John Cornyn’s bill, which would empower the Treasury Secretary to revoke the nonprofit status of organizations deemed “terrorist supporting,” is a dangerous threat to press freedom. With the potential for abuse and overreach, this bill could have serious consequences for news outlets like The Intercept if they were to offend the government. The implications of this legislation are far-reaching, and it is essential to protect the freedom of the press from such attacks.
Tom Cotton, R-Ark., echoed HonestReportingâs misinformation in multiple letters, while 15 congressional representatives demanded that the news outlets provide information â potentially including source identities and communications â regarding the freelancers, threatening to issue subpoenas.
If there is any doubt about the nonprofit billâs backersâ intentions, consider that five of its House sponsors also signed onto a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking how it defines antisemitism and insinuating that the IRS should deny tax-exempt status to nonprofits that âpromote conduct that is counter to public policy,â even if theyâre not accused of supporting terrorism at all.
Nonprofit news outlets are already struggling even without government harassment, but revocation of their tax-exempt status would be a death knell for outlets doing the kind of in-depth investigative journalism that is hardly ever profitable these days. The mere prospect would chill reporting, not only on Israel but also on U.S. foreign policy generally. And thatâs not to mention the threat to nonprofit press freedom organizations that journalists depend on to protect their rights (including to not get killed in Gaza).
Unfortunately, this is just the latest piece of reckless, unnecessary ânational securityâ legislation that puts the press at risk. Last month, President Joe Biden ignored civil liberties advocates and signed into law a bill that would allow intelligence agencies to enlist any âservice providerâ to help the U.S. spy on foreigners.
As Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., explained, the law could âforc[e] an employee to insert a USB thumb drive into a server at an office they clean or guard at night.â And that office could easily be a newsroom, where journalists often talk to foreigners whose communications might interest U.S. intelligence agencies.
Is the government going to immediately start conscripting reporters to surveil their sources, or shutting down nonprofit news outlets that stray from the Israeli militaryâs narrative? Probably not. But history teaches that once officials are given the power to retaliate against journalists they donât like, they inevitably will. The prospect of the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act being weaponized against journalism was also once merely hypothetical â until it wasnât.
And letâs not forget that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee publicly fantasizes about jailing and otherwise retaliating against journalists.
Those who claim a second Donald Trump term would mark the end of democracy need to stop passing overbroad and unnecessary new laws handing him, and future authoritarians, brand new ways to harass and silence journalists who donât toe the line.
