Readers Write: Free press needed now more than ever

The Island Now

Another week in the nascent Trump administration and still more attacks on the freedom of the press by the occupant of the Oval Office.

This time the offense is the publication of information which exposed improper communications between Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and the Russian ambassador prior to the inauguration and led to Mr. Flynn’s resignation.

In addition, the press reported that American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted phone calls that show that members of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year prior to the election.

Rather than address the transgressions of his advisers and associates, Mr. Trump blames the press for undermining his administration.

“The enemy of the American People,” he tweets, blaming the messenger for the critical message.

In Mr. Trump’s alternative reality, the press forced him to fire Mr. Flynn, not the fact that Mr. Flynn had crossed an impermissible line with his Russian contacts.  In fact, Mr. Trump knew about Flynn’s Russian contacts and that Flynn had lied about them to Vice President Pence.  Nevertheless, Mr. Trump sat on the Flynn transgressions until the press disclosures forced his hand.

Score one for the free press.

The press reports about pre-election contacts with Russian intelligence raise serious questions about foreign interference with our democratic election processes and the very legitimacy of Mr. Trump’s election.

Although the press exposed these disturbing Russian contacts, only a bipartisan commission or special prosecutor with the power to subpoena witnesses can address these concerns, concerns which Mr. Trump above all should want to put to rest.

But, rather than call for a bipartisan investigation, he chooses to shoot the messenger.

Unable to face criticism of any kind, Mr. Trump attacks the press.

And, so far, Congressional Republicans seem content to cover up these potentially explosive dealings in their pursuit of partisan interests.

As Sen. Rand Paul said, “We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans.”

So much for the public interest in resolving the question of foreign interference in the election.

Moreover, recent reports indicate that the public is more concerned with losing benefits provided by Obamacare than they are about repealing the Act.

By denigrating the press, Mr. Trump opens the way for alternative news sites to publish lies and falsehoods masquerading as news.

In the words of the Nazi propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.  The truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

As Republican Sen. John McCain put it, “The first thing that dictators do is shut down the press.”

But this is not the democratic way.

American history is replete with examples of the press bringing to light improper and illegal activities on the part of our elected officials.

The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam era and the Deep Throat disclosures of Watergate are but two of those milestones in the role of our free press.

Without a free press we, the people, are powerless to expose and punish wrongdoing by our elected officials.

Our democracy is dependent on the press to act as our watchdogs in guarding our democracy.

The press is not “the enemy of the American People.”  The press is one of the guardians of American democracy.

So let’s continue to support the press as it faces a defiant White House and a reluctant Republican Congress.

 

Jay Feldman

Port Washington

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