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Matthew Schafer

@matthewschafer.bsky.social
5.6K followers 770 following 297 posts

Adjunct law prof Fordham Law; Scholar focusing on the intellectual history of press freedom: shorturl.at/bhsv7; rare book collector

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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Rex Huppke @rexhuppke.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I don't mean to make waves or anything, but as a journalist, I am definitely opposed to the president talking about arresting journalists.
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 04/10/2026
A new lawsuit by journalist @bubbaprog.xyz shows the DOJ secretly searched his digital accounts for a wide range of materials. And prosecutors failed to tell judges about a federal law protecting the press from search warrants… again.
freedom.press
DOJ’s secret search of journalist’s accounts omitted press law
Journalist Tim Burke’s new lawsuit challenges the government’s search of months of emails, messages, files, and other information from his Google and Twitter accounts
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Joe Dunman @joedunman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How on earth is the non-government party supposed to brief and argue the fourth question?
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Amy Kristin Sanders @amykristinsanders.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Judge Tim Kelly grants CNN et al's TRO, putting them back in the White House for 14 days. "Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success, at least on their Fifth Amendment procedural due process claim."
storage.courtlistener.com
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
It is quite obviously a violation of the Due Process Clause and the Speech and Press Clauses...
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
👇👇👇
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Tammy Duckworth @duckworth.senate.gov · 22/08/2026
Speaking out against censorship is as American as it gets. If Secretary Hegseth is threatened by that, he should find a new job and let the press do theirs.
apnews.com
Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference
The editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes says the Pentagon has fired him as well as its publisher and a reporter.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A very fun announcement. I curated a rare book exhibit now on display at Yale Law School: The “Choicest Privilege”: Press Freedom from Magna Charta to the Early Federal Period. On display at the Lillian Goldman Law Library from August to December 2026. prior-restraint.github.io/Choicest-Pri...
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Slaughter itself is based on a selective and indefensible use of historical sources. Roberts’ opinion offers no answer to the broad and reliable evidence of historical practice that I have described above.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Just going to start tweeting about what nj Transit train stops could look like
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Adrian H @adrianh.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
New York Times awarded essentially all anti-SLAPP claims, including fees/fees-on-fees for prosecuting the anti-SLAPP claim, in anti-SLAPP plenary NY state court action v Wayfarer (based on underlying Blake Lively / Wayfarer Federal case) Nice work! @nytimes.com cc @matthewschafer.bsky.social
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Johnson's Dictionary Online @sjdictionary.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Unlike Edmund Burke, Dr. Johnson disdained the American cause, mocking the North American patriots as “zealots of anarchy,” “croakers of calamity,” and “demigods of independence.” conventionofstates.com/news/4-must-...
conventionofstates.com
4 must-read speeches and pamphlets for America’s 250th birthday
British historian Dominic Sandbrook recently described the Declaration of Independence as a press release for a tax revolt.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Get in losers, we're about to propose legislative reforms to protect press freedom...
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 16/07/2026
Police in Hong Kong arrested five booksellers over alleged “seditious” material, as Beijing imposes increasingly strict control over the once-autonomous territory in successive free speech crackdowns.
washingtonpost.com
Police round up Hong Kong booksellers as China widens crackdown
After pro-democracy protests roiled the city in 2019, Beijing cracked down on freedom of speech, and restrictions have continued to tighten.
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
In the well-over 100,000 documents written by founders included in the Founders Online database from the National Archives, no one uses the phrase "God's noble experiment." No one.
Chuck Schumer: "The founding fathers called America God's noble experiment. I believe in all three words to this day: we are one nation under God, we have clung to noble ideals for longer than any other nation, and we are an experiment always changing, trying to make ourselves better.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
open.substack.com
How America's Founding Records Survived the Fall of Philadelphia
How a midnight rider, a stubborn printer, and George Washington saved the founding records of the American Revolution from the British.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
The first public printing of the Constitution - September 1787
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 04/06/2026
Great piece from First Amendment scholar @matthewschafer.bsky.social on the press freedom legislation the Trump administration has proven we urgently need, from the PRESS Act to protect source confidentiality to Espionage Act reform to stop criminalization of newsgathering.
priorrestraintblog.substack.com
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
What's a press freedom reform agenda look like for a new Congress? I consider the need for reform, past attempts, and offer some new returns in my article on Prior Restraint, a newsletter about the history of the press and its influence on today's controversies. www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @pressfreedomtracker.us · 30/05/2026
Journalists covering Delaney Hall protests: We want to hear from you! Our team has already identified 19 apparent DHS aggressions against press in Newark, NJ, this week. Contact us if you can provide insights or evidence, including photos and videos at: tips@pressfreedomtracker.us
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Carrie Brown @brizzyc.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Come on, @mikiesherrill.bsky.social Among other things, I was there earlier and it was blatantly obvious that this crew were journalists. Pulling journalists out of their cars is not what we need our State Police doing www.instagram.com/reel/DY862Lf...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
open.substack.com
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
open.substack.com
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
🚨 🚨 🚨 The press is under attack. The Supreme Court's decision in First Choice might just suggest a new way to fight back. New from me at Prior Restraint: open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
open.substack.com
The Supreme Court and the Frenchman: What a Recent Decision Might Mean for the Press Clause
A largely ignored First Amendment right made a cameo in a recent Supreme Court decision. The history behind that clause could matter enormously right now.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
🚨 🚨 🚨 The press is under attack. The Supreme Court's decision in First Choice might just suggest a new way to fight back. New from me at Prior Restraint: open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
open.substack.com
The Supreme Court and the Frenchman: What a Recent Decision Might Mean for the Press Clause
A largely ignored First Amendment right made a cameo in a recent Supreme Court decision. The history behind that clause could matter enormously right now.
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Scott Bleeds Blue @democracy1112.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Criticizing our country is a right afforded to us by the constitution.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
This is very good
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
For the avoidance of doubt, releasing the names of federal officers who shot and killed an American citizen is not in any way shape or form doxing.
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Don Lemon @donlemonofficial.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
My first remarks since being arrested last night.
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Stop arresting journalists for covering newsworthy events
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning I was sent this video of agents at her door:
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 30/01/2026
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests, warns of tightening vise on #pressfreedom. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Also... *More harm Here's Jefferson: Blackstone has "done more towards the suppression of the liberties of man, than all the million of men in arms of Bonaparte and the millions of human lives with the sacrifice of which he will stand loaded before the judgment seat of his maker."
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
I've written at length about the rejection of Blackstone in the speech and press context: share.google/JLkzGN14Mxdx...
share.google
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The strange obsession with Blackstone, a monarchist who hated the colonists and their fight for independence, has long been a focus of mine. Jefferson said that Blackstone did now harm than the armies of Bonaparte!
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 22/01/2026
The search and seizure of @washingtonpost.com reporter @hannahnatanson.bsky.social's records is unconstitutional and illegal in its entirety. The judge was right to block it until a full hearing, at which time he should block it permanently. Read our statement: freedom.press/issues/judge...
Quote card from FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern that reads:

"The raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home wasn’t about any criminal investigation, and certainly wasn’t about national security. It was a fishing expedition intended to intimidate and retaliate against a journalist who had managed to cultivate sources all over the government. The judge was right to block it until a full hearing, at which time he should block it permanently.”
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Another outrageous attempt to hide abuses from the press and the public...
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
An unconstitutional retaliation against a citizen for exercising First Amendment rights...
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Criminalizing the repetition of law itself. Outrageous, obviously. Smacks of the arrest of Russians for the crime of holding up blank signs. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...
nytimes.com
3 More Lawmakers in Video Say Federal Prosecutors Are Investigating Them
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
As to the Privacy Protection Act, the Obama administration got around it by claiming that the reporter was a co-conspirator--the product of narrow exceptions blown open by federal caprice. share.google/HyOgR7i6dX0u...
share.google
Justice Department's Overreaching on Leaks Threatens Freedom of the Press | ACLU
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Yes, I plan to write something up on this. For a warning about the logical next step in these attacks, I wrote this historical primer on prosecuting journalists last week... matthewschafer.medium.com/trumps-dange...
matthewschafer.medium.com
Trump’s Dangerous Fiction: “Illegal” Journalism
By labeling critical coverage as “corrupt and illegal,” Trump threatens to use the justice system to settle political scores.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...
nytimes.com
F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist for Classified Material
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Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
It would take a two-word amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to subject ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers to the same liability for constitutional violations that local and state officers currently face. If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
No I said don’t tread on *me*. You can get treaded on.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
matthewschafer.medium.com/trumps-dange...
matthewschafer.medium.com
Trump’s Dangerous Fiction: “Illegal” Journalism
By labeling critical coverage as “corrupt and illegal,” Trump threatens to use the justice system to settle political scores.
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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
The Constitution does say that only Congress has the power to declare war. The Constitution does not say the President has immunity from criminal prosecution. That's it; that's my rather compelling law review article.
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American Library Association @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
NEWS: The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored ALL previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island last month. This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory! Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...
ALL IMLS grants restored in every state & territory.In response to a ruling from a federal judge in Rhode Island, the Institute of Museum and Library Services reinstated all previously canceled grants in every state and territory. It's a huge win for libraries and our communities."The reinstatement of all IMLS grants means that libraries across the country will be able to resume vital services for learning, imagination, and economic opportunity. We are breathing a sigh of relief, but the fight is not over." ALA President Sam Helmick. Show up for our libraries, American Library Association.
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