President Trump Threatens to Jail Journalist If They Don’t Give Up Their Source Regarding Missing Officer

President Donald Trump launched a direct attack on the free press in America by threatening to jail a reporter if they do not give up their source.

On Monday, April 6, Trump, 79, threatened the unspecified reporter at a press conference where he was discussing the daring mission to rescue two US servicemembers whose F-15E Strike Eagle was downed in Iran, per CNN. Though the public was initially aware of one, a leaker allegedly let the public know that there was a second service member downed in the country.

“We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security, give it up or go to jail,’” Trump said, CNN reported. “The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say.”

It is unknown which media company the Apprentice alum was referring to.

The second Air Force officer was ultimately rescued in a high-risk mission on Sunday. However, Trump was irate at the press conference that the information was reported by major media outlets.

At the press conference, he said that the Iranians were unaware of a second missing person and that the leaker initiated a race to get the person rescued before they were discovered by hostile forces by revealing that information.

Typically, a journalist’s sources are protected under what’s known as “reporter’s privilege,” according to the Yale School of Law. While many states have codified that privilege into law with “shield laws,” it is only recognized on a federal level by way of the 1972 Supreme Court case Branzburg v. Hayes. However, each circuit’s interpretation of Branzburg can vary, making the confidentiality of a reporter’s sources a case-by-case issue.

The PRESS Act was introduced in 2023 and seeks to become the first federal shield law, but it has not yet passed the Senate.