- United States
- Utah
- Letter
Hold the President Accountable for Defying Court Orders on Press Freedom
To: Sen. Lee, Rep. Maloy, Sen. Curtis
From: A constituent in Salt Lake City, UT
October 1
You need to act now to enforce the rule of law. President Trump is openly defying a federal court order from U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly that prohibits blocking CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from White House access. He barred CNN from Air Force One trips to Texas and Oklahoma anyway. That is contempt of court, and your silence makes you complicit.
This isn't a press relations dispute. Attorney Theodore Boutrous called it "a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process." Trump also blocked media coverage of Xi Jinping's arrival and the state dinner last week. He is systematically dismantling press freedom in plain sight, and he's doing it because no one in Congress is making him stop.
Your job is to check executive power. Use it. Demand a congressional investigation, pursue contempt proceedings, or support legislation that enforces press access protections. If you won't hold a president accountable for defying a federal judge, what exactly are you there for?