September 18, 2023

The Courts

New York Post: Jack Smith goes too far in trying to gag Donald Trump

By Jonathan Turley

.....Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”

After Friday night, we can add nine more: “a narrowly tailored order that imposes modest, permissible restrictions.”

Those words were used by Special Counsel Jack Smith to propose a gag order that would sharply curtail the ability of former President Donald Trump to criticize Smith and his prosecution.

The Smith motion is anything but “narrowly tailored.”

Indeed, short of a mobile “Get Smart” Cone of Silence, it is chilling to think of what Smith considered the broader option.

Associated Press: Louisiana island town to repeal ordinance, let driver fly vulgar anti-Biden flag

By Kevin McGill

.....A resort island town on the Louisiana coast will repeal an anti-obscenity ordinance and let a contractor fly a flag from his truck that carries an obscenity aimed at President Joe Biden, under the terms of a lawsuit settlement filed Friday in federal court.

The settlement came in a lawsuit the Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic filed in January against the town of Grand Isle on behalf of Ross Brunet of Cut Off, Louisiana, who works on the island regularly. The suit said he repeatedly flew three flags from his truck. One promoted breast cancer awareness. Two bore vulgarities aimed at Biden and people who voted for him.

Congress

New York Post: Rep. Jim Jordan subpoenas FBI agent who ‘censored’ internet as likely SCOTUS case looms

By Steven Nelson

.....House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed FBI agent Elvis Chan Friday to testify about the bureau’s efforts to “censor” social media — as the Biden administration argued it was merely using its “bully pulpit.”

Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote that Chan did not appear for a scheduled interview and therefore would be compelled to testify in order to establish the “extent the Executive Branch has coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech.“

Chan worked out of San Francisco as the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force liaison to companies such as Facebook and Twitter, including ahead of the 2020 election, and was interviewed last year by attorneys representing the Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general.

“[T]he Committee has uncovered evidence that appears to contradict several statements in your deposition in Missouri v. Biden, particularly as they relate to your communications with social media platforms,” Jordan wrote, without specifying further.

Washington Examiner: Democratic 'dark money' critic Sheldon Whitehouse has deep ties to secret donor world

By Gabe Kaminsky

.....Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has long been the Left's foremost critic of "dark money," which he's said "corrupts" politics and poses a "threat to democracy."

But a Washington Examiner review of the senator's donors, green energy affiliations, and efforts to transform the Supreme Court tell another story. He has for many years benefited from the influence of dark money and held certain ties to dark money groups.

Free Expression

FIRE: Thoughtful, stimulating, and a bit edgy at times: New Floyd Abrams documentary — First Amendment News 394

By Ronald K. L. Collins

.....11:04 PM, Manhattan. I’ve just returned to my hotel after watching “Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely” at the Museum of Modern Art’s Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center. This new and captivating documentary is directed and written by Yael Melamede, produced by Clare Smith Marash, and released by Salty Features in association with American Masters Pictures.

The theater was chock full of First Amendment powerhouses — lawyers, professors, journalists, luminaries of all stripes, and even some college students. They gathered to view an 83-minute unapologetic documentary about Floyd Abrams, a man whose lifework has pleased as many people as it has offended — just the kind of cerebral soldier needed to defend First Amendment principles in our censorial times.

No modern-day lawyer has had more of a sustained impact in developing our First Amendment law of free expression than Floyd Abrams. As Tom Goldstein put it in “The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law” (2009): “Abrams has become the premier ‘explainer’ of developments in First Amendment law.” And that role of “explainer” is, to be sure, an important one — especially when it comes to the development of doctrine.

Make of him what you will, but Abrams has not only explained what free speech doctrine has been, but he has often outlined what it might be in future cases.

Donor Privacy

Philanthropy Roundtable: Donor Disclosure Means Less for Charities and Those They Serve

By Jack Salmon

.....Members of Congress are increasingly concerned about foreign donations to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations potentially being used for US political activities. Yet, as we delve into the details and examine available data, a complex and nuanced narrative emerges. The rise in scrutiny appears to be fueled by a small number of bad actors that should be investigated and prosecuted, rather than a systemic abuse of the laws and regulations underlying the nonprofit sector—particularly tax-exempt charitable organizations.

Even within the context of IRS examinations, instances of noncompliance—particularly nonprofits inappropriately engaging in political activities—seem relatively rare. Moreover, a closer look at the political engagement of 501(c)(4) organizations reveals that the narrative is not one of widespread advocacy, but rather a more nuanced pattern of involvement.

The States

Tennessean: A lawsuit over controversial House sign rules is over. The First Amendment debate is not.

By Angele Latham

.....A lawsuit over the state House's ban on signs during last month's special legislative session has come to a close. But the First Amendment issues surrounding when government can limit speech in the name of order and decorum aren't likely going away.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has hinted the House may again take up a form of the rules in January when the legislature returns for the second year of the 113th General Assembly, a move likely to spark renewed debate about the boundaries of the First Amendment.

Cowboy State Daily: Wyoming Lawmakers Take Aim At ‘Deep Fake’ Artificial Intelligence Applications

By Leo Wolfson

.....The committee is considering a draft bill that establishes an avenue for civil prosecution of “synthetic media.” It would allow anyone who’s the subject of or is misled by synthetic media to sue in civil court to enjoin or restrain the distribution of the synthetic media. They can also seek damages from the person who knowingly and intentionally makes the synthetic media publicly available. 

The committee also considered another bill that establishes crimes and offenses for the unlawful distribution of misleading “synthetic” media, which was rolled into the civil penalty draft bill.