They're Coming for the Truth-Tellers: Bondi's Plan to Jail Journalists Is How Democracies Die & Dictatorships Begin

[erronis]

https://hartmannreport.com/p/theyre-coming-for-the-truth-tellers-08f
Thom Hartmann

It’s not paranoia when it’s happening right in front of you…

In the dark corners of America’s halls of power, something sinister is unfolding. Attorney General Pam Bondi has just launched an assault on one of the most sacred pillars of our democracy: the freedom of the press. And make no mistake, this isn’t just another policy change. It’s a deliberate strategy straight from the dictator’s playbook.

Last week, Bondi quietly issued a memo rescinding vital protections for journalists that had prevented the government from forcing reporters to reveal their sources or surrender their notes during leak investigations. This wasn’t just any memo; it was a declaration of war against the very foundation of press freedom in America.

. . .

Bondi’s justification? The Justice Department “will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people.”

Did you catch that? Not disclosures that threaten national security, but those that “undermine President Trump’s policies.” Since when did the President’s policies become sacred and beyond scrutiny? Since when did exposing wrongdoing by our government become a crime against “the American people”?

. . .

[C_U_L8R]

1. Corrupt numbskulls like Bondi

Generally end up in their own El Salvadoran hellhole, if history is any guide.

[Lokee11]

15. I Hope that is so -

If so, it will be too good for her - she deserves worse!

✊FDT!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. We all know, tRump is TELLING Bondi what to do.

There is NO independence now.

Pammy Bondi is tRump's personal attorney.

[erronis]

3. Adding more from Thom's article:

But the most alarming part of all is what Bondi reportedly wants to do next. According to sources close to the Justice Department, she has argued that leakers — or even reporters — who provide information that she doesn’t like could be prosecuted for treason, a crime that carries the death penalty.

Let that sink in: the Attorney General of the United States believes that journalists doing their constitutionally protected job could be subject to execution.

I’ve been covering American politics for five decades, and just to be very clear: This is not normal. This is not just another partisan policy dispute. This is an existential threat to our constitutional system of government.

When a government official can decide that reporting unflattering information is “treason,” we’re no longer living in a democracy. We’re living in an authoritarian state where power flows from the top down, not from the people up.

[Lovie777]

4. Well the GQP did approve of sending...

American citizens to prisons outside of the USA, karma’s a bitch.

[Silent Type]

5. Don't think Bondi will get far gagging reporters. But less sure of that today than I was before trump.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. This is why I don't have

the optimism a lot of folks do.

It's death by a thousand tiny pecks with these ChristoFascists.

[Basso8vb]

7. Bondi will be swinging from a light pole.

It never ends well for scumbag nazis.

[elocs]

8. We were complacent, not vigilant. Our sin was one of national pride

because we were sure that nothing like this could ever happen here because we were such a good and mighty nation. We believed that things like Trump is doing, losing a democracy only happens in lesser nations, never here. We dismissed the magas as stupid lightweights that our candidate would easily defeat, and she didn't. Now we are reaping what we sowed with our overconfidence.

[dalton99a]

11. +1. And everything he is doing was advertised at every campaign rally

Democrats had years to prevent this disaster

[dalton99a]

9. Kick

[BoRaGard]

10. G.O.P. boots are madly stomping out truth

and Bearing False Witness

[Frasier Balzov]

12. May I make a suggestion?

Last edited Fri May 2, 2025, 02:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Don't attend press gaggles.

Boycott the press room. Boycott those disgusting cabinet tongue baths.

Report anything you care to about the damage they are doing, but do it from afar.

No face time for any of them except to the extent they appear on Fox News or NewsMax.

No more spin or self promotion from the chief demon or any of his evil elves.

Constantly refute them without their participation.

Trust me, it won't starve the public of information. It will starve these nasty creeps of AFFIRMATION.

[dickthegrouch]

13. Dismiss every charge with prejudice

Judges have the tools and responsibility here.

[Iamscrewed]

14. Simple fascism

The dictators play book 101 right out in the open.

[Blue Ozarks]

16. Hooking for trump never ends well for the Hooker

Bondi is well on her way to FAFO

[William Seger]

17. Media should ask Bribery Barbie how much it would cost to drop this

Probably more than the $25,000 King Dunning-Kruger paid her to drop the Trump "University" suit, but like the old joke, we're just haggling over the price.

[bromeando]

18. Freedom of the Press alert

Nazi trash Bondi

[dobleremolque]

19. It's the Viktor Orban blueprint carried out in Hungary. This is a

crucial point in the dictatorial takeover. Link sets it out in greater detail.

https://crooksandliars.com/2025/04/trumps-first-100-days-follow-orbans-model

Edited to Add: carried out with great success in Hungary.

[turbinetree]

20. Right out of his playbook................

[erronis]

22. Excellent - thanks for that Crooks and Liars link.

So many applicable sections to quote from this piece but here is just one that reflects what has happened in the US.

To his critics, Orbán claimed that Hungary’s “media regulation system” had “collapsed” and that it was his government’s duty to rebuild it. But for the press, this was no reconstruction.

As one Hungarian journalist put it, “Orbán saw the media as a battlefield; occupied by enemy troops and crowded with territories for potential expansion.”

Oligarchs take over media

The real takeover came through a coordinated wave of media acquisitions.

Like pieces on a chessboard, Orbán-friendly oligarchs scooped up major newspapers, TV channels and radio stations. His wealthy allies were systematic: They fired editorial teams, replaced critical voices with loyal ones and often triggered mass resignations from journalists unwilling to toe the party line.

Many once-independent outlets were soon resurrected as pro-Orbán media.

[Kablooie]

21. I fear that in 4 years we will be in N Korea

With no way to return to freedom and democracy.
The shocking thing is that no one can do anything.

[lees1975]

23. What authority is she citing to justify that?

She doesn't have it.

[HereForTheParty]

25. She is changing DOJ policy

They will pursue the reporters sources and materials if they deem necessary. Whether reporters are protected by the first amendment always has been and probably always will be a matter of debate.

[mzmolly]

24. But Biden was soooo old, and Kamala liked to laugh.

[Doodley]

26. She is certainly a bad faith actor and against the interests of a free America.

[bucolic_frolic]

27. ChatGPT told me today:

"real-world authoritarianism often adopts the language of freedom while stripping it away. A dystopia becomes real not just when freedom disappears, but when one group decides only their freedom matters."

[snot]

28. We knew this was coming

based on previous administrations persecution of Assange and leakers.