Trump demands Republicans ‘kill’ bill that would protect journalists from government spying
CNN
In between his posts on Truth Social announcing nominees for his incomingadministration, President-elect Donald Trump urged Republicans Wednesday to nix a bipartisan bill that would give journalists greater protections under federal law.
In between his posts on Truth Social announcing nominees for his incoming administration, President-elect Donald Trump urged Republicans Wednesday to nix a bipartisan bill that would give journalists greater protections under federal law. Trump wrote on his favorite social network that “REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” He linked to a PBS “NewsHour” interview with Jodie Ginsberg, the CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who urged the Senate to pass the legislation. Known as the PRESS Act, the Protect Reporters From Exploitative State Spying Act would prevent the government from forcing journalists to reveal their sources and limit the seizure of their data without their knowledge. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, one of the many groups advocating for the bill, “The PRESS Act would bar the federal government from using subpoenas, search warrants, or other compulsory actions against journalists to force the disclosure of information identifying confidential sources as well as other newsgathering records, except in very limited circumstances. It would also broadly limit the government’s ability to use the same actions against third parties, including email providers and search engines, to seize journalists’ data, with narrow exceptions.” The bill has been passed by the House of Representatives twice with bipartisan support, and it has Republican sponsors in the Senate, but it has been stalled for months in the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Sen. Tom Cotton is said to be holding up the measure.