David McCraw, a lawyer who represents The New York Times, spoke in Tucson Feb. 13, 2017.
Americans should recognize that press freedom is a nonpartisan issue, a lawyer for The New York Times told an audience in Tucson Monday.
“I think we need to redefine the American consensus, left and right and center, that says the free press is important, no matter where we are in the political spectrum," David E. McCraw told students, news media members and the public at the University of Arizona College of Law.
McCraw said that while President Donald Trump clashes with the media almost daily, there’s always tension between government and the press. He said the government’s desire for secrecy conflicts with the news media’s desire to keep government transparent.
“I think of myself primarily as a transparency lawyer," McCraw said. "Most of what I do involves freedom of information. I sued the Obama administration 27 times, more than anybody else in the country, to get information. And that's what I really think about myself, that I'm about transparency."
After Trump demanded a retraction and threatened to sue the Times for libel in October over a story quoting two women as saying Trump groped them, McCraw wrote back to Trump's lawyer on behalf of the Times, saying:
"We did what the law allows: We published newsworthy information about a subject of deep public concern. If Mr. Trump disagrees, if he believes that American citizens had no right to hear what these women had to say and that the law of this country forces us and those who would dare to criticize him to stand silent or be punished, we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight."
The Times did not retract the story and Trump, to date, has not sued over the story.
McCraw's letter went viral in social media, with more than 1 million views.
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