US Threatening 6-Figure Fines for Contributing to âBannedâ Sites, Journalist tells RT

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American journalists are being threatened with large fines by the US Treasury for writing for the âwrongâ websites, writer Daniel Lazare told RT, concerned his countryâs reputation as a defender of press freedom might be over.
Lazare and other US journalists whoâve written for the Strategic Culture Foundation, a website that describes itself as a âresearch platform on Eurasian global affairs,â recently received threatening letters from the Treasury Department warning they could be on the hook for at least $300,000 in sanctions penalties, he told RT on Sunday.
âItâs impossible to battle the US Treasury in this kind of case,â Lazare said, pointing out that the Treasuryâs power was âenormous,â while âthat of an individual freelance journalist is microscopic.â Citing the âchilling effectâ of merely receiving such a document, he pointed out that few journalists would even acknowledge being thus targeted, never mind coming forward to do an interview about it, as he had.
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Theyâre unwilling to write, and theyâre unwilling to talk about why theyâre too afraid to write.
Washington had targeted the website and several others with a round of sanctions in April, claiming it was involved in election interference, controlled by Russiaâs foreign intelligence service, SVR, and connected to the Russian Foreign Ministry â a claim the foundation denies.
Lazare was most concerned about the precedent such heavy-handed tactics set for the USâ once-staunch defense of the right to a free press, which is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution and had previously been upheld in the courts.
âTo stop journalists from writing for these kinds of websites is a new step,â he said. âI was surprised, because the United States, in fact, has a very good track record when it comes to a free press. In America, we can say anything we want,â he continued, noting that he could mock current and former presidents âand not have to worry about the secret police crashing through my door.â
âBut now things may be changing slightly â and that doesnât augur well.â
Featured image: Daniel Lazare
(RT)