Government & Communications

President Donald Trump doubled down on blaming the media for the nation’s incivility, as suspicious packages sent by a suspected serial bomber continued to target President Trump’s outspoken critics. “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” the president said. “It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description.

More than 200 journalists condemned President Donald Trump’s “sustained pattern” of attacks on the free press in an open letter, describing his behavior as “un-American and utterly unlawful and unseemly for the President of the United States and leader of the free world." “Trump’s condoning of political violence is part of a sustained pattern of attack on a free press — which includes labeling any reportage he doesn’t like as ‘fake news’ and barring reporters and news organizations whom he wishes to punish from press briefings and events,” said the letter, which as of the morning of Oct 25

When President Donald Trump calls old friends on one of his iPhones to gossip, gripe, or solicit their latest take on how he is doing, American intelligence reports indicate that Chinese spies are often listening — and putting to use invaluable insights into how to best work the president and affect administration policy, current and former American officials said. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well.

A series of bombs in manila envelopes with similar address labels were sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats, setting off a nationwide manhunt for the terrorist behind what officials believe was a targeted attack. President Donald trump condemed political violence and called for a more civil political discourse.

On Dec 11, 2017, Reps Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing disappointment at the Chairman's failure to provide documentation relating to the May 7, 2017 alleged distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has focused the world’s attention on the kingdom’s intimidation campaign against influential voices raising questions about the darker side of the crown prince. The young royal has tightened his grip on the kingdom while presenting himself in Western capitals as the man to reform the hidebound Saudi state. Saudi operatives have mobilized to harass critics on Twitter, a wildly popular platform for news in the kingdom since the Arab Spring uprisings began in 2010.

President Donald Trump's frequent threats and hostile acts directed toward journalists and the media are not only offensive and unbecoming of a democratic leader; they are also illegal. Although the president can launch verbal tirades against the press, he cannot use the powers of his office to suppress or punish speech he doesn’t like. When President Trump proposes government retribution against news outlets and reporters, his statements cross the line.

President Donald Trump attacked the Associated Press over a headline it had on a story about comments he made on the midterm elections, saying the headline "was very different from my quote and meaning in the story." The headline on the AP story from Oct 16 reads, "Trump tells AP he won't accept blame if GOP loses House." The president took issue with that language in a tweet. "AP headline was very different from my quote and meaning in the story. They just can’t help themselves.

Apparently, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood subpoenaed more than a dozen telecommunications trade groups, lobbying contractors, and Washington advocacy organizations, seeking to determine whether the groups submitted millions of fraudulent public comments to sway a critical federal decision on internet regulation.

PEN America, the leading national organization representing writers and literary professionals and defending free expression, filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for using the powers of the federal government to retaliate against journalists and media outlets he finds objectionable, in violation of the First Amendment.