[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 181 (Thursday, November 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 691--REAFFIRMING THE CENTRALITY OF PRESS FREEDOM AND 
    FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION TO DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED STATES AND TO 
                   INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY

  Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, 
Mr. Wyden, and Ms. Smith) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 691

       Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States enshrines press freedom as a foundational 
     element of the democracy of the United States when it 
     declares, ``Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the 
     freedom of speech, or of the press'';
       Whereas Thomas Jefferson famously and wisely wrote in 1787, 
     ``were it left to me to decide whether we should have a 
     government without newspapers or newspapers without a 
     government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the 
     latter'', underscoring the enduring importance of independent 
     and professional journalism as a check on government 
     authority in every society;
       Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, adopted December 10, 1948, by 
     the United Nations General Assembly, enshrines press freedom 
     as a vital aspect of universal human rights;
       Whereas the use of threatening rhetoric by President Donald 
     J. Trump, including false declarations that the media are 
     ``the enemy of the American people'', and the repeated 
     disparagements of specific journalists and outlets by 
     President Trump have undermined public trust in fact-based 
     journalism;
       Whereas, on November 7, 2018, in the first press conference 
     by President Trump after the 2018 elections, President Trump 
     accused Yamiche Alcindor of PBS Newshour of asking a ``racist 
     question'' when Yamiche Alcindor asked about the support that 
     the President receives from white nationalists;
       Whereas the White House has withdrawn the press credentials 
     of CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta in clear retaliation 
     for questioning of the President by Jim Acosta;
       Whereas White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders 
     falsely claimed, and distributed a doctored video purporting 
     to show, that Jim Acosta placed ``his hands on a young 
     woman'' as the basis for the withdrawal of press credentials 
     from Jim Acosta;
       Whereas, on November 9, 2018, President Trump threatened to 
     revoke the press credentials of other journalists as well;
       Whereas, on October 18, 2018, President Trump praised 
     Congressman Greg Gianforte for the misdemeanor assault 
     charges to which the Congressman pled guilty for physically 
     assaulting a reporter on the eve of a special election in 
     2017;
       Whereas independent survey research has recently found that 
     the trust of the people of the United States in professional 
     media outlets remains strong despite repeated attacks by the 
     President;
       Whereas the respected nonprofit organization Committee to 
     Protect Journalism reports that, as of November 15, 2018, 45 
     journalists have been killed around the globe in 2018 while 
     doing their jobs;
       Whereas Myanmar journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, while 
     working for Reuters, a highly reputable worldwide news 
     gathering organization, were unjustly convicted and sentenced 
     to 7 years of imprisonment for their reporting on the August 
     2017 campaign by Burmese security forces to assault, kill, 
     rape, and burn the villages of the Rohingya people and to 
     force the Rohingya people to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh, 
     which led approximately 700,000 Rohingya people to flee their 
     homeland;
       Whereas more and more leaders in other countries are 
     emulating attacks that President Trump has made on 
     professional journalism and investigative journalism, leading 
     to corruption and repression;
       Whereas credible reports indicate that Saudi Arabia 
     targeted Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi because of 
     his critiques of the Government of Saudi Arabia and his push 
     for a free press in the Middle East;
       Whereas credible reports indicate that agents of Saudi 
     Arabia brutally tortured and killed Jamal Khashoggi within 
     the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul when he came to pick 
     up a legal document necessary for his planned marriage;
       Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has engaged in a 
     series of brazen lies and attempted cover-ups of the murder 
     of Jamal Khashoggi; and
       Whereas the public statements of President Trump have led 
     many people to conclude that President Trump does not intend 
     to hold senior Saudi Arabian officials accountable or to 
     demand an independent and impartial investigation into the 
     brutal death of Jamal Khashoggi: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) reaffirms the central role that independent and 
     professional journalism plays in--
       (A) strengthening democratic governance;
       (B) upholding the rule of law;
       (C) mitigating conflict; and
       (D) informing public opinion in the United States and 
     around the world;
       (2) condemns the consistent use by President Trump of 
     rhetoric meant to celebrate and publicize acts of violence 
     and aggression against the press;
       (3) concurs with the statement of CNN that the withdrawal 
     of press credentials from Jim Acosta is ``a threat to our 
     democracy and the country deserves better'';
       (4) supports an independent and impartial investigation by 
     the United Nations Secretary-General into the death of Jamal 
     Khashoggi, with the full cooperation of the United States 
     Government; and
       (5) expresses support for and solidarity with independent 
     journalists around the globe working--
       (A) to expose uncomfortable truths;
       (B) to shine a light on systemic corruption; and
       (C) to provide accountability in societies yearning for 
     democracy and development.

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