{"id":55357,"date":"2021-11-19T11:51:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T06:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/judge-tries-to-block-new-york-timess-coverage-of-project-veritas\/"},"modified":"2021-11-19T11:51:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T06:21:09","slug":"judge-tries-to-block-new-york-timess-coverage-of-project-veritas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/judge-tries-to-block-new-york-timess-coverage-of-project-veritas\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Tries to Block New York Times\u2019s Coverage of Project Veritas"},"content":{"rendered":"
A New York trial court judge ordered The New York Times on Thursday to temporarily refrain from publishing or seeking out certain documents related to the conservative group Project Veritas, an unusual instance of a court blocking coverage by a major news organization.<\/p>\n
The order raised immediate concerns among First Amendment advocates, who called it a violation of basic constitutional protections for journalists, a viewpoint echoed by The Times. Project Veritas issued a statement in support of the order, arguing that it did not amount to a significant imposition on the newspaper\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
The judge\u2019s order is part of a pending libel lawsuit filed by Project Veritas against The Times in 2020. That suit accuses the newspaper of defaming Project Veritas in its reporting on a video produced by the group that made unverified claims of voter fraud in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Led by the provocateur James O\u2019Keefe, Project Veritas often conducts sting operations \u2014 including the use of fake identities and hidden cameras \u2014 aimed at embarrassing Democratic campaigns, labor organizations, news outlets and other entities. It is the subject of a Justice Department investigation into its possible involvement in the reported theft of a diary that apparently belonged to President Biden\u2019s daughter, Ashley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer who represents media outlets including CNN, called the court\u2019s order \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though it\u2019s temporary, the Supreme Court has said even the most modest, minute-by-minute deprivations of these First Amendment rights cannot be tolerated,\u201d Mr. Boutrous said. \u201cTo go further and suggest a limit on news gathering, I\u2019ve never heard of such a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a Nov. 11 article about the Justice Department investigation, The Times published excerpts from memos prepared by a lawyer for Project Veritas, which elucidated ways for the group to engage in deceptive reporting practices, like creating fake identities, while avoiding any breach of federal law.<\/p>\n
The memos predate the libel case against The Times by several years. But on Wednesday, Project Veritas filed a motion arguing that The Times had breached its right to attorney-client privilege by disseminating the memos, and accused the paper of trying to embarrass a litigation opponent. (Along with the written excerpts, images of the memos were briefly posted on Nov. 11 on The Times\u2019s website. A Times spokeswoman said that this was inadvertent, and that the images were removed after editors discovered the mistake.)<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the trial court judge, Charles D. Wood of State Supreme Court in Westchester County, ordered that The Times \u201cimmediately sequester, protect and refrain\u201d from disseminating any of the materials prepared by the Project Veritas lawyer. Furthermore, Justice Wood instructed The Times to \u201ccease further efforts to solicit or acquire\u201d those materials, effectively preventing the newspaper from reporting on the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The order was to remain in place until a hearing next week. The Times planned to immediately oppose it in an appellate court.<\/p>\n