Behind the Homefront

A daily chronicle of news in homeland security and military operations affecting newsgathering, access to information and the public's right to know.

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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.

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Jan. 13, 2004

SUPREME COURT DENIES IMMIGRATION DETAINEE APPEAL. The Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal challenging the secrecy surrounding the arrest and detention of hundreds of people, nearly all Muslim men, in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Without comment, the court let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court in Center for National Security Studies v. Department of Justice. Click here to see Attorney General John Ashcroft's statement about the appeal. Here also are today's stories from the New York Times the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

— Posted at 4:25 pm [link]

Jan. 12, 2004

JUSTICES REJECT APPEAL OVER SECRET 9/11 DETAINEES. The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to consider an appeals court ruling that names of the more than 700 detainees held by the federal government can be kept secret in order to protect national security. The Center for National Security Studies, a Washington-based public interest group, was lead plaintiff in the case to reveal who was picked up and held in custody after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Most have apparently been deported and only one, Zacarius Mousssaoui, has ever been prosecuted in connection with the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press was one of the plaintiffs in the case. In a friend-of-the-court brief, 23 news and media groups asked the high court to rehear the appeals court ruling. CNSS director Kate Martin told the AP, "The Justice Department is keeping the names secret to cover up its misconduct." She said the department wants to keep secret its roundup of "innocent Arabs and Muslims instead of suspected terrorists."

— Posted at 11:32 am [link]

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