The United States government is taking another step in its attempt to control the information that reaches citizens. President Donald Trump wants to force public employees of some government agencies to sign confidentiality agreements in order to prevent leaks to journalists. The office that manages the Administration’s human resources published a draft on Tuesday according to which agencies that decide to adopt this agreement could pursue civil and criminal charges against those who violate the confidentiality agreement. The project would affect both those currently working for the federal Administration and those who do so in the future.
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Freedom of expression advocacy groups have already raised an outcry. “Efforts to stifle interactions between officials and journalists threaten the public’s access to information,” said Gabe Rottman, vice president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to journalists in the United States. Law firms representing officials believe this initiative could face difficulties moving forward for violating the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees, among other things, freedom of expression, considering that a public employee is protected if they express their opinion as a citizen.
The OPM, the office that manages the Administration’s personnel, defended the decision instead. “In much of the private sector, employees who handle sensitive information are routinely required to sign confidentiality agreements. The federal government should not be held to a lower standard,” said Scott Kupor, director of the OPM, in a statement.
Other attacks on the media
This is not an isolated measure. Since Trump returned to the White House last January, he and members of his government have filed lawsuits against major media outlets worth tens of billions of dollars arguing that their reports were harmful to Republican Party leaders. The president systematically labels as “fake news” the media whose coverage he dislikes. Last year, after the Associated Press announced it would continue using the name Gulf of Mexico — and not America, as Trump wants — the White House announced that the agency would no longer have access to spaces such as the Oval Office or the presidential plane, the Air Force One.
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Furthermore, the president does not hide his joy when he silences a critical voice. It happened once again last week. As soon as the last show of showman Stephen Colbert ended, who had been dropped from CBS’s lineup after criticizing the channel’s approach to the president, Trump posted several messages on social media celebrating the end of Colbert’s late night. He even posted an AI-generated video in which the leader of the world’s foremost power grabs the TV host from behind and throws him into a dumpster. Afterwards, Trump starts doing his characteristic dance.
According to the known draft, people who had worked as public employees would need, once they had left their positions, “written permission from an authorized official agency” to speak with journalists about information that the Trump government considers “confidential.” Former public employees who violated this rule would face civil and criminal charges. Additionally, the government would be entitled to any benefits employees obtained by disclosing information that breaches the agreement.
The Department of Defense, led by Pete Hegseth, has already made decisions in this regard. The Pentagon has requested several officials to sign these confidentiality agreements, especially those involved in military operations promoted by the president in Latin America.