James Risen Describes His Long Fight to Report on Government Secrets at the New York Times

James Risen had already been writing about Osama bin Laden for several years when the 9/11 hijackers brought the twin towers crashing down. A national security reporter for the New York Times with a web of sources within the CIA, Risen was well positioned to expose some of the most crucial stories unfolding in the wake of the attacks, in the early days of the so-called war on terror. But Risen found himself in the crosshairs of an administration that was quick to use “terror” as an excuse to crack down on journalists and whistleblowers who divulged information related to national security.

In this video, The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill speaks to Risen about his yearslong battle with the Department of Justice — spanning both the Bush and the Obama administrations — as well as his struggles with his own editors at the New York Times.

You can hear the full interview in a special episode of Intercepted, in which Scahill speaks with Risen about his first-person article published earlier this week at The Intercept.