As the second year of President Donald Trump’s second term began, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem continued taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting her efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.
Read about Noem’s efforts in 2025 to chill coverage here, and how Trump’s other appointees and allies in Congress are striving to intimidate reporters, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more here.
This article was first published on Feb. 17, 2026.
Feb. 4, 2026 | DHS secretary name-checks reporter in announcement of leak prosecution
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced via social media on Feb. 4, 2026, that her office had identified another alleged leaker, claiming the employee had been sharing information with Daily Mail senior reporter Shawn Cohen.
“We just caught another prolific leaker putting our @DHSgov law enforcement at risk as they already face 8,000% increase in death threats against them,” Noem wrote, adding that she plans to refer the individual to the Justice Department for prosecution. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
In 2025, Noem oversaw the unprecedented polygraphing of department employees as part of her efforts to clamp down on leaks, questioning them about whether they’ve been sharing unapproved information with the media, even if unclassified.
The identity of the alleged leaker has not been made public as of publication.
Cohen declined to comment when reached by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database | Radio Free (2026-02-17T16:57:14+00:00) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem targets press, leakers. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/02/17/homeland-security-secretary-kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers/
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