No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, this argument should be chilling.
Trying to limit freedom of the press under the guise of national security is what tinpot dictators do. That’s not how a functioning democracy works.
CNN Breaking News:
The Justice Department said that three major national media outlets can be shut out from areas of the White House at the president's will, and because their coverage could be a threat to national security.
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Authoritarian governments frequently limit media coverage under the explicit justification of "national security," though human rights groups and researchers note this is often a pretext for maintaining political control and silencing dissent. [1, 2, 3]
Why "National Security" is Used
- Pretext for Control: According to reports by organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF), vague definitions of national security allow regimes to label critical reporting, investigative journalism, or political opposition as threats to the state. [1, 2]
- Maintaining Power: Censorship helps authoritarian leaders suppress information that could destabilize their rule, expose corruption, or mobilize public protest. [1, 2]
- Controlling Narratives: During conflicts or crises, restrictions are framed as necessary to preserve "national unity" or protect military operations, while actually serving to block independent verification. [1]
trump, the filthy fascist and hero of MAGA's ofAmerica.
ReplyDeleteWho was it who said Trump could be "America's Hitler"?
ReplyDeleteIf they step like a goose...
Funny, you never worried about the censorship of mal/mis-information so long as National Security was used to protect Hunter's laptop or Hillary Clinton's Tiny Wiener wife's laptop. Who was the J6 bomber, again? lol!
ReplyDeleteDid Biden's government ban media because he didn't like their criticism of his administration? Your comment has NOTHING to do with my post.
DeleteBan media? What are you talking about? RSBN and One America are covering everything that the MSM ever gave us, but without the woke lectures. :)
DeleteWokism is what MAGA call media coverage they don’t like
DeleteHell, you guys weren't just censoring freedom of the press, you were stifling the free speech of individuals. If your principles aren't "universal" ala against ALL forms of racism, then you're not anti-racist OR anti-fascist. You're just hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteIf -FJ's "principles" aren't opposed to rapists, child abusers, pedophiles, election lies, insurrectionists, violent thugs terrorizing Congress and beating cops bloody, massive corruption, senseless war, secret police, murdering protestors, concentration camps, and kissing up to dictators, then what does that make HIM?
DeleteCertainly not a hypocrite, amirite?
That's funny after Paula Jones and Juanita Broaddrick... amirite?
DeleteMore "whataboutism."
DeleteAs -FJ shines a light on his own hypocrisy.
DeleteWho are the "guys" you refer to in you comment? Who EXACTLY censored "freedom of the press?" Who is the "you" who stifled free speech of individuals. What the hell does racism have to do with the subject of my post, which is about the threat of Trump banning media under the guise of "national security."
ReplyDeleteYour response in both comments is "whataboutism," instead of addressing what the Trump's DoJ implied.
Alinsky "Rules for Radicals"
DeleteMake the enemy live up to its own book of rules and corporate or legal standards, making it impossible for them to comply fully.
Whataboutit?
Only the soverewign can define the exception. And in the US, the people are sovereign, not the government.
The 1st Amendment guarantess two opposites, freedom of speech AND freedom of religion. I am NOT of the woke "religion". I'm of the Constitutional religion.
The Left has a huge majority of representation in the US Press Corp. Reducing that overwhelming majority isn't a violation of freedom the press.
"The Left has a huge majority of representation in the US Press Corp."
DeleteSee Dave M.'s second comment below. Politico told the truth and the wannabe dictator Trump shut them down.
Your statement is rubbish.
The biggest pro-Trump, conservative cable news is Fox. And they had to pay a huge settlement for lying.
The voting machine company, Dominion Voting Systems, sued Fox News for $1.6 billion. Dominion argued that the network knowingly broadcast and promoted baseless conspiracy theories and lies claiming their machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump.
Before the trial officially began, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis reviewed the evidence and ruled that it was "crystal clear" none of the statements made about Dominion on Fox News were true.
"The Left has a huge majority of representation in the US Press Corp."
DeleteYes, as we know, everyone who quotes Trump's own words and reports facts when he LIES is "the left". We got it already
The Right wing media regurgitate his lies and attacks his critics. There's your fake news.
"Reducing that overwhelming majority isn't a violation of freedom the press."
Yes it is, and it's nothing but Trump's DEI for liars.
Denying press access because the leader hates their factual reporting is suppressing a Constitutional free press.
-FJ/JC is good with all of Trump's crimes, lies, hate, and cruelty, for he has "principles".
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ReplyDeleteShaw... Trump is flailing, trying to throw whatever he can think of against the wall, hoping it sticks. Witness his ham handed attempt to bar the press from the WH.
ReplyDeleteFirst he had one reason... which he proclaimed publicly.
Then when he went into court, he essentially disavowed what he saiod earlier and claimed national security required stifling of the press, which simply printed what his own Pentagon and security folks had already announced.
Yesterday, after ordering US soldiers to their hands and knees to make sure the red carpet was nice for a Communist dictator, he was falling asleep during events with the premier.
If folks don't think the glove wearing president [so his bruises cannot be seen] and the US is not experiencing something akin to the last days of Roosevelt at Malta, their not paying attention.
Dave, I'm glad you brought up the gloves. Not only was he wearing gloves, but a winter coat! Maybe the coat was worn so the gloves wouldn't look so out of place? If you look, no one else was wearing any outerwear. It was in the mid-60s here in DC when he met Xi at the plane.
DeleteHere's more, from the no longer banned Politico...
ReplyDelete"As part of their effort to keep Politico banned from the White House, the Trump administration this week sent the outlet a letter outlining its stories that had purportedly “threatened national security and/or spread falsehoods.” One supposed transgression: “In June 2026, Politico cited a ‘senior administration official . . . granted anonymity’ [who] said the odds of a preliminary deal to end the conflict with Iran were between 80 and 85 percent.”
The White House claimed that this story showed Politico lacked “trustworthiness.” But they knew that a senior administration official had, in fact, told Politico exactly what Politico recorded. That’s because the “80 to 85 percent” quote wasn’t some anonymous leak. It was a comment uttered on a background press briefing to multiple outlets . . . by Vice President JD Vance.
That’s right: It was Vance himself who gave the quote that the White House used this week to try to denounce Politico’s reporting as untrustworthy. Why did Politico quote him anonymously? Because the White House required exactly that as a condition for attending the briefing."
So tell us folks... what exactly is the White House doing? I think it's this...
Trump was humiliated by Vance's statements contradicting his own statements, which were shown to be untrue. So he blustered, got out over his skis, cried wolf, and got smacked down.
By the courts and the little piece of paper known as the Constitution.