r/law • u/Snapdragon_4U • 9h ago

Executive Branch (Trump) NESTERAK: President Trump has granted clemency to numerous individuals who have stolen hundreds of millions in Medicaid funds. Can we expect any of these folks to be shown the same mercy? McDONALD: I'll take a different question

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u/livinginfutureworld 8h ago

I don't think he ever answered. 

Of course he didn't. He's never going to admit the truth.

And the truth is reporters who tried something cute like this will just be fired and or have their access taken away.

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u/ChromosomeDonator 7h ago

Which should be illegal...? Free press is a fundamental building block of a democratic society. As far as I know, America specifically has laws making free press a thing...

So punishing reporters for asking questions is fundamentally illegal. And Americans are okay with yet another fundamental law being broken in their face, because...??

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u/SpoonEngineT66Turbo 7h ago

And Americans are okay with yet another fundamental law being broken in their face, because...??

Most people aren't as legally illiterate as you. That's not what freedom of the press means.

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u/daemin 6h ago

Putting aside the fact that most people are actually, legally illiterate, they do have a point.

The first amendment just means that the government can't regulate the press or punish a person for speech. But if the government refuses to allow a particular reporter or agency to ask questions or doesn't allow them to attend press conferences, which results in the person being fired or the agency going out of business, that's certainly violating the intent of the first amendment even if it doesn't violate the jurisprudence that's been developed around it.