Hundreds of publishing professionals sign open letter against book deals for former Trump officials

Hundreds of publishing professionals sign open letter against book deals for former Trump officials
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Hundreds of publishing industry professionals, including some university professors, have signed an open letter calling on the industry to refuse to publish books from anyone affiliated with former President Donald Trump’s administration. 

First reported on Campus Reform, more than 570 publishing professionals have now signed a letter claiming “our country is where it is in part because publishing has chased the money and notoriety of some pretty sketchy people.”

The letter was drafted following efforts to stop Sen. Josh Hawley, who opposed the certification of the presidential election results for now-President Joe Biden, from publishing a forthcoming book about the dangers of Big Tech. Following complaints to Simon and Schuster, the publisher dropped the book, which was later picked up by the conservative outlet Regnery Publishing.

The letter was signed by numerous authors, editors and others in the publishing industry who argue that Trump and his presidential administration committed crimes against the American public. They argue that those who worked for Trump should not be allowed to profit from their supposed wrongdoings. 

“As members of the writing and publishing community of the United States, we affirm that participation in the administration of Donald Trump must be considered a uniquely mitigating criterion for publishing houses when considering book deals,” the letter states.

“Consequently, we believe: No participant in an administration that caged children, performed involuntary surgeries on captive women, and scoffed at science as millions were infected with a deadly virus should be enriched by the almost rote largesse of a big book deal. And no one who incited, suborned, instigated, or otherwise supported the January 6, 2021 coup attempt should have their philosophies remunerated and disseminated through our beloved publishing houses,” the letter adds.

The open letter invokes the so-called ‘Son of Sam’ laws, which were implemented in the 1970s to prevent notorious serial killer David Berkowitz from profiting off of selling the story of his grisly murders. A number of states have passed similar laws to stop criminals from profiting off their crimes, but were forced to revise them after they were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1991, reports the Daily Wire.

“‘Son of Sam’ laws exist to prevent criminals from benefiting financially from writing about their crimes. In that spirit, those who enabled, promulgated, and covered up crimes against the American people should not be enriched through the coffers of publishing,” state the letter’s authors. “We are writers, editors, journalists, agents, and professionals in multiple forms of publishing. We believe in the power of words and we are tired of the industry we love enriching the monsters among us, and we will do whatever is in our power to stop it.”

Efforts to penalize members of the Trump administration, and other allies of the former president, have only ramped up following the inauguration of President Biden. A group of Harvard students have also created a petition to revoke the degrees of Trump allies including Sen. Ted Cruz and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

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