Dear President Donald Trump,
The Press Club highly appreciates the political actions undertaken by the administration you are leading, and especially your firm commitment to defending democratic rights and, above all, the freedom of the press.
This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced your administration’s firm intention to sanction officials from countries that engage in censorship against American journalists. We welcome this decision, but we respectfully request that this protective measure be extended to include journalists from partner states as well—and we refer in particular to journalists from Romania.
In Romania, not only have a range of democratic rights related to the electoral process been suppressed, most notably through the abusive cancellation of two rounds of presidential elections, but also, and even more gravely, the right to freedom of expression has been targeted.
Several television channels and radio stations have been taken off the air, posts by respected journalists have been removed from social media, and the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) has issued huge fines to editorial offices and journalists—exclusively when they supported policies promoted by you and your team, particularly during the U.S. election and after your victory.
Just this week, after the press revealed that Nicolas Lerner, head of the French secret service, had been in Romania between the two presidential election rounds—shortly after Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, exposed that Lerner had attempted to enforce censorship on freedom of expression in Romania—the CNA received €20 million to acquire equipment and software needed to censor and restrict the press in real time.
The Romanian Press Club deeply appreciates that the United States of America currently offers real support and a safe framework for journalists and media organizations facing censorship and intimidation. The opportunity to submit petitions to independent international authorities, to report serious violations of freedom of expression and journalism irregularities, is a crucial and highly valuable initiative. This international openness provides an additional voice for our journalists, who are facing an increasingly hostile and opaque media environment.
Unfortunately, we must also point out that, domestically, our efforts to establish institutional dialogue with the leadership of the National Audiovisual Council, including requests for parliamentary committee debates, have been repeatedly denied or completely ignored, including by the governments in power until now. This refusal to engage has only deepened the climate of censorship and pressure on Romania’s independent media.
We respectfully urge you, Mr. President, to extend the protective umbrella of uncensored press freedom to include Romanian journalists as well.
The Honor Council Members of the Romanian Press Club
June 2, 2025
