First Amendment News

The Reuters Institute has released it first report into the declining trust in news with the researchers listing what they think they know and what they want to find out. The first four: there is no single “trust in news” problem; public understanding of how journalism works is low and social media isn’t helping; some distrust may be rooted in coverage that has chronically stigmatized or ignored segments of the public; and assessments of trust

The Los Angeles Times is suing government agencies concerned with immigration over their failure to honor Freedom of Information Act requests filed over three months ago. The lawsuit contends that the agencies are covering up documents concerning allegations of sexual abuse at ICE detention centers. (Courthouse News Service, December 2, 2020, by Carson McCullough) The Times is asking for detainee complaint records and investigative reports concerning sexual abuse, COVID-19 and inhumane conditions at ICE facilities.

Watchdog groups are suing the Trump administration to prevent the destruction of records before the end of the term. The administration established a policy that allows staff to preserve as official presidential records screenshots of information sent on non-official messaging platforms. This procedure omits information vital to fulfilling lawful record-keeping obligations. (Axios, December 2, 2020, by Rebecca Falconer) Led by CREW, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the groups say the administration may

Many justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have contended that the court is the most transparent branch of government since their written opinions explain their decisions and dissents are detailed. Yet the court’s sessions aren’t televised and the justices are not held to any ethical codes. They decide what to disclose about travel plans, speaking engagements or health problems. They don’t disclose details of why they sit out cases for conflict of interest or of

The numbers of COVID-19 beds and patients reported by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) don’t jibe with other federal sources, state data and the realities faced by hospitals. The faulty numbers lead to shortages of medicine and protective equipment. The Trump administration transferred the pandemic tracking system in July from the CDC to a private contractors much to the dismay of public health workers who feared the change would hurt the government’s