Trump sparks fears over retribution against media with Patel FBI pick

Threats by Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s pick for FBI director, to use the power of the bureau to scrutinize news outlets critical of the incoming administration are sending a chill through the media. 

First Amendment advocates and legal experts say Patel's rhetoric raises new questions about press freedoms during a second Trump administration and is intensifying worries about whether the president-elect will go after perceived enemies in the media.

Patel, a longtime Trump supporter, got his start in politics as a staffer to former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), working as an adviser on the House Intelligence Committee. 

As he rose through the intelligence community and in Trump’s orbit, Patel publicly railed against the so-called “deep state,” which he argues worked to undermine Trump’s agenda during his first term.  

Part of this hostile apparatus, Patel and other Trump loyalists have said, is mainstream media outlets overly sympathetic to Democrats.   

“We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media,” Patel said during a 2023 episode of Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. “Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you. Whether that’s criminally or civilly, we’re going to figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.”  

Those comments and others by Patel blasting journalists have reverberated through national newsrooms in the weeks since he was named Trump’s pick to lead the FBI.

“There’s a lot of concern among the newsrooms we’ve spoken with about what to expect,” said Chuck Tobin, a First Amendment attorney who works with several press freedom groups. “At the same time, there’s complete resolve to get information to the public about what this government is going to be up to.”  

Patel will need to be confirmed by the Senate to come the new FBI director. If Democrats are united against him, he’ll be able to lose no more than three GOP votes.

Patel’s hostility toward the mainstream media is likely to come up during the confirmation process in the context of whether he or Trump will go after media critics.

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump was asked directly about whether he’d seek retribution and whether Patel would go after Trump’s opponents. Trump’s remarks were centered less on the media, however, than on members of the House panel that looked into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.  

“I mean, he’s going to do what he thinks is right,” Trump said of Patel. “If they were crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law, probably. They went after me. You know, they went after me, and I did nothing wrong.” 

Department of Justice policy blocks the government from using subpoenas to seize the records of journalists in government leak investigations. 

The FBI or DOJ can, however, seek journalists’ records if they are suspected of committing a crime or working on behalf of a foreign adversary, or if investigators believe there is an imminent risk of death or harm without the records.  

Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Patel would have limited power in going after journalists.

“Threatening the First Amendment and newsgathering rights of reporters should concern every American who cares about strengthening our communities,” Brown said.

“The Department of Justice has guidelines in place for investigations involving journalists. The FBI wouldn’t be able to unilaterally revise or rescind them. And it’s Justice Department prosecutors, not the FBI, who make decisions about how to proceed with cases,” he added.   

Still, prior comments from Trump loyalists like Patel could have a chilling effect on coverage of the incoming administration, others say.  

“We are deeply concerned about the growing hostility and threats toward journalists, as well as the rhetoric expressed by some of the President-elect’s nominees,” The National Press Foundation said in a statement to The Hill this week. “This increasing tension underscores the need for those in power to understand and appreciate the critical importance of a free and independent press.”  

In a statement to The Hill on Monday, a representative for the Trump transition stood by Patel and sought to cast President Biden as the chief executive most antagonistic toward the media.  

“Kash Patel is going to deliver on President Trump’s mandate to restore integrity to the FBI and return the agency to its core mission of protecting America,” the spokesperson said. “Kash is committed to safeguarding Americans’ First Amendment rights unlike Joe Biden who weaponized the DOJ to target journalists.” 

The transition's statement was an apparent reference to a 2021 raid on the home of conservative investigative media personality James O'Keefe in connection with an alleged theft of a diary belonging to the president's daughter Ashley, a move that was panned by some First Amendment advocates at the time. 

Yet Biden administration officials have not espoused the same explicitly anti-media rhetoric as Trump and his top allies have for years.   

The former president in recent weeks has threatened to use the FCC to pull broadcast licenses of major networks and sued CBS News over an interview with Vice President Harris days before the November election. 

Patel has also threatened lawsuits against prominent media commentators and others critical of his nomination.  

“This administration sounds dangerously close to making war on journalism part of the policy of the federal government,” said Tobin. “If they’re looking to drive toward a monolithic media where only the journalism the Trump administration approves of gets to the public, they’re in for a rude awakening.”