Tell Senators: Remove press restrictions for Trump's impeachment trial
Petition to Senators:
There are four urgent things we need the Senate to do ASAP to protect press freedom in the impeachment trial:
• Remove metal detectors for press
• Allow C-SPAN and other media outlets to position and operate their own cameras
• Get rid of "press pens" and allow reporters full access to Senators
• Allow the press to keep and use electronic devices in the galleries to inform the public
It's time for Senators to condemn these restrictions and help remove them. We also need to ensure this never happens again. That's why we're also asking Senators to modernize its press coverage rules.
Mitch McConnell and Senate Rules Committee Chair Roy Blunt have instituted unprecedented press restrictions in order to prevent the public from having full access to Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.1
Without the free press, we can't fight against abusive governmental policies or defend our basic freedoms.
The Trump administration has been attacking the free press for years. Now that Trump has a chance of getting held accountable for his abuses of power, the Senate is allowing him to hide details from the public.
The public deserves to know every detail of Trump's impeachment trial. Tell Mitch McConnell and the Senate Rules Committee to remove restrictions on the press covering Trump's Senate impeachment trial.
Mitch McConnell and Roy Blunt are not allowing reporters to have full and complete access to interview Senators. They don't want us to know all the details about Trump's impeachment trial that allow us to hold our elected officials accountable.
The New York Times said that the restrictions "will severely limit the ability of reporters to gather news during one of the most historic events in the nation’s history," and that "these limits...will prevent journalists from freely documenting a public debate in Congress."2
This is a crucial moment in our history that makes it all the more important for this Senate to reaffirm their support for the vital and indispensable role the free press serves.
Tell Mitch McConnell and the Senate Rules Committee to remove press restrictions for Trump's Senate impeachment trial.
Sources:
1. The New York Times, "Even C-SPAN is Piqued: Senate Puts Limits on Trial Coverage," January 19, 2020.
2. ibid.