Incident
United States: Justice Department investigates the Chicago Tribune under the Espionage Act over Battle of Midway coverage
The United States Department of Justice convened a federal grand jury to consider Espionage Act charges against the Chicago Tribune and correspondent Stanley Johnston after the newspaper published details suggesting the Navy had broken Japanese naval codes ahead of the Battle of Midway. The grand jury declined to return an indictment.123
What happened
On June 7, 1942, the Chicago Tribune published a dispatch by war correspondent Stanley Johnston reporting that the United States Navy had known in advance of Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, detail that closely tracked a secret dispatch Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet, had sent to his commanders on May 31. The article's account of the Japanese fleet's organization suggested that American codebreakers had penetrated Japanese naval communications, one of the most closely held secrets of the war. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the Navy examined whether Johnston and the Tribune had violated the Espionage Act of 1917 by publishing the leaked classified information. By August 1942, the Department of Justice had convened a federal grand jury in Chicago, hearing testimony from naval officers and editors of other newspapers that had run the story. The grand jury ultimately declined to issue any indictment, avoiding a public trial in which the government feared exposing to Japan that its codes had been broken.12345
What reason was given
Stated justificationFederal investigators viewed the article as damaging national security by indirectly revealing that the United States had penetrated Japan's naval codes.4
What changed for reporting
The grand jury's decision not to indict was heralded as a great First Amendment victory by the Tribune and other news media.5
Timeline
1942
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | enforced | Federal law enforcement agency |
| United States Department of Justice | enforced | Federal executive department |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Tribune | outlet | affected |
Sources
- Secrecy and Leaks: When the U.S. Government Prosecuted the Chicago Tribune
- Reporters Committee leads effort to unseal grand jury testimony from 1942 Espionage Act investigation of Chicago Tribune
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- The Chicago Tribune published Stanley Johnston's article on the Battle of Midway on June 7, 1942, prompting a Department of Justice investigation.
The DOJ investigation was sparked by a June 7, 1942 article in the Tribune by correspondent Stanley Johnston, who had been aboard a Navy ship in the Pacific.
Reporters Committee leads effort to unseal grand jury testimony from 1942 Espionage Act investigation of Chicago Tribune, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2014-11-18.Claim 872, checked 2026-09-26. - 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.
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
Secrecy and Leaks: When the U.S. Government Prosecuted the Chicago Tribune, National Security Archive, George Washington University, 2017-10-25.Claim 873, checked 2026-09-26. - By August 1942 the Department of Justice had convened a federal grand jury to determine whether Johnston and the Tribune had violated the Espionage Act by publishing leaked classified information.
By August the DOJ had convened a grand jury to investigate whether Johnston and the Tribune violated the Espionage Act by publishing leaked classified information.
Reporters Committee leads effort to unseal grand jury testimony from 1942 Espionage Act investigation of Chicago Tribune, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2014-11-18.Claim 874, checked 2026-09-26. - Federal investigators framed the article as damaging national security by indirectly revealing that the United States had penetrated Japan's naval codes.
detail FBI, Justice Department, and Navy efforts to charge the Tribune with damaging national security by indirectly alluding to U.S. penetration of Japan's naval codes
Secrecy and Leaks: When the U.S. Government Prosecuted the Chicago Tribune, National Security Archive, George Washington University, 2017-10-25.Claim 875, checked 2026-09-26. - News organizations and historians described the grand jury's refusal to indict as a major First Amendment victory for the press.
the grand jury declined to issue any indictments, which was heralded as a great First Amendment victory by the Tribune and other news media.
Reporters Committee leads effort to unseal grand jury testimony from 1942 Espionage Act investigation of Chicago Tribune, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2014-11-18.Claim 876, checked 2026-09-26.