First Amendment News

Invoking separation of powers and executive privilege, President Donald Trump defied a bipartisan request from a group of senators to identify who was responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and consider retribution by way of sanctions. The administration said they were continuing to investigate the killing and consult with Congress. (Politico, February 8, 2019, by Rebecca Morin with contributions by Ben Schreckinger) The Trump administration is pressuring the Saudi Arabia government

The House Armed Services Committee chair requested full transparency on plans to send more U.S. troops to the southern border. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington was unhappy with the Pentagon’s answers to questions about the troops already there and any increase in troop levels. (The Hill, January 31, 2019, by Ellen Mitchell) Smith criticized acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan for his failure to provide full transparency during a hearing especially on the number of

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took the occasion of a defamation case against comedian Bill Cosby to call for a revisit of  the key free press decision, New York Times v. Sullivan. Thomas may be reacting to President Donald Trump’s assaults on the press or to recent press coverage of the Anita Hill incident. Law professor Steve Vladeck, NBC, February 20, 2019, writes that Trump’s criticism of the press is making strides since Thomas’s opinion will

February 12, 2019 by donal brown Republicans are arguing that if the House Ways and Means committee succeeds in obtaining President Donald Trump’s tax records, it could lead to demands for the release of  tax records for members of Congress, political donors, etc. Eric Levitz in New York Magazine, February 8, 2019, argues that much public good can be derived from making the tax records of all Americans public. “Beyond exposing conflicts of interest,” write Levitz,  “making all

With a dubious record of milking newspapers they acquire, the hedge fund Alden Global Capital is setting its sights on Gannett Co., owner of USA Today and scores of local newspapers. Their newspaper subsidiary Digital First likes to cut jobs and in the case of the Denver Post, it reduced staff from 200 to 100 in eight years and then called for another cut of 30 jobs. (Bloomberg News, January 14, 2019, by Gerry Smith)