Angiulo: CBS Benghazi Report Highlights Power of First Amendment

Monday, November 11, 2013

Leonardo Angiulo, GoLocalWorcester Legal Contributor

The First Amendment's Free Press Clause is a unique and exceptional advantage that America holds against tyranny, believes Leonardo Angiulo. Photo: Wallyg/Flickr

So, the CBS media network took efforts this week to distance itself from the contents of a 60 minutes investigation on the events in Benghazi. The focus of their concern, and ultimate apology was that an eyewitness source for the events of that evening turned out to be using a false name and told inconsistent stories to the FBI and CBS. As I'm sure most people know, the attacks at Benghazi resulted in the tragic death of a United States Ambassador and has been a major debacle for the current administration. The fact that this retelling of the story has only resulted in disputes over accuracy of its contents, rather than the imprisonment of reporters or the silencing of CBS, is a testament to the First Amendment and our press. Especially considering how the rest of the world has treated journalists lately.

Lack of press freedom in the Arab world

Take Bassem Youssef of Egypt as an example. This is the guy commonly referred to as the “Jon Stewart” of Egypt because of his satire and willingness to use powerful people in his punch lines. At the beginning of November the Egyptian Television Network CBC indefinitely suspended his program. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), this suspension was due to pressure from a faction of the Egyptian Government, as well as from the network itself. This suspension effectively silenced a voice because of its message. Other recent releases from ANHRI document similar tactics in Arabic nations to limit the free exchange of ideas. These include, but aren't limited to, a ten-year prison sentence for a blogger critical of certain royal families and the arrest, secret detention and refusal to identify charges against another journalist arrested on November 7, 2013.

But this isn't just a problem in Arabic nations. The 2013 World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders documents the best, and worst, of how regional and national authorities treat journalists. Reporters Without Borders claim there is trouble all over: from China's censorship of internet content, to the use of violence in Belarus to silence dissidents and the limitation of television airwaves in Paraguay.

Press freedom in the United States

Does the United States have its own issues? Of course. Am I willing to cite the http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html" target="_blank">First Amendment's Freedom of the Press as a unique, maybe exceptional, advantage we hold against tyranny? Absolutely.

Let's take the CBS Benghazi report as an example. Exactly what happened that night, how something so terrible could have happened, and that different versions of events were coming out of the White House has been a topic the Obama Administration would rather not have to deal with. If we were in another country, even considering an investigative report on this subject could result in arrest and detention or even execution. As it stands, it is now up to the individual citizens to decide whether the person interviewed by CBS was recalling an accurate version of events or not. Thanks to our free press, we have learned that this same individual going by the name Morgan Jones apparently provided reports shortly after the event to his employer and the FBI that are fundamentally different from what he wrote in his book and told to CBS. Not only that but, apparently, his real name is Dylan Davies.

So, we as citizens and consumers of media are left with conflicting evidence and a choice of what to believe. We could believe that the account Mr. Davies provided to CBS should not be relied upon because he has given different versions and is therefore unreliable. We could, in the alternative, choose to believe Mr. Davies' assertion that the incident report from his employer was not written by him and that he told the FBI the same thing he told CBS. Sure, that gets a bit heavy on the conspiracy theory side of things, but I submit that with the information available at this time the issue is squarely framed as a “believe this or believe that” question.

And the beautiful part of all of this is because we have more available information to consider it's our choice which version of events to believe. That is what the guarantee of a free press means: the freedom to make your own decisions and form opinions about events based on sometimes conflicting information. The alternative is listening to only what an authority wants you to know.

Leonardo Angiulo is an Attorney with the firm of Glickman, Sugarman, Kneeland & Gribouski in Worcester handling legal matters across the Commonwealth. He can be reached by email at [email protected].