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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
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UN GATE / SDNY, May 2 – It is again World Press Freedom Day, and in the UN which has no First Amendment there is a press conference on May 3 by the US Mission to the UN. Inner City Press has asked, last week, to attended - still on May 2 no answer.

   The Mission says, "Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, will hold a press conference at the UN on Tuesday, May 3 at 12:45 p.m. EDT. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will outline the May program of work for the UN Security Council and highlight U.S. priorities for the month."

   Inner City Press wrote to several officials at the Mission beyond spokesperson Olivia Dalton also Jeffrey DeLaurentis and others and at the State Department (Laurel Rapp), last week:

Dear Secretary Blinken and Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield:   

 I am an American journalist who has reported on the United Nations since 2005. Until July 3, 2018 an accredited correspondent, having accompanied UNSC missions to Sudan, Kenya, DRC, Cote d'Ivoire.

Then, without due process of any kind, I was outed while covering a UN Budget Committee meeting and questioning Cameroon's ambassador, the Committee chair.

I have been banned since, and my written questions for Inner City Press are not being answered, whether on Ukraine or recent sexual abuse charges against UN peacekeepers, or the extradition of Honduras' former president Juan Antonio Hernandez I reported on at the SDNY court I now cover as in-house media.   

 On April 27 I was at DOJ's press conference about the indictment of Archegos' Bill Hwang; on April 28, the IMF took my questions on coups in Africa. But the UN won't let me in, nor answer written questions.    The purpose of this letter is to formally ask the US State Department and US Mission to ensure that I am now readmitted as a resident correspondent, before the USUN's upcoming UNSC Presidency in May.  

 In July 2021 the law firm of Quinn Emanuel on my behalf, pro bono, sent a polite letter to UN Under Secretary General Melissa Fleming seeking a dialogue to accomplish the above.  

But as was confirmed at the UN noon briefing, while the letter has been received, there is "no change in Mr. Lee's status" (banned) - and no answer to the letter. Q&A video. 

 UN transcript of August 9, 2021:

Question:  The law firm ‑‑ what is it called? ‑‑ Quinn Emanuel wrote a letter to the UN asking about reinstatement of our colleague Matthew Lee into the UN press corps. Do you have any comment on that?      

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric:  No. All I can tell you is that we've received the letter, and I'm not aware of any change to his status.    

 Question:  You're not aware? I mean, aren't you part of the group that decides the fate of... or even the negotiations... The letter calls for renegotiation [Cross talk]   

   Spokesman:  I decide the fate of no one. [Laughter]      Trust me, trust me, my authority is extremely limited, whether at home or at work.       What I can tell you and, joking aside, is that the letter has indeed been received, and I'm not aware of any... and there has been no change in Mr. Lee's status.      Question:  Has the letter been answered? Do you plan to answer it?   

   Spokesman:  It's been received. Whether or not it's been answered, I don't know yet. 

  It has still not been answered, in any way. So pro bono law firm Quinn Emanuel wrote to Laurel Rapp at the State Department. Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 2:33 PM Subject: FW: Media Accreditation of Matthew Russell Lee     Dear Laurel,     As you know, Matthew Russell Lee is an American journalist who reported from the United Nations as a resident correspondent from 2006–2018, including accompanying and covering UN Security Council missions in Africa and Haiti.  Mr. Lee is currently a member of the in-house press corps for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and reports on the IMF.     Mr. Lee’s accreditation was withdrawn as he was doing investigative reporting into the UN.  This autumn, Mr. Lee re-applied for accreditation but neither his application, nor the attached friendly letter sent by Quinn Emanuel on his behalf (see below), has received a response.  Consequently, Mr. Lee has been unable to access the United Nations building or even obtain responses to written questions.     Mr. Lee seeks an amicable path to restoration of his press credentials at the United Nations and would be deeply grateful for the assistance of the U.S. State Department in support of his First Amendment-protected reporting on the UN, consistent with UN regulations and protocols."

  It is time for you to act. I believe your job includes representing the US, including American journalists, to the UN, and not only representing the UN to the US.    Legally, I believe it is Constitutionally problematic for the US government to collude in denying access by a US journalist to question US officials, when for example they enter and take questions (including from state media from China and elsewhere) inside the UN.    So please respond, and contact the UN / USG Fleming to ensure that I am re-accredited as a resident correspondent. For your information I am invited to WebEx briefings by the IMF and others, and am in-house media at the SDNY. The UN's banning of me and Inner City Press is pure censorship, offensive to and I'd argue now violative in your case of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.  Thank you for your prompt attention,  Matthew Russell Lee Inner City Press 

 Watch this site.

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