The Justice Department’s sustained effort to criminally prosecute former FBI Director James Comey has now produced a measurable institutional cost: more than a half-dozen prosecutors have been demoted or pushed out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, others are weighing departures, and at least one major case has been disrupted. The campaign against Comey, spanning two separate indictments across nine months, has accomplished less legally than it has damaged the office pursuing it.

The Defense Department’s recent decision to eliminate dedicated workspaces for select media organizations within the Pentagon marks a decisive and commendable stride toward modernizing national security protocols and leveling the field for all journalists. This measure is not an attempt to muzzle the press but a strategic reorganization designed to ensure that every credentialed reporter adheres to the same rigorous access standards, thereby eliminating outdated practices that once granted preferential treatment to a few.

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2024 - Following is a statement from National Press Club President Emily Wilkins on the finding by a United Nations panel that Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich is being arbitrarily detained by Russia. “The UN’s report confirms what we have all known: Evan is being unjustly held in Russia and his case is a sham. It has been too long. We can’t wait another minute. It is time to bring Evan home.