Bondi launching war on the media and leakers [View all]

(Hegseth's revenge?)

On April 14, the White House issued a bill of particulars entitled, “The NPR, PBS Grift Has Ripped Us Off for Too Long.” It did not hide its desire to punish them for the content of their broadcasts, a clear violation of the First Amendment. Its charges included, “In 2020, NPR refused to cover the explosive Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the runup to the election, baselessly claiming there were ‘many, many red flags’ and its ‘assertions don’t amount to much.’” And “in 2024, PBS produced a documentary making the case for reparations.” The White House concluded that “For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”

To make good on its charges, the Trump Administration plans to ask Congress “to cancel $1.1 billion in funding already approved for public broadcasting.”

snip

The Guardian reports that Bondi “has revoked a Biden administration-era policy that restricted subpoenas of reporters’ phone records in criminal investigations….The memo says federal employees who leak sensitive information to the media for ‘the purposes of personal enrichment and undermining our foreign policy, national security, and government effectiveness’ are engaging in conduct that could be characterized as ‘treasonous.’”

The Attorney General has concluded, the Guardian continues, “it is necessary to rescind Merrick Garland’s policies precluding the Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks.”

https://www.salon.com/2025/04/29/looking-to-trumps-next-100-days-doj-tees-up-process-for-jailing-journalists/