One of the biggest battles over press freedom in decades is about to come to a head, and we need your help. Sign this petition to help keep journalist James Risen out of jail. James Risen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times who exposed the original NSA warrantless wiretapping program, may be headed to prison. The Justice Department is trying to force him to testify against one of his alleged sources, and if he doesn’t—as hes vowed not to—he could be issued a fine large enough to bankrupt him, or be sent to jail. This is totally unacceptable in a country that values the First Amendment and press freedom. Journalists need to be able to protect the confidentiality of their sources to get information out to the public, and if they are forced to reveal their sources in court, they may never be able to gain their trust again. Along with Roots Action and a coalition of other press freedom groups, we are hosting a petition to the Justice Department demanding that they drop their dangerous pursuit of James Risen. Thanks to many of you who have already signed on, the petition has over 100,000 signatures. But we need as many signatures as possible before we deliver the petition to the Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder in two weeks. We can get the number of signatures up to 150,000 or more with your help. So please go here, and add your name to the growing list of people that are telling the Justice Department: halt all legal action against James Risen and stop trying to punish reporters for doing their job. Sign this petition to help keep journalist James Risen out of jail. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Trevor Timm Executive Director Freedom of the Press Foundation We Support James Risen Because We Support a Free Press The U.S. government is insisting that New York Times reporter James Risen reveal a confidential source -- or go to jail. Risen says he wont capitulate. Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg says: The pursuit of Risen is a warning to potential sources that journalists cannot promise them confidentiality for disclosing Executive Branch criminality, recklessness, deception, unconstitutional policies or lying us into war. Background: Freedom of the Press Foundation: Court Guts Reporter’s Privilege Truthout: Conversation With James Risen Politico: Justice Department Urges SCOTUS to Pass Up Reporter’s Privilege Case Norman Solomon: An Escalating War on Journalism Letter to Holder from 46 News Organizations Re: Subpoena to James Risen Committee to Protect Journalists: U.S. Government Should Withdraw Subpoena Please join Ellsberg and sign below: To: President Obama and Attorney General Holder Your effort to compel New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal his sources is an assault on freedom of the press. Without confidentiality, journalism would be reduced to official stories -- a situation antithetical to the First Amendment. We urge you in the strongest terms to halt all legal action against Mr. Risen and to safeguard the freedom of journalists to maintain the confidentiality of their sources. First Name* Last Name* Email* Street City State/Province Zip/Postal Code* Country Add me to the following list(s): Join FAIR - Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (fair.org/) Join Freedom of the Press Foundation (https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/) Join The Nation (thenation/) Join The Progressive / Center for Media and Democracy (progressive.org/) Feel free to add your own comment to the President and Attorney General. Display in list as Anonymous GOAL: 100,000 CURRENT: 108,564 1-25 of 108564 signatures Number Date Name Location Feel free to add your own ... 108564 1 seconds ago Anonymous WA , 108563 4 seconds ago Rodney Brown Spartanburg, SC , US 108562 17 seconds ago C.K. Ellis Hillsboro, OR , US 108561 30 seconds ago P. Ross Fairmont, WV , US 108560 32 seconds ago Christine Porter Chico, CA , US 108559 37 seconds ago Michael McNeil US T 108558 42 seconds ago Cherry Miloe Bayfield, CO , US Freedom of the Press is essential for a democracy to work well! Stop punishing the whistle-blowers and do something appropriate & positive with the info they provide!!! 108557 47 seconds ago mark scibilia-carver trumansburg, NY , US 108556 52 seconds ago Paul Burt San Francisco, CA , US 108555 1 minute ago Jan Stewart Hermosa Beach, CA , US 108554 1 minute ago heiko fiedler Idar-Oberstein, ot , DE America, the Government and all public representavive talk about free world, free press and free People, Since Mr. Edward Snowden, the World know, they are liers. 108553 1 minute ago Andy Kittross Lawrence, MA , US 108552 1 minute ago dolores Oreilly OakLawn, IL , US 108551 1 minute ago Ruben Martinez Rio Rancho, NM , US 108550 2 minutes ago Joyce Dickerman Oliver Springs, TN , US 108549 2 minutes ago mike wilkinson seattle, WA , US the ordinary joes and janes of this great nation have a right to know who is spying on them ..... even if its their own government ..... being a person who saw the abuses of the late 60s and into t... 108548 2 minutes ago Tina Hill Leicester, NC , US 108547 3 minutes ago Phyllis Haseleu Barronett, WI , US 108546 3 minutes ago Jolayne Justice Chiloquin, OR , US 108545 3 minutes ago Neal Madnick Flushing, NY , US An outrage! 108544 3 minutes ago Randy Behre speedway, IN , US 108543 3 minutes ago Elaine Sorensen Evanston, IN , US 108542 3 minutes ago Barbara Hays Springfield, MO , WF What about freedom of the press? 108541 3 minutes ago Nancy Woolley Stoughton, MA , US Are we a free nation or a police state? Government (and corporate) approved propaganda or truth. Are we at the end of our forefathers grand experiment? 108540 3 minutes ago Robert Kremer Beaverton, OR , US Next -> All fields indicated by a red asterisk (*) are required. By taking action you will be automatically signed up for action alerts from Roots Action. We consider your contact information to be private and confidential. We will NOT disclose it to any other entity unless you specifically authorize us to do so. You can unsubscribe at the bottom of any email you receive from us. Www.pressfreedomfoundation.org
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 01:17:34 +0000
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