'Let's Call It Free Speech Or Federal Suppression?': Crockett Grills Witnesses About Free Speech

4 months ago

At today's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) questioned witnesses about threats to free speech.

Transcript

00:00Part of our visit to the European, to Europe, we appreciate that. Recognize for five minutes.

00:06Yes, I hate that I didn't get to reminisce with our good friend, Mr. Farage.

00:11But nevertheless, you know, it's interesting that we're sitting here and we're talking about the

00:19so-called threats to the First Amendment when the biggest threat to free speech right now

00:24is the old guy that is sitting over in the Oval. Now, Mr. Farage and I met over a month ago and he

00:33has made it a brand of being this free speech warrior. And one of the things that I wanted to

00:40recap was the fact that he literally tried to shut down my ranking member as he was engaging in his

00:47own free speech. It seems like it's more so free speech for me, but not for thee a lot of times

00:56with certain people. And it's sad that he had to run and have lunch with Trump or to go raise some

01:03money for his four-member party. So, Mr. Price, you get to be the lucky one to help me figure out

01:10what exactly free speech advocates believe. It's good to see you again. You tell me whether these

01:17government actions support free speech or suppress it. Let's call it free speech or federal

01:21suppression. Fining or defending or defunding news outlets or companies because they don't share a

01:29political, a particular political message. I think, I'm not entirely sure what context you're

01:37referring to. I think I'd need a little bit more information. So, long story short, if they decide

01:43that they are going to fine or defund any news outlet simply because it doesn't necessarily

01:51go far left or far right, do you think that that is a violation of free speech?

01:57Well, I'm not entirely sure how it would connect with, let's say, the area of expertise that I have.

02:03I think you may be referring to the PBS controversy. It's probably not something that I would be able to

02:09really. Not necessarily, but let me go to Professor Kay. Professor Kay, did you understand my question?

02:16Finding or defunding news outlets or companies because they don't share a particular political

02:21message? Yeah, thank you for the question. At the very core of the First Amendment is a prohibition of

02:29viewpoint discrimination. Okay. And what you describe sounds like viewpoint discrimination. So, it

02:34definitely sounds like federal suppression. If you require news outlets and companies to have

02:40content moderators to ensure their coverage promotes a political ideology or leaning, would

02:47that be federal suppression? Well, that does sound like an interference with the company's content

02:55moderation decision. Banning materials because of their content. Materials. Yes. So, like books.

03:04Oh, of course. Well, and we've seen this in the, you know, range of book bans at libraries across

03:11across the country. Absolutely. What about threatening private companies with lawsuits or fines unless they

03:18do the government's bidding? Sounds like pressure that would be undue. Yes. Okay. So, I agree with you.

03:27All of these actions are exactly what Trump has done since he's taken office. Make no mistake,

03:31Trump is weaponizing his idea of free speech to force folks and companies to become his political

03:37puppets to promote his propaganda. Trump and Republicans defunded NPR because they argued it

03:43was biased. Trump has removed books discussing racial discrimination at U.S. military academies,

03:50including the amazing Maya Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. He's tried to strip

03:59funding to schools across the country if they don't remove materials that include discussions

04:04of racial discrimination or that promote diversity. And in order for the merger between Paramount

04:11and Skydance to happen, the FCC chairman and Republican appointed commissioners required Skydance to

04:18establish a bias monitor. And in its FCC order noted reports, quote, concerning negative media coverage of

04:27the Trump administration. This is to say nothing of Trump pushing television networks to get rid of

04:32comedians and talk show hosts who criticize his administration, say like Mr. Colbert. Let's call

04:39this what it is. It's Trump weaponizing the idea of free speech to force people, institutions, and

04:45companies to be his mouthpieces. This ain't free speech, it's propaganda. Meanwhile, my Republican

04:52colleagues are out here having a meltdown over the European bill, one that by the way includes

04:57provisions to fight child trafficking. You know, it's frustrating because we talk about being fiscally

05:03responsible and we talk about free speech. And right now, as we're having these discussions, you know

05:08who's trying to shut down members from voting in the way that they want to vote? It's the president

05:14who literally said he would look at anyone who decided that they were going to vote to release the

05:21Epstein files as hostile. That sounds like a threat as it relates to all First Amendment

05:28protections, in addition to the fact that it's literally contravening our constitutional duty that

05:34we swore an oath to because we don't swear to an orange king. Instead, we have sworn an oath to the

05:41Constitution and we were elected to represent the people that elected us. Thank you so much and all you.

'Let's Call It Free Speech Or Federal Suppression?': Crockett Grills Witnesses About Free Speech

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended