'He's talking about criminalizing it!' Trump's DOJ attack on media stuns CNN's Jake Tapper

CNN host Jake Tapper was aghast Friday after listening to President Donald Trump's speech at the Department of Justice.

Tapper called Trump's lengthy rant a "norm-shattering speech," noting that it was "one of the most political speeches given there by a U.S. president."

Trump said he wanted to "turn the page" after four years of President Joe Biden weaponizing the law and the Justice Department against him.

In Trump's new era, Tapper said, "he apparently wants to weaponize the Justice Department against the news media and perceived political opponents."

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At one point in the speech, the host noted that Trump turned toward Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to "give them marching orders."

According to Trump, that will be a "far-reaching investigation" into "the corruption system."

"We will expel the rogue actors and corrupt forces from our government," Trump said.

Tapper noted that Trump's list includes "prosecuting those in the news media who do not cover him glowingly."

Trump specifically named CNN and MSNBC, which he called arms of the Democratic Party. He claimed that they are "corrupt and they're illegal. What they do is illegal."

At another point in the speech, Trump said that the "networks and newspapers" were "no different than a highly paid political operative." He alleged that the coverage is even changing the law "and it just cannot be legal."

Tapper questioned, "Is the president suggesting that it should be a crime for the news media to report accurately that he lost the 2020 election?"

Tapper said the idea that these reporters are committing crimes came "with no evidence and no truth to what he's saying. "

"This is all a piece, of course, in his view of the Justice Department. It started hours after his inauguration when the president pardoned or commuted the sentences of every single rioter who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. Nearly 1,600 of them."

This indicated to Tapper that Trump "doesn't seem opposed to the weaponization of the Justice Department. He seems to be objecting to someone else wielding that weapon. Now he has it and no one knows for whom he's coming next."

Tapper acknowledged to his panel of guests that while media bias exists, he scoffed at the notion he's a "pawn" of the Democratic National Committee. He stressed he's brought on Trump administration officials each day this week.

"Beyond that though, he's talking about criminalizing it! This isn't — if it was a grievance session about the media, have at it. By the way, Joe Biden did that too. But this was something else. This was talking about criminalizing it," he said.

See Tapper's comments below or at the link here.

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