Claim

Claim 873

A federal grand jury refused to indict the Chicago Tribune in 1942 over Stanley Johnston's article describing advance U.S. Navy knowledge of Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway.

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 1 source.

Statement: A federal grand jury refused to indict the Chicago Tribune in 1942 over Stanley Johnston's article describing advance U.S. Navy knowledge of Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway.
Field: action
Value: Grand jury refuses to indict
About: incident 1942-us-chicago-tribune-midway-espionage-act
Source: Secrecy and Leaks: When the U.S. Government Prosecuted the Chicago Tribune
Publisher: National Security Archive, George Washington University
Method: outlet report
Checked: 2026-09-26
Confidence: medium
Status: current
Source date: 2017-10-25

Quotation from the source

a grand jury refused to indict the Chicago Tribune in 1942 for an article stating the U.S. Navy had advance knowledge of Japanese plans to attack Midway Island