US Senator Tom Cotton Lies About Reporter's Shield Law, Blocks Vote

Screen shot from Senator Tom Cotton and in the public domain

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Republican Senator Tom Cotton once again blocked bipartisan legislation that would protect reporters from harassment and interference by the United States government.

In particular, he fiendishly contended that passing the bill would “turn the United States Senate into the active accomplice of deep-state leakers, traitors, and criminals, along with the America-hating and fame-hungry journalists who help them out.”

Exploiting the record levels of distrust in the mass media among U.S. citizens, Cotton took to Twitter to falsely claim that the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act, would create a “federally protected cabal of legacy media at a time when the people are becoming the journalists on platforms like X.”

But CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times, as well as other “legacy media” that Cotton called out, do not need the PRESS Act as much as smaller news media outlets or independent reporters that primarily post to social media platforms. These organizations have legal departments that are experienced and funded to negotiate with government attorneys and help journalists and editors avoid government intrusion and violations of their First Amendment rights.

In that sense, Cotton is not sticking it to some “cabal of legacy media” but rather is ensuring that the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue to have an easier time targeting journalists who do not work as members of an elite media class.

Read the full article at The Dissenter