Tom Dunn

My name is Marisa Kabas, and I'm an independent journalist who publishes The Handbasket. I'm reaching out about a matter that involves your team and that continues to trouble me. In June of last year, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and I filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan Police Department to compel them to release body camera footage from the March 17, 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace. What followed was months of back and forth with their lawyers, arguing why it was in the public interest to release the un-redacted footage in its entirety. Though tiny segments were handed over, that wasn't enough: We wanted all of it.  On February 18, 2026, a DC judge ruled in our favor, and your reporter Mark Segraves sent a kind note of congratulations that day. Then on Monday, March 2nd, the footage was handed over to me and excitedly announced I'd received it and would be reviewing it in the coming days and sharing what I learned. When Segraves emailed me this past Thursday asking for my phone number, I didn't think much of it. But when he called me just before 2pm on Friday to let me know NBC4 Washington would be airing a segment at 5pm, I grew concerned.  Segraves said he'd obtained some of the footage via a FOIA request that week after he heard the footage had been released to me. He said he'd credit the work of RCFP and me, but it was little comfort. I asked if he'd known the day before when he emailed me for my number, why didn't he tell me then? He didn't have a good answer for that. He acknowledged all the hard work I'd done getting this footage released. I asked him if he could hold the story until Monday, to which he replied that he's "not just a blogger" (implying that that's all I am, presumably) and that he'd have to check with his editor. I said fine. Nearly an hour later he called back to say his editor refused to hold the story, but that they were happy to interview me via Zoom to add to the package, and I said I would.

What followed was two hours of furiously writing and posting clips of the footage to Youtube so I could get something published before the 5pm broadcast, and in the midst of that, recording a quick Zoom interview with a person who was about to take credit for my work. At 4:59pm ET, The Handbasket published a piece titled "Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid." Then I tuned into NBC4 Washington via your website to catch the broadcast, and my instinct to rush to get something out first was proven right.  "It's a story you're seeing first on News4," your newscast began. "For the first time we're getting an inside look at what happened the day the Trump administration took over the US Institute of Peace. News4 obtained more than four hours of police body camera video from that day." What followed was more than six minutes of clips and commentary from Segraves, but it's not until six minutes and 21 seconds into the piece that he mentions my name (mispronounced though he asked for the correct pronunciation on Zoom), "The Handbasket blog," and the RCFP's foundational role in bringing this footage to light. I was angry, but didn't feel there was much I could do. Then I saw the version NBC4 posted to Instagram and TikTok—the video itself made ZERO mention of the RCFP or my work, only briefly acknowledging it in the written caption on Instagram, and not even bothering to do that on TikTok. An average viewer with no background on the case is lead to believe that this footage was released because of your efforts. When I saw that, I decided I couldn't let this go. It's difficult to explain what it's like to spend nearly a year working on a story only to have another reporter and outlet surreptitiously take credit for it; months of work and personal risk only to have another reporter lying in wait to swoop in. What NBC4 did was immoral, unethical, and to be frank, just truly sucked.

I just sent this email to the news director at NBC4 Washington about the unprofessional and disrespectful way they handled publishing the body camera footage of the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace that was obtained via my FOIA lawsuit:

Breaking 🚨
US CITIZEN Sunny Naqvi, born & raised outside Chicago, 2 other citizens & 3 legal residents were detained at O'Hare Airport.
CBP took Sunny to Broadview Detention, then moved her to a Wisconsin facility & finally abandoned her at a gas station after 2 days of lies to her family & police.

So glad we get to subsidize some dumbasses golf club.

BREAKING: Judge rules Kari Lake's appointment was ILLEGAL for many months & a bunch of her actions are void

We & great partners win again!

H/t to my @democracydefendersfund.org colleagues plus AFSCME, AFGE, Emery Celli, Democracy Forward & more. Wow, just wow.

Hegseth responds to report Russia shared intel with Iran YouTube video by 60 Minutes

"The only ones who need to worry are Iranians who think they're gonna live".

He's like an over-acted screen version of a dishonest, amoral politician, boasting about Trump's brilliance and his own.

youtu.be/GqZis_pCi4c?...

The location of the plaque that was just hung, is in a place that it will not be visible to the public. While I am thankful for this first step, our lawsuit continues until they plaque is hung in accordance with the law.

Had to doublecheck the date on this

Shapiro on SOTU: First off, it was boring. It was poorly delivered, and it was too damn long. This dude, who’s the worst orator of our time, did two hours. He comes off as totally unhinged. He’s like spitting everywhere, and he’s lying constantly about things.

Trump Doctrine:
1) Attack with US military
2) Get money/hotels/oil for Trump Family
3) Declare Victory

Cartoon by
Bob Englehart

A Lesser Crusade.

I don’t remember Trump campaigning on Americans needing to make financial sacrifices for foreign wars. bsky.app/profile/atru...

ALERT: Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) files motion asking court to block Trump's closure and demolition of the Kennedy Center

Beatty is ex-officio member of Kennedy Center Board of Trustees

Beatty: "Emergency relief is necessary to prevent irreparable harm"

tinyurl.com/mpzm4d2s

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon speaking during a congressional hearing

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon: “So he is using YOUR Tax Dollars to protect oil tankers from attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, which will cause gas prices to go up — because he started a war using YOUR Tax Dollars”

👀

Who is the genius that came up with this idea?

⛽

Reverend Jesse Jackson called on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope; to step forward and say “Send me” wherever we have a chance to make an impact.

How fortunate we were that Jesse Jackson answered that call. What a great debt we owe to him.

Jesse Jackson never stopped fighting for America, in times of darkness he turned to hope and embodied the light.

RIP to Jesse Jackson. His funeral is today. I wanted to share this clip from his appearance on Sesame Street in 1971. His important words ring just as true today as they did back then.

it's always nice to be reminded of how incredible a public speaker Barack Obama is. here's part of his eulogy of Jesse Jackson

The Department of Justice has sued 30 states and DC for access to their unreacted sensitive voter data. My law firm is fighting them in all 30 cases.

We are dedicating so many resources because these are the most important legal fights and the future of free and fair elections is at stake.

"Wow. A big drop" -- CNBC highlights that labor force participation is now the lowest it has been since in late 2021, before the covid vaccine was widely available

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem.

A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse Since receiving presidential pardons, dozens of former Capitol rioters have gotten into more legal trouble. In Florida, Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse.

Since receiving presidential pardons, dozens of former Capitol rioters have gotten into more legal trouble. In Florida, Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse. n.pr/4rUa1zD

Any chance we’ll wrap up the war in Iran before the UFC fight on the White House front lawn?

Now Senate can put hold on Mullin until Dems DHS demands are met

Moskowitz: "Let me congratulate the former Homeland Security Secretary on her appointment to be the Shield of Americas, which I'm pretty sure the president came up with when he watched the last Avengers movie"

The new homeland security nominee…

Lindsey Halligan Is Under Investigation by the Florida Bar

BREAKING NYT:

Lindsey Halligan, the ex-U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who brought criminal cases against Trump's enemies over the objections of career prosecutors, is under investigation by Florida's bar association, according to a letter the organization sent last month.