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Judge Blocks Order to Ban China’s WeChat
Breitbart ^ | 20 September 2020 | Tom Ciccotta

Posted on 09/20/2020 7:25:47 PM PDT by Magnatron

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler blocked an order by the Trump administration on Sunday that would have banned Chinese-owned messaging application WeChat from the Google and Apple app stores. Judge Beeler said that the order presents First Amendment concerns for users of the platform.

According to a report by CNBC, a California judge blocked an order by the Trump administration that would have effectively blocked the WeChat messaging application from popular mobile app stores. Some analysts feared that the China-based applications posed information security concerns for American users.

The group of plaintiffs that filed a lawsuit believe that the order would infringe upon their First Amendment rights. In her injunction order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler argued that the plaintiffs have sufficiently established the necessary elements to establish their claim.

“In the attached order, the court grants the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction on the ground that the plaintiffs have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor, and the plaintiffs establish sufficiently the other elements for preliminary-injunctive relief,” Judge Beeler wrote in the order.

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: california; chicoms; china; judiciary; laurelbeeler; ndcalifornia; politicaljudiciary; spying; thenewsupremecourt
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Wait...

So now we're letting what are essentially "assistant" Federal Judges individually block presidential directives?

What's next -- clerks?

1 posted on 09/20/2020 7:25:47 PM PDT by Magnatron
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To: Magnatron

2 posted on 09/20/2020 7:30:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: Magnatron

But nobody has standing to challenge ineligible candidates for President.


3 posted on 09/20/2020 7:34:02 PM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents|Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Magnatron

Not familiar with this judge so where is he in the federal court system?


4 posted on 09/20/2020 7:35:22 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

This is just a federal magistrate judge - lowest rung on the ladder. Not a lifetime Art, 3 appointment. It won’t stand.


5 posted on 09/20/2020 7:37:21 PM PDT by CWW (Pray for God's Protection!)
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To: MinorityRepublican

A Magistrate Judge is just what CWW says, a low man on the totem pole. In fact, they’re so low, they are considered really just assistants to the district court judges. They are mostly relegated to administrative duties like bail hearings and such.

This is ludicrous that a judge like this can even rule on such a case as a presidential directive.


6 posted on 09/20/2020 7:42:21 PM PDT by Magnatron
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To: Magnatron

>>Judge Beeler said that the order presents First Amendment concerns for users of the platform.

You can say what you want on youtube, facebook, twitter, et al.

These Chinese apps are spyware.

And I take back what I said about being able to say what you want on YT, FB, TTR. They will censor you if they so choose.


7 posted on 09/20/2020 7:43:39 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Joe Biden- "First thing I'd do is repeal those Trump tax cuts." (May 4th, 2019))
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To: Magnatron

A Magistrate Judge has zero authority to make such a ruling. It’s outside of her judicial authority. This is the magistrate judge’s abuse of her bench.


8 posted on 09/20/2020 7:56:35 PM PDT by Swordmaker (My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplophobe bigot1)
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To: Magnatron
The group of plaintiffs that filed a lawsuit believe that the order would infringe upon their First Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs' 1st Amendment rights were not being infringed upon. They were just being denied ONE method of expressing themselves, while there were hundreds (perhaps thousands) of other means to express themselves, including many other social media platforms.

Some blogs have shut down their comments sections, while continuing to present their content, like MSN did a few years back with their news section. People would not be able to express their opinions once the discussion section was shut down. Meanwhile, there were/are many other news aggregation sites which still allow comments and discussions. So, should MSN have been forced to keep their opinion/comments/discussion section open.

The judge's ruling should be easily overturned, since none of the plaintiffs' rights were infringed upon. Plus, the judge has no right to intervene when the intent of the Trump administration was to prevent spying by a foreign government, which is the exclusive power of the executive branch of the government.
9 posted on 09/20/2020 7:57:31 PM PDT by adorno
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To: Magnatron

Trump Administration can simply ignore this ruling. Outside of his jurisdiction and all that.


10 posted on 09/20/2020 7:59:04 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Magnatron
So now we're letting what are essentially "assistant" Federal Judges individually block presidential directives?

Wait until you see what they can do in making rulings in an election...
11 posted on 09/20/2020 8:00:04 PM PDT by TexasGunLover
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To: a fool in paradise

Except for here!


12 posted on 09/20/2020 8:01:00 PM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: MinorityRepublican

I believe it is critical that the Trump administration start ignoring such absurd, improper rulings. To appeal this is to imply that there’s any chance it could be legitimate.

In a few months when various Leftist political operatives posing as judges try to steal the White House from Trump it would be good to have some precedent establishing that the Judicial branch isn’t all powerful


13 posted on 09/20/2020 8:03:16 PM PDT by Junk Silver (Calling an Antifa protest "Mostly peaceful" is like saying your girlfriend is "Mostly not pregnant".)
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To: Magnatron

This only has an effect on the availability to download the app. The functionality of it inside the US will be essentially ZERO as it is illegal to host it on any ISP within the USA.

This ruling is meaningless.


14 posted on 09/20/2020 8:13:30 PM PDT by datura
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To: Magnatron; MinorityRepublican; CWW
The way it works is that the judges of the particular district court appoint their magistrate "helper" judges.

The chief judge of the district court has particular say at the time of the appointment.

Let's take a look at the makeup of the Northern District Court of California, where young Laurel Beeler is peeling spuds for the Article III judges of that court:

As of September 14, 2018:

Age	Title	        Judge	                Duty station	Born	Term of service	                Appointed by
68	Chief Judge	Phyllis Jean Hamilton	Oakland	        1952	2000–present    &2014–present	Clinton
75	District Judge	William Haskell Alsup	San Francisco	1945	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
75	District Judge	Jeffrey White	        Oakland	        1945	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
64	District Judge	Richard G. Seeborg	San Francisco	1956	2010–present	—	—	Obama
52	District Judge	Lucy Koh	        San Jose	1968	2010–present	—	—	Obama
68	District Judge	Edward Davila	        San Jose	1952	2011–present	—	—	Obama
67	District Judge	Edward M. Chen	        San Francisco	1953	2011–present	—	—	Obama
55	District Judge	Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers	Oakland	        1965	2011–present	—	—	Obama
58	District Judge	Jon S. Tigar	        Oakland	        1962	2013–present	—	—	Obama
67	District Judge	William Orrick III	San Francisco	1953	2013–present	—	—	Obama
60	District Judge	James Donato	        San Francisco	1960	2014–present	—	—	Obama
67	District Judge	Beth Labson Freeman	San Jose	1953	2014–present	—	—	Obama
51	District Judge	Vince Chhabria	        San Francisco	1969	2014–present	—	—	Obama
51	District Judge	Haywood Gilliam	        Oakland	        1969	2014–present	—	—	Obama

======================
87	Senior Judge	Thelton Henderson	inactive	1933	1980–1998	1998–present	Carter       &1990–1997
73	Senior Judge	Saundra Brown Armstrong	Oakland	        1947	1991–2012	2012–present	G.H.W. Bush
78	Senior Judge	Ronald Whyte	        inactive	1942	1992–2009	2009–present	G.H.W. Bush
71	Senior Judge	Claudia Ann Wilken	Oakland	        1949	1993–2014	2014–present	Clinton      &2012–2014
78	Senior Judge	Maxine M. Chesney	San Francisco	1942	1995–2009	2009–present	Clinton
72	Senior Judge	Susan Illston	        San Francisco	1948	1995–2013	2013–present	Clinton
79	Senior Judge	Charles R. Breyer	San Francisco	1941	1997–2011	2011–present	Clinton

& denotes Chief Judge of the Court

15 posted on 09/20/2020 8:16:39 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: MinorityRepublican; CWW
As Gomer Pyle would say:

SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE


16 posted on 09/20/2020 8:18:07 PM PDT by kiryandil (Chris Wallace: Because someone has to drive the Clown Car)
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To: Junk Silver

“John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it,” Andrew Jackson said.


17 posted on 09/20/2020 8:29:56 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Magnatron

Maybe during Trumps 2nd term we can start removing abusive judges from the bench.


18 posted on 09/20/2020 8:32:34 PM PDT by Revel
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To: Magnatron

I see that his check from China cleared a few days ago.


19 posted on 09/20/2020 8:38:30 PM PDT by prophetic (Trump is today's DANIEL. Shut the mouth of lions Lord, let his enemies be the Cat Food instead.)
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To: Magnatron

Do we have an Attorney General? No way this minor level judge can block a Presidential order.


20 posted on 09/20/2020 8:41:22 PM PDT by EC Washington
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