By Melanie Nathan, NOV 20, 2025.
THE MARY BRUCE FREEDOM– Mary Bruce did something profoundly simple and profoundly necessary: she asked the questions a democracy demands. In the Oval Office — the symbolic center of American power. She raised issues Trump wanted buried: Saudi entanglements, the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, and the still-concealed Epstein files. She wasn’t grandstanding; she was shining light. Trump’s reaction in mocking her, attacking her credibility, and calling for ABC News’ license to be revoked, revealed just how fragile power becomes when confronted by truth.
AP NEWS: The network’s chief White House correspondent was among reporters let into the Oval Office to question the president and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She asked Trump whether it was appropriate for his family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while he was president. Before he could answer, she directed a question to the Saudi leader: “Your Royal Highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.” After asking Bruce who she worked for, Trump called ABC “fake news” and defended his family’s business operations in Saudi Arabia. The president dismissed the U.S. intelligence findings that the prince likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi kingdom. He said “a lot of people didn’t like” Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and a Virginia resident.
At its core, this is a human-rights issue. Journalism is not just a democratic safeguard; it is a mechanism through which societies defend the rights and dignity of all people. When leaders try to silence reporters, they weaken public oversight, erode transparency, and create conditions where abuses of power can flourish unchecked. A free press exposes corruption, protects the vulnerable, challenges state violence, and documents violations that would otherwise be erased. In every modern human-rights framework — from the Universal Declaration to the ICCPR — freedom of expression and access to information are recognized as foundational rights because without them, every other right becomes vulnerable.And so the takeaway is unmistakable: this cannot be normalized. Journalists must continue to stand firm and ask the questions that power fears most. Media must meet Trump’s attacks with sharp language, clearer warnings, imbedded in exposure, and unapologetic truth-telling. When a political leader tries to intimidate the press, the press has a duty not to retreat but to push back and harder. The survival of democratic accountability and the protection of human rights depends on it.
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