The Trump administration argued in court that one of the most basic acts of journalism—soliciting news tips and information from the public—is an act of “solicitation” and therefore is not protected by the First Amendment.
The bogus stance came about because The New York Times is suing the Pentagon in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s policy that bars news outlets from reporting on classified material with government approval.
As part of ongoing court proceedings between the Times and the Pentagon, the administration argued that the Washington Post’s web-based request for news tips goes over the line by asking readers to “help us report on the Pentagon” and requesting information related to “changes within the Pentagon and throughout the U.S. military.”
The Trump administration has imposed a host of extremist policies throughout the armed services, including banning transgender troops, erasing history, and even ordering Scouting America to embrace bigotry.
It’s a basic tenet of journalism to solicit information, which can then be investigated and possibly turned into a news report.
The opposition to the Post’s tip request is even more glaring because the Pentagon made clear in November that it’s fine when a pro-Trump figure makes a similar request.
Related | 'Death and destruction': Hegseth can't contain his bloodlust
President Donald Trump is close to right-wing activist Laura Loomer and leans on her for advice despite her openly racist views. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said that Loomer’s request for tips did not violate the Pentagon’s policy because she operates a “general tip line” while the Post “explicitly and exclusively” targets military and Defense Department employees.
“If fake news reporters actually had a brain and could read our policy correctly, then maybe one day they will be as effective of a journalist as Ms. Loomer is,” Wilson said.
Trump and other Republicans frequently dismiss news outlets that accurately report on them in a negative light as “fake news.” And since the institution of its new policy, most legitimate news organizations have abandoned the Pentagon to avoid subjecting their work to the loose standards of the Trump administration.
In their place, several conspiracy-minded individuals like Tim Pool have taken over the Pentagon’s press pool.
The administration’s opposition to the Post is ironic, since its owner, Jeff Bezos, has overseen a rightward shift in the paper’s editorial stance and posture. In fact Bezos’ actions have been so pro-MAGA that they’ve even been praised by Trump himself.
But going after a basic journalistic technique in court is in line with Trump's hostility toward the free press, which has encompassed multiple lawsuits against news organizations and pollsters, severe cuts to public broadcasting, and multiple attempts to control talk show hosts.
All of it amounts to nothing more than a fascist trying to control the narrative.
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