Filtering
Week: Week 79 ×
Attack target: Public Norms & Decency ×
Trait: Journalists investigating the elite are surveilled or smeared ×
Clear all
☆ Save this search
Tier 1 carried by a primary record
Corroborated 2+ independent news desks
Every result is verified and democracy-related.
Open an event to see its evidence. Attack and trait tags link to their definitions
Jul 24, 2026 President Trump defended subpoenaing journalists' family members as an investigative tactic used by prior administrations Tier 1 · Primary Information, Memory and Manipulation
The president publicly justified targeting reporters' relatives for information, threatening press freedom and journalist safety.
Independently corroborated by2 independent news desks
Supporting reportingSurfacings — do not carry alone
Supporting reports
- Trump defended subpoenaing family members of journalists — When asked whether it is appropriate to subpoena family members of journalists to obtain information, Trump stated he did not know what was appropriate and claimed that Barack Obama did it "all the time," asserting a double standard in how his actions are treated compared to his predecessor's.
Verified: Tier 1 primary record
Week 79 – 2026-07-18–2026-07-24
wk79_IM_014