On Monday evening, what began as a routine panel on CNN turned into a moment of sharp discomfort when progressive organizer and congressional contender Saikat Chakrabarti raised alarm about a controversial memo issued by the Donald Trump administration—and the network quickly shut down the conversation.
Chakrabarti, who is challenging Nancy Pelosi for her long‑held House seat, joined a panel alongside historian‑author Max Boot, journalist Batya Ungar‑Sargon, commentator and former White House aide Keith Boykin, and former Bush administration spokesman Pete Seat. The discussion, hosted by anchor Sara Sidner, covered immigration raids and Caribbean strike operations before Chakrabarti shifted the focus.
He pointed out that the memo—National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM‑7)—targets left‑wing and anti‑fascist organizations, mandates a “national strategy” to investigate and disrupt alleged networks that foment political violence, and raises constitutional red flags around free speech and executive power.
“Here’s what concerns me—Trump is saying, ‘I can define who’s a terrorist, and that means I can kill him.’ At the same time, we’re seeing executive orders defining whole parts of the Democratic Party as domestic terrorists,” Chakrabarti said. “Here we’re seeing NSPM‑7, which says any anti‑American or anti‑capitalist or anti‑Christian speech is extremist speech.”
He added: “A task force of 4,000 agents… being taken off of drug trafficking and human trafficking, and the actual crime, and being put on prosecuting those people who are saying anti‑capitalist things.”
Then came his direct question to the panel: “Do you think that’s okay? Can you put two and two together about what’s going on here?”
And that’s when the air went cold. The other panelists looked away. Seat stared blankly. Sidner laughed.
“We will answer that question, coming up,” Sidner said, chuckling. “We’re going to leave it there for that conversation.”
But when the cameras returned from commercial break, the question remained hanging—unanswered. The topic had shifted to Ukraine and Russia. The memo? Forgotten.
Online viewers were blunt in their reaction.
“What a crazy thing to go to break on,” tweeted @Wisco_Independent.
“Am I misunderstanding this, or is she laughing at the idea of NSPM‑7 existing, like it’s some kind of conspiracy theory?” questioned @RobertSecundus.
@FeralKitten222 pointed out bluntly, “Note that she wouldn’t allow the question to be answered.”
“Uncomfortable question: roll the ads,” remarked @kiefler_elf.
“And of course CNN has to ‘leave it there’. 🙄” quipped @Logically_Left.
“This gives Don’t Look Up vibes,” summed up @TonyDiMeo1370.
Legal analysts aren’t softly whispering concerns—they’re sounding alarms. One described the memo as “effectively claim[ing] to marshal the resources of the federal government to use force against political opposition.”
A group of over 3,000 nonprofits concurred, warning the directive could chill protected speech and reshape activism as a threat.
Meanwhile, more than thirty Democratic lawmakers have signed a letter condemning the directive as an affront to civil liberties.
If this episode reveals anything, it’s that a mainstream network was confronted with a question that crosses deeply into the territory of power, dissent and democracy—and chose to drop it rather than pursue it.
Chakrabarti asked if people could “put two and two together.” CNN, for its part, apparently couldn’t—or wouldn’t.
Watch the clip and more reactions below:
Pelosi primary challenger @saikatc raises NSPM-7 on CNN just now:
"NSPM-7, which says any anti-American or anti-capitalist or anti-Christian speech is extremist speech. We have a task force of 4,000 agents…being put on prosecuting those people who are saying anti-capitalist… pic.twitter.com/3lj26pRIQh
— Ken Klippenstein (NSPM-7 Compliant) (@kenklippenstein) October 21, 2025
