Trump threatens to jail journalist to find source of second missing airman report | Donald Trump
Donald Trump threatened to jail a journalist — or journalists — who reported the disappearance of a second U.S. airman shot down by Iran on Friday in an attempt to identify his source.
The seriously injured airman hid in a crevice in the mountain to avoid capture before being rescued by the US rescue team, which was exposed to heavy fire. The US president announced the service member’s rescue on Sunday.
At a White House press conference Monday afternoon, Trump told reporters that his government was aggressively pursuing the “leaker” who disclosed information about the missing airman to the media. He claimed that the news alerted Iran and put the airman in danger.
“They basically said, ‘we have one, and we’re missing one.’ They didn’t know one was missing until this leaker gave the information,” Trump said. “So whoever it is, we think we can find it because we’re going to go to the media company that’s publishing this and say, ‘national security, give up or go to jail.’
“And we know who we’re talking about, and you know too. Because there are certain things you can’t do, because when they did that, suddenly the whole country of Iran realized that somewhere on their soil there was a pilot fighting for his life.”
Trump did not name the channel or reporter he threatened.
During his second administration, Trump stepped up efforts to target media companies that publish news he doesn’t like, regularly threatening lawsuits and restricting access. In January, the home of a Washington Post reporter was raided by the FBI. Reporter Hannah Natanson had aggressively covered Trump’s control of federal agencies. Creating over 1,000 anonymous government sources this contributed to his reporting. The case is currently being heard in Virginia court.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for detailed information about the media company Trump mentioned. A White House official later said the investigation was ongoing.
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said: “Journalists do not work for the government, and their right to publish leaked information from the government is protected by the first amendment, which remains the law of the land despite Trump’s efforts and does not go away when the words ‘national security’ are uttered. To the extent that the government is allowed to withhold information, it is up to the government, not the journalists, to keep their secrets.”
