Trump, Noem confirm DOJ is looking at prosecuting CNN for obstructing justice

CNN could be facing prosecution as President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the network out over a report that allegedly aided with “obstructing justice.”

Neither corporate media bias nor gaslighting appears to have been tempered by Trump’s resounding victory in November, and many examples suggest those behaviors have only worsened. A particular instance of CNN reporting on an app for tracking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations has the administration calling for legal action against the network.

Tuesday, Noem joined the President and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on a tour of the new immigration detention facility dubbed Alligator Alcatraz when they were asked about the report.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that, because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities — operations,” responded the secretary before invoking Attorney General Pam Bondi. “And we’re gonna actually go after them and prosecute them with the partnership of Pam if we can, because what they’re doing we believe is illegal.”

.@Sec_Noem on CNN coverage of an app that tracks ICE agents location: “We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that. What they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement…” pic.twitter.com/Tc1GorgdQr

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 1, 2025

The president reminded that CNN may have already crossed a line after reporting on an illegally leaked assessment of Operation Midnight Hammer’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and said, “And they may be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran. They were given totally false reports. It was totally obliterated. And our people have to be celebrated, not come home and say, ‘What do you mean we didn’t hit the target?’ We hit the target quickly.”

“What they did there,” he said of CNN’s reporting, “we think, is totally illegal.”

Before having Noem weigh in further on the issue Tuesday evening, Fox News host Sean Hannity shared a clip of the report that the secretary had also shared on X, where CNN writer Clare Duffy explained, “I talked with Joshua Aaron, the longtime tech worker who developed this platform. And he said he wants it to be an early warning system for people about the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.”

“So, he says he does not want people interfering with those officers’ activity, but he does want people to be able to avoid them altogether if they want,” she reported before detailing the app’s operation. “You open the app, it looks like a map, and users can tap the map to report an ICE sighting in their area, and then everybody who uses the platform within five miles of that sighting will get a push alert. This is a free iPhone app. It is anonymous. Aaron says he doesn’t collect any user data.”

This sure looks like obstruction of justice. Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them.

If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. pic.twitter.com/4ZcfrpyRV1

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 30, 2025

“Are they not aiding and abetting in their law-breaking? Are they not responsible for obstructing justice?” asked Hannity of the secretary, who went on to decry the reporting amid as much as a 700% increase in assaults on ICE agents in the last year.

“Yes, absolutely. I believe, in my opinion, that they are, and that’s why I’m so thrilled that Pam is willing to be proactive and go after those individuals that would perpetuate that kind of activity against our law enforcement officers,” said Noem. “And to have someone like CNN openly describing how to use technology to reveal the activities and the operations that these law enforcement folks are trying to conduct, it’s shameful and it could be prosecutable. So, I’m glad Pam is looking into it.”

Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers are facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them.

If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, this administration will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. pic.twitter.com/VeeoeyP1Ze

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) July 2, 2025

Before recent reporting from CNN landed the network in hot water, other outlets were accused of taking their alleged biases too far. In addition to the “60 Minutes” edit of its pre-election interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, CBS News has been accused of “helping” the anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies by seemingly promoting sales of merchandise ahead of the nationwide protests.

CNN’s own Kaitlan Collins faced backlash when she similarly reported on the launch of a website by UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged killer’s legal defense that included a crowdfunding campaign. Collins later deleted the post and argued in part, “I posted that his attorneys created a website, which is newsworthy and other outlets have also reported on. In no way did I share a fundraising link for him.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission launched a probe in February on KCBS over the Jan. 26, 2025, broadcast of “KCBS Radio Weekend News,” during which host Bret Burkhart was said to have provided specific details about the whereabouts of undercover ICE agents and the unmarked vehicles they were using during an operation.

In response to the allegations from the administration, CNN said in a statement, “This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.”