Grayson Clary joins RCFP’s Technology and Press Freedom Project as Stanton Foundation National Security/Free Press Fellow

Grayson Clary recently joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press as the Stanton Foundation National Security/Free Press Fellow, where he focuses on issues relating to technology, press freedom and national security.

“Throughout law school, I was fascinated and troubled by these confrontations that keep cropping up between the national security state and the work of the press,” Grayson said. “So this fellowship seemed like exactly the kind of work I was looking for after graduation.”

Grayson works on the Technology and Press Freedom Project, led by Gabe Rottman. The team publishes a weekly newsletter combining legal and policy analysis and public education to defend and promote press rights on issues at the intersection of technology and press freedom, such as reporter-source confidentiality protections and electronic surveillance law.

Grayson’s interest in a legal career began with the 2016 encryption dispute between the FBI and Apple. At the time, he was working at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank, on cybersecurity issues.

“I thought the Justice Department’s position was an enormous overreach, and I was really heartened by the number of organizations in this space that fought back,” Grayson recalled. “And I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”

Grayson also worked as a writer for the Wilson Center’s director, former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), who had previously served as Ranking Member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

At Harvard Law School, Grayson interned at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Knight First Amendment Institute. After graduation, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for Judge Merrick B. Garland.

Grayson says he looks forward to contributing to the Reporters Committee’s work.

“[These issues] are concerning, and they’re tough,” he said. “But I’m excited to try and roll the boulder up the hill.”

Grayson Clary is not admitted to practice law.

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.