-to tool.
Under the former constitutional law professor's administration, which promised transparency, the Espionage Act was used to target whistleblowers who helped inform the public about war crimes, torture, and unconstitutional surveillance. Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou were transformed into criminals in part due to their involvement with journalists.
Targeting sources is a direct affront to press freedom and inevitably leads to targeting journalists themselves. The Obama administration's attempt to compel national security reporter James Risen to name his source about a botched CIA covert action was a clear example of this, with the Department of Justice backing off on incarcerating Risen but putting his alleged source, Jeffrey Sterling, on trial.
The government's pursuit of WikiLeaks was even more egregious. Julian Assange and his source, Chelsea Manning, faced torturous conditions in confinement and unprecedented prison sentences. However, the initial target was not just Manning but also publisher Julian Assange himself, with a 2013 Espionage Act indictment dealing with both publishing and allegations of a journalist-source relationship being a crime.
The Biden administration's decision to extract a plea deal from Assange under similar charges further solidified this narrative of prosecuting journalists for doing their job. Routinely prosecuting whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, surveilling journalists to enable prosecution of their sources, and even prosecuting a journalist himself created the perfect storm for Trump to use these tools against the press.
The recent case of Seth Harp, a bipartisan congressional subpoena targeting him for reporting government secrets as "leaking," is just another example of how Americans and their representatives in Congress have been primed to accept nonsensical claims about journalism. Congress passed the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 in response to a raid on the Stanford Daily, recognizing dangers of law enforcement commandeering newsrooms.
However, despite this act's intent to protect journalists from pretextual raids and seizures, its efficacy largely depends on police, prosecutors, and judges taking it seriously. Sadly, many fail to do so, with multiple cases illustrating that the law is toothless, particularly when it comes to admitting illegally seized evidence.
The Marion County Record's 2023 raid, based on a flimsy claim about journalists violating identity theft laws by pursuing a local restaurateur's driving record, became infamous after the paper's co-owner Joan Meyer died from shock the next day. Reached by email, her son, Eric Meyer, expressed alarm at the Natanson raid, noting that law enforcement officials seem to have lost the ability to read.
Other cases illustrate this pattern of behavior. Police in San Francisco raided the home and office of independent journalist Bryan Carmody in 2019, leading to a lawsuit and settlement. Kansas cops even ignored the lessons of the Marion case and sought an illegal warrant for a newspaper last year.
The normalization of invading newsrooms under flimsy pretexts has now spread to the highest levels of the federal government. Combined with decades-long attacks on whistleblowers and national security journalists, this creates a deadly tool against the free press – particularly when used by a president who has made statements about beating, jailing, or raping journalists in prison.
This is not an isolated incident; it's part of a broader assault on journalism that must be taken seriously. As Seth Stern and Chip Gibbons note in their article, "we have been backsliding to this point – at both the federal and local levels – for quite some time."
The roots of this problem go back much further than Trump's presidency, however. Following the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, President Nixon turned to the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, a model for later FBI and CIA break-ins. The act has since become a loaded gun against journalists and their sources, largely unfired until the Obama administration normalized it as a go-to tool.
Under the former constitutional law professor's administration, which promised transparency, the Espionage Act was used to target whistleblowers who helped inform the public about war crimes, torture, and unconstitutional surveillance. Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou were transformed into criminals in part due to their involvement with journalists.
Targeting sources is a direct affront to press freedom and inevitably leads to targeting journalists themselves. The Obama administration's attempt to compel national security reporter James Risen to name his source about a botched CIA covert action was a clear example of this, with the Department of Justice backing off on incarcerating Risen but putting his alleged source, Jeffrey Sterling, on trial.
The government's pursuit of WikiLeaks was even more egregious. Julian Assange and his source, Chelsea Manning, faced torturous conditions in confinement and unprecedented prison sentences. However, the initial target was not just Manning but also publisher Julian Assange himself, with a 2013 Espionage Act indictment dealing with both publishing and allegations of a journalist-source relationship being a crime.
The Biden administration's decision to extract a plea deal from Assange under similar charges further solidified this narrative of prosecuting journalists for doing their job. Routinely prosecuting whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, surveilling journalists to enable prosecution of their sources, and even prosecuting a journalist himself created the perfect storm for Trump to use these tools against the press.
The recent case of Seth Harp, a bipartisan congressional subpoena targeting him for reporting government secrets as "leaking," is just another example of how Americans and their representatives in Congress have been primed to accept nonsensical claims about journalism. Congress passed the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 in response to a raid on the Stanford Daily, recognizing dangers of law enforcement commandeering newsrooms.
However, despite this act's intent to protect journalists from pretextual raids and seizures, its efficacy largely depends on police, prosecutors, and judges taking it seriously. Sadly, many fail to do so, with multiple cases illustrating that the law is toothless, particularly when it comes to admitting illegally seized evidence.
The Marion County Record's 2023 raid, based on a flimsy claim about journalists violating identity theft laws by pursuing a local restaurateur's driving record, became infamous after the paper's co-owner Joan Meyer died from shock the next day. Reached by email, her son, Eric Meyer, expressed alarm at the Natanson raid, noting that law enforcement officials seem to have lost the ability to read.
Other cases illustrate this pattern of behavior. Police in San Francisco raided the home and office of independent journalist Bryan Carmody in 2019, leading to a lawsuit and settlement. Kansas cops even ignored the lessons of the Marion case and sought an illegal warrant for a newspaper last year.
The normalization of invading newsrooms under flimsy pretexts has now spread to the highest levels of the federal government. Combined with decades-long attacks on whistleblowers and national security journalists, this creates a deadly tool against the free press – particularly when used by a president who has made statements about beating, jailing, or raping journalists in prison.
This is not an isolated incident; it's part of a broader assault on journalism that must be taken seriously. As Seth Stern and Chip Gibbons note in their article, "we have been backsliding to this point – at both the federal and local levels – for quite some time."
I'm getting really scared about the state of press freedom in the US 
. It's like they're trying to silence anyone who dares to question the government or expose wrongdoing 
. Whistleblowers, journalists, and even sources are all being targeted and prosecuted under the Espionage Act 
. It's a slippery slope when we start letting law enforcement raid homes and seize evidence based on flimsy claims 
. I'm worried that this will have a chilling effect on journalism as a whole 
. What's next? Will they be targeting online commenters and social media users too? 
We need to speak out against this and demand better protection for the press and their sources 
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The FBI's raid on journalist Hannah Natanson is another alarming example of the US government's increasing attempts to silence its critics. It's not just about Natanson, but a continuation of decades-long erosion of press freedom, with roots dating back to Nixon's use of the Espionage Act against Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 
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. Sadly, many cases show that this law is toothless, and journalists are often subject to flimsy claims and pretextual raids 
. Fast forward to today, and it's like they're using the same tactics to take down whistleblowers and journalists who just try to do their job.
. I mean, come on! It's like we've taken a step back in time to the good ol' days of Watergate. I'm all for holding people accountable, but this is just plain unfair.
. Remember the Privacy Protection Act of 1980? That was a major step forward in protecting journalists from pretextual raids and seizures. But now, it's like they're just phasing that out 
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I'm not surprised by this latest move from the FBI 
. It's just another example of how they're trying to silence critics. The US government has been slowly chipping away at press freedom for decades. Remember when the Pentagon Papers came out in 1971? President Nixon used the Espionage Act to prosecute Daniel Ellsberg, setting a bad precedent that's still being felt today 
i mean, what's next? gonna start arresting people for asking tough questions in public forums? this is a slippery slope and we need to hold our gov accountable for its actions...
and btw, how many times do we have to see this happen before people in power listen?! 
- anyone surprised by the latest fiasco with Hannah Natanson? Newsflash: silencing critics is NOT freedom 
. Newsflash: you can't silence us! The government needs to back off these tactics and respect the freedom of the press 
No, seriously though, when will we learn that this isn't just about one person or administration, it's about a long history of intimidation and silencing critics. I'm still thinking back to the Pentagon Papers case in '71... Nixon trying to shut down Daniel Ellsberg for speaking truth to power 
The cycle just keeps going back to the same old tactics of intimidation, with some politicians using these tools against the press as a way to attack their enemies. We need to hold our leaders accountable for this kind of behavior and demand real protections for the press. Otherwise, we'll continue to see more Natansons, Harps, and Carmodys...
. and btw, has anyone tried that new coffee shop downtown? their cold brew is 
i hope they get justice eventually. and can we talk about how messed up the obama admin was too? like, they were all about transparency but then they went and targeted whistleblowers... what's good about that?
this is getting outta hand.. like what's next? they're trying to make it so hard for us to report on government shenanigans that we just give up? 
. And don't even get me started on the Espionage Act - it's like they want to stifle free speech or something 
. But instead of protecting them, our government is basically hunting them down 
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. Can't have a functioning democracy if we can't even talk about the issues without being silenced 
And now we're seeing it being used as a tool by the Biden administration to control the press 
Are they going to start censoring news outlets that aren't aligned with their agenda? 
. it's not new, though - we've been seeing this trend since the Pentagon Papers came out in 1971 
. it's been used to target people who help inform the public about war crimes, torture, & unconstitutional surveillance 
. julian assange & his source, chelsea manning, faced torturous conditions in confinement 
. the government's pursuit of them was egregious 
. now, we're seeing this same kind of treatment with the Biden admin's plea deal for Assange 
. we need to take this seriously & hold our leaders accountable 
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. We need to have a conversation about how to balance national security with press freedom, and make sure that those in power are held accountable for their actions