Politics
NEW: Trump Administration Announces Investigation Into CNN
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that authorities will be launching an investigation into CNN after the network appeared to promote a smartphone app that lets users report activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so that others may avoid its agents.
The network’s segment occurred on Monday when correspondent Clare Duffy explained how a tech entrepreneur cheekily wished to “alert” users about ICE without interfering with the immigration agency’s activities.
A brief interview with founder Joshua Aaron sparked buzz across the executive branch within hours as U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House border czar Tom Homan, and Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller all laid into the network for “openly helping invaders and insurrectionists sabotage ICE.”
Noem, appearing with Trump on Tuesday, confirmed that the DHS is investigating the legality of the anti-ICE app.
“Good idea,” Trump appeared to say after a reporter asked Noem if she agreed with Homan that CNN should be “prosecuted” for its story.
“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… if we can, because we believe what they’re doing is illegal,” Noem added.
President Trump was keen to remind the reporter that he still believes CNN produced a “false report” suggesting his bombing of Iran did not significantly hamper the country’s nuclear enrichment program.
“They were giving totally false reports,” he asserted. “They may very well be prosecuted for that.”
Illegal immigration has emerged as a flashpoint between the Trump administration and news outlets like CNN that regularly offer glowing coverage of suspected illegal immigrants arrested by ICE. The network was one among countless to suggest that “Maryland man” Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an otherwise innocent, hardworking illegal immigrant before his prosecution on human trafficking charges.
So, too, has CNN’s exclusive report on Iran been a source of consternation for the president. At a NATO summit last week, he singled out correspondent Kaitlan Collins, asking her in front of a packed auditorium why she and her network “disrespected” American troops with their reporting.
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Other members of Trump’s inner circle signaled their intent to explore every legal option to shut down the app, which allows individuals to report the locations of ICE agents so that other users within a 5-mile radius can stay away.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that her office is considering whether to file charges against Aaron, the app’s founder.
“Our ICE agents, all of our federal agents who are working hand in hand on these task force[s] — our federal agents from the Justice Department could be injured,” Bondi said Monday on “Hannity.”
“He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that’s not protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country.”