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Biden handed huge loss in 1st Amendment fight
WND News Center ^ | September 13, 2023 | Bob Unruh

Posted on 09/14/2023 6:58:44 AM PDT by george76

A federal appeals court has agreed with a lower court that the Biden administration likely can be proven to have pressured Big Tech to censor Americans whose views did not align with the Democrat talking points.

And the result is that leftists en masse are trying to deny it, a sentiment expressed by the White House, which stated, “This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections. Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”

...

Biden and his officials are” scrambling to deny the obvious truth that they pressured Big Tech to censor Americans. They have the gall to hide behind Big Tech companies and blame them for the censorship, as though the Biden administration didn’t pressure them into clamping down on free speech in the first place.”

It was a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit that has blocked the government from using Big Tech to silence Americans, upholding the temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Jerry Doughty.

The violations were of the most serious type. On “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” the host explained, “I mean, this was damaging to the country. People were censored. People lost their jobs. There was so much that happened.”

The case was initiated by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.

Bailey explained, “this is all about protecting our constitutional right to free speech. The rights codified in the Bill of Rights come from God, not man. The purpose of the Constitution is to protect us from the government … [and] the First Amendment right to free speech is to invite … a marketplace of free ideas where we can disagree with the government.”

He explained there are 20,000 pages of documents and “numerous depositions” explaining just how the White House demanded that social media corporations censor certain points of view during COVID.

The government appealed Doughty’s injunction, and the Fifth Circuit wrote that the magnitude of the censorship enterprise conducted by the White House was worse than the “1798 Alien and Sedition Act, which President John Adams instituted to, as Bailey emphasized, ‘jail and imprison anyone who opposed his foreign policy,'” the commentary explained.

The case has been described as addressing the worst First Amendment violations in American history.

Plaintiffs also include doctors who spoke out against COVID-19 mandates, such as Martin Kulldorff, Jayanta Bhattacharya, and Aaron Kheriaty; Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft; and Jill Hines, an anti-lockdown activist and co-director of Health Freedom Louisiana.

They charge that Biden “suppressed conservative-leaning free speech” on the scandal involving Hunter Biden’s scandal-filled abandoned laptop, COVID-19, lockdowns, election integrity, the economy and Joe Biden himself.

The panel ruling means the judges believe the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in ultimately proving their case and that ongoing federal government pressure on social media companies represents a threat of harm against them.

The injunction bars some federal officials from meeting with social media companies for the purpose of pressuring them to attack free speech.

Named are Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, and the Justice Department, along with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and Biden.

The judges said, “The plaintiffs allege that federal officials ran afoul of the First Amendment by coercing and significantly pressuring ‘social-media platforms to censor disfavored [speech],’ including by ‘threats of adverse government action’ like antitrust enforcement and legal reforms. We agree.”

The appeals court listed the actions by the president, his surgeon general, press secretary and others took “to pressure Big Tech to censor disfavored views.”

According to a report from BizPacReview, the 5th Circuit gave Biden 10 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Louisiana; US: Missouri
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; bigtech; censor; conspiracy; covid; covid19; covidlockdown; covidlockdowns; dissent; election; electionintegrity; firstamendment; free; freespeech; integrity; lockdown; lockdowns; lockdownss; socialmedia; speech
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1 posted on 09/14/2023 6:58:44 AM PDT by george76
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To: george76

This should result in lots of ropes, fines, prison time, and an outlawing of the democrap party as a criminal organization.


2 posted on 09/14/2023 7:00:54 AM PDT by CodeToad (No Arm up! They have!)
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To: george76
"This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections."

What about the deadly foreign attacks on our border... Oh, that's right, that's total and completely controlled and operated by the democrat party, quickly becoming the nazi party..

3 posted on 09/14/2023 7:06:54 AM PDT by unread (I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the REPUBLIC..!)
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To: CodeToad

Sounds like an interstate conspiracy against people’s Amendment I rights.

There ought to be a federal law against that.


4 posted on 09/14/2023 7:17:55 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: george76

ANY LOSS FOR SLOJO IS A GREAT WIN FOR AMERICA.


5 posted on 09/14/2023 7:19:32 AM PDT by V K Lee (The more you indict the more we unite; the more you excite; MAJA/MAGA )
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To: george76
"Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical
responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on
the American people.."

bumbler-in-chief biden sez, "That's a nice platform you have, it would be
a shame to lose it."

6 posted on 09/14/2023 7:21:20 AM PDT by chief lee runamok (Anti Socialist Flâneur@Large)
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: george76

My son and myself got the J&J. Neither one of us got Covid. My other kids and their mates all got the mrna....and all got Covid. Everyone they knew who had the shot got Covid.


9 posted on 09/14/2023 7:23:52 AM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: george76

Now file some Civil Rights lawsuits for Deprivation of Rights Under False Color of Authority. Make the monsters who did this pay civil judgements personally.

42USC1983. Use it.

L


10 posted on 09/14/2023 7:27:04 AM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. )
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To: george76

The administration will just lie and say they never did that. Just like everything else.


11 posted on 09/14/2023 7:27:05 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) My dog Sam eats purple flowers.)
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To: CodeToad
The Biden Administration and the DOJ...."The No Consequences Express"

Lie, cheat, steal, deceive, manipulate, project, deflect, confuse, but never experience consequences. Those are just for the Walmart stinking public, and our political opponents.

12 posted on 09/14/2023 7:31:33 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) My dog Sam eats purple flowers.)
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To: george76
"This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security"
"I would never interfere with security."
Eva Perón
"Evita"

13 posted on 09/14/2023 7:31:38 AM PDT by Savage Beast (There is no limit to the heights to which we can rise. To be your best is the secret of happiness.)
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To: george76
Liberals in Maine are trying to enshrine this in to law with a ballot initiative this fall.

Question 2: Citizen Initiative

An Act to Prohibit Campaign Spending by Foreign Governments and Promote an Anticorruption Amendment to the United States Constitution

Do you want to ban foreign governments and entities that they own, control, or influence from making campaign contributions or financing communications for or against candidates or ballot questions?

The James Phinney Baxter Campaign Fund, a PAC I created with others in Portland, Maine has taken position on all eight of the state ballot questions. This is our position on this question.

Our take: No. This was put on the ballot by parties wishing to keep Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power from being involved in the political process. No other corporate entity is barred from participating in the political process and these two companies should not be singled out. This question also has several burdensome and unenforceable rules and regulations buried in it. It requires television or radio broadcasting station, provider of cable or satellite television, print news outlet and Internet platform to police the political speech being advertised. It also enshrines into state law political activity of its own in call[ing] on each member of Maine's Congressional Delegation to actively support and promote an effective anticorruption amendment to the United States Constitution. . . You need to ask yourself, do you really want your local TV and radio stations to be censoring the information they are presenting to you?

14 posted on 09/14/2023 7:43:08 AM PDT by Steven Scharf
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To: george76

likely can be proven


15 posted on 09/14/2023 7:43:34 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (MURDER IS MYRDER)
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To: george76

Any imagined or manufactured “emergency” can void the U.S. Constitution in the eyes of the Left. New Mexico’s governor said her adherence to the U.S. Constitution is NOT ABSOLUTE.

Every armed citizen of New Mexico begs to differ and she should be run out of office.


16 posted on 09/14/2023 7:52:59 AM PDT by Gnome1949
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To: george76
to censor Americans whose views did not align with the Democrat talking points.

Actually, the court found that the government tried to censor views that challenged the government's view. Now the fact that the government's views, as expressed by the Executive Branch under a Democratic (mis)administration, aligned with Democratic talking points is not surprising. What is dangerous is when the government's views cannot easily be challenged.

17 posted on 09/14/2023 8:08:29 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (If Kitty Genovese had a gun, she’d be in jail today.)
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To: Sacajaweau
My other kids and their mates all got the mrna....and all got Covid. Everyone they knew who had the shot got Covid.

Same experience here. The people we know who have been “jabbed” the most have ended up with Covid over and over. The “jabs” that they believe are giving them protection are actually just screwing up their immune systems. It is the scam of the century.

18 posted on 09/14/2023 8:10:38 AM PDT by fireman15 (Irritating people are the grit from which we fashion our pearl. I provide the grit. You're Welcome.)
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To: george76
Joe Biden violated the Constittutional Rights of every single American. The Courts have ruled it as such.

Why is he not being IMPEACHED TODAY for violating the US Constitution?

He absolutely violated his oath of office too, "to protect and defend" the people of the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic.

How so? Because he IS an enemy of the American People!

19 posted on 09/14/2023 8:14:34 AM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: george76

What is ironic is that conservatives dismantled the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ without contemplating that most of the media was controlled by leftists.


20 posted on 09/14/2023 8:30:24 AM PDT by Republican in occupied CA (We had enough government in 1789)
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