From Subpoenas to Cockroaches: Journalist Intimidation 101
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
We're not targeting reporters. They're material witnesses, just like a reporter would be a material witness to a car crash.
Todd Blanch this week, defending the subpoenas of several New York Times reporters during his confirmation hearing for the top job at the DOJ. From WNYC in New York, this is On the Media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.
And I'm Michael Loewinger. How does this administration's aggressive actions against journalists compare to those that came before? Richard Nixon's undoing was ultimately his efforts to engage in a cover-up. Donald Trump doesn't care about cover-ups. He does everything out in the open.
Also on this week's show, sometimes reporter intimidation is ripped straight from a horror flick, like what happened to two bloggers who wrote about eBay.
That reinforced my fear that the book had been a message. You're going to lose your wife.
It's all coming up after this.
From WNYC in New York, this is On the Media.
I'm Brooke Gladstone. And I'm Michael Ewinger. On Wednesday, the New York Times filed a motion to quash the subpoenas that had been issued to three of its reporters, delivered by federal agents to their homes.
The New York Times says the Justice Department has subpoenaed several of its journalists after they reported on security concerns involving President Trump's new Air Force One plane.
Yeah, this is personal for President Trump. He's been angry about the news reports involving this new plane. He said one thing to the public. Government sources said another thing to the public. And then Trump was angry about being contradicted by his own government.
The orders came down the line from the White House to the FBI to the DOJ. Find the leakers. Forcing journalists to give up their sources at the very start of an investigation is not how these things are supposed to work. But we'll get to that in our next segment. We're going to lead with the story of the man who signed off on those subpoenas, Todd Blanche, currently acting attorney general, who in his job interview on Wednesday for the top spot at the Justice Department...
said, We're not targeting reporters. They're material witnesses, just like a reporter would be a material witness to a car crash.
But it was something else Blanche said, a slip of the tongue in response to Republican John Kennedy's question that got the most attention this week.
Are you and President Trump friends?
I'm his lawyer. Was his lawyer. Oops. The long history of the DOJ goes back to the Judiciary Act of 1789. Back then, the role of AG was part-time, held by lawyers who also ran their own practices. The department grew in size and importance over the next century or so, up until the next big shift following Watergate and the Ethics in Government Act, which reinforced the independence of the department from the president. And that held for a while. But from Trump's first term in office, it was obvious that he didn't want an independent and impartial DOJ or attorney general. That is just not how Donald Trump thinks about the position at all. Matt Gertz is a senior fellow at Media Matters and author of the recent piece, With Todd Blanch, MAGA Media is Finally Getting Its Dream AG.
He's been very clear through both of his presidencies that he wants the Justice Department to serve his interests as he sees them. This breaks with the longstanding tradition at the DOJ to insulate itself from the White House And we've seen that change dramatically across Trump's two terms. Can you take us back to his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions? How did he interpret the role and how did it go for him? Jeff Sessions is an arch conservative. He was the first senator to endorse Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. But at the same time, he was someone who thought that the ethical guardrails around the Justice Department should stand. In particular, he recused himself from the Justice Department's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
And Donald Trump never really forgave him for that. Sessions was relentlessly hounded by Trump, by his right-wing media allies, for refusing to just end Robert Mueller's investigation.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–11:31
2
What happened at Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing and why does it matter?
11:31–15:31
3
How has the Justice Department’s independence changed since Watergate?
15:31–25:14
4
How did Trump-era attorney generals differ in handling DOJ politicization?
25:14–50:25