{"id":2381238,"date":"2024-12-18T05:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-looks-to-doj-firepower-to-take-on-the-press\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T05:25:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:25:47","slug":"trump-looks-to-doj-firepower-to-take-on-the-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-looks-to-doj-firepower-to-take-on-the-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump looks to DOJ firepower to take on the press"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-looks-to-doj-firepower-to-take-on-the-press%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2381238&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s strategy to control the media and address what he perceives as &#8220;fake news&#8221; during his upcoming second term. Following his electoral victory and the resolution of many of his legal challenges, Trump is\u200c increasingly using lawsuits to \u200dtarget news organizations that he <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">claims publish false information<\/a>. He recently settled a defamation lawsuit \u200dwith ABC News\u200d and plans to pursue further legal actions against other media outlets,including the \u200dDes Moines register.<\/p>\n<p>Trump believes that the Justice Department should assist him in these legal endeavors,suggesting that it should take the lead \u200bin holding the press accountable for \u200creporting he deems corrupt. he stated that he feels compelled to take action against the media,citing the\u2062 financial strain\u2064 that \u2062pursuing these lawsuits entails.<\/p>\n<p>Critics, particularly from the Democratic Party, express concern \u2064that Trump&#8217;s \u2062efforts coudl politicize the Justice Department and undermine press freedom. Legal experts \u2063argue that while Trump&#8217;s lawsuits might not\u200c be strong enough to succeed \u2064in court,they could instill fear in media \u2062organizations,potentially leading to more cautious reporting on \u200dissues related to him.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&#8217;s actions represent a continued \u2063friction between his administration and customary media, with notable implications\u200d for\u2064 press freedom and accountability in\u2063 journalism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump looks to lawsuits and Justice Department to muzzle &lsquo;fake news&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1914797\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President-elect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> is seeking to tame the press during his second term with the help of the <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/courts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">courts<\/a> and taxpayer-funded prosecutors.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Invigorated by winning the popular vote in November and putting most of his criminal legal challenges behind him, Trump is ramping up his litigious media strategy by suggesting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Justice Department<\/a> attorneys should act as his personal lawyers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3240974\/meet-new-congress-house-senate-freshmen-119th\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>MEET THE NEW CONGRESS: THE HOUSE AND SENATE FRESHMEN ELECTED TO SERVE NEXT YEAR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abc-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ABC News<\/a> last weekend agreed to settle Trump&rsquo;s defamation lawsuit against host <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-stephanopoulos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">George Stephanopoulos<\/a> for a $15 million donation to Trump&rsquo;s presidential library and $1 million in legal fees, Trump, seemingly emboldened, sued another news outlet, the <em>Des Moines Register<\/em>, and pollster Ann Selzer for their preelection poll in which Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kamala Harris<\/a> had a surprising small lead over Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, who won Iowa by 13 percentage points last month, said he would prefer the Justice Department to take responsibility for similar lawsuits against news outlets after his inauguration next month.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I feel I have to do this,&rdquo; Trump told reporters Monday during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3261630\/donald-trump-press-conference-takeaways-tiktok-drones-rfk-jr-tariffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"90-minute press conference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/harris-is-the-machine-candidate-running-a-celebrity-campaign\/\" title=\"Harris Is The Machine Candidate Running A Celebrity Campaign\">90-minute press conference<\/a><\/a>. &ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t really be the one to do it. It should have been the Justice Department or somebody else, but I have to do it. Costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press. Our press is very corrupt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As a reality TV star, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Trump<\/a> was a media darling, but, as a politician, his relationships with traditional news outlets have become fraught. He routinely refers to flagship news outlets that have covered him critically as &ldquo;fake news.&rdquo; At his raucous rallies, Trump takes time to point out the press in attendance, eliciting boos from his supporters. <\/p>\n<p>He has filed a libel lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board for awarding the prestigious journalism prize to the<em> New York Times <\/em>and the<em> Washington Post<\/em> for coverage of the 2016 Trump campaign&rsquo;s ties to Russia. He also sued the <em>New York Times<\/em> for another Pulitzer Prize-winning story about the Trump family&rsquo;s wealth and tax practices. Trump has a <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5044528-trump-lawsuit-bob-woodward\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"pending lawsuit\">pending lawsuit<\/a> against famed journalist Bob Woodward for releasing audio tapes of their interviews.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s approach resonates with members of the public who no longer have confidence in news outlets, according to Bud Cummins, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President-elect Trump is 100% correct: We have a right to hold people accountable for intentionally placing blatantly false stories into newspapers and onto television,&rdquo; Cummins told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;At a minimum, we deserve to learn their identities and understand their true motives.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Financially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/business_of_news\/reality-layoffs-behind-national-jobs-numbers-reynolds-lewis.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"challenged\">challenged<\/a> news outlets beset by layoffs may win the lawsuits in court, but the exercise of having to come up with hefty legal fees to battle a president could have the desired effect of a more cautious press. <\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s suggestion that the Justice Department &ldquo;be the one&rdquo; responsible for his news outlet-related lawsuits has concerned Democrats, particularly after Trump nominated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kash-patel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kash Patel<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">FBI<\/a> director. In a 2023 podcast with another Trump ally, former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">White House<\/a> chief strategist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/steve-bannon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Steve Bannon<\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">,<\/span> Patel pledged that &ldquo;we will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yes, we&rsquo;re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a> rig presidential elections,&rdquo; Patel, who previously worked for the House Intelligence Committee, told Bannon&rsquo;s <em>War Room<\/em> podcast last year. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to come after you. Whether that&rsquo;s criminally or civilly, we&rsquo;re going to figure that out. But yeah, we&rsquo;re putting you all on notice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Democrats are hoping that Trump will no longer &ldquo;be a vengeful, backward-looking politician&rdquo; but instead become &ldquo;a civilized president in the mold of his predecessors and beholden to the rule of law,&rdquo; according to former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;One of the central tenets of a democracy is freedom of the press,&rdquo; Gansler, now a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham &amp; Taft, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;The Department of Justice should never be politicized and weaponized to undermine democracy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Patel, a former Justice Department prosecutor who served in Trump&rsquo;s first term in defense and national intelligence roles, has downplayed his <em>War Room<\/em> comments. Trump also denied that he would direct Patel to investigate his so-called enemies during an interview with NBC News but said Patel &ldquo;probably has an obligation to&rdquo; if he considers &ldquo;that somebody was dishonest, or crooked, or a corrupt politician.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Although legal experts argue that the <em>Des Moines Register<\/em> and Selzer lawsuit, in which Trump criticizes the poll as &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/viral-meme-maker-who-joked-about-hillary-clinton-sentenced-to-7-months-in-prison-for-election-interference\/\" title=\"Meme-maker mocking Hillary Clinton gets 7-month prison term for &#039;election meddling&#039;.\">brazen election interference<\/a>,&rdquo; is weak because of its basis in consumer fraud law, the chilling effect on news outlets could be strong.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump doesn&rsquo;t have to be able to win these lawsuits to succeed in his goal,&rdquo; attorney Susan Simpson wrote on social media. &ldquo;Which is to make it economically unviable for most people and organizations to publish news, polls, or opinions that are unfavorable to him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump doesn&#8217;t have to be able to win these lawsuits to succeed in his goal. Which is to make it economically unviable for most people and organizations to publish news, polls, or opinions that are unfavorable to him. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8bTtB7pjKX\">https:\/\/t.co\/8bTtB7pjKX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Susan Simpson (@TheViewFromLL2) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheViewFromLL2\/status\/1868709526146597343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In the <em>Des Moines Register<\/em>-Selzer legal filing, Trump writes that he is trying to discourage &ldquo;radicals from continuing to act with corrupt intent in releasing polls manufactured for the purpose of skewing election results in favor of Democrats,&rdquo; complaining it caused him to reallocate campaign resources.<\/p>\n<p>Trump transition spokesman Steven Cheung told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that Trump will &ldquo;hold those who have committed, and are committing wrongdoings, accountable for blatantly false and dishonest reporting, which serves no public interest and only seeks to interfere in our elections on behalf of political partisans.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Incoming White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Karoline Leavitt <\/a>similarly contended on Fox News that Trump will not &ldquo;tolerate defamatory statements&rdquo; anymore and news outlets &ldquo;will be held accountable with litigation&rdquo; and from &ldquo;behind the podium.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Cummins, the former U.S. attorney who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2001 before working on Trump&rsquo;s first transition in 2016, underscored that &ldquo;the bigger priority&rdquo; should be &ldquo;restoring credibility to the Department of Justice and federal investigative agencies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Investigating the truth about past events while rebuilding trust for the future will be challenging,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <em>Des Moines Register<\/em> spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton remained adamant that the newspaper stood &ldquo;by our reporting on the matter and believe this lawsuit is without merit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have acknowledged that the Selzer\/<em>Des Moines Register<\/em> pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump&rsquo;s Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll&rsquo;s full demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer,&rdquo; Anton told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>ABC News did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&lsquo;s request for comment, and Selzer declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Trump sued ABC News and Stephanopoulos after the host repeated during a March episode of <em>This Week<\/em> that Trump had been found civilly liable for the rape of writer E. Jean Carroll at the New York City Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and not her sexual abuse as defined by New York law. Trump is appealing the verdict. The settlement included an apology as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trump also sued CBS News, which did not provide comment, in October shortly after an episode of <em>60 Minutes<\/em> aired in which Harris was quoted differently in the final edit compared to a clip of the interview.<\/p>\n<p>Trump railed against &ldquo;partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference&rdquo; intended to &ldquo;mislead the public and attempt to tip the scales&rdquo; of the contest for Harris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1914797\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1914797\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump aims to control &#8216;fake news&#8217; through lawsuits and DOJ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2381239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Trump-newfound-respect-scaled-1024x684.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7076,38518,4188,4604,3634],"class_list":["post-2381238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doj","tag-legal-strategy","tag-media","tag-press","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Trump-newfound-respect-scaled-1024x684.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2381238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2381242,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381238\/revisions\/2381242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2381239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2381238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2381238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2381238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}