1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

Freedom of the press is not a right that belongs to journalists or news organizations, it is a necessary condition for a democracy, which is why it is a right enshrined in our Constitution and belonging to ALL of us. When the president has attacked the press as "an enemy of the people," as he has done since 2018 or refuses access to any press that will not regurgitate his preferred media messaging, he is not only violating the rights of those journalists to speak freely, he is violating the rights of our entire nation to have access to the broad and deep journalistic coverage that is only available in countries that have a free press. For weeks, this president's refusal to allow journalists and organizations who publish written and video coverage that addresses critical analysis, conflicts, and contradictions in the administration has been treated as a matter of dispute between the White House and a few new outlets. Today, October 26, a lawsuit filed in federal court makes it clear that the rest of us are also being harmed. Restricting access to only fawning, propagandist news outlets deprives the rest of us of the right to a free press, which encompasses our rights to "received new coverage that is not limited by the president's unlawful expulsions or distorted by the president's unconstitutional threats" to further reduce our news options. The ultimate injury in removing journalists and their news outlets from coverage of the White House is not in the harm done to those organizations; it is to the democratic public and civil society at large. As the legislative body from which constitutional and lesser laws flow, I expect you to use your voice now. Be clear. This is not a matter of the free speech or access of a few individuals. The right to a free press belongs to all of us.