Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in office have been marked by a series of aggressive moves that have alarmed democracy advocates, legal scholars, and press freedom organizations.
In a deeply concerning turn, the Trump administration has begun openly defying Supreme Court orders, invoking sweeping emergency powers, and dismantling protections for journalists-steps many see as straight from the autocrat’s playbook.
From the outset, Trump has taken unprecedented actions: targeting universities, pressuring law firms, prosecuting former aides, and even arresting a local judge who refused to assist in mass deportations.
On his first day, he released hundreds of convicted domestic extremists, who had previously assaulted police officers, effectively creating a loyal militia.
Now, less than 100 days into his term, Trump has crossed a line that no president since the landmark Marbury v. Madison decision has dared approach: he is directly defying the authority of the United States Supreme Court.
In a high-profile case involving a migrant long-settled in Maryland, Trump’s Department of Justice has refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the migrant’s return, arguing that the order did not mean what it plainly said.
The Court responded by forbidding the administration from deporting additional migrants to foreign prisons notorious for torture.
The implications are chilling.
No fines have been levied, no officials held in contempt, and much of the public remains unaware of the constitutional crisis unfolding.
The core issue is not merely immigration policy, but whether any institution can check a president’s claim to near-limitless power under the guise of a “national emergency.”
Trump’s repeated declarations of emergencies-on immigration, energy, and trade-have allowed him to bypass Congress and trample longstanding legal norms.
This week, the crisis deepened as Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department would resume the controversial practice of obtaining reporters’ records in leak investigations, reversing Biden-era policies that had protected journalists from secret surveillance.
The new regulations permit prosecutors to use subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to compel journalists to reveal sources, provided such actions are “narrowly drawn” and approved at the highest levels.
Bondi justified the move as necessary to prevent leaks that
“undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government
agencies, and cause harm to the American people.”
Yet press freedom groups warn this will have a chilling effect on investigative journalism, undermining the public’s right to know and weakening one of the last effective checks on government power.
“Strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information,” states Jim Luce, published of The Stewardship Report. “Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history… was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources,” he said.
The administration’s actions have drawn comparisons to authoritarian regimes, where the judiciary and press are systematically weakened to consolidate executive power. The Supreme Court, for now, appears to be resisting, but its lack of enforcement mechanisms leaves it dependent on the executive branch to uphold the rule of law. If Trump can ignore the Court’s orders and label critics as “enemies,” the risk grows that dissenters-including journalists and judges-could face retribution under the pretext of national security.
This erosion of democratic norms is not theoretical.
As recent history in other countries has shown, the failure to act early against such overreach can lead to a rapid decline in freedoms. The United States now faces a pivotal moment: whether its institutions can withstand mounting autocratic pressure, or whether the constitutional checks and balances that have defined American democracy will be swept aside.
DOJ Resumes Seizing Reporters’ Records, Press Freedoms Eroding (April 28, 2025)
#PressFreedom #RuleOfLaw #DemocracyAtRisk #SupremeCourt #TrumpAdministration #MediaRights #DOJ #ExecutivePower #FirstAmendment #LeakInvestigations
Tags: Trump, Supreme Court, Justice Department, Pam Bondi, Press Freedom, Leak Investigations, Emergency Powers, Immigration, Rule of Law, Executive Authority, Media Rights, Civil Liberties, U.S. Politics
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