Press freedom groups that blasted Trump turn fire on Dem governor over alleged media retaliation

A coalition of prominent press freedom organizations that have blasted President Donald Trump's treatment of journalists is now accusing Democratic Maryland Gov.

Wes Moore, a Trump critic himself, of retaliating against news outlets scrutinizing his administration.

The accusations came in an Oct.

13 letter from the Freedom of the Press Foundation and six other journalism and civil liberties organizations.

The groups raised concerns about the Moore administration's decision to subject even routine inquiries from reporters at Sinclair-affiliated news outlets and The Baltimore Sun to additional legal review.

The additional review came amid a defamation lawsuit filed against Moore by David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group and majority owner of The Baltimore Sun.

Maryland agencies have explicitly cited Smith's lawsuit in written responses to reporters, informing journalists at Sinclair-affiliated outlets that their inquiries would be referred to legal counsel before receiving a response.

Moore himself has previously criticized Trump's treatment of journalists.

During a Sept.

20 appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," the Maryland governor condemned the president's decision to bar reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing Trump of treating the Constitution "like it is a suggestion box simply because he does not like the coverage." WHITE HOUSE WON'T BACK DOWN AS ATTORNEY PREDICTS HOW TRUMP'S LATEST PRESS TUSSLE WILL PLAY OUT IN COURT "It's particularly offensive that Moore seeks to boost his national profile by slamming the Trump administration's unconstitutional attempts to ban disfavored media outlets from the White House when he's engaged in such similar antics himself," Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement accompanying the letter.

The press freedom groups that joined in condemning Moore, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and the Society of Professional Journalists, argued that journalists should not face different treatment from government officials because of a dispute involving their outlets' ownership, drawing a comparison to the Trump administration's restrictions on certain White House reporters.

Moore's office strongly disputed the allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, insisting that reporters have continued receiving responses from state agencies despite the additional legal scrutiny.

BALTIMORE SUN OWNER THREATENS MD GOV WES MOORE WITH LAWSUIT OVER WHAT HE CALLS A DEFAMATORY EPSTEIN LINK "The central premise of this letter is completely false.