GOP Sen. Flake: Donald Trump is ‘slandering’ his attorney general
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is condemning President Donald Trump’s attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, calling them a “travesty.” Flake, a vocal Trump critic, said Wednesday from the Senate floor that Trump has been “relentlessly slandering” Sessions. He warned that Trump seems headed for “some future assault” on the justice system, perhaps by firing Sessions or special counsel Robert Mueller. He urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a vote on legislation to protect Mueller’s investigation. Trump in a recent tweet suggested that Sessions should not have brought criminal charges against two Republican congressmen. He said “two easy wins” in the election were “now in doubt.” Flake says Congress has “the responsibility to curb such reckless behavior” from Trump and appealed to lawmakers to speak out. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Alabama landfill activists seek dismissal of slander suit
Four activists from one of Alabama’s poorest communities asked a federal judge Thursday to dismiss a $30 million slander suit filed by Georgia companies that claim they were maligned by complaints about a landfill that accepted tons of coal ash from a Tennessee Valley Authority spill. The American Civil Liberties Union filed court documents saying the four Perry County residents – Esther Calhoun, Benjamin Eaton, Ellis B. Long and Mary B. Schaeffer – were only exercising their First Amendment rights in protesting Arrowhead Landfill at Uniontown. The four argued that some claims cited by Canton, Georgia-based landfill operator Green Group Holdings and a subsidiary, Howling Coyote LLC,, concern nothing more than posts on a Facebook page. They also argued that no one has knowingly made false claims about the landfill’s safety. The companies filed suit in federal court in Mobile in April claiming they were being slandered by false allegations and protests over 4 million tons of coal ash waste shipped from Tennessee. The activists compared the lawsuit to one filed against the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by white-owned businesses seeking to end a civil rights boycott that began in Mississippi in 1966. “Unfortunately, this is far from the first time that a for-profit corporation has sued black citizens for having the temerity to organize against businesses that they believe perpetuate racial injustice,” the four argued. Landfill attorney Michael Smith said he was reading the motion and would respond later. For years, the companies have defended the landfill as a safe location to dispose of wastes, including coal ash that polluted two rivers and hundreds of acres of land when a dike failed at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in 2008. Activists contend coal ash shipments and pollution from the landfill have harmed surrounding Perry County, where unemployment is typically high. The county was in the heart of the cotton belt in the antebellum South, and nearly 70 percent of its 10,500 residents are black. Opponents have blamed the landfill for environmental contamination for years and have compared the landfill operators to slave owners, claiming the operation is desecrating a cemetery that dates from the 1800s. The companies contend the landfill is safe and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and they dismiss claims that coal ash shipped on trains to Perry County contaminated the area. In March, the owners agreed to donate land and help protect the old cemetery, which borders the landfill. The lawsuit contends a group called Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice has spread misinformation and untruths including claims that the landfill is polluting water in the area. The group’s website lists Calhoun as president; Eaton as vice president; Long as secretary and Schaeffer as treasurer. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump wants to weaken libel laws amid feuds with reporters
Donald Trump is threatening to weaken First Amendment protections for reporters as president, making it easier for him to sue them. The celebrity businessman turned Republican presidential front-runner told a rally in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday that he wants to “open up” libel laws. The changes envisioned by Trump would mean that “when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” he said. Trump added that, should he be elected, news organizations that have criticized him will “have problems.” He specifically mentioned The New York Times and The Washington Post. Trump last month threatened to sue the Post after the newspaper wrote an article about the bankruptcy of his Atlantic City casino. On Twitter, Trump has routinely criticized reporters who cover him and their news organizations, including The Associated Press. First Amendment advocates condemned Trump’s suggestions. “His statement shows why we need libel protections,” said Gregg Leslie, legal defense director for the Washington-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Trump gets offended, he gets upset and he wants to sue to retaliate. That’s not a good reason to sue someone.” Libel law in the United States generally makes it difficult for public figures to sue reporters or other people who criticize them. To win such a case, the plaintiff must demonstrate that factually incorrect statements were made with actual malice or a reckless disregard for the truth. Trump said he would like to lower that standard. “We’re going to have people sue you like you never got sued before,” he said. Because the Supreme Court has repeatedly endorsed the existing legal standard, Trump could not change libel laws as they affect public figures by executive order or even with an act of Congress, Leslie said. “I’ve never heard of politicians say they would repeal case law established under the First Amendment,” he said. “You’d really need a constitutional amendment to do that.” Trump’s comments on libel law are not the first time he has disagreed with widely held conceptions of constitutional law. Last year, he said he saw no obstacle to deporting children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States. Courts have regularly found that such children are natural born citizens entitled to the same rights as any other American. Trump has said he does not believe a constitutional amendment would be necessary to get his way. “You don’t have to do a constitutional amendment. You need an act of Congress. I’m telling you — you need an act of Congress,” he said in an interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News last year. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
