Government & Communications

Federal prosecutors concluded an 18-month investigation into a former congressional technology staffer on July 3 by publicly debunking allegations — promoted by conservative media and President Donald Trump — suggesting he was a Pakistani operative who stole government secrets with cover from House Democrats. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Imran Awan pleaded guilty to a relatively minor offense unrelated to his work on Capitol Hill: making a false statement on a bank loan application. U.S. prosecutors said they would not recommend jail time.

[Commentary] The newsroom is the defining institution of journalism and a miracle of social organization.

Even as President Donald Trump holds court in large arenas filled with thousands of cheering supporters, he also has been giving rich financiers and business executives up-close access, helping cultivate the kind of big-money outfit he once derided.

Since her husband took office, Melania Trump has earned six figures from an unusual deal with a photo agency in which major media organizations have indirectly paid the Trump family despite a requirement that the photos be used only in positive coverage. President Donald Trump's most recent financial disclosure reveals that in 2017 the first lady earned at least $100,000 from Getty Images for the use of any of a series of 187 photos of the first family shot between 2010 and 2016 by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux.

Network neutrality may be dead, but questions remain about how seriously the Federal Communications Commission considered comments from the public. "To put it simply, there is evidence in the FCC's files that fraud has occurred and the FCC is telling law enforcement and victims of identity theft that it is not going to help," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in Dec. "Failure to investigate this corrupted record undermines our process for seeking public input in the digital age."

The National Security Agency has purged hundreds of millions of records logging phone calls and texts that it had gathered from American telecommunications companies since 2015.

In 2011, Fox News announced that a new guest would appear weekly on “Fox & Friends,” its chummy morning show. “Bold, brash, and never bashful,” a network ad declared. “The Donald now makes his voice loud and clear, every Monday on Fox.” It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Seven years later, the symbiosis between President Donald Trump and his favorite cable network has only deepened. Fox News, whose commentators resolutely defend the president’s agenda, has seen ratings and revenues rise.

[Commentary] The attack on the Capital Gazette in Annapolis (MD) horrified the nation, but especially those of us in journalism. On a personal level, we mourn the loss of five devoted colleagues who were working tirelessly, at modest wages, to provide a vital service to their community. More broadly, though, this attack is merely the latest blow inflicted on local journalism — an institution that, despite its fundamental importance to our democracy, has been experiencing serious decline.

[Commentary] It is heartbreaking, but necessary, to recognize that the openness that defines local news likely carries too high a risk; local newsrooms, at least for now, may have no choice but to fortify themselves. Since Donald Trump chose, in the very earliest days of his presidential campaign, to make attacks on a free press in the United States one of his signature themes, many of us have thought it inevitable that his dangerous rhetoric would one day be a trigger for tragedy.

It is a true honor to have the chance to speak before members of the relatively new Cloud Communications Alliance....During times of change, an agency must refrain from subjecting new technologies to old regulatory structures.At a minimum, an agency should not act unless it is clear that the agency has authority, that there is evidence of a market failure warranting intervention, and that the benefits of acting outweigh the costs. Otherwise, regulators risk suppressing further entry, innovation, and investment.