Kevin Gosztola

Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof Press. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, "Unauthorized Disclosure."

During WWII, The Government Refused To Prosecute A Leaker For Fear Of Public Backlash

“I do not think this is a case that the public would ever understand… consequently, the whole case would become engulfed in questions of freedom of the press, censorship, etc.”

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
Stanley Johnston, Chicago Tribune correspondent is pictured in Chicago, June 12, 1942. The only American newsman aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Lexington, Johnston looks at an Associated Press WirePhoto transmission of a Navy picture showing the Lexington as it exploded during the battle of Coral Sea. (AP/Paul Cannon)

Newly published documents by the National Security Archive reveal why a grand jury refused to prosecute a Chicago Tribune reporter during World War II for a leak. Correspondent Stanley Johnston was accused of revealing the United States cracked a Japanese code, which alerted the military to Japanese war plans before the Battle of Midway. A

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Lawmakers Push For Terrorism Prosecutions For Environmentalists

Members of Congress signed a letter urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute environmental activists challenging pipelines as terrorists, citing a need to protect ‘energy infrastructure.’

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
A pipeline protester uses PVC pipes to attach himself to a piece of construction equipment along Highway 6 near Bismarck, N.D. (Photo: Phil McKenna/Inside Climate News)

Several members of Congress signed on to a letter recommending Attorney General Jeff Sessions look into whether the Justice Department has the laws it needs to prosecute environmental activists challenging pipelines as if they are terrorists. The letter asks Sessions if the USA PATRIOT Act and Pipeline Safety Act contain enough provisions to

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Logging Company Fails To Take-down Greenpeace With RICO Statute

Racketeering allegations against Greenpeace claimed the organization created false reports “for the unlawful purpose of soliciting fraudulent donations from the public.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
A Greenpeace campaigner writes "Forest Crime" and "G8 destroys forests" on logs at the port of Nordenham, northwest Germany, Thursday, July 20, 2000. (AP/Joerg Sarbach)

A lawsuit by Resolute Forest Products, a logging company, to suppress Greenpeace’s environmental activism against its forestry operations was dismissed by a federal court. It targeted Greenpeace and Stand.earth’s freedom of speech and right to dissent, alleging the organizations engaged in racketeering and defamation against the company. Annie

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Court: Government May ‘Seize’ Citizens’ Fingerprints To Unlock Apple Devices

“If Apple’s move leads us to abandon knowledge-based authentication altogether, we risk inadvertently undermining the legal rights we currently enjoy under the Fifth Amendment.”

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
An Apple employee instructs a journalist on the use of the fingerprint scanner technology built into the company's iPhone 5S during a media event in Beijing. Watchdog groups are concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are searching the phones and other digital devices of international travelers at border checkpoints in U.S. airports. (AP/Ng Han Guan)

A federal court ruled the United States government is not violating a citizen’s Fifth Amendment rights when they require a citizen to apply his or her fingerprints to a sensor so authorities can access a device. The government sought authorization to “seize” four residents so their fingers could be applied to Apple devices in a home in order to

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Supreme Court Strikes Down Private Prison Corporations’ Bid For Secrecy

“The more the detention system relies on private corporations, the less transparent it is. This is all the more reason to be concerned about the growing privatization of detention, which now accounts for roughly 62 percent of beds.”

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
Detainees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., The all-male detention center with a capacity of 1,924 detainees is operated on contract by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America, the country's largest private prison firm. (AP/Kate Brumback)

The Supreme Court ruled against two private prison corporations, GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America, which sought to block the release of records related to government contracts with them. “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court has finally put an end to private prison contractors’ relentless attempts to keep their secrets

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FBI Exercises Tight Control Over Media Portrayal In Hollywood

The FBI claims that it has much to offer entertainment producers and touts several items as services it may choose to provide: “guidance” on content about the FBI’s investigations, procedures, structure, and history.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
A sign for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offices in Washington, DC.

Journalist Jason Leopold obtained hundreds of documents through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that further reveal how the FBI relies upon movies and television to bolster its image. In a report for Buzzfeed, Leopold and Ariane Lange write, “Over the past five years, the FBI’s Hollywood-focused Investigative Publicity and Public Affairs

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NSA Leaker Reality Winner Denied Bail For “Hating America”

Judge Brian Epps contended Winner’s “hate” for America and admiration of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange make her a dangerous threat.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
Reality Winner. Photo via standwithreality.org

Federal magistrate judge Brian Epps once again denied bail to alleged NSA leaker Reality Winner. This time, Epps contended Winner’s “hate” for America and supposed admiration of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange make her a dangerous threat. Winner is accused of “removing classified material from a

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