Trump Team Sets the Stage for Prosecutions of the Press
Trump Team Sets the Stage for Prosecutions of the Press
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Reporters in public settings are also finding that people are becoming “more violent toward the media than they have been in the past,” such as the recent case of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs who was physically attacked by Republican candidate Greg Gianforte while asking a question. (Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
At a press briefing last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned darkly of “the dramatic growth in the number of unauthorized disclosures of classified national security information in the past several months.” He suggested that his Justice Department would begin “reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas.” It was not a subtle threat.
Numerous press freedom organizations were quick to respond. The Freedom of the Press Foundation issued a statement saying, “Sessions’ comments seem intended to have a chilling effect on journalism, by making reporters and their sources think twice before publishing information that the government does not like.” Gregg Leslie, legal defense director with the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, is also concerned. “In the past, we would assume it would be politically unacceptable to bring a prosecution against a journalist,” Leslie tells The Progressive, in an interview before Sessions’s remarks. “The more contempt that is expressed for journalists, the more disrespect shown for what they do, it’s frightening to think that it becomes more politically acceptable.”
While journalists aren’t stopping their work due to fear of prosecution, Leslie says the current level of concern is “the most heightened time I’ve seen even though I was here right after 9/11 and there were a lot of worries about clampdowns on access to information.” Leslie is worried that the Trump team could step up Espionage Act prosecutions against leakers and use it against journalists as well. This would continue a pattern set by President Barack Obama, whose administration used this law against eight leakers, more than all previous administrations combined. “I think both the current Attorney General and the President have expressed an interest in really going after both parties in that kind of leak situation and that’s very worrisome for journalists,” Leslie says.
Trump reportedly began his now-infamous February 14 private meeting with former FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office by suggesting that Comey put journalists in jail for publishing classified information. The subject of leaks has also come up frequently in Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of the press.
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https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/08/08/trump-team-sets-stage-prosecutions-press
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