The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech May 1, 2023 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News Wall Street Journal: How Ron DeSantis Could Unlock $86 Million for a Presidential Run By Julie Bykowicz and Alex Leary .....Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to jump into the Republican presidential primary in the coming months with an $86 million pot of donor money—and a legally questionable strategy for using it. The cash, currently sitting in a Florida political committee fund, would need to take a circuitous path to help him: It is illegal to use money raised for a state election to run for federal office, meaning Mr. DeSantis can’t simply transfer it into a presidential campaign account. Instead, Mr. DeSantis’s allies plan to give the funds to a new super PAC led by some of his closest friends, according to people familiar with the situation. Several former Federal Election Commission lawyers said such a maneuver would break the law, and the Washington-based election watchdog Campaign Legal Center said if that scenario plays out, it would file a complaint with the FEC... But Bradley Smith, chairman of the Institute for Free Speech and a Republican former FEC commissioner, said Friends of Ron DeSantis—despite bearing the Florida governor’s name—is akin to an independent expenditure committee that is free to transfer money to a federal super PAC. “It’s a remarkably simple situation,” he said. FIRE: From Florida to Maine, school boards and city councils silence critics in the name of ‘decorum’ By Abby Smith and Aaron Terr .....[The Brevard County School Board] board repeatedly interrupted Moms for Liberty members, ordered them to stop speaking on entire topics, and even removed them from the podium for criticizing the board. The board cited decorum policies to prevent the group’s members from speaking on topics ranging from COVID-19 masking policies to school library books to the board’s response to a case of indecent exposure on one of its campuses. The group sued to block the school board from continuing to violate its members’ First Amendment rights, but the trial court didn’t agree and dismissed the case. Moms for Liberty has now appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. FIRE and the Manhattan Institute filed an amicus curiae — “friend of the court” — brief in support of Moms for Liberty, asking the Eleventh Circuit to recognize that the First Amendment protects the right to criticize government officials and that “decorum” policies are no exception to this ironclad rule. The Courts New York Times: Disney v. DeSantis: How Strong Is the Company’s Lawsuit? By David French .....To understand why Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida should lose in his quest to punish Disney for the high crime of publicly disagreeing with Ron DeSantis, it is first necessary to talk about tow trucks. Specifically, it’s necessary to discuss a case about tow trucks and the First Amendment and how it answers a key question: If the government offers some person or entity a benefit, can it also take it away? New York Times: Prosecutors in Jan. 6 Case Step up Inquiry Into Trump Fund-Raising By Maggie Haberman, Alan Feuer and Jonathan Swan .....As they investigate former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal prosecutors have also been drilling down on whether Mr. Trump and a range of political aides knew that he had lost the race but still raised money off claims that they were fighting widespread fraud in the vote results, according to three people familiar with the matter. Led by the special counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors are trying to determine whether Mr. Trump and his aides violated federal wire fraud statutes as they raised as much as $250 million through a political action committee by saying they needed the money to fight to reverse election fraud even though they had been told repeatedly that there was no evidence to back up those fraud claims. The prosecutors are looking at the inner workings of the committee, Save America PAC, and at the Trump campaign’s efforts to prove its baseless case that Mr. Trump had been cheated out of victory. The Miner: Dark money group wants judge to toss out bid by conservative group to kill law By Howard Fischer .....The group that convinced voters last year to expose “dark money” contributions to political campaigns wants a federal judge to toss a bid by a conservative advocacy group to kill the new law. In court filings Friday, attorneys for Voters’ Right to Know said there is nothing inherently unconstitutional about ensuring that voters know the true source of funds being spent to influence their decisions on candidates and ballot measures. New York Times: Echoes of History in New National Push to Shield Children Online By Kashmir Hill and Natasha Singer .....The current push for age restrictions on certain online content echoes a similar legislative drive three decades ago, when the internet was in its infancy. In 1996, Congress passed a major telecommunications bill that made it illegal to knowingly send or display “obscene or indecent” material to people under 18… To protect Americans’ access to information that could potentially be deemed indecent under the new law — like educational material about AIDS — the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government, challenging part of the law called the Communications Decency Act… In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a longstanding principle in American law that “you can’t censor speech to adults in the name of protecting minors,” [A.C.L.U. Senior Attorney Chris] Hansen said. If the A.C.L.U. had lost, “the internet would not be what it currently is.” But that was before the current, “extremely online” era in which critics say powerful social media algorithms have promoted hateful, divisive comments; scaled disinformation; and recommended posts on anorexia and self-harm to young girls. Congress SCOTUSblog: Roberts declines invitation to testify at Senate hearing By Amy Howe .....Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday night “respectfully decline[d]” an invitation from Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing next week. Durbin had asked Roberts to testify about Supreme Court ethics rules and potential reform. Daily Caller: Dem Senator Pushing For Investigation Into Clarence Thomas Received Money From Harlan Crow’s Brother By Katelynn Richardson .....Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the most vocal critics of Justice Clarence Thomas’ friendship with billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow, received campaign money from Crow’s brother, records show. Whitehouse, along with Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson, sent a letter to Chief Justice Roberts April 7 requesting he open an investigation into Thomas over expense-paid trips he received from long-time friend Harlan Crow but did not disclose. The senator, however, is connected to Harlan Crow’s brother, Trammell Crow, who donated to Whitehouse’ campaign and runs a prominent green group Whitehouse supports. “Whitehouse criticizes dark money in politics but is a leading recipient of dark money,” Mike Davis, Article III Project Founder and President, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Whitehouse criticizes the powerful for having relationships with the rich, yet he accepts financial support from billionaires. Whitehouse criticizes conflicts of interest but actively works to legislate in support of his spouse’s profession. He’s the ultimate hypocrite, and the worst part is how shamelessly he conducts himself.” The States Denver Post: Colorado elected officials across political spectrum want to be allowed to block people on social media By Seth Klamann .....In a deeply divided Colorado legislature, lawmakers from either wing of the political spectrum found common ground Thursday: limiting the abuse they weather on social media. A bipartisan bill that would allow elected officials to block people and delete their comments on officials’ personal social media accounts cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday, passing the House’s State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously. That’s no mean feat: The committee’s composed of some of the most ideologically distant legislators — and the most prolific tweeters — in the Capitol. But they united, for the moment, around HB23-1306, which would be the first such law in the nation, said Delta Republican Rep. Matt Soper, who’s sponsoring the bill with Denver Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod. Colorado Sun: Unlimited candidate fundraising, spending in Colorado municipal elections could soon be a thing of the past By Sandra Fish and Jesse Paul .....This year could be the last of unlimited fundraising and spending by candidates in municipal elections if a bill approved last week by the House also passes the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. House Bill 1245 would limit individual donations to municipal candidates to $400, while small-donor committees would be able give up to $4,000. The measure originally limited contributions to $250 and $2,500 and banned political parties from contributing directly to candidates in municipal elections, which are supposed to be nonpartisan, but was amended to increase the amounts and removed that prohibition. Seattle Times: Early WA governor’s race skirmish? Campaign finance loophole scrutinized By Jim Brunner .....Washington’s campaign-finance watchdog is eyeing whether to close a loophole that could give Attorney General Bob Ferguson a big campaign cash advantage if he runs for governor next year. In what amounts to an early 2024 gubernatorial race skirmish, Ferguson’s potential rival, state lands commissioner Hilary Franz, is backing the loophole’s closure as a great idea. The debate revolves around so-called surplus accounts where Washington politicians are allowed to park unspent campaign donations for use in future campaigns. Ferguson, a Democrat who has been attorney general since 2013, has amassed more than $2.8 million in his surplus fund. That money was raised ostensibly for reelection to his current job. But under the state’s current rules, Ferguson could transfer it over to a gubernatorial campaign, and then hit up his donors for new contributions. Tallman Trask, a Seattle attorney, asked the state Public Disclosure Commission to close the loophole Thursday, saying it allows an end-run around the state’s contribution limits. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. Follow the Institute for Free Speech ‌ ‌ ‌ The Institute for Free Speech | 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]