Trump just declared war on the First Amendment in an unhinged cabinet meeting

Trump just declared war on the First Amendment in an unhinged cabinet meeting

By Colin Taylor
Published on January 10, 2018

http://washingtonpress.com/2018/01/10/trump-just-declared-war-first-amendment-unhinged-cabinet-meeting/

President Trump delved deeper into the abyss of authoritarianism this morning when he announced that his administration would be looking at opening up the “libel” laws in a full-throated attack on our First Amendment rights and an obvious attempt to muffle the press.

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“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts. And if somebody says something that’s totally false and knowingly false, that the person that has been abused, defamed, libeled, will have meaningful recourse.

Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness. So we’re going to take a strong look at that. We want fairness. You can’t say things that are false, knowingly false and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account. We’re going to take a very, very strong look at that. And I think what the American people want to see is fairness.”

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Trump: "We will take a strong look at our country’s libel laws" so people "can’t say things that are false and knowingly false."
That's rich from him. And ignorant: It's a landmark SCOTUS ruling, not law, that set a high bar for public figures to claim libel. Can't change that.

— Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) January 10, 2018

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President Trump: "We are going to take a strong look at our country's libel laws … You can't say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account." pic.twitter.com/FUK7CTxOQb

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 10, 2018