Barton David Gellman is an American journalist and author whose work has significantly shaped public understanding of national security, government surveillance, and executive power in the United States. Born in 1960, Gellman has built a distinguished career in investigative journalism, earning widespread recognition for his coverage of pivotal historical events, including the September 11 attacks and the vice presidency of Dick Cheney.
Gellman's most prominent reporting began in June 2013, when he led The Washington Post's coverage of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). This groundbreaking reporting was based on top-secret documents disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, exposing the vast scale of the global surveillance-industrial state. He later expanded on these themes in a major book published by Penguin Press in May 2020, which detailed the rise of modern surveillance.
In addition to his investigative reporting, Gellman has held several prestigious academic and professional appointments. He has served as a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a fellow at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy, and a Visiting Lecturer and Author in Residence at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After working as a staff writer for The Atlantic, Gellman transitioned in January 2024 to serve as a Senior Advisor at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law.
