Covenant School Shooting

Pappert Criticizes Copyright Argument in Covenant Records Appeal as ‘Absurd’

Pappert Criticizes Copyright Argument in Covenant Records Appeal as ‘Absurd’

As the legal fight over the release of the Covenant School shooter’s writings continues, The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter, Tom Pappert, is sharply criticizing one of the central arguments raised in the latest appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, focusing on claims that the materials are protected by copyright.

Speaking during Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert argued that the effort by Metro Nashville, Covenant-associated parties, and intervening parents to block further disclosure based on copyright claims is fundamentally flawed, especially given that many of the documents are already publicly available.

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FBI’s Release of Covenant Killer Documents to Third Party Carries Legal Inconsistencies, Expert Says

Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General and current law professor at Liberty University School of Law, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) release of the 1,299 pages of writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale to independent journalist Megyn Kelly carries legal inconsistencies as a case brought by The Tennessee Star’s parent company regarding the materials continues to be litigated in federal court.

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Reporter Details Legal Ramifications of FBI Releasing Covenant Killer Documents Exclusively to Third Party Amid Ongoing Lawsuit

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) release of the 1,299 pages of writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale to independent journalist Megyn Kelly may have legal ramifications as a case brought by The Star’s parent company regarding the materials continues to be litigated in federal court.

Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), which owns and operates The Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy sued the FBI in May 2023 to compel the agency to release Hale’s writings.

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Pappert on Covenant Shooter Investigation: Psychosis, Not Notoriety, Likely Drove the Covenant School Attack

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, disagrees with the Metro Nashville Police Department’s (MNPD) conclusion that 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the self-identified transgender man who carried out the Covenant School shooting on March 27, 2023, committed the attack while she was “sane” and out of her desire for “notoriety.”

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