The attorney general will meet with leaders from CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post on Monday to discuss Trump’s probe into reporter records
CNN Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist, who will be attending the meeting on Monday, provided details during Sunday’s broadcast of “Reliable Sources.”
Feist said Garland’s previous statement that the Biden Administration would never use the same media surveillance tactics as Trump’s DOJ officials isn’t enough to fix the problem.
“What we’re asking the attorney general tomorrow is to try to bind future administrations,” Feist said. “Don’t just send a memo. Change policy.”
Feist told CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter that the Trump DOJ gag order on Vigilante lasted 11 months. He said the three news organizations caught up in the probe weren’t chosen by accident.
“These are the organizations that were at the top of [Trump’s] list of enemies of the American people,” Feist said. “Whether Merrick Garland knows the details of how that came about, we don’t know, but we’re certainly going to ask.”
“Our goal is to make sure that the Pentagon Papers and other stories of extraordinary public interest could be published in the future,” he said. “It is to protect the freedom of the press now and in the future.”
