All 9 Justices against MAGA censorship — if ABC defends Kimmel: 1st Amendment
Judge tosses Trump's $15B defamation suit against New York Times, Penguin Random House calling the complaint “decidedly improper and impermissible.”
President Trump is using his government power against comics, critics and reporters. MSNBC’s Ari Melber, a First Amendment attorney, breaks down Trump’s censorship crackdown in this special report. (Subscribe to Ari’s YouTube now: / arimelber)
Senator Jerry Moran, “We should all be very cautious...we better be very careful about any lines we cross in diminishing free speech.”
Even Ted Cruz condemned Trump and the corrupt FCC for their “unbelievably dangerous” assault upon the First Amendment in censoring Jimmy Kimmel.
SCOTUS unanimous decision National Riffle Association of America v. Maria T. Vullo, docket: 22-842, 602 U.S. 175 (May 30, 2024), Sotomayor wrote the opinion joined by all (with concurrences by Gorsuch and Jackson): “Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors.”
The Court explained that the First Amendment prohibits government officials from relying on the “threat of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercion...to achieve the suppression” of disfavored speech. Thus, even Trump and the FCC Chairman merely threatening to pull television station licenses without actually going through with these threats is still an unconstitutional crime!
The Associated Press described Trump's moves against media outlets as “mirror authoritarian approaches to silencing dissent.”
Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century 1. Do not obey in advance.
Thousands of people have cancelled their Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN subscriptions as well as trips to Disney's theme parks and cruise lines. Bob Iger is under mounting pressure to put Kimmel back on the air.
The New York Times Editorial Board: The Trump Administration's Chilling Efforts to Punish Free Speech “The ability to disagree with other people on raw, difficult issues, without fear of repression, is the essence of American freedom.”
