donal brown

A federal district judge ordered the Trump administration to produce e-mails from the short-lived commission created to expose voter fraud. The judge rejected the government argument that they were only required under the Freedom of Information Act to search commission records and not private e-mail accounts. “In an environment of widespread use of personal devices for official work,” wrote the judge,  “there is danger of an incentive to shunt critical and sensitive communication away from official channels

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is contesting a Los Angeles law requiring companies contracting with the city to reveal any ties to the NRA. The lawsuit includes a John Doe with a city contract fearful of losing it.  The city council claims citizens should know if their taxes are going to companies with ties to the NRA since the NRA blocks sensible gun safety reform. (Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2019, by Dakota Smith) The

The Trump administration is providing the public a tool to report political bias in the social media. The tool is its response to bans of extreme voices on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Users are asked to post screenshots of political bias and to explain what happened to their social media account and if a particular post was singled out. An industry spokesperson said internet companies respect the political views of their viewers and have no

In yet another hostile move against the press, the Trump administration instituted a new rule restricting press access to the White House. The rule requires journalists to be at the White House for at least 90 days in a 180-day period to receive a “hard pass” that allows them to enter White House ground without asking for permission each time. No member of the press met that requirement. Reporters can apply for exceptions, but some

CNN may lose its bid in the California Supreme Court to use the state’s anti-SLAPP law to block a black ex-producer’s discrimination lawsuit. The anti-SLAPP law protects free speech from lawsuits when public interest is at stake. Justice Carol Corrigan questioned whether the court had to choose between First Amendment freedoms and blocking plaintiffs from bringing discrimination lawsuits. CNN argued that editorial decisions including hiring and assignments qualify as contributing to public speech under the