Trump DOJ 'aggressively' moving to jail reporters — here’s how: legal expert

29 April 2025

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 2025 (DT Phots1/Shutterstock.com)

In a Monday morning, April 28 post on his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump — angry over his low approval ratings in recent polls — called for the New York Times, ABC News, the Washington Post and others to be "investigated for election fraud."

The post came three days after ABC News' Katherine Faulders reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, had "rescinded a policy implemented during the Biden Administration that restricted prosecutors from seizing reporters' records in criminal investigations, according to an internal memo obtained by ABC News."

In an article published by Salon on April 29, Austin Sarat — a professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College in Massachusetts — warns that the Trump Administration and the Trump-era DOJ are quite serious about using the legal system against reporters.

"(The Trump Administration's) latest effort to bring the press to heel came on April 25, when news leaked of the Justice Department's intention to aggressively pursue journalists who receive leaked information from confidential government sources," Sarat explains. "When it is implemented, the policy will give the administration another tool to make the lives of reporters miserable and provide the basis for jailing those who resist."

Sarat continues, "While no journalists are presently in jail in this country for doing their jobs, prosecuting and punishing them is a regular part of the arsenal of repressive regimes around the world. And the atmosphere for the American press is by no means friendly. April alone saw a dramatic escalation of threats."

Sarat stresses that when it comes to reporters, Bondi is a radical departure from former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland —who spoke of the "crucial role that a free and independent press plays in our democracy."

During Joe Biden's presidency, Garland said, "Because freedom of the press requires that members of the news media have the freedom to investigate and report the news, the new regulations are intended to provide enhanced protection to members of the news media from certain law enforcement tools and actions that might unreasonably impair newsgathering."

Sarat comments, "How times have changed. Bondi's new memo chastises the news media for publishing leaked material 'that undermine(s) President Trump's policies, victimize(s) government agencies, and cause(s) harm to the American people.' Calling such activity Illegal and immoral, the attorney general said she would be personally responsible for approving 'efforts to question or arrest members of the news media.' There you have it. Journalists are put on notice that if they publish leaked material that 'undermine(s) President Trump's policies,' they may be arrested."

Austin Sarat's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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