FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2024—Donald Trump, an anti-press extremist obsessed with punishing journalists and news outlets who criticize him, has won the presidency of the United States.
The following statement can be attributed to Trevor Timm, executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF):
Trump has spent the last year on the campaign trail calling for more leak investigations, imprisoning journalists, and censoring news outlets he doesn’t like. Lawmakers and President Biden must act before it’s too late.
The Senate should immediately pass, and President Biden should sign, the bipartisan PRESS Act to stop Trump from spying on journalists, as he repeatedly did in his first term, and from throwing them in jail for refusing to reveal their sources, as he has threatened in the most disgusting terms.
Congress must make good on promises to fix dangerous and sloppily drafted mass surveillance legislation passed earlier this year that gives the U.S. government extraordinary power to spy on its own citizens.
And lawmakers must take a vocal stand against abusing anti-terrorism laws to punish free speech. It’s imperative the White House reverses its spineless position on Israel's unprecedented attacks on press freedom and pressure its ally to stop using U.S. weapons to kill journalists.
For more information on how the second Trump administration will increase government secrecy and attack journalists, how Trump tried to destroy press freedom in his first term, and the latest updates as they happen, visit FPF’s website and the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
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