March 3, 2023

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The Courts

Courthouse News: Ninth Circuit won’t revisit Planned Parenthood win over ‘citizen journalists’

By Edvard Pettersson

.....The Ninth Circuit declined to reconsider a panel's decision this past October upholding a jury verdict against a group anti-abortion activists and purported citizen journalists who had secretly recorded Planned Parenthood staffers at conferences and heath clinics.

The San Francisco-based court on Wednesday denied multiple requests by the activists to rehear their appeal before an en banc panel of the court, consisting of 11 justices. The customary three-judge panel had largely upheld the 2019 jury verdict that found the activists liable for recording secret videos of abortion providers and posting them online. The jury awarded Planned Parenthood more than $2 million in compensatory and statuary damages.

The petitions for an en banc hearing were circulated to the full court and no judge requested a vote on whether to hear the matter en banc, according to the court's order.

Wall Street Journal: Fox News Defamation Case Tests Reach of Press Protections

By Erin Mulvaney

.....Recently released documents in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox News show the voting-machine company is heading toward an April trial with a body of evidence that could help it overcome hurdles that usually doom lawsuits against media organizations.

Congress

Washington Examiner: Disinformation Inc: Congress receives classified briefing on conservative blacklist group

By Gabe Kaminsky

.....Republican and Democratic staffers for two key congressional committees received a classified briefing from the State Department in connection to the agency bankrolling a purported "disinformation" tracking group that is blacklisting conservative media outlets.

The Global Engagement Center, an interagency organization housed under the State Department, granted $100,000 in 2021 to the Global Disinformation Index and is silent on whether it will commit to no longer providing the group taxpayer dollars. On Wednesday, the center gave a classified briefing to staffers for both the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, noting that its grant was not for U.S. matters, according to two congressional sources familiar with the matter.

“It’s alarming that the State Department passed U.S. taxpayer dollars to a foreign organization that attempted to censor conservative American news outlets," Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chairman of the Oversight Committee, told the Washington Examiner. "The State Department’s classified briefing provided to committee staff indicates that there may need to be stronger mechanisms in place to prevent domestic censorship."

FEC

The Hill: Will the FEC finally rein in political influencers on social media?

By Martin J. Riedl and Samuel Woolley

.....When it comes to political influencers being paid by political campaigns, the Federal Election Commission...did not issue strict disclosure guidelines for influencers — until recently. In the fall of 2022, the FEC proposed new rules that require disclosures when money is paid for political causes, which also would include influencers.

But on one key point, the FEC seems unsure how to go about things. This relates to situations wherein campaign comms fall into the purview of ‘public communication.’ The FEC recently asked if — in addition to content that is ‘placed for a fee’— content that is “promoted for a fee” must also be disclosed...

Arguments against the proposed FEC rule suggest that it would be overly broad and that it would lead to chilling effects.

In our research at the Center for Media Engagement’s Propaganda Research Lab, we spoke with political influencers who are active on TikTok and Instagram. We also interviewed experts and marketers intimately familiar with the political influencer ecosystem. In a brand-new research article, we document how political campaigns use influencers to promote social and political causes.

Independent Groups

OpenSecrets: ‘Guardian angel’ donors poured more than $440.9 million into 73 federal super PACs during 2022 cycle

By Kelly Kauffman

.....“Guardian angel” donors poured more than $440.9 million into 73 federal super PACs during the contentious 2022 midterm elections, a new OpenSecrets analysis of year-end filings with the Federal Election Commission found. During the last cycle, only 47 individuals and their partners qualified as guardian angel donors.

Political donors are considered guardian angels when they are both the biggest donor to a super PAC and their giving makes up 40% or more of the contributions to a committee.

The States

KPLC: Cowboys for Trump cofounder found not guilty of campaign finance charge

By Associated Press

.....Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political committee at a trial in southern New Mexico...

In 2019, Griffin forged a group of rodeo acquaintances into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump, which staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trump’s conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions.

Griffin invoked free speech protections in declining to register and disclose donors to Cowboys for Trump, while expressing concern that financial contributors might be harassed...

Miller, a public defender, said Griffin’s intention was to speak boldly and openly about common sense convictions and national pride — without yielding to government control through the regulation of nonprofit groups.

“He shouldn’t be punished for showing his pride in his country,” Miller said.

Griffin’s attorney also accused state campaign finance regulators of bias and singling out Cowboys for Trump for enforcement.

WFLA: Florida bill would require bloggers who write about governor to register with the state

By Sam Sachs

.....Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.

Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.

If another blog post is added to a blog, the blogger would then be required to submit monthly reports on the 10th of each month with the appropriate state office. They would not have to submit a report on months when no content is published.

For blog posts that “concern an elected member of the legislature” or “an officer of the executive branch,” monthly reports must disclose the amount of compensation received for the coverage, rounded to the nearest $10 value.

Orlando Sentinel: DeSantis’ targeting of ESG could cost taxpayers, pension fund millions of dollars

By Jeffrey Schweers

.....Blacklisting investment managers and banks that make business decisions based on what Gov. Ron DeSantis calls “socialist” woke policies could come with disastrous consequences, including hidden costs and a chilling effect on free speech, economic analysts say.

Legislation introduced for the upcoming session that begins Tuesday would embrace the governor’s goal to prohibit state agencies and local governments from investing tax dollars into funds that follow environmental, social and governance principles known as ESG.

It would also bar government agencies from depositing money with banks that have ESG policies, and prohibit banks from denying services based on a client’s religious, social and political leanings, or if they are in the firearms or fossil fuel industries. But it carves out an exception for institutions that can claim a religious purpose…

The bill lays out rules for communications with vendors, prohibiting emails or text messages discussing ESG goals or values. It would require contracts to have a disclaimer against discussing social, political or ideological interests.

These restrictions raise a huge free speech red flag, said Lata Nott, a First Amendment fellow with the nonprofit watchdog group, the Freedom Forum.

“An expression of values is an act of political speech, so it would be protected by the First Amendment,” Nott said. “The courts would find it violates the First Amendment.”

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