EXCLUSIVE: Reporters brace for federal raids against news media
Trump signals increased pressure in hunt for journalists’ sources
Bottom Line Up Front:
TREASON has learned that multiple national security and political journalists are actively preparing for the possibility of government subpoenas, surveillance, or search warrants as the Trump administration escalates its crackdown on “leaks,” stoking fears of a widening assault on First Amendment rights and the free press.
WHAT HAPPENED
Reporters at major news outlets and independent media tell TREASON they believe the Trump administration is preparing to ramp up efforts to expose their sources.
The shift comes in response to new threats from President Trump and his allies, as well as a policy change at the Justice Department that cleared the way for aggressive pursuit of both whistleblowers and the journalists they speak to.
While speaking at an event at the Kennedy Center last week, Trump publicly called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Senator Adam Schiff for allegedly leaking negative information to the press about him during the 2017 Russia investigation.
“I’m looking at Pam because I hope something’s going to be done about it,” Trump said. “It was a hoax created by the Democrats — but in particular, Schiff, crooked Hillary, the whole group.”
Trump’s comments came in response to records released by FBI Director Kash Patel, including interviews with a former House Intelligence Committee staffer who accused Schiff in 2017 of orchestrating leaks — an allegation previously investigated and dismissed as not credible by the Justice Department’s inspector general.
This week, Trump ally Laura Loomer also made a cryptic post on X that raised eyebrows:
“Just remember. Everyone has something to hide. Hiding behind lefty reporters as their ‘source’ won’t protect you from what’s coming.”
These developments have caused alarm in the journalism community, which was already on edge about White House efforts to intimidate media outlets.
WHAT IT MEANS
This is more than a political fight between Trump and Senator Schiff. It’s the beginning of what journalists and press freedom groups are calling a broadside against First Amendment protections and a roadmap for retribution-by-investigation.
Reporters who spoke with TREASON are preparing for federal raids to become more frequent than they were during the first Trump administration, when the Justice Department launched an array of controversial leak probes.
After taking office, Attorney General Bondi quietly revoked policies that provided extra protection for members of the press — a move legal experts say clears the path for subpoenas, surveillance, and compelled testimony from reporters — with the threat of jail time.
Such tools had been severely restricted under the Biden administration following revelations that Trump’s DOJ had secretly seized the records of members of Congress, their staff, and multiple journalists in prior investigations.
(Among the justifications Bondi cited in her April memo were the president’s executive orders directing retaliatory investigations into government whistleblowers, including Chris Krebs and myself.)
WHAT’S NEXT
Trump officials have made clear that they intend to do the president’s bidding by cracking down on his enemies, whether in the press or beyond.
DOJ’s new “weaponization” chief, Ed Martin, appeared on Fox News last weekend and stated that they planned to use “all the tools that we have in our system” to go after such targets.
But “all the tools” might mean something even more sinister this time around. We got hints of how far Trump wanted to go during the first administration. Indeed, top aides told me at the time that the president wanted to wiretap the White House staff to find disloyal subordinates, a request that was ignored because it was thought to be illegal.
It’s unclear whether Trump has made similar demands of his new team — and whether they might be more willing to comply in the hunt for “leakers.”
Either way, the language coming out of the White House and Justice Department is alarming enough to journalists to lead them to take extra precautions. Some are conferring with legal counsel, reviewing past reporting to assess how exposed their sources might be, or tightening communication protocols with government contacts.
Whether the Schiff probe becomes the flashpoint remains to be seen. But the infrastructure is in place to go after the media and its sources, and the administration has made its intent clear.
That’s bad news for the free press and even worse news for the American people. If whistleblowers and government officials can’t trust that they’ll be protected, they won’t report wrongdoing. And the truth may vanish altogether.
I've been waiting for this. I keep having visions of Trump's masked storm troopers dragging a journalist off camera during a live broadcast. This is where it's going. What's amazing is how quickly it's happening and STILL Republicans quiver in their closets.
Obviously, the intent to tighten control on the press has to be a violation of the 1st amendment, as well as protecting their sources, but perhaps you could more clearly articulate the present safeguards or perhaps even point to how we, as citizens can support that effort.