In Bad Faith

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.