California Democrat Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, is under fire for threatening to journalists who obtained a list of “police misconduct reports” from a FOIA request. That’s right: “merely *possessing* the documents” is what has him fired up:
This is CRAZY. Journalists were inadvertently given a list of police misconduct reports via a public records request. The California AG is now saying the journalists are breaking the law by merely *possessing* the documents and threatened legal action. https://t.co/ojnQq9xuh2
— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) February 26, 2019
Becerra’s office isn’t backing down:
In a statement to @FreedomofPress today, California AG @XavierBecerra's office doubled down on their contention that the reporters here are breaking the law by possessing documents about police criminal convictions. We'll have a story up about it in the morning.
— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) February 27, 2019
But the statute his office referenced in his letter threatening the journos exempts journalists. It’s “literally the first line”:
It's not like the law is overly confusing or complicated. The whole text can fit in a tweet, and the reference to journalists being exempted is literally in the first line.
— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) February 28, 2019
Text here:
Here are the key points from First Amendment lawyer David Snyder:
1) The First Amendment protects journalists from civil or criminal liability for possessing documents
2) the statute @AGBecerra's office cited specifically has a carve out for journalists! https://t.co/RmNqTjGbBl pic.twitter.com/lSucrFCLmB— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) February 28, 2019
Becerra is saying he didn’t threaten the journos, but “the Department can take legal action” certainly sounds like a threat:
Bizarre to hear @AGBecerra say he only made a "request," never "threatened any individual." If you read the letter he sent to @UCBerkeleyIRP @ucbsoj reporters, the language is clear: If you don't comply, "the Department can take legal action." That's not a threat? https://t.co/xea6bMZk44
— john temple (@jtemplejrnalist) March 1, 2019
Imagine if Attorney General William Barr did this?
This is an embarrassing display of censorship. https://t.co/48xch3jSTs
— Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) February 28, 2019
Bonus: Who would have even noticed this story if Becerra hadn’t spoken up?
Congratulations to California Attorney General @AGBecerra for bringing such a huge amount of attention to a public interest document! https://t.co/3k2poPCRRj
— Camille Fassett (@camfassett) February 28, 2019
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