MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Even by his standards, President Trump’s biting attacks on the press this week stand out…Earlier, First Amendment scholars were taken aback by remarks from Justice Clarence Thomas, who on Tuesday [2-19-19] urged the Supreme Court to peel back longstanding libel protections for American news outlets. And a global crackdown against journalists continues apace, as the Egyptian authorities on Monday detained and deported a Times journalist trying to enter their country. They have added up to a rough few days for freedom of the press, a once-sacrosanct American notion that has been under sustained assault since Mr. Trump made fiery denunciations of journalists — and the rallying cry ‘Fake news!’ — into hallmarks of his campaign and presidency…Although the president did not cite a specific article, The Times published an investigative report on Tuesday describing how Mr. Trump had worked to influence and undermine federal investigations involving him, his presidential campaign and his administration. The Times on Wednesday defended the article as ‘rigorously reported,’ based on a review of confidential White House documents and dozens of interviews.”
–Michael M. Grynbaum and Eileen Sullivan, “Trump Attacks The Times, in a Week of Unease for the American Press,” The New York Times online, February 20, 2019