Defend Journalist Jennifer Van Laar's 1A Rights

Investigative reporting welcome, well, depending upon who's being investigated...

On October 18, 2019, I broke a story that Congresswoman Katie Hill and her then-husband had a two-year sexual relationship with a paid campaign staffer. My reporting included redacted photographs of the Congresswoman and her staffer in clearly compromising situations. As a result of this reporting, the House Ethics Committee began an investigation into this potential violation of House Ethics Rules, but Congresswoman Hill resigned before the Committee finished its work, admitting that she had engaged in the “inappropriate” relationship alleged.

Hill then filed a lawsuit against me individually for my truthful and accurate reporting, knowing full well that she was on extremely shaky legal ground and likely to lose. Because of this lawsuit and the untrue statements Hill's propagated in press interviews, my life has been upended. I've received death threats, family members have been subjected to online and offline harassment from Hill's supporters, and I've had to endure the stress and anxiety - not to mention tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees - of defending myself against a frivolous lawsuit.

Hill's lawsuit against me was dismissed by an LA County Superior Court Judge in April and she was ordered to pay a good portion of my legal fees. However, she filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on June 30, 2022 and has no assets, so even if the judgment is excluded from her bankruptcy it doesn't matter since there is nothing to collect.

So, even though she filed a frivolous lawsuit and lost and was ordered to pay my attorney fees, I'm still left holding the bag. I can't ask my attorney to just eat the loss; she is the owner of a small law firm and had to pay her employees to work on the case, so I want to pay her as much as I can.

I appreciate any support and thank you for your contribution to defending a free press, the bedrock of our democracy.