We’re being sued by Erik Prince. He won’t drop his empty claims.

This is the weaponization of libel law to threaten the news media and chill journalism. We've already spent over $200,000 on legal fees and costs fighting off Prince's lawsuits — not to mention the seemingly never-ending hours by our legal department.

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Erik Prince, the billionaire mercenary who founded the private security firm Blackwater, is taking another run at his defamation suit against The Intercept — for the third time.

We've already spent over $200,000 on legal fees and costs fighting off Prince's lawsuits — not to mention the seemingly never-ending hours by our legal department.

This is the weaponization of libel law to threaten the news media and chill journalism. We refuse to be silenced, but we're counting on you, our readers, to stand with us.

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The reason why libel law is such a serious threat to journalism is because lawsuits like this don't have to be successful in court to accomplish the goal of intimidating journalists.

Simply by costing us money, even the most frivolous libel suit could suck up limited resources and force reporters and editors to think twice about who they cover.

We aren't the only ones facing harassing lawsuits, but as a nonprofit news outlet, we rely on readers to support all our work, including supporting the legal team that defends the rights of our investigative journalists.

Our journalists won't be bullied away from reporting on any matter in the public interest, and that includes the activities of billionaire mercenaries like Erik Prince.

We stand by our reporting, and we're fighting back in court. Will you show that you have our back by making a donation to help support the investigative journalism of The Intercept?

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Thank you,

The Intercept team

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The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept's readers, but if you'd like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism.