Free Republic

In the wake of the riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, a groundswell built in Washington to rein in the onslaught of lies that had fueled the assault on the peaceful transfer of power. Social media companies suspended Donald Trump, then the president, and many of his allies from the platforms they had used to spread misinformation about his defeat and whip up the attempt to overturn it. President Joe Biden’s administration, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans sought to do more to hold the companies accountable. Academic researchers wrestled with how to strengthen efforts to monitor...

The CIA can selectively divulge classified information to selected reporters in emails yet withhold that information from other journalists or members of the public when they seek the same information under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge in New York has ruled The decision appeared in the court record on Friday but became more widely disseminated Monday. The ruling comes amid vigorous national debate over leaks to the media and the use of anonymous sources in covering national security news, including an ongoing FBI investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Judge Colleen McMahon...

This is a disturbing case coming out of a federal court in New York. A freelance journalist named Adam Johnson had been seeking copies of CIA emails sent to certain newspaper reporters and, having been denied them, sued to have the material released. The emails were part of a batch of more than 500 documents which the agency made public, but some were heavily redacted. Johnson wanted to see the redacted ones since they had already been given to other members of the press. Amazingly, Judge Colleen McMahon (a Clinton appointee) ruled that the CIA was free to pick and...