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TheWrap Is Hiring a Reporter to Cover the First Amendment

TheWrap has addeda reporting position devoted to writing aboutmatters relating tothe First Amendment.

The reporter will cover challenges to freedom of the press, expression, assembly and religion inan erawhen those freedoms are under new and severepressures.

The decision follows multipleattacks by the White House on the media, including President Donald Trump referring to the press as the opposition party and top presidential adviser Steve Bannon enjoining the press to shut up and listen. It also follows the rise of fake news sites and a debate over the role of social media networks like Facebook in disseminating falsified reporting. All of these will be the daily reporting territory for this new position.

Also Read: Trump vs. Press Freedom: How Much Damage Can He Do?

TheWrap has posted the following position, and is taking resumes for an experienced reporter and writer:

TheWrap is a news site focused on the entertainment business, culture and media. The subjects we cover including journalism, movies, TV shows and the internet exist because of the First Amendment. From curbs on religious freedom to threats on the news media, we believe the First Amendment is under attack.

As our First Amendment reporter, you will cover every aspect of the First Amendment in America today. You should be endlessly fascinated by this subject, and passionately committed to reporting on freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. You will write about how the First Amendment functions and is challenged in the U.S. today, writing with wit, depth and flexibility.

This beat could fuel dozens of stories a day, so youll need strong news instincts and judgment to prioritize which ones are the most important, as well as excellent time management to balance breaking news, short dispatches and investigative pieces. You wont always need to write fast, but youll have a much easier time if you can. Youll develop a network of sources of all viewpoints, reflecting the reality that governments, corporations, activists and individuals can all prop up or undercut First Amendment freedoms. You should alsobe a deep thinker who will help us define this role in ways we cant yet imagine.

This is a full-time position that includes competitive pay, health insurance and vacation.

Apply toeditors@thewrap.com

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TheWrap Is Hiring a Reporter to Cover the First Amendment ... - Danbury News Times

Jenni Monet, a Native American journalist, was arrested last week while covering Standing Rock. Youd think that would trigger a lot of support from the national and regional news media.

There is an idea in law enforcement called the thin blue line. It basically means that police work together. A call goes out from Morton County and, right or wrong, law enforcement from around the country provides back up.

You would think journalism would be like that, too.

When one journalist is threatened, we all are. We cannot do our jobs when we worry about being injured or worse. And when a journalist is arrested? Well, everyone who claims the First Amendment as a framework should object loudly.

Last Wednesday, Monet was arrested near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. She was interviewing water protectors who were setting up a new camp near the Dakota Access pipeline route on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation. Law enforcement from Morton County surrounded the camp and captured everyone within the circle. A press release from the sheriffs Department puts it this way: Approximately 76 members of a rogue group of protestors were arrested.Most were charged with criminal trespassing and inciting a riot.

As was Monet.She now faces serious charges and the judicial process will go forward. The truth must come out.

But this story is about the failure of journalism institutions.

The Native press and the institutions that carry her work had Monets back. That includesIndian Country Media Network,YES! Magazine, and theCenter for Investigative Reportings Reveal. InCanada the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network reported on the story during its evening news. And,The Los Angeles Times has now weighedas well in with its own story written by Sandy Tolan whos done some great reporting from Standing Rock.The Native American Journalists Association released a statementimmediately:Yesterdays unlawful arrest of Native journalist Jenni Monet by Morton County officers is patently illegal and a blatant betrayal of our closely held American values of free speech and a free press, NAJA President Bryan Pollard said, Jenni is an accomplished journalist and consummate professional who was covering a story on behalf of Indian Country Today. Unfortunately, this arrest is not unprecedented, and Morton County officials must review their officer training and department policies to ensure that officers are able and empowered to distinguish between protesters and journalists who are in pursuit of truthful reporting.

Yet inNorth Dakota you would not know this arrest happened. The press is silent.

I have heard from many, many individual journalists. Thats fantastic. But what about the institutions of journalism? There should news stories in print, digital and broadcast. There should be editorials calling out North Dakota for this egregious act. If the institutions let this moment pass, every journalist covering a protest across the country will be at risk of arrest.

After her release from jail, Monet wrote for Indian Country Media Network,When Democracy Now!s Amy Goodman was charged with the same allegations I now facecriminal trespassing and riotingher message to the world embraced the First Amendment. Theres a reason why journalism is explicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution, she said before a crowd gathered in front of the Morton County courthouse. Because were supposed to be the check and balance on power.

The funny thing is that journalism institutions were not quick to embrace Goodman either. I have talked to many journalists who see her as an other because she practices a different kind of journalism than they do.

Monets brand of journalism is rooted in facts and good reporting. She talks to everyone on all sides of the story, including the Morton County Sheriff and North Dakotas new governor. She also has street cred and knows how to tell a story. Just listen to her podcast Still Here and you will know that to be true.

So if we ever need journalism institutions to rally, its now. Its not Jenni Monet who will be on trial. Its the First Amendment. Journalism is not a crime.

This article was originally published atTrahantReports. It has been edited for YES! Magazine.

Continued here:
Journalism and the First Amendment on Trial at Standing Rock - YES! Magazine

Citizens do not have a First Amendment right to read the full court decisions that support the legality of the NSAs bulk data collection program, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court concluded in an opinion issued on January 25th.

The court rejected a motion from several civil rights groups that argued the First Amendments right-of-access doctrinewhich entitles the public to access certain court proceedings and documents, typically in criminal casesapplies to those bulk-collection decisions.

The motion was filed in November 2013, five months after leaks by Edward Snowden publicly revealed the existence of an NSA bulk collection program. The motion sought the FISCs opinions addressing the legal basis for the bulk collection of data. According to a government filing, there are four such decisions, all of which were publicly released in 2014 after declassification reviews: an August 2013 amended memorandum, an October 2013 memorandum, an opinion and order (whose date was redacted), and a memorandum opinion, also with a redacted date.

Since those documents were released, the only remaining question for the FISC to answer was whether the public had a right to access the material redacted from those decisions.

The court dismissed the motion on standing grounds. It concluded that the movantsthe ACLU, the ACLU of the Nations Capital and the Yale Law School Media Freedom and Information Access Clinicdid not have a right to the documents and therefore did not suffer an injury when parts of the documents were kept secret. As a result, the court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the motion.

The ACLU made a similar First Amendment argument in a motion it filed in October seeking access to all major FISC decisions issued since Sept. 11, 2001. (For more on that motion and the right-of-access doctrine, see our previous coverage here.) The court has not yet ruled on that motion, but it set a deadlineof March 10 for the government to respond to the ACLUs arguments.

The Right of Access Argument

Like its motion from October, the ACLUs 2013 motion relied on the right of access doctrine, which generally requires court proceedings and documents to be open to the public if they meet a two-part test, known as the experience and logic test: they have historically been public (the experience prong) and public access offers some kind of discernible benefit (the logic prong). The idea behind the doctrine is straightforward: The First Amendments freedom of speech, press and assembly clauses provide the public with a right not only to speak or to take action, but also to listen, observe, and learn, as Justice Brennan wrote in 1980.

Both the ACLU and the FISC applied the experience and logic test to decide whether the public has a right to access FISC opinions, but they reached opposite results.

On the experience prong, the ACLU argued that courts normally disclose opinions that interpret the meaning and constitutionality of statutes, so there was historical precedent for the FISC to do the same. But the FISC said that framing was too broad. It said the real question is whether FISC proceedingsrather than court proceedings generallyhistorically have been accessible to the public. FISC opinions have not typically been released to the public, so the court concluded that the ACLU did not satisfy the experience prong of the test.

On the logic prong, the FISC similarly rejected the ACLUs arguments. While the ACLU claimed that public access would improve the legitimacy, accuracy and oversight of the FISC, the court said those arguments were just conclusory. Citing its 2007 opinion in In re Motion for Release of Court Records, the court identified a variety of risks that might come about with such access, including the possibility that public access would encourage the government to forgo surveillance in certain cases and conduct surveillance without the courts approval in cases where the need for court approval is unclear. It concluded that the ACLU made no attempt to dispute or discredit these detrimental effects.

The FISCs decision is bad precedent for the ACLUs pending motion, filed in October, that makes essentially the same First Amendment argument. But its not necessarily fatal. The October motion seeks a broader range of materialall of the FISCs major opinions and orders dating back to the September 11 attacksand includes additional bases for relief beyond the First Amendment, arguing that Rule 62 of the FISCs procedural rules allows third parties to motion for public release of decisions, and inviting the court to use its inherent supervisory power over its own records to release its opinions. If the government chooses to respond to that motion by the March 10 deadline set by the court, the ACLU will have until March 31 to reply.

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FISC Rejects Claim That Public Has a First Amendment Right to Court Decisions About Bulk Data Collection - Lawfare (blog)

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Vincent Tolliver, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign forCongressin Arkansas, was expelled from the campaign by interim DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazil, after telling The Hill he didnt believe his rivalRep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn) should become chairman because of his Islamic faith, citing the religions positions on homosexuality.

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His being a Muslim is precisely why DNC voters should not vote for him. Muslims discriminate against gays. Islamic law is clear on the subject, and being gay is a direct violation of it. In some Muslim countries, being gay is a crime punishable by death, Tolliver said.

Clearly, Mr. Ellison is not the person to lead the DNC or any other organization committed to not discriminating based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Im shocked [the Human Rights Campaign] has been silent on the issue. A vote for Representative Ellison by any member of the DNC would be divisive and unconscionable, not to mention counterproductive to the immediate and necessary steps of rebuilding the Democratic Party, he continued.

Having participated in a forum for potential DNC Chair candidates on Saturday, Tolliver was consequently expelled from the race by interim chair Donna Brazile, who described his comments as disgusting.

However, Tolliver has now pledged to take legal action against the DNC, claiminga violation of his constitutional First Amendmentrights.

Tolliver confirmed he would be taking legal action to Breitbart News, saying that the Democratic establishment are denying me due process and are attempting to suppress my voice, in violation of my First Amendment right, adding that he stands by his views on Islam.

The DNC and the Democratic establishment are attempting to prevent me from freely expressing known and indisputable tenets of lslamic law.Moreover, through sleight of hand tactics, interim chair Donna Brazile falsely accused me of discriminating against Mr. Ellison and cast aspersions by suggesting I was intolerant of religious freedom, he alleged.

Furthermore,the DNCs blocking my candidacy is a glaring contradiction to the 2016 Democratic Platform, that as Democrats, we respect differences of perspective and belief, and pledge to work together to move this country forward, even when we disagree.I am a lifelong Democratic who believes in people and not power and elitism which has successfully corrupted the DNC and the Democratic Party, he continued.

The DNC chairmanship election will take place later this month, with the winner being announced February 26th.

You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew,oremail him at bkew@breitbart.com

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Expelled Candidate for DNC Chair Suing Democrats for Breach of First Amendment - Breitbart News

President Trump came to the National Prayer Breakfast last week with cheering words about religious liberty. Together with his picks of Vice President Mike Pence and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, he has made strong inroads among Christian conservatives.

But Trump needs to deepen his knowledge and broaden his interest in religious liberty.

When he talks about religious liberty, he almost always brings up the sole issue of the Johnson Amendment.

The Johnson Amendment is a 1954 law that prohibits religious organizations from participating in "any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office." Trump wants to scrap that, and congressional Republicans have a bill to do it.

Great. Freedom of speech is crucial. Passing and signing the Free Speech Fairness Act, a bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Lankford to repeal the Johnson Act, would be great.

But Trump needs to look wider at religious liberty, which was for years under attack by President Obama, and recognize that it is a far-reaching matter of conscience that extends to all manner of issues at the nexus of public and private life.

St. Augustine once wrote of a hypothetical man sentenced to death. "What does it really matter to a man whose days are numbered what government he must obey," Augustine asked, "so long as he is not compelled to act against God or his conscience?"

This is where the crisis is for the faithful in America today. Trump owes it to the religious conservatives who elected him to enter this fight.

The Obama administration tried to force Hobby Lobby's owners to pay for employees' morning-after birth control, which may function as abortifacients. They also fought the Little Sisters of the Poor to force the nuns to pay for birth control for convent staff. Obama's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has gone after a Catholic School that fired a gay teacher after he married another man.

Also from the Washington Examiner

He said more help is needed to fight the Islamic State.

02/06/17 8:22 AM

Recently the ACLU sued Catholic hospitals in an effort to force them to perform abortions.

Wedding photographers, bakers and florists have all come under fire by state governments for not facilitating gay weddings.

These are cases where people were forced to choose between the law and a conscientious wish to follow the precepts of their faith. The Obama administration proposed the novel view that First Amendment protections of a person's free exercise of religion ceased the moment he or she entered into commerce.

Obama went out of his way to restrict the First Amendment, speaking regularly of the "freedom of worship," rather than to what the amendment actually refers to, which is the "free exercise of religion." In other words, he tried to pen religious liberty in so it could be exercised only on the Sabbath.

These are the threats to religious liberty that Trump needs to assault first. He needs to protect the conscience rights of believers.

Also from the Washington Examiner

Bolton called the Iran deal "diplomatic malpractice."

02/06/17 8:00 AM

He could start by making it clear that the Obama administration's view of the First Amendment was pusillanimous and he does not accept it. The freedom of worship is just a small part of the free exercise of religion.

Trump has a good role model in Judge Neil Gorsuch, his nominee for Supreme Court. In one of his many rulings, Gorsuch quoted court precedent to say, "The 'exercise of religion' often involves not only belief and profession but the performance of (or abstention from) physical acts."

Importantly, Gorsuch's rulings don't only include Christians, but also have covered Muslims and Native Americans.

Trump could also get to work undoing Obama's birth control mandate, a gratuitous culture-war assault on conscience. The president could make it clear across the executive branch that holding a traditional view of marriage is not bigotry, and those who hold these views thus don't deserve government prosecution or persecution.

Fights over the Johnson Amendment are worthwhile, but secondary, because politics are secondary. For the religious, the things of the world are nothing compared to the eternal. That means the most important thing Trump can do for those millions of Americans for who religious faith is pre-eminently important, is to make sure government isn't coercing them to do what God forbids.

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James Robart, the U.S. district judge in Washington State, offered little explanation for his decision to stop President Trump's executive order temporarily suspending non-American entry from seven terror-plagued countries. Robart simply declared his belief that Washington State, which in its lawsuit against Trump argued that the order is both illegal and unconstitutional, would likely win the case when it is tried.

Now the government has answered Robart, and unlike the judge, Justice Department lawyers have produced a point-by-point demolition of Washington State's claims.

02/05/17 7:31 PM

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How Trump can shore up the First Amendment - Washington Examiner