Dan Gillmor comments on reports that the Department of Justice is sending letters to journalists telling them to be prepared to hand over their notes for use in investigations: "This is wrong, pure and simple."
It is a short step from obliterating the First Amendment protection of a free press to wiping out freedom of speech completely. Everyone should be resisting these erosions of liberty in little bits every day. Start today by sending a letter to your Congressional delegation asking them to fight Ashcroft's trampling of the First Amendment. Here's a template letter:
Dear [Representative/Senator],
I am writing to urge you to introduce legislation that prevents the Department of Justice from demanding access to reporters' notes, email and source contact information for use in criminal investigations. This is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment and risks not only the freedom of the press but the right to free speech.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has sent letters to a group of reporters who covered the case of Adrian Lamo, according to Mark Rasch, a writer for The Register, a British information technology Web site. "e letters warn them to expect subpoenas for all documents relating to the hacker, including, apparently, their own notes, e-mails, impressions, interviews with third parties, independent investigations, privileged conversations and communications, off the record statements, and expense and travel reports related to stories about Lamo."
While I do not approve of the computer intrusions Mr. Lamo is accused of undertaking, it is the tradition and law of the United States to protect the press from intrusions by police investigations -- the police, if they have not successfully built a case against an accused person have never had recourse to substitute the research conducted by journalists for their own investigative efforts. In other words, as a citizen of the United States, I appeal to you to re-establish the rule of law that has sustained our democracy for more than 210 years.
I urge you specifically to reverse all portions of the USA Patriot Act that contravene American political and social values in the interest of increased security. I am not willing to trade freedom for a modicum of comfort in my day to day life. The Congress has granted the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and other police and intelligence agencies substantially increased budgets since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon; please, require that these agencies do their jobs legally and with the greatest respect for liberty, starting with the freedom of the press.
I thank you for your attention to this matter and will be watching your actions attentively as we enter another election year.
Sincerely,