Donald Trump vows crackdown on use of ‘anonymous sources’ by media, authors as new tell-all book releases

1. Donald Trump vows crackdown on use of ‘anonymous sources’ by media, authors as new tell-all book releases

Donald Trump vows crackdown on use of ‘anonymous sources’ by media, authors as new tell-all book releases ByHT News Desk Feb 26, 2025 07:36 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Trump's comments come amid the release of a new book by American journalist Michael Wolff titled, “All Or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America”

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to sue authors and news organisations that rely on anonymous sources of information. He also indicated creating a “nice new law” towards that purpose.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a hat after signing an executive order in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. February 25, 2025.(Reuters)

Trump's comments come amid the release of a new book by American journalist Michael Wolff titled, “All Or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America”. The author is known for his 2018 bestseller on the Republican's first term as US President titled, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House”.

Euronews quoted the latest book's publisher Crown saying the work covered 18 months of Trump's presidential campaign to secure a second term. “All or Nothing is Wolff’s panoramic and intimate picture of that battle… from indictments, to trials, to assassination attempts, to the humiliation and defenestration of a sitting president, to Trump’s staggering victory,” the report said.

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Trump suggested that the new book was a retaliation for being credited as a president who gave the “best opening month” of any US leader in history.

“Quite naturally, here come the Fake books and stories with the so-called “anonymous,” or “off the record,” quotes. At some point I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general, to find out whether or not these “anonymous sources” even exist, which they largely do not,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The US president alleged that Wolff’s latest work was a “defamatory fiction” and said that “a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty”.

“I’ll do it as a service to our Country. Who knows, maybe we will create some NICE NEW LAW!!!,” Trump added.

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The White House on Tuesday said it will “pick and choose” reporters who will be allowed to cover Trump's presidential events in select locations like the Oval Office and Air Force One.

The decision comes after a federal court in Columbia declined relief to the Associated Press, which sought a temporary restraint on the White House's decision to restrict the news agency's access to Trump's presidential events.

The case stems from the agency's refusal to alter “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” in its stylesheet after Trump's executive order.

However, US District Judge Trevor McFadden warned the government that case law suggested that AP could prevail on their content-based discrimination argument.