• Tag Archives 1st Amendment

  • DO BLOGGERS ‘DESERVE FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION’? SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM ISN’T QUITE SURE

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The issue of whether bloggers are technically journalists has been discussed since, well, since blogging ever became a thing — and the line between the two is only becoming more blurred. But Sen. Lindsey Graham in some interesting comments Wednesday didn’t seem quite sure if bloggers should even receive First Amendment protection.

    Speaking to reporters ,the South Carolina senator asked rhetorically, “Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves?” the Free Times out of Columbia reported.

    “Is any blogger out there saying anything — do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.”

    In general terms, any U.S. citizen is granted freedom of speech under the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment does also say, as Graham is alluding, that Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. It is this provision that has Graham wondering if it extends to bloggers as he helps draft a new media shield law to protect members of the press after the federal government has come under fire for targeting the emails of Associated Press reporters and a Fox News reporter without warrants.

    Full article: http://www.theblaze. … ham-isnt-quite-sure/


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  • Holder OK’d search warrant for Fox News reporter’s private emails, official says

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure of his private emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News on Thursday.

    The disclosure of the attorney general’s role came as President Barack Obama, in a major speech on his counterterrorism policy, said Holder had agreed to review Justice Department guidelines governing investigations that involve journalists.

    “I am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable,” Obama said. “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs.”

    Rosen, who has not been charged in the case, was nonetheless the target of a search warrant that enabled Justice Department investigators to secretly seize his private emails after an FBI agent said he had “asked, solicited and encouraged … (a source) to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information.”

    Obama’s comments follow a firestorm of criticism that has erupted over disclosures that in separate investigations of leaks of classified information, the Justice Department had obtained private emails that Rosen exchanged with a source and the phone records of Associated Press reporters.

    Full article: http://openchannel.n … emails-official-says


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  • Meet Cameron D’Ambrosio: Arrested for Facebook Post, Robbed of 1st Amendment Protection

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    We posted a story at the beginning of May about Cameron D’Ambrosio, the kid who posted some lyrics on Facebook making reference to the Boston Bombing and calling the White House a “federal house of horror.” Shortly after doing so he was arrested and charged with Communicating a Terrorist Threat, a felony that carries 20 years in prison.

    Since the arrest, a judge ordered 18-year-old Cameron held without bail for up to 90 days, calling him a threat to the community, stating:
    “I believe the behavior here has been escalating,” Judge Lynn Rooney said after reviewing records of police and probation reports submitted by the prosecution. “And it’s very troubling.”

    The reports referenced included D’Ambrosio’s arrest in June after a fight over $20 with his older sister, who called police after locking herself in her room. The charges were dropped, and his sister intends to testify on his behalf.

    Geoffrey DuBosque, Cameron’s lawyer, argued in court to no avail that D’Ambrosio was not a danger, the lyrics threatened no specific violence, and that police found no explosives, weapons or other writing about violence when they searched his home.

    Full article: http://revolutionpac … amendment-protection

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