III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 691 

Reaffirming the centrality of press freedom and freedom of expression to 

democracy in the United States and to international peace and stability. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2018 

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 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the centrality of press freedom and freedom 

of expression to democracy in the United States and 

to international peace and stability. 

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 


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•SRES 691 IS 

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 factbased 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Whereas the White House has withdrawn the press credentials of CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta in clear 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; 


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•SRES 691 IS 

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; 


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•SRES 691 IS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the central role that independent 

3 and professional journalism plays in— 

4 (A) strengthening democratic governance; 

5 (B) upholding the rule of law; 

6 (C) mitigating conflict; and 

7 (D) informing public opinion in the United 

8 States and around the world; 

9 (2) condemns the consistent use by President 

10 Trump of rhetoric meant to celebrate and publicize 

11 acts of violence and aggression against the press; 

12 (3) concurs with the statement of CNN that the 

13 withdrawal of press credentials from Jim Acosta is 


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•SRES 691 IS 

1 ‘‘a threat to our democracy and the country deserves 

2 better’’; 

3 (4) supports an independent and impartial in4 vestigation by the United Nations Secretary-General 

5 into the death of Jamal Khashoggi, with the full co6 operation of the United States Government; and 

7 (5) expresses support for and solidarity with 

8 independent journalists around the globe working— 

9 (A) to expose uncomfortable truths; 

10 (B) to shine a light on systemic corruption; 

11 and 

12 (C) to provide accountability in societies 

13 yearning for democracy and development. 

Æ 


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