Free Press Publications

In all our 18 years, Antiwar.com has never needed your support like we need it now. Two years ago, we revealed to our readers the shocking news that Antiwar.com, its founder Eric Garris, and its Editorial Director Justin Raimondo had been the subject of an extra-legal FBI surveillance campaign. Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the FBI monitored Antiwar.com under suspicions that we constituted “a threat to national security,” possibly “on behalf of a foreign power.”

Today the ACLU filed a lawsuit on our behalf against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, demanding the receipt of records in their possession regarding surveillance of Antiwar.com, and key editorial personnel. For the sake of our devoted supporters, and ourselves, we are determined to get the truth.

At this very moment, the Obama administration is embroiled in a scandal over efforts by the Department of Justice to spy on dozens of Associated Press journalists in a leak case. Separately, it was revealed this week that a Fox News reporter who used a State Department official as a source is being accused of criminal behavior simply for obtaining information from a government employee.

This used to be called journalism. Now, it’s “a threat to national security.”

“Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our democracy, whether it’s the Associated Press or Antiwar.com,” said Julia Mass, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California. “Government surveillance of news organizations interferes with journalists’ ability to do their jobs.”

Our legal battle with the FBI is surely in its early stages. These things take a lot of time and a lot of resources. But we can’t fight this war for the sanctity of the First Amendment if we don’t have your support.

The Associated Press and Fox News are livid about the infringements on their journalists’ rights. But we don’t have their resources. And the chilling effect of Big Brother has already had its effect: we’ve lost several major donors following our publication of the FBI documents.

For nearly two decades, Antiwar.com has worked tirelessly to cut through the war propaganda of the mainstream media and provide hard-hitting non-interventionist viewpoints to a wide readership. We are still the Internet’s leading source for antiwar news and commentary – and we have very big plans for the future, provided you help us.

Antiwar.com can’t fight this fight alone. We’re up against the pro-war press on the one hand, and the warfare state on the other.

We need your help. Join us in the long fight to get the truth. Take a stand against government surveillance of independent journalism. Make your tax-deductible contribution today.

Sincerely,

John Glaser
Editor
Antiwar.com

Someone once said “When it rains, it pours.” That statement seems to be true in a metaphorical sense, especially given the breadth of major stories coming out of D.C. recently.

On May 13 it was reported, “The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a ‘massive and unprecedented intrusion’ into how news organizations gather the news.” Continue reading →