Pathetic abuse victim Confederate States Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is doing his best to get back into the good graces of demagogue and Putin loyalist Donald "Rump" Trump these days. After being mocked and denigrated by Rump over his recusal from the Russia - Trump scandal, Beauregard is scrambling to please his unhinged boss, the latest being his pledge to crack down on leaks to the press within the Rump zoo (of course, Rump loved leaks last year when WikiLeaks published e-mails stolen by Moscow, aimed at damaging Hillary Clinton: "I love WikiLeaks!"). Unsurprisingly, his crack down is aimed at journalists reporting on Rump's misdeeds, lies and incompetence, couching it in "national security" terms. He hopes -- ultimately futilely -- that this will act as a chilling effect on reporting embarrassing and/or criminal behavior by his boss and his boss' coterie.
The American Civil Liberties Union had a good response to Beauregard's attempts to stifle the public's access to the truth about Rump's corrupt and inept Administration:
“Every American should be concerned about the Trump administration’s threat to step up its efforts against whistleblowers and journalists. A crackdown on leaks is a crackdown on the free press and on democracy as a whole. Our founders understood that democracy depends on an informed citizenry, and leaders can't be trusted to disclose vital information that reflects poorly on themselves. These first months of the Trump administration dramatically illustrate that point. Can anyone seriously argue that our country would be better off if the public received all of its information through official channels alone?” (emphasis added)Let's recall that the beginning of the end of the felonious administration of Richard Nixon began with his instigation of a covert "plumbers" group to stop leaks to the press. That ended badly for him.
As the investigations into the Russia - Trump scandal expand, we can expect more of this pushback on the First Amendment by people who have no respect for the truth or the Constitution, including the sad little man occupying the position of Attorney General.
(image: "Damn Yankee press.")
