The president and homeland security secretary allege that CNN’s reporting is harmful to law enforcement. Trump also criticizes its coverage of the Iran strikes.
President Donald Trump on July 1 suggested that CNN should face possible prosecution both for reporting on a mobile app that alerts users to sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and for publishing a leaked intelligence assessment about U.S. military strikes in Iran—a stance echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said she is working with the Justice Department to explore legal action against the network.
Trump and Noem made their comments during a visit to a detention center for illegal immigrants in Ochopee, Florida, where they were asked by reporters about border czar Tom Homan’s recent remarks suggesting CNN should potentially face prosecution for its coverage of the app.
“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities operations and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them,” Noem said. “What they’re doing, we believe, is illegal.”
When asked about Homan’s call for prosecuting CNN, the president said: “OK with me.”
CNN’s reporting on the app—which allows people to anonymously report ICE agent sightings—described its creator, Joshua Aaron, as a veteran tech developer who launched the app in April in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Aaron told CNN that the app—called ICEBlock—is designed to help users steer clear of ICE, not to interfere with law enforcement operations.
Homan, during a recent appearance on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s internet show, criticized CNN for covering the new app, calling it “disgusting.”
“I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys,” he said. “It’s already a dangerous job.”
Beyond objecting to the reporting itself, Homan suggested that CNN was complicit in putting federal law enforcement officers at risk.
“This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations,” he said. “I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line.”
By Tom Ozimek
