Trump escalates his war on journalism

Trump can’t stop White House leaks, so he’s coming for journalists
New York Times journalists face contempt of court after refusing to name sources on Qatari jet story

By Sophia Tesfaye
Senior Writer
Published July 15, 2026 12:20PM (EDT)


(Salon) Despite his best efforts to govern like a tin-pot dictator, Donald Trump cannot control his own government. Now he is panicking. In the last week, his administration confirmed with its own actions that its problem with press leaks is not going away — no matter how many federal agents it sends to reporters’ front doors.

To be clear, Trump is not fighting leaks so much as trying to criminalize causing embarrassment. In a desperate, heavy-handed bid to plug the dam, on Friday night federal agents descended on the homes of several New York Times journalists. Their crime? Reporting about the president’s new, $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8 “gifted” to him by the Qatari royal family.

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Now Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt find themselves facing the very real threat of being held in contempt of court and thrown behind bars if they refuse to hand over their sources for the information, a rare and consequential step that press-freedom advocates warn could have significant implications for investigative journalism.

Whenever the press exposes information that makes the administration look reckless, the response is increasingly subpoenas. This time, FBI Director Kash Patel was reportedly dragged into the White House for an eight-hour Friday strategy session to micromanage the leak investigation. The fact that this operation was conducted from the seat of executive power, rather than FBI headquarters, is an egregious violation of the post-Watergate norms meant to keep federal law enforcement free from partisan political interference. But norms mean nothing to Patel, who recently sued The Atlantic over its reporting. .........................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/07/15/trump-cant-stop-white-house-leaks-so-hes-coming-for-journalists/