Legal Info

Group Legal documents

News Restored in Pentagon

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Article in Reuters by Jack Queesn, 2/20/26

Headline:  “Pentagon’s limits on press access unconstitutional, US judge rules”

“. . .A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s restrictive Pentagon press access policy, which threatens journalists with being branded security risks ​if they seek information not authorized for public release.

“The lawsuit by the New York Times in Washington, D.C., federal court alleged that policy changes ‌by the Defense Department last year gave it free rein to freeze out reporters and news outlets over coverage the department did not like, in violation of the Constitution’s protections for free speech and due process. The government disputed that characterization and said the policy is reasonable and necessary for national security. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-blocks-restrictive-pentagon-press-access-policy-2026-03-20/

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Article in New York Times by Erik Wemple

Headline:  “Judge Rules Pentagon Restrictions on Press Are Unconstitutional”

“A federal judge tossed parts of the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets, saying they violated the First Amendment, in a lawsuit brought by The New York Times”

“A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets violate the First Amendment and issued an order tossing parts of the department’s policy, handing a victory to The New York Times, which filed suit in December over the restrictions.

Judge Paul Friedman, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also ordered the Pentagon to restore the press passes of seven journalists for The Times. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/business/media/pentagon-press-restrictions-new-york-times.html

Watching Who’s Watching You

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Luch Scholler, 3/18/26

Headline:  “Look Who’s Tracking”

Subhead:  “A growing number of reporters and researchers are covering immigration through the lens of surveillance.”

” ‘Look for the margarita machine,’ Francesca D’Annunzio’s source told her. D’Annunzio, an investigative reporting fellow at the Texas Observer, was delving into Operation Lone Star, Texas governor Greg Abbott’s more-than-eleven-billion-dollar anti-immigration crusade that the American Civil Liberties Union has flagged in a report for ‘unchecked cruelty’. .”

“That ‘so much can be learned about us and our patterns of life without a warrant,’ she said, ‘is something that should concern everybody, regardless of their political persuasion’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/tracking-surveillance-immigration-coverage-cobwebs-trangles-penlink-ice-dhs.php

Media in Court – or Not?

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Article in Huffpost by Hannah Schoenbaum, 3/13/26

Headline:  “Utah Judge In Charlie Kirk Killing Case Weighs Media Access”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus is due back in court Friday as a state judge weighs whether certain documents and proceedings should be open to the public.

The outcome will set the stage for an April hearing in which attorneys for Tyler Robinson will make their case to exclude TV cameras, microphones and photographers from the courtroom.

Judge Tony Graf has been weighing the public’s right to know details about the case against concerns by defense attorneys that the media attention could undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/utah-judge-charlie-kirk-killing-case-weighs-media-access_n_69b415afe4b0676e64bf175a?origin=home-zone-c-unit

 

 

After Purge, US Broadcasting Back?

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Article in Daily Beast by Cameron Adams, 3/12/26

Headline:  “Trump Picks New Propaganda Boss After MAGA Loser Kari Lake Ousted”

“Donald Trump has nominated a senior State Department official and free speech activist to oversee government broadcasters after the ousting of his previous appointee, Kari Lake.

“Sarah B. Rogers, who has been serving as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy since October, was nominated as CEO for the U.S. Agency for Global Media in a court filing on Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

“The media agency oversees Voice of America and other government broadcasters, as well as funding international outlets including Radio Free Asia.

“Two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Lake was removed from the role after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan administration nominee, ruled on Saturday that she had been running the agency in violation of the law, labelling her a “de facto” CEO. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-picks-new-propaganda-boss-after-maga-loser-kari-lake-ousted/

US International Media Coming Back?

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Article in The Washington Post by SDcott Nover, 3/9/26

Headline:  “Judge rules Kari Lake unlawfully ran U.S. media agency, voiding layoffs”

Subhead:  “Kari Lake, the Trump appointee in charge of Voice of America and other international broadcasters, has used dubious authority in her effort to dismantle the agency.”

“A federal judge in Washington ruled Saturday that Kari Lake has unlawfully served as chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America, and nullified many actions she has taken in the role, including mass layoffs of staff. . .”

“The decision is the latest in a string of legal defeats to the Trump administration’s year-long effort to dismantle USAGM, the federal agency that in addition to Voice of America oversees other U.S.-funded international broadcasters including Radio Free Asia. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/07/kari-lake-unlawful-voice-of-america-ruling/

Courts as Media Intimidation Weapon

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Article in The Intercept by David Bralow, 2/27/26

Headline: “T rump Uses the Courts to Intimidate Critics. The Media Must Fight Back.”

Subhead:  “Federal agencies are using investigations to stifle speech and chill the questioning of those in power.”

“The Trump administration is embracing an intimidation strategy to silence critical media coverage. Here’s how it works: A federal agency launches a pretextual investigation into a perceived enemy, keeps the investigation open to coerce compliance, and resists any effort to have a court review the lawfulness of the agency’s actions.

“There’s no better example than the Federal Trade Commission’s retaliatory investigation of Media Matters for America for its critical coverage of one of the Trump administration’s most powerful allie. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/02/27/trump-media-matters-free-speech/

Untrustworthy Media Search?

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Article in ArsTechnica by Jon Brodkin, 2/25/26

Headline:  “Judge doesn’t trust DOJ with search of devices seized from Wash. Post reporter”

Subhead:  “Court to search devices itself instead of letting government have full access.”

“A federal court will conduct a search of devices seized from a Washington Post reporter after a magistrate judge decided yesterday that the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to perform the search on its own.

“US Magistrate Judge William Porter criticized government prosecutors for not including key information in a search warrant application. The court wasn’t aware of a 1980 law that limits searches and seizures of journalists’ work materials when it approved the warrant, Porter acknowledged. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/judge-doesnt-trust-doj-with-search-of-devices-seized-from-wash-post-reporter/

Court Intervenes on Illegal Search

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Article in The Hill by Tara Suter, 2/24/26

Headline:  “Judge says Justice Department may not search Washington Post reporter’s seized devices “

“A judge told the Justice Department in a Tuesday filing that it cannot search a Washington Post reporter’s seized devices.

“In the filing, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter said the U.S. government could not “open, access, review, or otherwise examine any of” Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s “seized data.”

“The government seized all of Ms. Natanson’s work product, documentary material, and devices, terminating her access to the confidential sources she developed and to all the tools she needs as a working journalist,” Porter said in the filing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5753794-justice-dept-reporter-devices/

More Gloming Up Media?

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Article in Reuters by Milana Vinn & Dawn Kopecki, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Warner Bros rejects revised Paramount bid, but remains open to a final offer”

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab on Tuesday rejected Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY.O), opens new tab latest $30-a-share hostile bid, but gave the rival Hollywood studio seven days to submit a “best and final” offer to top an existing agreement to sell its businesses including HBO Max and “Harry Potter” franchise to Netflix.

“Paramount informally broached an even higher per-share price of $31, Warner Bros said, apparently enticing the board to the table. But its response to Paramount indicates Warner Bros prefers its deal with Netflix, and the odds of a switch are long. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/warner-bros-rejects-paramounts-revised-offer-gives-studio-week-negotiate-better-2026-02-17/

“No Stinkin’ Press Credentials”

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by John Stang, 2/17/26

Headline: “Elbowing In”

Subhead:  “In Olympia, Washington, a few right-wing media figures have been trying to get credentialed to cover the statehouse. Their efforts—which now include a lawsuit—have shaken up the entire press corps.”

“Last week, in Olympia, Washington, a group of three right-wing media figures filed a lawsuit confronting a question that is becoming increasingly fraught across the United States: who is and is not a journalist in a government building. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/olympia-washington-press-corps-statehouse-credentials-lawsuit-brandi-kruse-jonathan-choe-ari-hoffman-correspondents-association-legislature.php