The Intercept - Looming legal threats to The Intercept

A federal judge eventually threw out Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s lawsuit against The Intercept, but not before we spent $200,000, over three years and countless hours of staff time fighting it.

The frightening reality is that a billionaire can use their deep pockets to sue a news outlet out of existence. Just look at how Peter Thiel spent $10 million on a series of lawsuits that eventually led Gawker to file for bankruptcy.

The Intercept will continue to report — truthfully and in the public interest — no matter how many times billionaires like Prince try to drag us into court.

But what really keeps The Intercept’s journalists up at night is what happens the next time a billionaire doesn’t like one of our stories. As an independent nonprofit newsroom, will we have the resources we need to defend ourselves?

To ensure that no one can bully The Intercept away from an important investigation, we’ve set an ambitious goal of raising $400,000 this month — and so far we still have more than $160,000 left to go. Can you donate today and help us reach our goal?

Since Thiel began his campaign against Gawker, the wealthy and powerful have only become more aggressive in their efforts to silence the press through litigation.

Mother Jones fought off a defamation lawsuit from a billionaire Republican donor after reporting on his company’s super PAC contributions and his local political activities. The court ruled in favor of Mother Jones on all counts — but only after two years and millions in legal fees, costs that could have crushed a smaller publication.

Meanwhile, conservative legal activists are gaining ground in their efforts to overturn free speech precedents: Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch have openly advocated for the opportunity to overturn the landmark ruling New York Times v. Sullivan, which limits defamation lawsuits against journalists. Without that protection, countless important stories might never see the light of day.

The Intercept exists to expose injustice and take on the powerful — no matter what they throw at us. But our opponents have the time and resources to fight to the last drop, from our defamation case to the grueling public records litigation we rely on to bring corporate and government secrets to light.

That’s why, with just seven days left, it’s so important to meet this September fundraising goal. Can you donate right now?

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