'Bad news': Reporters bracing for possible federal raids in Trump crackdown on free press
Reporters are bracing for the possibility of federal raids as President Donald Trump cracks down on alleged leaks, according to a former White House official.
Miles Taylor, who wrote the anonymous "resistance" New York Times op-ed while serving in Trump's first administration, wrote on his "Treason" Substack page that he's heard from multiple national security and political journalists who are actively preparing for possible subpoenas, surveillance or search warrants.
"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," Taylor wrote. "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."
Trump publicly called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate alleged leaks by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) during the 2017 Russia investigation, and right-wing influencer and Trump whisperer Laura Loomer cryptically warned on X that "hiding behind lefty reporters" won't protect alleged leakers.
"These developments have caused alarm in the journalism community, which was already on edge about White House efforts to intimidate media outlets," Taylor wrote.
Journalists and press organizations are concerned the Trump administration will undermine First Amendment protections and seek retribution through criminal investigations.
"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," Taylor wrote.
The Department of Justice's new "weaponization" czar Ed Martin vowed to use “all the tools that we have in our system" to target the president's enemies, and journalists are worried that includes them.
“All the tools” might mean something even more sinister this time around," Taylor wrote. "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."
Reporters are seeking legal counsel and scouring their own past reporting to determine how exposed their sources might be, and Taylor said the Schiff probe is an ominous sign.
"That’s bad news for the free press and even worse news for the American people," he wrote. "If whistleblowers and government officials can’t trust that they’ll be protected, they won’t report wrongdoing. And the truth may vanish altogether."