The leader of the free world lost in two separate legal cases over his efforts to suppress "fake news."
In the span of eight hours.
Adam Steinbaugh
@adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social
10K followers 552 following 998 posts
First Amendment attorney at FIRE. Opinions are my own.
![Applying this standard, Mr. Streever is likely to succeed in showing that Defendants engaged in coercion, rather than persuasion. OPR did not ask kindly if Mr. Streever would tone down his rhetoric. It dispatched two agents to his home for an unannounced visit where they delivered a “WARNING NOTICE.” Compl., Ex. 2 (emphasis in original). Although that notice “request[ed]” that Mr. Streever “discontinue” his political expression, it characterized that](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7r477jd7q7p2mzmyqfm7jmp7/bafkreiaefh5rkgc7naojrjihpzpva4mrjpyqle23cju62il2ks35yb4ssy)
![political expression as potentially violating federal law which “could subject [him] to both federal and state prosecution.” Id. (emphasis in original). The notice practically shouts that Mr. Streever may be prosecuted if he continues to engage in his political speech. Even if Defendants’ benign explanation of the notice were plausible, Mr. Streever “reasonably understood [the notice] to convey a threat of adverse government action,” namely prosecution. Nat’l Rifle Ass’n, 602 U.S. at 191. And no one disputes that prosecution would constitute an adverse government action for First Amendment purposes. See City of Houston, Tex. v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 462–63 (1987) (“The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.”); Backpage.com, LLC v. Dart, 807 F.3d 229, 235 (7th Cir. 2015) (holding that “threats of prosecution” from a sheriff constituted coercion under the First Amendment). Mr. Streever is therefore likely to succeed on the merits of his claim.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7r477jd7q7p2mzmyqfm7jmp7/bafkreihjlkrseaklarf5bwubqmekkreipvur3sfs2dczc4vavnemjfqxn4)
![Skydance promised the FCC “reporting [that] is fair, unbiased, and fact based.” The 60 Minutes segment on Catholics and politics this weekend failed to live up to the journalistic values that are supposed to define the new CBS News.
The drama opened April 6 when Paramount’s The Free Press reported from unnamed sources that a senior Pentagon official showed a combative and arrogant attitude toward the Holy See’s ambassador during a January 22 meeting. This report was promptly refuted by the Pentagon, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, and the Holy See itself (“[media] narrative...completely untrue”).
Next Democratic operative David Axelrod met with Pope Leo on April 9. CBS News’ headline gushed: “Pope Leo XIV meets with former Obama adviser David Axelrod. Could he meet with former president soon?”
The third act played out after the Masters Tournament, where 60 Minutes most benefits from carry-over viewership. CBS leveraged that large audience with a 13-minute segment with Norah O’Donnell featuring three cardinals criticizing the president’s policies on Iran and immigration. O’Donnell, of course, was notorious for her bias moderating the 2024 VP debate.
The one-sided report did not include any viewpoints other than the three cardinals and a fourth priest also favorable to immigration. O’Donnell could have interviewed Cardinal Timothy Dolan or Bishop Robert Barron, both of whom serve on the President’s religious liberty commission, or a Catholic scholar of just war theory like papal biographer George Weigel or Professor J. Budziszewski. She didn't.
This report was neither fair nor unbiased. It was a one-sided hit piece delivered on a high ratings show at the same time as other efforts to push Catholic voters in a particular political direction.
We are copying FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on this letter because Paramount didn’t just make these promises to viewers—it made them to a federal regulatory agency to secure approval of the transaction.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7r477jd7q7p2mzmyqfm7jmp7/bafkreifk7dj6ps6lcfi6aaplifgflsgxeul6cnf3e4fjidmran7at6sekq)
