The White House revoked the press pass of and
defamed CNN’s Jim Acosta, falsely accusing him of putting his hands on
an intern. Press secretary Sarah Sanders accused Acosta of “placing his
hands” on the intern. In fact, video shows conclusively that the woman tried to grab the microphone from his hands, and he held onto it:
Slowed down the @Acosta
encounter to show the FOUR times the White House staffer touched HIM...
not the other way around. Unclear if she's been suspended. pic.twitter.com/gBhlR2r5P1
President Trump’s conduct (Sanders surely didn’t do
this on her own) violates every democratic norm one can think of — and
what’s more, is illegal.
The First Amendment
protects the press’s right to report the news and the public’s right to
receive that news. The government cannot punish or threaten the press or
individuals based on the content of what is reported. In fact, in a
public forum, which Twitter was deemed to be, a federal court already
ordered Trump to unblock Twitter users who were critical of him.
There is actually a lawsuit pending alleging that Trump is violating the First Amendment
of members of the press by using the powers of his office to curtail
criticism. As I reported last month, “PEN’s lawsuit is not brought on
behalf of those whom Trump threatened (e.g., The Post, Time Warner).
Instead, it alleges: ‘Defendant’s use of the power and machinery of
government to punish his media critics creates an atmosphere in which
journalists must work under the threat of government retaliation. This
environment, underscored by Defendant Trump’s campaign of
intimidation against critical reporting, casts a chill on speech that —
even if braved and overcome by diligent and courageous reporters —
constitutes an ongoing First Amendment violation.'”
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