Newsgathering

A former CIA intelligence officer pleaded not guilty this morning to federal charges that he violated the Espionage Act by leaking classified documents to journalists.

A military judge avoided ruling on whether members of the news media and the public will have access to the testimony about the prison treatment of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 which killed 17 Americans. Instead, at Wednesday's pretrial hearing in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the judge ordered the prison camp to unshackle al-Nashiri when he met with his lawyers, making the accused terrorist's testimony unnecessary.

A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed in New York yesterday on behalf of a video journalist arrested and detained while filming police activities on a public street. The suit points to 13 other reported incidents in which police throughout Long Island have allegedly prevented journalists and citizens from filming police activity.

A cameraman in Minneapolis became a part of the story during an Occupy demonstration Saturday night after a police officer shoved his camera to the ground. The Minneapolis police chief called the incident "stupid" and said the actions of the officer are not endorsed by the police department.

A federal grand jury handed down a five-count criminal indictment against former CIA intelligence officer John C. Kiriakou for allegedly disclosing confidential information to journalists on multiple occasions.

A Massachusetts attorney arrested for using his cellphone to record police officers while they arrested a man in public received a $170,000 settlement for damages and legal fees from the City of Boston on Monday.

A photojournalism student was charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest after photographing Philadelphia police officers who made a traffic stop outside of his home. Temple University junior Ian Van Kuyk was allegedly thrown to the ground and arrested while taking photographs of police for a class assignment.

A bill in the Illinois House of Representatives that would have created an exemption from criminal liability under the state's broad eavesdropping law was defeated by a vote of 59-45. HB 3944 would have decriminalized the recording of police officers publicly engaged in their public duties.

"We always knew this would be a heavy lift, and I guess it was heavier than we thought," said state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, the chief sponsor of the bill.

Two journalists were handcuffed and detained by Chicago police outside a hospital over the weekend as they waited to speak with the family of a 6-year-old girl who was murdered.

A California judge refused to dismiss a felony conspiracy and two misdemeanor trespassing charges against a photojournalist for his coverage of an “Occupy” demonstration in Santa Cruz.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Sillman did rule last week, however, that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence that Bradley Stuart Allen committed felony vandalism, another offense he faced as a result of his newsgathering activities, and dismissed that charge after a hearing last week, Allen’s attorney, Ben Rice, said in an interview.