1. United States
2. Letter

Emergency: Protect the First Amendment from Executive Suppression To the Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, I write with great urgency to raise the alarm over a direct assault on the First Amendment and the public’s right to know. On May 12, 2025, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) condemned the Trump administration’s unprecedented decision to exclude all major wire services—AP, Reuters, Bloomberg—from Air Force One during President Trump’s first international trip of his second term. Source: WHCA Statement (https://whca.press/2025/05/12/statement-on-the-unprecedented-exclusion-of-wires-on-international-trip/) This is the first time in modern American history that a U.S. president has barred journalists from covering a foreign trip of this magnitude. It was not a logistical oversight—it was a deliberate attempt to suppress press coverage of private dealmaking, foreign engagements, and high-level negotiations that included military, technology, and energy contracts. This brings me to what’s known as the Fourth Estate—a term used to describe the press as an independent force in democratic society, alongside the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. While not part of the government, the press holds power accountable and ensures that citizens are informed. When the press is excluded, the public loses its eyes and ears—and democracy loses one of its foundational checks on power. I have written Congress regarding the material and ongoing breaches tied to this trip, including: • The $400 million private jet “gift” from Qatar, which likely violates the Emoluments Clause; • Undisclosed foreign business deals involving the Trump family and state-owned entities; • Military and tech contracts struck without oversight, including Elon Musk’s Starlink expansion into Saudi-controlled air and maritime systems. But this moment—this systematic erasure of the Fourth Estate—demands your attention. If the Executive Branch can eliminate press scrutiny of international statecraft, suppress coverage of foreign entanglements, and operate in a legal blackout while using Air Force One for private enrichment, then the public is no longer sovereign. I respectfully urge the Court to: • Be prepared to affirm the constitutional protections of the First Amendment and press access to public proceedings; • Clearly delineate the limits of executive power to restrict the press, especially during official taxpayer-funded operations; • And send a clear message that authoritarian practices have no place in a constitutional republic. Our democracy is being dismantled in the dark. The press must be free to shine a light on corruption, and the courts must not look away. You have the power—and the duty—to stop this. Do not let silence become complicity. Act now to defend the Constitution before it’s too late.