SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
freedom of the press foundation
In 'Crucial Victory for the First Amendment,' Charges Against Journalist Timothy Burke Dismissed
"Now is a time when press freedom is in jeopardy, and it's essential that courts stop prosecutors from twisting the law to silence news the government doesn't like."
Sep 26, 2025
Amid rising concerns over US President Donald Trump's authoritarianism, including attacks on the media, press freedom advocates on Friday celebrated the dismissal of some federal charges against a journalist indicted during the Biden administration.
"This ruling is a significant victory for free expression and press freedom, and it will help restore confidence that journalists, researchers, and members of the public are not breaking federal law simply by accessing or reviewing streaming information," said Bobby Block, executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, which had filed an amicus brief with other advocacy groups.
US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle—appointed to the Middle District of Florida by Trump during his first term—dismissed seven of the 14 charges against Tampa-based media consultant and journalist Timothy Burke on Thursday.
Burke was arrested and charged last year after obtaining and disseminating unaired 2022 footage from Tucker Carlson's former show on Fox News, including antisemitic remarks by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
"In this case, the government argues that it can prove a Wiretap Act violation solely by showing that a defendant intentionally acquired a communication using a device and that the many exceptions to the Wiretap Act are not elements of the crime but instead defenses to be raised by a criminal defendant," the judge wrote. "Significant First Amendment concerns arise if I were to adopt the government's theory."
"The court recognized that the government's theory not only posed serious threats to press freedom, but also to anyone engaged in everyday internet activity."
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, explained that "the prosecution's theory would have allowed not only journalists but anyone who watched a livestream to be forced to defend themselves in court to stay out of prison. It would be naive to think the government wouldn’t abuse that kind of power."
Stern expressed relief at the judge's dismissal decision, while Yanni Chen, legal director at the group Free Press, called it "a crucial victory for the First Amendment—for journalists, for internet users, and, most immediately, for Timothy Burke."
"The court recognized that the government's theory not only posed serious threats to press freedom, but also to anyone engaged in everyday internet activity," Chen said. "At a time when journalists face increasing risks for doing their jobs of holding power to account, this ruling affirms the essential protections they deserve and sends a clear message: The law cannot be twisted to criminalize newsgathering."
Jennifer Stisa Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, also pointed to threats under the current US government, saying that "now is a time when press freedom is in jeopardy and it's essential that courts stop prosecutors from twisting the law to silence news the government doesn't like."
"The Wiretap Act protects our privacy; it doesn't criminalize journalists whose reporting relies on online sources," she stressed. "Tim Burke's case isn't the first example of this kind of abuse, but hopefully it will be the last."
In a social media post late Thursday, Burke thanked not only his "overworked and underpaid legal team" but also the press freedom groups that submitted amicus briefs in this case.
Thanks not only to my overworked and underpaid legal team, of course, but also the ACLU, EFF, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, & other organizations whose amicus briefs played such a large role in helping the court come to this decision.
[image or embed]
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) September 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Burke also stressed that the case against him continues, saying, "To be clear, only the wiretap charges (which were half of the total) have been dismissed, though they were certainly the far more serious of the allegations and I'm grateful the court has found them to be deficient."
Last month, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell—appointed to the Middle District of Florida by former President Barack Obama—sentenced Marco Gaudino to five years of probation with a year of house arrest for his role in helping Burke gain unauthorized access to the videos. Gaudino pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against Burke.
Keep ReadingShow Less
DOJ Sued for Withholding Memo on Trump's $400 Million Jet From Qatar
"President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice," said the head of one watchdog group.
Jul 28, 2025
With preparations to refit a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One "underway," a press freedom group sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court on Monday for failing to release the DOJ memorandum about the legality of President Donald Trump accepting the $400 million "flying palace."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), represented by nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight, filed the lawsuit seeking the memo, which was reportedly approved by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously lobbied on behalf of the Qatari government.
FPF had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the memo on May 15, and the DOJ told the group that fulfilling it would take over 600 days.
"How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
"It shouldn't take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document," said Lauren Harper, FPF's Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy, in a Monday statement. "How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
The complaint—filed in the District of Columbia—notes that the airplane is set to be donated to Trump's private presidential library foundation after his second term. Harper said that "the government's inability to administer FOIA makes it too easy for agencies to keep secrets, and nonexistent disclosure rules around donations to presidential libraries provide easy cover for bad actors and potential corruption."
It's not just FPF sounding the alarm about the aircraft. The complaint points out that "a number of stakeholders, including ethics experts and several GOP lawmakers, have questioned the propriety and legality of the move, including whether acceptance of the plane would violate the U.S. Constitution's foreign emoluments clause... which prohibits a president from receiving gifts or benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress."
Some opponents of the "comically corrupt" so-called gift stressed that it came after the Trump Organization, the Saudi partner DarGlobal, and a company owned by the Qatari government reached a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
Despite some initial GOP criticism of the president taking the aircraft, just hours after the Trump administration formally accepted the jet in May, U.S. Senate Republicans thwarted an attempt by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to pass by unanimous consent legislation intended to prevent a foreign plane from serving as Air Force One.
"Although President Trump characterized the deal as a smart business decision, remarking that it would be 'stupid' not to accept 'a free, very expensive airplane,' experts have noted that it will be costly to retrofit the jet for use as Air Force One, with estimatesranging from less than $400 million to more than $1 billion," the complaint states.
As The New York Times reported Sunday:
Officially, and conveniently, the price tag has been classified. But even by Washington standards, where "black budgets" are often used as an excuse to avoid revealing the cost of outdated spy satellites and lavish end-of-year parties, the techniques being used to hide the cost of Mr. Trump's pet project are inventive.
Which may explain why no one wants to discuss a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from one of the Pentagon's most over-budget, out-of-control projects—the modernization of America's aging, ground-based nuclear missiles...
Air Force officials privately concede that they are paying for renovations of the Qatari Air Force One with the transfer from another the massively-over-budget, behind-schedule program, called the Sentinel.
Preparations to refit the plane "are underway, and floor plans or schematics have been seen by senior U.S. officials," according to Monday reporting by CBS News. One unnamed budget official who spoke to the outlet also "believes the money to pay for upgrades will come from the Sentinel program."
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said Monday that "President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice."
"This is precisely the kind of corrupt arrangement that public records laws are designed to expose," Chukwu added. "The DOJ cannot sit on its hands and expect the American people to wait years for the truth while serious questions about corruption, self-dealing, and foreign influence go unanswered."
The complaint highlights that "Bondi's decision not to recuse herself from this matter, despite her links to the Qatari government, adds to a growing body of questionable ethical practices that have arisen during her short tenure as attorney general."
It also emphasizes that "the Qatari jet is just one in a list of current and prospective extravagant donations to President Trump's presidential library foundation that has raised significant questions about the use of private foundation donations to improperly influence government policy."
"Notably, ABC News and Paramount each agreed to resolve cases President Trump filed against the media entities by paying multimillion-dollar settlements to the Trump presidential library foundation, with Paramount's $16 million agreed payout coming at the same time it sought government approval for a planned merger with Skydance," the filing details. "On July 24, the Federal Communications Commission announced its approval of the $8 billion merger."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sanders Says Paramount Deal With Trump Represents 'Dark Day for Independent Journalism'
"Trump is undermining our democracy and rapidly moving us towards authoritarianism, and the billionaires who care more about their stock portfolios than our democracy are helping him do it," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Jul 02, 2025
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders warned Wednesday that Paramount Global's decision to settle President Donald Trump's meritless lawsuit sets "an extremely dangerous precedent" that could further enable authoritarian attacks on press freedom.
"Paramount's decision will only embolden Trump to continue attacking, suing, and intimidating the media, which he has labeled 'the enemy of the people,'" Sanders (I-Vt.) said following news that Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump's suit over the media organization's handling of a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.
"It is a dark day for independent journalism and freedom of the press—an essential part of our democracy. It is a victory for a president who is attempting to stifle dissent and undermine American democracy," Sanders continued. "Make no mistake about it. Trump is undermining our democracy and rapidly moving us towards authoritarianism, and the billionaires who care more about their stock portfolios than our democracy are helping him do it."
The senator accused Paramount of caving to Trump to help grease the federal approval process for the company's pending merger with Skydance. As part of the deal, Paramount chair Shari Redstone agreed to sell her family's company, National Amusements—which controls nearly 80% of Paramount voting stock—for $2.4 billion.
"In other words," Sanders said Wednesday, "the Redstone family diminished the freedom of the press today in exchange for a $2.4 billion payday."
It is a dark day for freedom of the press. Paramount’s decision to settle with Trump will only embolden him to continue his attack on the media.
Trump is undermining our democracy and moving us towards authoritarianism, and the billionaires are helping him do it. pic.twitter.com/FwzW74xN0z
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 2, 2025
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Sanders in condemning the settlement and called for a "full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken."
"The Trump administration's level of sheer corruption is appalling," said Warren, "and Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), a Paramount shareholder that has threatened to sue the company if it settled the Trump suit, said Wednesday that the deal "will be remembered as one of the most shameful capitulations by the press to a president in history."
"Paramount's spineless decision to settle Trump's baseless and patently unconstitutional lawsuit is an insult to the journalists of '60 Minutes' and an invitation to Trump to continue targeting other news outlets," said Seth Stern, FPF's director of advocacy. "Each time a company cowers and surrenders to Trump's demands only emboldens him to do it again."
"But we are not done fighting," Stern said. "We've already filed a shareholder information demand and are sending a second demand today to uncover information about this decision. With that information, we will continue to pursue our legal options to stop this affront to Paramount shareholders, CBS journalists, and the First Amendment. Paramount directors should be held accountable, and we will do all we can to make that happen."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular