Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, sounded a stark warning on Sunday, September 21, 2025, declaring that the United States is facing "one of the most dangerous moments America has ever faced." His comments, delivered during an interview on ABC News' "This Week," were a direct response to recent actions and statements by President Donald Trump, which Murphy and others allege amount to an unprecedented use of federal power against political opponents.
At the heart of the controversy are a series of Truth Social posts by President Trump over the weekend, in which he appeared to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to take legal action against high-profile political adversaries. Trump specifically named former FBI Director James Comey, California Senator Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, writing, "They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump further defended Bondi, insisting she was "doing a GREAT job" amid mounting criticism over her handling of politically sensitive cases.
These posts came just days after the resignation of federal prosecutor Erik Siebert, who stepped down amid administration pressure to bring charges against Letitia James. The investigation, which centered on alleged paperwork discrepancies related to James' properties in Brooklyn and Virginia, was characterized by James' lawyers as an act of political revenge, according to The Washington Post. Comey, too, was investigated but ultimately not charged by the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Senator Murphy did not mince words in his assessment of the situation. "The president of the United States is now employing the full power of the federal government, the FCC, the Department of Justice, in order to punish, lock up, take down off the air all of his political enemies," Murphy asserted on ABC. Drawing comparisons to authoritarian regimes, he continued, "As you know, this is what happens in Iran. This is what happens in Cuba. This is what happens in China, in deeply repressive states in which if you have the courage to stand up and speak truth to power, you are silenced. I mean, there is no more fundamental right in America than the right to protest your government."
Murphy's concerns extended beyond the Justice Department. He highlighted recent threats by President Trump to have the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reexamine broadcasting licenses for television networks critical of his administration. This, Murphy argued, is an effort to use government power to silence critics, a tactic he described as "actually illegal" under Supreme Court precedent. "Listen, every single president, every single politician has drawn issue with something that a media figure has said and may use the power of persuasion to try to get them to change what they say. That's very different than using the power of government in a coercive way that's actually illegal. The Supreme Court has said, no, you cannot use the regulatory power of the government to say to a broadcaster, if you don't say what I want you to say, as the president, United States, there will be a official legal consequence that's illegal," Murphy explained, as reported by ABC Audio.
Murphy also addressed the recent preemption of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" by ABC and Nexstar, which he said occurred "in the context of a threat from the FCC." He argued that this was not a simple case of private companies making independent decisions, but rather an example of federal regulators using their authority to coerce media outlets into silencing dissenting voices. "This is a federal regulator who is using the power of government to coerce, both Nexstar and ABC, to take Jimmy Kimmel down off the air," Murphy said. "That's the fundamental difference here."
Within the Republican Party, reactions have been mixed. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, publicly condemned the idea of jailing or silencing political enemies, calling it "unconstitutional and deeply immoral." Cruz warned that if such practices became normalized, "it will come back and boomerang on conservatives and Republicans at some point." Cruz also weighed in on the Kimmel controversy, stating, "If the government gets in the business of saying, 'We don't like what you, the media have said, we're going to ban you from the airwaves if you don't say what we like,' that will end up bad for conservatives." Murphy praised Cruz for his stance and urged other Republicans to follow suit, stating, "This is a decisive moment for the country. It is a decisive moment for Republicans who have to decide to preserve this core fundamental American value: The freedom of speech."
Murphy called on his GOP colleagues in Congress to take a stand. "Next week, we need every Republican in the Senate, in the House, not only speaking up, but going to Donald Trump and telling him that they are not going to let him get away with this massive, new contraction of speech," Murphy told ABC News. He emphasized that defending the freedom of speech is a "core, fundamental American value."
In response to mounting criticism, the White House pushed back. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek that "the President wants justice and accountability for the many corrupt criminals and politicians who weaponized our justice system against him and his millions of patriotic supporters," adding that Trump "appreciates all Attorney General Bondi is doing to Make America Safe Again." Trump himself has insisted that his administration is not seeking to restrict free speech, but rather to address what he describes as unfair treatment by the press.
Murphy, however, remains unconvinced. He recently introduced the "No Political Enemies Act," which he said would create "a specific legal defense for those targeted for political reasons." When asked if such legislation was necessary given the protections of the First Amendment, Murphy argued that the current legal system is "increasingly getting rigged against those who are daring to speak up against the president," and that his bill would "simply make it easier for you to raise First Amendment defenses in court."
Murphy also commented on the recent firing of a U.S. attorney in Virginia, who had concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing by New York's attorney general. Murphy implied that political loyalty, rather than facts, was driving the administration's actions: "Donald Trump, because he doesn't care about the facts, all he cares about is the threat of imprisonment for his political enemies so that it suppresses the speech of other people who might speak up, is now going to put his own political loyalists in charge of that investigation."
Amid these escalating tensions, the country continues to grapple with fundamental questions about the balance of power, the role of government, and the sanctity of free speech. As Murphy put it, "There is no more fundamental right in America than the right to protest your government." The coming weeks promise to test just how deeply that right is embedded in the nation's political fabric.
