Brenna Bird accuses national media of supporting terrorism amid Gaza war
Iowa's attorney general says leading media organizations may be violating state and federal law by working with journalists covering the ongoing Israel-Hamas war with ties to terrorist groups.
In a letter released Monday and cosigned by 13 other state attorneys general, Bird writes to the New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN and Reuters, warning them that they may be hiring and working with freelancers connected to Hamas, which, she says, could amount to a crime.
"Reporting credibly alleges that some of the individuals that your outlets hire have deep and troubling ties to Hamas — and may have participated in the Oct. 7 attack," she writes.
The letter, which follows several letters from members of Congress raising similar concerns, goes on to suggest that some Palestinian journalists based in Gaza may have had forewarning of Hamas' attack on Israel, and that any business relationships with supporters or affiliates of Hamas could constitute material support for terrorism.
"The digital trails connecting these individuals to Hamas are so evident that even cursory diligence should have uncovered them," the letter alleges.
Bird in a statement called it "illegal and shameful" that media outlets are "funding friends of terrorist organizations."
Some of the letter's claims have already been called into question. All four news organizations have denied any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack.
On Wednesday, Charlie Stadtlander, communications director for the New York Times, issued a forceful rebuttal of Bird's "inflammatory allegations based on false assumptions and debunked social media posts."
"The now-discredited assertion that someone working for The Times was embedded with Hamas is based on a posting from a website that has conceded it had no evidence for its claims," the Times statement said. "I realize that the purveyors of disinformation online have widely and recklessly spread the lie of 'embedded journalists.' But it does real harm when public officials embrace such falsehoods and give them credibility."
HonestReporting, an Israeli media watchdog group that first questioned whether local journalists had been tipped off about the attack in advance, later admitted it had no evidence of such collusion and said it accepted the media organizations' denials.
The letter accuses one journalist who had done work for Reuters, CNN and AP of posting a video showing himself carrying a grenade during the attack. Although the journalist in question has since been fired or suspended by several media outlets and faces other accusations of prior ties to Hamas officials, the video apparently referenced in Bird's letter shows the journalist recording another man who is holding the grenade.
Bird concludes suggesting that the states could consider legal action if the media outlets continue to work with journalists with alleged terrorist ties.
"We will continue to follow your reporting to ensure that your organizations do not violate any federal or State laws by giving material support to terrorists abroad," the letter states. "Now your organizations are on notice. Follow the law."
Bird's office also led on a second letter released Monday, this one signed by 22 other red-state attorneys general, directed at two Wall Street investment companies. The letter accuses the companies of recommending "woke investment strategies" and jeopardizing state pension plan beneficiaries and other investors.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Attorney General accuses media of supporting terrorism in Gaza
