1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing to demand accountability for something that strikes at the very core of our democracy: President Donald Trump’s reported private threats to members of the media in an attempt to suppress and control coverage related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. According to recent reports, Trump has privately pressured news executives and threatened journalists who have investigated his relationship with Epstein or who have pursued information about the long-sought client list. This is not just inappropriate—it is authoritarian, dangerous, and a direct assault on the freedom of the press. You took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to protect a man obsessed with shielding himself from scrutiny. The press is not the enemy of the people. In fact, the only reason we even know about many aspects of the Epstein scandal is because of investigative journalists willing to dig where others were too afraid or too compromised to go. For the former—and current—President of the United States to bully and threaten them behind closed doors is nothing short of abuse of power. And let’s be honest: if Trump has nothing to hide, why is he trying so hard to silence the press? Why not call for the release of the Epstein client list? Why not use his platform to demand justice for the victims instead of threatening those who dare to ask questions? This behavior isn’t new for Trump—but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. It is one more example of a pattern of intimidation, deception, and obstruction, all meant to protect the powerful from accountability. And your continued silence, or worse, complicity, makes you part of the problem. If a sitting or former president is trying to bury a child trafficking scandal through media intimidation, that should trigger hearings, investigations, and consequences—not excuses. I urge you to speak out, demand transparency, and stand up for a free press. If you choose instead to look the other way, you are sending a loud and clear message to every survivor of abuse in this country that the powerful will always be protected, no matter what. Enough is enough.