In rapid reversal, Iowa House clerk grants me press credentials

A First Amendment victory

Jan 25, 2024

This post first appeared at Bleeding Heartland and is shared here as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. For regular emails linking to all recent Bleeding Heartland articles and commentary, including coverage of the Iowa caucuses and the state legislature, subscribe to the free Evening Heartland newsletter.

My five-year effort to gain a seat on the Iowa House press bench ended less than five days after the Institute for Free Speech filed a federal lawsuit on my behalf.

House Chief Clerk Meghan Nelson informed me shortly after 5:00 pm on January 23 that the Iowa House approved my application for work space, and a spot has been reserved for me in the press box on the floor of the House chamber.

I still don’t know on what grounds Nelson previously denied my applications. As our complaint detailed, I made sure I fully complied with the House credentialing policy issued in late 2021, and the one issued shortly after I applied for the first time in 2019. (Prior to 2019, the Iowa House had no written policy outlining the criteria for allowing journalists to work in the press box.)

Although my reporting was often unsympathetic to the work of Iowa’s Republican trifecta, until five years ago I never thought House leaders would deny I am a journalist who extensively covers legislative happenings. I knew some GOP lawmakers and legislative staff regularly read my work; even though they usually disagreed with my conclusions, they respected my commitment to research, accuracy, and transparency.

I thought the policy might change after three dozen Iowa editors, news directors, and publishers signed a March 2019 letter criticizing the decision to deny me credentials. I thought it might change after experts in First Amendment law (commissioned by the Institute for Free Speech) explained the “serious constitutional deficiencies” to House leaders in an April 2019 legal memo.

Instead, the House Chief Clerk repeatedly moved the goalposts and ignored messages seeking to clarify the reason for her decisions.

I look forward to covering this year’s Iowa House proceedings from a vantage point not available from public galleries or the livestream I have often watched during important floor debates. As I mentioned in the news release enclosed below, I was stunned by how fast the Institute was able to help me obtain my credentials, once a lawsuit was filed. While I’m deeply grateful to the Institute for Free Speech attorneys, they should never have had to take on my case.

I hope this win for press freedom will help other reporters who may be treated unfairly. The Constitution doesn’t allow government bodies to shut out reporters arbitrarily, no matter how much an elected official may dislike some of the content published or viewpoints expressed. Courtney Corbello, one of the attorneys who represented me, put it well: “This case underscores the First Amendment principle that public officials cannot manipulate press credential policies to play favorites or suppress critical coverage.”

Thanks are also due to the many Bleeding Heartland readers—not only Democrats!—who have encouraged me to keep writing about the legislature in my own way, whether that’s a good lobbying story or a deep dive on a bill that just passed or a look back on lawmakers’ claims that didn’t hold up well. Some have followed this website for many years and know I believe in holding Iowa leaders accountable, regardless of party affiliation. Having a community that values this style of reporting has uplifted me on the most frustrating days.

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Appendix: Full text of January 24 news release from the Institute for Free Speech

Journalist Laura Belin Scores Fast Victory in Longstanding Dispute over Denial of Press Credentials

After years of refusing to grant Belin credentials despite her extensive career, the Iowa House Chief Clerk relented within days after the filing of a lawsuit by the Institute for Free Speech

Des Moines, IA — It took five years of determination, but reporter Laura Belin finally has her press credentials from the Iowa House of Representatives.

The House Chief Clerk has now recognized the obvious truth that Belin has a First Amendment right to perform her vital role of informing the public without facing unfair obstacles. That resolution of a long-simmering dispute over free speech and press freedom rights came mere days after the filing of a federal lawsuit by the Institute for Free Speech.

Belin has sought press credentials from the Iowa House of Representatives before every legislative session since January 2019. In her requests, Belin has demonstrated how her independent online news site, Bleeding Heartland, meets the House’s stated requirements for media access. Belin also now works as the Statehouse reporter for KHOI Radio.

Despite those qualifications, the House Chief Clerk denied Belin’s credentials in each instance, offering shifting rationales—first saying she did not qualify as media at all, then denying her based on being “nontraditional” media, before finally denying access with no explanation whatsoever.

As of today, Belin has her credentials at long last.

“Filing this lawsuit made House leaders understand that they have been violating my First Amendment rights. For years, the Chief Clerk applied the chamber’s credentialing policy unfairly and inconsistently, which prevented me from covering legislative proceedings on equal footing with my peers in the statehouse press corps,” explained Belin. “I’m deeply grateful to the Institute for Free Speech for their work on this case and stunned by how fast the Institute was able to help me obtain my credentials. I hope this victory for press freedom will make any public official reluctant to deny access to reporters, either as retaliation for tough coverage or because of political bias.”

The sudden decision to reverse course came just days after the Institute filed suit on Belin’s behalf against Iowa House Chief Clerk Meghan Nelson. The lawsuit highlighted that the denial of press credentials was arbitrary, violated Belin’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and unconstitutionally gave Nelson unbridled discretion to decide who should be credentialed.

Belin’s five-year ordeal is now at an end, and she can take her rightful place in the House press box.

“We’re very pleased with this outcome, and the lightning-fast resolution sends an unmistakable message that censorship of journalists is unacceptable,” said Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Charles “Chip” Miller. “Recognition of Ms. Belin’s status as a journalist was long overdue. The House’s belated decision to grant her credentials is a welcome one, albeit one that should have been made in 2019. We stand ready to defend other journalists in the future.”

“Ms. Belin endured shifting obstacles for years. But once litigation demonstrated the serious constitutional issues, the House had to recognize her qualifications,” commented Attorney Courtney Corbello, also with the Institute for Free Speech. “This case underscores the First Amendment principle that public officials cannot manipulate press credential policies to play favorites or suppress critical coverage.”

To read the original complaint in the case, Belin v. Nelson, click here.

About the Institute for Free Speech

The Institute for Free Speech promotes and defends the political speech rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government guaranteed by the First Amendment.

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