“The censored article, based on recently revealed emails and witness testimony, raised critical questions about Biden’s conduct,” Greenwald, 53, wrote in his resignation memo published Thursday on Substack.
My Resignation From The Intercept
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 29, 2020
The same trends of repression, censorship and ideological homogeneity plaguing the national press generally have engulfed the media outlet I co-founded, culminating in censorship of my own articles.https://t.co/dZrlYGfEBf
“Not content to simply prevent publication of this article at the media outlet I co-founded, these Intercept editors also demanded that I refrain from exercising a separate contractual right to publish this article with any other publication.”
"But the pathologies, illiberalism and repressive mentality that led to the bizarre spectacle of my being censored by my own media outlet are ones that are not unique to The Intercept,” Greenwald highlighted.
The native New Yorker published the article in question shortly after issuing his public statement.
Entitled “The Real Scandal: US Media Uses Falsehoods to Defend Joe Biden From Hunter’s Emails,” the piece slams Biden and his 2020 campaign’s silence regarding allegations raised in reports on “Vice President Joe Biden’s work in Ukraine” and his “family’s pursuit of business opportunities in China.”
Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras founded The Intercept in 2013, the same year Greenwald left The Guardian.
The journalist rose to prominence for his reporting on classified documents leaked by American whistleblower and former National Security Agency subcontractor Edward Snowden.
I should finally add here two things:
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 29, 2020
1) None of this conflict has anything to do with @TheInterceptBr, whose journalism I continue to have the highest regard for and hope it remains supported
2) @jeremyscahill is in the same position as I: not part of these decisions at all.
Betsy Reed, editor-in-chief of The Intercept, issued a response to Greenwald’s public resignation, describing him as “a grown person throwing a tantrum” over editorial disagreements while framing himself as a “victim.”
“We have the greatest respect for the journalist Glenn Greenwald used to be, and we remain proud of much of the work we did with him over the past six years,” she wrote. “It is Glenn who has strayed from his original journalistic roots, not the Intercept.”
Intercept EIC Betsy Reed sent me this statement regarding the departure of @ggreenwald, saying there's a "fundamental disagreement over the role of editors in the production of journalism and the nature of censorship." pic.twitter.com/Od2TTKLsyq
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) October 29, 2020
Later Thursday, Greenwald honored his vow to publish communications between Intercept editors and himself that pertain to the Biden article, “so you can see the censorship in action and, given the Intercept’s denials, decide for yourselves,” as he wrote in a statement at the beginning of his article about Biden.
“This is the first time in fifteen years of my writing about politics that I've been censored,” he said in response to senior editor Peter Maass’ proposed edits.
The editor also claimed he and Reed believed the “draft’s core problem is the connection it often asserts or assumes between the Hunter Biden emails and corruption by Joe Biden.”
“What's happening here is obvious: you know that you can't explicitly say you don't want to publish the article because it raises questions about the candidate you and all other TI Editors want very much to win the election in 5 days,” Greenwald told Maass in a Wednesday morning email.
