MICHAEL SERAPIO (HOST): But Angelo, I need to bring you in here because you know about what it’s like to be intimidated by Donald Trump as a journalist?
ANGELO CARUSONE: That’s exactly right, and I do have a bit of a concern – I think it’s true, yes, there are criticisms of the media, that’s nothing new. There’s never been the linchpin of a campaign before in the way that it is with Donald Trump. And beyond that, I’m a little concerned about conflating criticisms of the media and whatever Hillary Clinton has acted toward the media with Donald Trump.
There is a fundamental difference there and that gets into the chilling effect. He has reporters and publications on his blacklist. He doesn’t let media entities into certain rallies because they’re on a blacklist. That is entirely unprecedented, and beyond that it’s the chilling effect from his threats of litigation. He’s been very explicit about getting out there and saying that he will sue companies and news outlets that are already struggling if he doesn’t like their coverage and that it's intention -- the intention is to punish them. That is -- that does have a chilling effect on the coverage, and I know that all too well.
When Donald Trump threatened to sue me for $25 million dollars for some advocacy that I was doing that he did not like, he threatened to sue me and then it took months to find coverage -- to find legal representation -- and it affected my actions because I mean I obviously have significantly less resources than Donald Trump and the idea that I could spend years embroiled in a sort of a frivolous litigation solely as a form of retribution is a very legitimate concern and consideration and that’s now something that many members of the media have to deal with if they’re able to get into his rallies given that he does in fact have official blacklists and I think that’s the real concern here. I think it’s fair to say that there is elements of -- that's always been the way but this is completely unprecedented and we shouldn’t allow a false equivalency like that to exist.
