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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

White House Plans ‘Standard Practices’ to Keep Reporters in Line

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Sarah Huckabee Saunders speaking about Jim Acosta

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Saunders claims she is working on “standard practices” for reports in an interview on Fox News on Friday.

“We’ll work with our team on that and certainly moving into Thanksgiving holiday we’ll see how long that process takes, but I think there are some just standard practices,” said Saunders while being interviewed by her father Mike Huckabee. Huckabee was filling in for Sean Hannity.

The interview also included a clip of Chris Wallace’s interview with the President that aired today. In it, the president re-iterated what Saunders said, stating that the White House has “to create rules and regulations for conduct, etc., etc.” for reporters, and that should Acosta or presumably other reports violate those rules, “we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference.”

Jim Acosta of CNN has been regularly criticized by the administration, which led to a heated confrontation in a White House press conference after the midterm election. In that confrontation, Acosta refused to cede the microphone to a White House aide.

In that incident, the White House claimed that the reporter had assaulted the aide, and Saunders shared an edited clip of the altercation, which was enhanced to make it appear as if Acosta had stuck the aide. The White House removed Acosta’s hard pass for access to the White House over the incident.

The White House later backed down on this claim, claiming that it removed the Hard Pass because Acosta asked too many questions.

Saunders also accused Acosta of not acting like an adult, and said that CNN should send another reporter as a result.

“Look, I think the very basic minimum is that if certain reporters like Jim Acosta can’t be adults, then CNN needs to send somebody in there who can be,” said Saunders.

She added, “They actually are one of the individual outlets that has the most hard passes of any news outlet in the country. CNN, they’re one of the top three, so the idea that they’re not able to get information that they need from the White House is laughable.”

The press room at the White House, according to Saunders, seats 49 reporters.

Watch the full report below:

Image via screen capture from video source.

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

Justice Clarence Thomas Believes Media Criticism of Decisions ‘Jeopardizes Any Faith’ in the Supreme Court

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3 years ago

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September 16, 2021

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Justice Clarence Thomas complained about the harsh criticism the Supreme Court has received since allowing a controversial anti-abortion law to go into effect in Texas.

Thomas delivered the 2021 Tocqueville Lecture at the University of Notre Dame on Thursday, where he complained about media criticism, The Washington Post reported.

“I think the media makes it sound as though you are just always going right to your personal preference. So if they think you are anti-abortion or something personally, they think that’s the way you always will come out. They think you’re for this or for that. They think you become like a politician,” Thomas said.

“That’s a problem. You’re going to jeopardize any faith in the legal institutions,” he said.

A second Post report on the speech noted Thomas’ remarks on the ongoing mistrust of the court.

“The court was thought to be the least dangerous branch and we may have become the most dangerous,” Thomas said. “And I think that’s problematic.”

The newspaper noted the lecture was interrupted by protesters who yelled, “I still believe Anita Hill.”

 

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

Four Cops ‘Drag’ Man From McCarthy Press Conference for Asking Question About Jan. 6 Committee

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3 years ago

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August 5, 2021

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Four law enforcement officers reportedly removed a man from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) press conference on Thursday when he tried to ask a question about the Jan. 6 committee.

“I tried to ask @GOPLeader McCarthy a question after he decried Cuban police pickup up people in the streets,” Grant Stern explained in a tweet. “Why does he oppose the bipartisan #January6thCommission?”

“A Congressional staffer had four cops pick me up and drag me from the room,” he explained.

Stern’s bio indicates that he is an editor for the OccupyDemocrats organization.

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

GOP Launches Witch Hunt Demanding Investigation Into Highly-Respected University Professor’s Tweets

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3 years ago

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July 9, 2021

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Republicans in Virginia are demanding that University of Virginia President James E. Ryan open an investigation into tweets by Center for Politics founder Dr. Larry Sabato.

“A reasonable taxpaying citizen can readily conclude that Dr. Sabato is demonstrating the rankest form of bitter partisanship,” Virginia GOP Chair Rich Anderson wrote in a letter printed on Republican Party of Virginia letterhead.

“In order to have faith in our institutions, it is essential that Virginians hold accountable those public employees and officials who violate institutional values, codes of conduct, and other guidelines of professional behavior.”

A spokesperson for the university said Sabato has done nothing wrong.

“There is nothing in our Code of Conduct that limits University employees from engaging in expression that is protected under the First Amendment,” the spokesman said.

Anderson complained about eight tweets by Sabato. The first noted Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.

The second tweet concerned Trump’s fact-free approach to presidential debates.

The third tweet was in the context of Trump hoping to bring back executions by firing squad while facing accusations of extreme tax fraud. It was in the comments of a Daily Beast story.

The fourth tweet questioned Trump’s sanity after he released a 46-minute video pushing his “Big Lie” of voter fraud.

The fifth tweet praised a return to normalcy “after 4 years of the bizarre and disturbing.”

The sixth tweet returned to the question of Trump’s mental health in the context of the delusional conspiracy theory that he will be “reinstated” as president in August in violation of the Constitution.

The seventh tweet concerned Glenn Youngkin, who is worth hundreds of millions after working as the co-CEO of the private-equity firm The Carlyle Group. Youngkin is now running for governor of Virginia.

The final tweet the GOP believes should result in an investigation concerned Trump’s choice of music at his campaign-style rallies.

 

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