White House says Trump call to jail Supreme Court leak journalists is an ‘insult to the rule of law’

‘The president believes the freedom of press is part of the bedrock of American democracy’ White House tells The Independent

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has forcefully condemned Donald Trump’s call to jail the Politico journalists who reported on the Supreme Court’s leaked decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

The twice-impeached ex-president, who during his term repeatedly disparaged the press as “the enemy of the people” and suggested White House reporters who reported unflattering information about him and his administration could be tried for treason, took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday after a Supreme Court leak investigation failed to identify a person responsible for leaking a draft of the high court’s Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion to Politico last year.

“They’ll never find out, & it’s important that they do. So, go to the reporter & ask him/her who it was. If not given the answer, put whoever in jail until the answer is given. You might add the publisher and editor to the list”.

The statement was swiftly condemned by press freedom advocates, and the White House further weighed in from the briefing room podium when questioned on the ex-president’s incendiary statement by The Independent.

“I can tell you that the president believes the freedom of press is part of the bedrock of American democracy. That is something that he truly believes and that we should continue to fight for,” Ms Jean-Pierre told The Independent.

“Calling for egregious abuses of power in order to suppress the constitutional rights of reporters is an insult. It is a complete insult to the rule of law and undermines fundamental American values and traditions,” she added.

Pressed further on whether Mr Biden’s commitment to a free press includes making himself more available for interviews as he passes the two-year mark in his term, Ms Jean-Pierre declined to say whether he would do so.