Trump cannot change case law established under the First Amendment, even if Congress agrees. His ignorance and taste for bullying make him unfit to be President.
Trump will be the next president but he will be a whiny president.
Figures a Cruz fan would be ok with the media knowingly lying about a politician to push their liberal agenda with no consequences. The first amendment does not give the right to knowingly lie. The media gets special protections when reporting on famous figures.
Congress can’t change the standard for libel established by NY Times v. US (actual malice/reckless disregard) but it can make all kinds of other laws involving disclosure, affiliation, agenda... Stuff like that.
Of course all such laws will be reviewed by the Court from a “free exercise” standpoint but something needs to be done about how partisan and dishonest the national media has become. Democracy cannot survive without an honest report media.
Instead changing libel laws have the FCC fine the offenders.
Oh, $50K per offense.
Enough fines and they will cool their jets
I’m tired of his nonsense. He’s sounding as much the victim as Hillary. What he doesn’t like are unfavorable opinions of him being published. Too bad. That’s the price one pays for running for public office. It’s not nice, or “fair”..but there it is. Suck it up.
This is what Hillary has done her entire public life. When SHE does it we laugh. When Trump does it, it’s different?
Might as well post a reply to the fifth time this has been posted today.
The press is not sacred. They used to be obliged to report the actual truth, rather than opinion disguised as news.
If I spread lies knowingly about someone - especially for some form of gain - I can be prosecuted for that behavior.
“...when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them...”
Who will Trump appoint as head of the Negative Article Department?
*Trump suggests that media lies that are by definition election fraud should face the same laws as any other type of election fraud, the media howls that lies and election fraud are protected by the First Amendment (which they are not)
Our founders never could conceive of the dirtiest scumbag biggest liars in the world that are our media now. (I borrowed Don's description; can't beat those adjectives to describe media)
Don’t waste your breath, remember “I could shoot someone and my supporters would still back me”
It doesn’t matter what he will do or say hope and change 2.0 has taken root and along with it many so called conservatives with it.
The 1964 case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, however, radically changed the nature of libel law in the United States by establishing that public officials could win a suit for libel only when they could prove the media outlet in question knew either that the information was wholly and patently false or that it was published “with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not”. Later Supreme Court cases barred strict liability for libel and forbid libel claims for statements that are so ridiculous as to be patently false. Recent cases have added precedent on defamation law and the Internet.
Hot air. If what he desires were to materialize can you see what a coup this would be for the likes of CAIR and other Islamic activists to kill America via free speech suppression?
Somebody needs to chat with him about this....
Well, Trump is, at heart, an establishment Leftist Democrat and they HATE the Bill of Rights.
As president he won’t have to shout “liar! liar! nasty guy!” when someone points out what a crooked con artist he is.
He will instead wreck the 1st Amendment and have the fellow arrested and sent to the Gulag like any other tin plated narcissistic totalitarian tyrant.
Can someone explain why we need “media” anymore?
New York Times v. Sullivan
Held: A State cannot, under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, award damages to a public official for defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves “actual malice” — that the statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false. Pp. 265-292.
(a) Application by state courts of a rule of law, whether statutory or not, to award a judgment in a civil action, is “state action” under the Fourteenth Amendment. P. 265.
(b) Expression does not lose constitutional protection to which it would otherwise be entitled because it appears in the form of a paid advertisement. Pp. 265-266. [p255]
(c) Factual error, content defamatory of official reputation, or both, are insufficient to warrant an award of damages for false statements unless “actual malice” — knowledge that statements are false or in reckless disregard of the truth — is alleged and proved. Pp. 279-283.
(d) State court judgment entered upon a general verdict which does not differentiate between punitive damages, as to which, under state law, actual malice must be proved, and general damages, as to which it is “presumed,” precludes any determination as to the basis of the verdict, and requires reversal, where presumption of malice is inconsistent with federal constitutional requirements. P. 284.
(e) The evidence was constitutionally insufficient to support the judgment for respondent, since it failed to support a finding that the statements were made with actual malice or that they related to respondent. Pp. 285-292.
[p256]
For all who think it is a great idea:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3116989/posts
“Conservative website shuttered after libel ruling [Free Dominion]”
http://freerepublic.com/tag/freedominion/index?tab=articles
Free Dominion was our sister site in Canada.
“Opened” libel laws were used to silence them.
It is about time that the media is taken to task.
They will not do their duty. They only do what the DC Uni-Party tell them to do.
And everyone falls for it hook line and sinker.. Since many here do not support Trump, you might fail to realize the “shot across the bow” approach he likes to take. He says something seemingly outrageous and everyone is now taking about the first amendment and the Sullivan Case and Justice Scalia’s thoughts on the matter. Pundits wonder if the press is liable for printing malicious lies, etc...everyone gets their panties into a wad, but the issue is thrashed about and everyone talks about Trump instead of Marco’s latest insults.
Trump is playing with you and you predictably fall for it. He does this on purpose to see media heads explode.