Last year, a billionaire defense contractor sued The Intercept, claiming defamation. We stand by our reporting — but the resulting legal bills have been eye-popping.
Meanwhile, our reporters are increasingly finding it necessary to go to court to enforce freedom of information laws and get access to public records.
This often drags on for years: For example, we first filed suit in November 2020 to obtain documents about the draconian security measures employed against protests to the Dakota Access pipeline — and despite multiple rulings in our favor, we have yet to receive a single page through the lawsuit.
We never want anyone in our newsroom to be bullied off an important story for fear that it could set off expensive litigation against a deep-pocketed adversary. Our mission is fearless journalism that holds the powerful accountable — and sometimes that requires going to court.
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Our lawsuit over the Dakota Access pipeline is an instructive example of how drawn out these battles can become.
For nearly two years, The Intercept has been fighting an expensive and grueling legal battle to obtain 60,000 pages of documents about pipeline giant Energy Transfer and TigerSwan, a private security firm that attacked and surveilled Standing Rock protesters.
The North Dakota Supreme Court unanimously ruled that these documents are subject to the state’s open records law, but Energy Transfer still won’t admit defeat. The pipeline giant’s law firm represented Donald Trump for over 15 years and is notorious for its aggressive tactics. With the nearly unlimited resources of an oil company, it’s fighting our lawsuit tooth and nail.
Our team is confident that the law is on our side. But to finally get our hands on these documents, we need to be prepared for whatever Energy Transfer may throw at us — and with our fundraising taking a hit over the summer months, we need Intercept readers to step up now.
Will you make a donation and help support The Intercept’s crucial First Amendment litigation today?
