Trump’s threat to jail reporters deserves bipartisan condemnation


Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/Sipa via AP Photo
Donald Trump is obsessed with punishing journalists who criticize him.
Since his first term ended, President Trump has repeatedly called for reporters to be imprisoned for not revealing their sources. He has publicly fantasized about a mass shooting of journalists at one of his rallies. He has sued news outlets for critical coverage. He wants to sic federal agencies on his perceived enemies. We can't let him make good on his threats.
During his first term, we fought him every step of the way, from launching the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the first comprehensive database of press freedom violations in the United States, to expanding the availability of SecureDrop to enable whistleblowers to communicate securely with journalists. We'll continue to hold Trump accountable.

Despite ongoing efforts by the news media, most of Trump’s trials probably won’t be televised. That’s a shame

The press fails its readers if it doesn’t fight back with newsprint

Despite ongoing efforts by the news media, most of Trump’s trials probably won’t be televised. That’s a shame

Once legislators start singling out disfavored speech for punishment there’s no telling where they’ll stop

Proposal threatens to stifle investigative reporting

Press protections must be codified after proposals to weaponize courts against journalists

Don’t give presidents the tools to jail journalists.

Misguided debates around the Espionage Act have led to a flood of misinformation about what the often-abused law actually does in practice. Left unchecked, it will have a lasting effect on important reform efforts.

The Trump administration's Department of Justice secretly obtained the phone and email records of a CNN journalist last year. Senator Wyden has called on the Biden admin to categorically bar the surveillance of journalists in order to root out their sources.

Department of Justice subpoenas for the phone records of three Washington Post reporters represent an outrageous invasion of the First Amendment rights of journalists to communicate with sources, and the defense of their use by the Biden administration raises alarming questions about its commitment to press freedom.