In Bad Faith is the historical thriller where a subpoena, a newsroom, and a movement collide. In 1970, New York Times national correspondent Earl Caldwell-one of the first Black reporters hired to cover America's civil-rights flashpoints-was ordered to reveal what he had learned about the Black Panther Party behind the sealed doors of a federal grand jury. Convinced that testifying would destroy the trust he'd built and silence a vital source of truth, Caldwell refused-setting off a showdown that raced from Bay Area streets to the steps of the Supreme Court. Lee Levine tells this story as it unfolded: a Black journalist with rare access; a mostly white press struggling to cover Black communities; and a government-under J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon-running COINTELPRO, a sweeping campaign to infiltrate, discredit, and break the Panthers while pressuring reporters who covered them. When United States v. Caldwell reached Washington, DC, the Justices issued a 5-4 ruling against the reporter and the First Amendment cause he championed-a landmark decision that still imperils press freedom today. Drawing on one-on-one interviews and once-secret FBI, Justice Department, and White House records, In Bad Faith reveals how legal tactics, surveillance, and media manipulation converged on a single reporter to test the nation's promises of equal justice and a free press. Levine's dynamic narrative showcases the dramatic events of the era and highlights the clash of race and power, and how that impacts who gets to tell America's story.
