Trump just issued a threat to all of us - AlterNet

[justaprogressive]

In the dark corners of America’s halls of power, something sinister is unfolding. Attorney General Pam Bondi has 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.

Late last month, 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Bondi’s memo, released late on a Friday afternoon (a classic timing choice to minimize media attention), rescinded policies that had limited when and how Justice Department attorneys could pursue records or testimony from journalists, including in cases involving the unauthorized disclosure of government secrets to the press. The implications are chilling and immediate.

The Justice Department will now allow federal investigators to pursue communications from media outlets in government leak investigations, marking a complete reversal of Biden-era (and previous administrations’) policies that protected journalists from becoming targets of government intimidation.

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-threat/

Oy!

[Lovie777]

1. I think it will backfire................

shithole musk republican effed up tenure is overstepping and the American people are pissed.

[Magoo48]

8. Yes, it must. If it doesn't backfire, then we probably deserve the oppression.

I can’t imagine every legitimate journalist not standing arm in arm against this additional direct assault on our constitution. I would also suggest all of the rest of us, at least those who possibly can do it, stand directly behind them.

[Escurumbele]

11. No, we don't deserve the oppression, we are not the ones committing the crimes, is like someone killing a person and

an innocent person paying for the killers crime. I refuse to accept that we deserve any of what is going on today, our Democratic leaders need to fight hard, with words but most important with actions, and we the people, need to try to open the eyes of those around us that we know voted for the buffoon. The buffoon is dangerous, but those around him are worst because they can think, they are intelligent and they are evil, they just have trump as a front to commit the crimes in their agendas.

[Magoo48]

19. Perhaps, but we are the ones not taking this threat seriously enough.

We are the ones, thus far, not presenting sufficient resistance to effectively repel fascism. We are the ones who apparently won’t be inconvenienced enough to fight for our own freedom. We are the ones continuing to look to the government smothering us, to save us. We are the ones continuing to wait for someone else to fix it.

[bdamomma]

29. We need to

fix this, this is on us. This is our country.

[YoshidaYui]

37. I sure hope you are correct ...

its time someone scored some points from our side of the court

[OldBaldy1701E]

2. Then, I would say it is time for a plethora of articles about Bondi.

And, I mean thousands of them. About any and everything pertaining to her.

Let her stew under the microscope. Let's see how she does her fascism without the protection of the shadows.

There should be reporters lined up as she leaves the office every day to ask her about anything she has done that even kind of looks off. A gauntlet of them all the way to her house. On every corner she passes.

Call her out. Call them all out.

[orleans]

18. bondi and her link to these prisons

from c.r.e.w. on fb:
"NEW: Senator Durbin called on AG Pam Bondi to recuse from policy decisions related to immigration detention, enforcement and contracting that could benefit GEO Group given her past lobbying for the company."

durbin's letter to bondi:

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025-05-02%20Letter%20to%20AG%20Bondi%20re.%20GEO.pdf

[Joinfortmill]

23. This!

[LymphocyteLover]

3. This administration is dumb and demonic. This will only harden reporters against them

[the nelm]

16. Just this morning when opening a 2nd net session,

the MSN home/news page popped up a headline to the effect that Trump had made some proclamation or EO declaring national holidays for the ending of WWI and WWII, you know, those wars to end tyranny. Irony is completely lost on these dolts...

[BidenRocks]

31. Meanwhile Korea and Vietnam vets

get ignored.
Fuck you chump!

[LittleGirl]

38. Those would be his military "deferment" timeline

so, that’s probably why he won’t bring them up . His bone-spur days.

Yet, he wants a military parade for a birthday. Sickening disgrace to our veterans.

[MLWR]

4. The AG is nowhere given the power to undo laws passed by congress or protections outlined in the Constitution.

There will be lawsuits.

[LiberalArkie]

7. True, but as long as they and other people believe they do, then they do.

[sop]

10. Just because Bondi says it doesn't make it so.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

17. Unfortunately it is more complicated than that, and the DOJ does enjoy broad-ranging powers that are only...

...kept in check by the courts. The Obama DOJ did a lot of things that conservatives and even many news organizations felt were illegal. For example, "in 2013 the Obama administration obtained the records of 20 Associated Press office phone lines and reporters’ home and cell phones, seizing them without notice, as part of an investigation into the disclosure of information about a foiled al-Qaida terrorist plot." ( https://apnews.com/article/9d9a76067d5b47e5a290dc9832369c92 )

As in most things, the Constitution leaves a lot to be desired here. Just as the Second Amendment did not define "a well regulated militia" in a way that would not just be disregarded by future courts, the First Amendment fails to define "the press" in a way that actually affords it much protection. We can assume the founders were talking about the newspapers of the day in 1791 when it was ratified, but even that could be up for debate. Do Podcasters and people that post on Social Media enjoy press protections? We really do not know.

Administrations on both sides of the aisle have used this ambiguity to go after individuals involved in press cases. The "Pentagon Papers" case of 1971 is a great example: even though the Supreme Court rejected the Nixon Administration's attempt to block newspapers from publishing the leaked material, it did not preclude prosecution of the leaker--Daniel Ellsberg. So while the press enjoys the freedom to publish without prosecution, clearly the government can use means to prosecute anyone that violates the law as they interpret it along the way.

The current SCOTUS seems to have an apatite to revisit New York Times v. Sullivan ( https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/new-york-times-co-v-sullivan/ ) which has the potential to upend freedom of the press as we understand it. This is likely where Bondi is headed with the cases she will bring.

[PortTack]

28. Exactly! Law suit incoming!

[Martin Eden]

5. Push will come to shove. Something's gotta give.

This fascist mal-administration would be in a stronger position if not for so many self-inflicted wounds:

Unnecessarily alienating our most important allies and trading partners.

Turning an economy that was the "envy of the world" into an unreliable mess heading towards recession.

Degrading the military by appointing an unqualified drunk who leaks classified battle plans with unsecure communications and is now purging four star generals.

Decimating government services so many depend on, and trashing our national parks so many enjoy.

Inflicting economic calamity on the voters who put him in office.

[JohnnyRingo]

6. I didn't know they were protected to begin with.

I recall Judith Miller not that long ago.

Miller spent 85 days in jail for refusing to reveal that her source in the Plame Affair was Scooter Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Later, she contributed to the conservative Fox News Channel and Newsmax, and was a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

Has it just been a judicial courtesy all along?

[Abstractartist]

9. Jail

Pam Bondi will be one of the first in this administration that will be thrown under the bus, and will be one of the first to be put in prison for her actions.

None of this administration has any redeeming value… and many will be in prison. Some may even run to other countries that don’t have extradition to US….

[AKwannabe]

12. Hahahahaha!

Ok

34 count convicted felon is PRESIDENT!
Jail? What jail? When?


Hahahahaha

[AKwannabe]

14. Oh wait! I know what jail!

Alcatraz!!

After stupid orange ass has it restored to pristine condition, he and they will make beautiful movies there and live there. In jail!

It’ll be the bestest EVER.
AND they’ll be in jail.

😵😁👌

[Kid Berwyn]

13. Free Press destroys tyranny.

Freedom of speech is what make democracy possible, and why the press is the only business mentioned by name in the entire Constitution.

[Jit423]

15. Free Press has ways of protecting itself IF IT WANTS TO. Might mean going underground.

It takes courage. We will see.

[BurnDoubt]

20. Every citizen must be accorded EVERY RIGHT ...

Under our Constitution. That means all the delays and protections. Just like the president. Equal. After ten years we still haven't seen his Tax Returns. We are GUARANTEED A FREE PRESS. Lock Her Up!!!!!

[flying_wahini]

21. So when we get back in power can we arrest and detain all the Fox News Hosts?

Just asking.

[calimary]

22. How about the entire Pox Noise network?

[red dog 1]

24. Here it comes - just like Nazi Germany!

"When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy."
(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

[Godot51]

25. Of course.

drumpf fears, hates, and envies the press when they don't kowtow to his whims.

[TexLaProgressive]

26. Maybe it's time for the EU to start a RFA radio

[B.See]

27. Knew it would come to this

ten years ago. I know I throw around the word 'fascism' a lot. But, hey, it is what it IS.

Too bad more people didn't see it coming.

[dchill]

30. Relax - it can't happen here!

[B.See]

33. A lot of stuff that "can't happen here"

is happening or already has. So I'd thank you not to tell me to 'relax.'

[dchill]

35. Sorry. Forgot the sarcasm thing.

NO ONE should relax.

[B.See]

36. Apology accepted. Truth is,

I don't know what alarms me more: the crap Trump and his goons are pulling, or how sedately SOME seem to be taking it.

We're witnessing five alarm developments, right here right now.

So, thanks for acknowledging it.

[czarjak]

32. "I could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Ave and not lose any supporters."

M-I-G-H-T have been a clue?

[B.See]

34. exactly

[calimary]

39. This.

Sure raised some hairs on the back of my neck…