The New York Times was ordered by a New York trial court to refrain from publishing or seeking out certain documents related to the conservative group Project Veritas.
The order raised immediate concerns among First Amendment advocates, who said it was a violation of basic Constitutional protections for journalists. Project Veritas argued that the order did not amount to a significant interference with the newspaper's rights.
The judge ordered the Times to respond to a libel lawsuit filed by Project Veritas. The suit accuses the newspaper of defaming Project Veritas in its reporting on a video produced by the group that made claims of voter fraud in Minnesota.
Project Veritas is a provocateur led by James O'Keefe that conducts sting operations to embarrassing Democratic campaigns, labor organizations, news outlets and other entities. It is under investigation by the Justice Department for possible involvement in the reported theft of a diary that belonged to President Biden's daughter.
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer who represents media outlets, called the court order ridiculous.
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The Supreme Court has said that even the most modest, minute-by-minute deprivations of these First Amendment rights cannot be ignored. I have never heard of a limit on news gathering.
The Times published excerpts from memos prepared by a lawyer for Project Veritas, which showed how the group could engage in deceptive reporting practices, like creating fake identities, while avoiding any federal law breeches.
The libel case against The Times started several years before the memos. Project Veritas filed a motion on Wednesday accusing The Times of trying to humiliate a litigation opponent by releasing the memos. Images of the memos were briefly posted on The Times website. The images were removed after editors discovered the mistake, according to a Times spokeswoman.
The trial court judge in Westchester ordered The Times to refrain from publishing any of the materials prepared by the Project Veritas lawyer. Justice Wood told The Times to cease further efforts to solicit or acquire those materials, which prevented the newspaper from reporting on the matter.
The order was to remain in place until a hearing next week. The Times was going to oppose it in court.
Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement that the ruling was unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent.
Mr. Baquet wrote that when a court silences journalism, it fails its citizens and undermines their right to know. The Pentagon Papers case was a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court against prior restraint blocking the publication of journalism. That principle is applicable here. We want an immediate review of this decision.
The home of Project Veritas member James O'Keefe was searched by federal agents as part of an investigation into how the diary said to belong to Mr. Biden's daughter surfaced publicly.
The group received the diary from two people and believed it had been obtained legally, according to lawyers for Project Veritas. The property was believed to have been stolen according to the warrant used in the search.
Project Veritas wants to portray itself as a journalistic organization protected by the First Amendment. The A.C.L.U. said that "reasonable observers might not consider their activities to be journalism at all."
The Times's coverage of the Justice Department searches had been biased according to Mr. O'Keefe. The paper needs to decide if it is in favor of press freedom for all, or only itself.
Mr. O'Keefe wants to expose what he says is a liberal bias in the mainstream media and technology companies.
The diary was discussed with sources before Project Veritas decided against publishing it. A right-wing website later published photographs that it claimed were images of the diary, saying it had obtained the images from a person working for a media organization that had chosen not to publish a story.
National File had a number of ties to Project Veritas. The company that owns the right-wing website was once led by Mr. O'Keefe. The owner of the website shares an address in Wyoming with a firm run by a former British spy who taught espionage tactics to Project Veritas operatives.
