On Jan. 24, 2003, a new law enforcement and investigatory agency whose duties include functions taken from as many as 22 other federal agencies came into existence. The reorganization of these operations reportedly marks the biggest government bureaucratic shake-up since the creation of the Department of Defense half a century ago.
Even before the new Department of Homeland Security opened its doors, controversies arose over not just how it would operate and exercise its powers, but what level of access to information it would allow, and how it would respond to news media requests. Will new exemptions be carved out of the FOI Act, either by law or by practice? Will officials and agents feel free to tap phones of journalists, or subpoena their records during investigations? Will the new director consider procedural safeguards, like those adopted years ago by the Department of Justice, to ensure that freedom of the press will not be denied? And will those practices be followed?

But "homeland" security is not the only concern for journalists covering anti-terrorism initiatives; military actions abroad often present a greater challenge, as questions over disclosure of information, access to troops, and restraints on reporting seem to resurface anew with each conflict.

Questions and issues like these led the Reporters Committee to launch this "weblog," so that there will be a centralized site on the Internet for journalists who want to follow these issues and pass along information they learn while covering — or worse, being covered by — the new department and other anti-terrorism actions. Please submit comments and pass along tips to make this project as useful, thorough and up-to-date as possible.

A few words about what this project will not do. We do not intend to cover many of the issues that will undoubtedly come up as the Department takes shape, even if those issues are the ones generating headlines. We will cover information access and free press issues, but will not follow debates over many civil liberties issues that, while important, are outside of our domain.

Funding for the launch of this site was provided by The Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.

Jun. 27, 2007

CHENEY'S OFFICE EXPLAINS STONEWALLING. Vice President Dick Cheney has refused to comply with an executive order about the handling of classified information because he believes it does not apply to his office, Cheney's chief of staff wrote in a letter to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). The Washington Post notes that David Addington's letter does not cite any text from the executive order supporting the view that the order was not meant to apply to the vice president's office. The Politico reports that the letter means Cheney's office is giving up the claim that he is not a part of the executive branch because of his duties as Senate president. The letters are available on Slate. — Posted at 9:44 pm

SENATE PANEL ISSUES SUBPOENAS. The Senate Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office, seeking documents detailing the warrantless eavesdropping program secretly started in 2001. The offices subpoenaed have until July 18 to turn over information. — Posted at 4:01 pm

REDACTIONS COMMONPLACE IN RELEASED FILES The New York Times is keeping track of the redactions in the recently released CIA files, saying there appears to be a whole section that is still being kept secret, which is "disturbing" given "all the illegal activities actually listed. The National Security Archives notes that one memo recently released - but almost completely blacked out - was disclosed with far fewer redactions in 1977. — Posted at 11:07 am

CIA 'FAMILY JEWELS' INCLUDE DETAILS OF SPYING ON JOURNALISTS. Recently released documents detailing decades-old CIA misdeeds include information on the wiretapping and surveillance of journalists, including Jack Anderson and Brit Hume. The documents were collected by the CIA after director James Schlesinger in 1973 ordered staffers to report all activities that fell outside the agency's "legislative charter." The National Security Archive, which has been requesting the papers for years, has posted the complete files and a detailed analysis. — Posted at 11:06 am

Jun. 25, 2007

REPORTER SHOWN WEARING EXPLOSIVES IN VIDEO. The kidnappers of a BBC correspondent have released a video showing Alan Johnston apparently wearing explosives around his waist. Johnston was abducted in March in the Gaza Strip and is believed to be held by the Army of Islam. — Posted at 11:14 am

OFFICERS' 'TALKING POINTS' ON HADITHA RELEASED. A Time magazine reporter's inquiries into the killings of Iraqi civilians at Haditha were greeted with anger and skepticism about journalist Tim McGirk's motives, according to a memo by four Marine officers made public as part of the military hearings into the slayings. The New York Times has excerpts of the memo. — Posted at 11:13 am

Jun. 22, 2007

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT'S HANDLING OF ABU GHRAIB PRISON ABUSES DETAILED. In the latest New Yorker , Seymour Hersh details Defense Department attempts to conceal abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. — Posted at 11:00 am

USE OF 'STATE SECRETS' PRIVILEGE CRITICIZED. In a Washington Post op-ed, David Kay and Michael German critique the government's reliance on the "state secrets" privilege to thwart being held accountable in lawsuits. — Posted at 11:00 am

CITING NATIONAL SECURITY, ADMINISTRATION SEEKS DISMISSAL OF LAWSUITS OVER WIRETAPPING. The Bush Administration has asked for the dismissal of lawsuits that seek to uncover the role of telecommunications companies in domestic surveillance activities. Justice Department lawyers contend disclosures about the program would harm national security. — Posted at 10:59 am

SECRET FBI TECHNIQUES DRAW SCRUTINY. ABC news reports that the FBI is stepping up its use of surreptitious entry and search procedures. Meanwhile, a judge has ordered the agency to release information on its use of so-called National Security Letters, a device used to secretly collect information. — Posted at 10:58 am

BILL SEEKS TO OPEN CRS REPORTS. Some Congressional Research Service Reports could be made public under a bill recently introduced in the House. The CRS director has publicly opposed this move. — Posted at 10:57 am

CIA TO RELEASE 'FAMILY JEWELS.' The CIA announced it will release records of the agency's illegal activities during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The long-sought documents have been referred to as the "family jewels," and detail, among other activites, the CIA's efforts to spy on domestic journalists. The National Security Archive has extensive coverage. — Posted at 10:51 am

CHENEY IGNORES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CLASSIFICATION. Vice President Dick Cheney has routinely refused to comply with an executive order that required his office to submit annual reports on classification and declassification activity. When a complaint by Steve Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists prompted an attempted investigation by the Information Security Oversight Office at the National Archives, Cheney then sought to have the ISOO abolished, according to a report by the House Government Oversight Committee. — Posted at 10:50 am

Jun. 21, 2007

IRAQIS MAKE UP FOUR OUT OF FIVE JOURNALISTS KILLED IN IRAQ. Sonni Efron writes in the Los Angeles Times today about the journalists facing death and kidnapping in Iraq. Efron notes that four out of every five journalists killed in the country is Iraqi and their deaths receive less attention as Western correspondents grow "more and more dependent on them" for newsgathering. — Posted at 11:43 am

Jun. 15, 2007

LIBBY CANNOT REMAIN FREE DURING APPEAL. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will not be allowed to remain free while he appeals his convictions for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton has said. Walton did not set a date for when Libby must report to prison to serve his 2 1/2-year sentence, but it is expected to take six to eight weeks. Libby's lawyers plan to ask the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., for an emergency order delaying the sentence and Walton's decision has increased the debate on whether President Bush will pardon Libby. — Posted at 12:30 pm

Jun. 13, 2007

INVESTIGATOR RECOUNTS SEARCH FOR SLAIN REPORTER PEARL. Randall Bennett, a State Department agent who led the investigation into the kidnapping and murder of reporter Daniel Pearl, said the Pearl case was the "one biggest personal tragedy to me, because we didn't get Danny back." Bennett spoke to The Washington Post while in New York for the premiere of a movie based on a book by Pearl's widow, Mariane. — Posted at 4:44 pm

IRAQI NEWSPAPER EDITOR KIDNAPPED. The well-known editor of the Iraqi government-owned newspaper al-Sabah was ambushed and kidnapped Wednesday morning, according to a statement from the paper. — Posted at 2:01 pm

Jun. 11, 2007

LIBBY SENTENCING LETTERS AVAILABLE ONLINE. The New York Times reports that the letters received by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton before the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby have been the subject of intense discussion on the Internet. The Washington Post has posted the letters as PDF files organized alphabetically by the authors (who include Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz), while the National Security Archive has posted all the letters as a large PDF file. Walton ordered the letters released over the objections of Libby's attorneys. Walton has sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison but has yet to decide whether he will remain free during his appeals. — Posted at 12:04 pm

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN. In one week, two female journalists have been killed in Afghanistan, including Afghan Radio Peace director Zakia Zaki. Afghan police have arrested six men in connection with her slaying, according to The Associated Press. Afghan authorities have also arrested suspects connected to the death of Shokiba Sanga Amaaj, a newsreader for an Afghan television station. In Iraq, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Sahar Hussein Ali al-Haydari, a journalist who had been the subject of many death threats, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Mosul. — Posted at 11:43 am

Jun. 8, 2007

JUDGE DENIES ACCESS TO TAPES IN PADILLA TRIAL. A judge overseeing the trial of Jose Padilla has refused media organizations' request to gain access to recordings of Padilla on the same day they are heard by the jury. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cook in Miami said the media's request would burden prosecutors and instead ordered the recordings to be made available the day after they are played in court. Media organizations, including The Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times, say the ruling will make it difficult for reporters on deadline and are considering an appeal. — Posted at 2:14 pm

Jun. 5, 2007

LIBBY SENTENCED TO MORE THAN TWO YEARS. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators about his role in the involvement of the leaking of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, the wife of a Bush administration critic. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton scheduled a hearing for next week on whether to allow Libby to remain out of prison while he appeals his case. Meanwhile, the court has released letters written to urge leniency for Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. The Smoking Gun has posted some of the letters from officials such as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. — Posted at 1:03 pm

TWO MEN CHARGED IN PEARL'S MURDER. Police have announced that they arrested two men wanted in the murder of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Karachi and killed in 2002. Several others have been convicted or linked to Pearl's slaying, including the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who admitted to beheading Pearl in a military tribunal, according to a Defense Department transcript of the hearing. — Posted at 1:03 pm

Jun. 1, 2007

AP: KYL PUT SECRET HOLD ON FOIA BILL. The Associated Press is reporting that Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has admitted putting a secret hold on legislation that would reform the Freedom of Information Act. The bill has passed the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee but faces opposition from the White House. Kyl said he will block the law until both sides can work out the differences. The bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) had urged the lifting of the secret hold so the Senate could vote on the bill. — Posted at 12:59 pm

PLAME SUES CIA OVER MEMOIR. Valerie Wilson, the CIA operative whose identity was disclosed to the media, is suing the CIA over its refusal to allow her to disclose her service dates in an upcoming memoir. Wilson, who is also known by her maiden name, Valerie Plame, says in the suit that the information is already in the public domain. — Posted at 11:52 am

TAPE OF KIDNAPPED REPORTER RELEASED. A video of kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been posted on a Web site used by Islamic militants. It is unknown when the video, which bears the logo of the Army of Islam, was taken. Johnston was kidnapped March 12 in Gaza City. — Posted at 11:02 am

CRS REPORT ON EXECUTIVE BRANCH CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS. Secrecy News has obtained a CRS report on how the executive branch controls security information, though classification and other means. Given the topic of the report, it is worth noting that Congressional Research Service reports are intended only for members of Congress and not released to the public. — Posted at 11:01 am

IRAQI CAMERAMAN'S DEATH MARKS RECORD MONTH FOR JOURNALIST KILLINGS. A cameraman for Associated Press Television News was shot and killed in Baghdad on Tuesday on his day off, becoming the 12th journalist to die in Iraq in May. Reporters Without Borders is calling for a special police unit to investigate press slayings, according to Reuters, which also has a timeline of journalists killed in the past six months. The Committee to Protect Journalists has a statistical analysis of the 104 journalists killed in Iraq since the war began. — Posted at 10:31 am

CHENEY ASKS SECRET SERVICE TO STOP KEEPING COPIES OF VISITOR LOGS. A lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney wrote the Secret Service last year and instructed the agency to refrain from keeping copies of logs containing the names of visitors to Cheney's official residence. The letter was disclosed by the government in an ongoing lawsuit with a nonprofit group over access to the logs. — Posted at 10:16 am

PROSECUTORS WANT COURT DOCUMENTS KEPT SECRET. Prosecutors in the case of two men charged with aiding terrorists have asked a judge to prevent the public and defense attorneys from seeing documents filed under seal, citing national security concerns. The Associated Press reports that prosecutors previously sought to have a hearing in the Atlanta case closed to the public until media organizations intervened. — Posted at 10:13 am