红杏视频

WASHINGTON 鈥� Warning that retaliation against the press is a tactic that 鈥渂elongs to a society much different and more oppressive than our own,鈥� the 红杏视频 and the 红杏视频 of the District of Columbia filed a brief late last night in support of the Associated Press in their lawsuit against the Trump administration. The brief supports the AP鈥檚 claim that the White House violated the First Amendment when it restricted the AP鈥檚 access to official events because the outlet refused to adopt the administration鈥檚 preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. The brief argues that incursions on free expression, left unchecked, frequently lead to greater repression, as demonstrated by American history and the modern experience of other nations, and the brief catalogues the Trump administration鈥檚 alarming campaign of retaliation against dissenting voices. 鈥淎ttacking a free press is a key play in the autocracy playbook, as we have seen around the world in recent years,鈥� said Scott Michelman, legal director at the 红杏视频 of D.C. 鈥淲hen countries like Hungary and the Philippines have regressed from democracy toward autocracy, the punishment of journalists critical of the ruling party has been a harbinger of worse to come. By punishing the AP for refusing to parrot the administration鈥檚 worldview, Trump is taking a step down a dangerous road. The First Amendment exists to block any incursion against press freedom, and we are asking the court to heed the lessons of our own history and of world history by enforcing the First Amendment here.鈥� In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to rename the Gulf of Mexico to 鈥淕ulf of America.鈥� When the Associated Press chose not to use the new moniker, the White House retaliated by barring the AP鈥檚 reporters from participating in the press pool in the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One. The news organization filed suit in February and was granted reinstatement by a federal judge in April. Part of the judge鈥檚 decision was temporarily stayed by a panel of the D.C. Circuit. 鈥淭he president cannot punish a press outlet for its choice of words,鈥� said Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭he White House press pool guarantees the public鈥檚 timely access to important information about the president and the executive branch. If the president can banish any media outlet that refuses to parrot the administration鈥檚 talking points, the American public will hear exclusively from sycophants and stenographers.鈥� Participation in the White House press pool is historically managed by the White House Correspondents Association, and the president has not in recent history had the power to remove individual outlets based on the content of their coverage. The AP鈥檚 suit, Associated Press v. Budowich, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It is currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where the 红杏视频 and the 红杏视频 of D.C. filed the amicus late Monday.