Glenn Beck Is About To Learn The Limits Of The First Amendment

[babylonsister]

http://modernliberals.com/glenn-beck-learn-limits-first-amendment/


Glenn Beck Is About To Learn The Limits Of The First Amendment

August 10, 2016 Manny Schewitz Commentary


snip//

Glenn Beck has floated all sorts of crazy conspiracies on his media channel TheBlaze after he was let go from Fox News for being too radical. Yes, you know it has to be bad when Fox News will overlook decades of sexual harassment, but Glenn Beck is too much.

Anyhow, aside from claiming that vaccines are part of a government martial law plot or possibly linked to autism, Glenn Beck has also repeatedly stoked the fears of Islamophobic bigots across the country.

His greatest mistake was trying to link a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing to the plot itself, and then repeatedly doubled down on the claim even after Homeland Security said that Abdulrahman Alharbi had nothing to do with the tragedy.

Abdulrahman Alharbi rightly had a case against Glenn Beck and TheBlaze, and now the courts have upheld the defamation suit filed against Beck’s media company.

Via The Guardian:

“In her decision on Tuesday, Chief Judge Patti Saris of the US district court in Boston also rejected Beck’s latest effort to dismiss Abdulrahman Alharbi’s defamation case against him and TheBlaze radio network, which broadcasts Beck’s radio show.

Beck repeatedly linked Alharbi to the 15 April 2013 bombing on his radio show and continued doing so after the homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano cleared the student in congressional testimony.

Saris said Alharbi, 23, of Revere, Massachusetts, may learn the names of two Department of Homeland Security officials who allegedly provided information to officials at TheBlaze, to help rebut Beck’s claims and show his reporting was inadequate.” (Source)

It is highly unlikely that Glenn Beck had any sources at the Department of Homeland Security, although it is very troubling if he did.

The probability is that Glenn Beck made this story up, and then doubled down on the lie when he was called out for it. It didn’t matter to him that the facts were wrong and he was destroying the life of an innocent person, so long as he was collecting web traffic and revenue from his assertions that Abdulrahman Alharbi was responsible for the terrorist attack.

Personally, I hope that Abdulrahman Alharbi bankrupts Glenn Beck and TheBlaze. It would be a reminder to the media that with their power comes great responsibility to report the facts, instead of spreading baseless rumors that harm private citizens.

[uponit7771]

1. This is good news

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Let's see what information was provided

investigating does not prove guilt or causality

jumping to conclusions with glee, vigor and conspiracy theories
is not what journalism is supposed to do.

[babylonsister]

3. Sounds like you might

be defending Beck, which I find peculiar. I don't think a federal judge jumped to conclusions before ruling.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. I was making no such assertion

and would never defend Beck

The article does not say the judge has ruled on the case, just on efforts to
dismiss the case, which is a usual course of events pretrial.

And I was referring to Beck as being the one who may have jumped to
conclusions based on the direction of the investigation from the federal agents

So it's a misreading of my post, apologies if I was unclear, but at the time
I thought my post obvious. If skeptical it was because I didn't want to jump
to conclusions.

[babylonsister]

5. OK.

I don't think Beck jumped to conclusions but think he wanted to make a headline regardless of who might be damaged in the process. I guess we'll know once he reveals his sources as instructed, though I have my doubts as to whether that will ever happen. Seems like he's passing the buck at this point.

http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/judge-orders-glenn-beck-to-disclose-confidential-sources-for-boston-marathon-bombing/

Judge Orders Glenn Beck to Disclose Confidential Sources for Boston Marathon Bombing

snip//

...Napolitano said, “He was not on a watch list … he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was never a subject. He was never even really a person of interest.”

Despite this, Beck continued to say that Alharbi had something to do with it, after Napolitano said otherwise. On April 24, he said that Alharbi was “the worst of the worst,” and the following day, he went on Fox News and told Bill O’Reilly that Alharbi was “armed and dangerous” and that he was designated as a terrorist. On May 1, Beck said on TheBlaze that he was not aware of how Alharbi contributed to the attack, but said, “(H)e’s involved.” On May 8, Beck said that Alharbi was “the guy who actually paid for it,” and called him “the money man.”

Beck claimed that confidential sources supported his statements.

According to court documents, Beck himself never spoke to the sources, but then-President of TheBlaze Joel Cheatwood and Joe Weasel, who was head of TheBlaze‘s investigatory documentary unit, did. One source allegedly provided documents that said Alharbi was a “suspected terrorist” and was “armed & dangerous.” Another source allegedly was “emphatic that Plaintiff was involved in the Boston Marathon bombing.” According to court documents, two sources told Weasel that they believed Napolitano’s testimony was false.

Judge Patti B. Saris ordered that the identities of two of Beck’s sources must be revealed to the court in order to appropriately rule on Alharbi’s defamation case. Those particular sources (two who have already been identified as working for the Department of Homeland Security, and one who is a former Joint Terrorism Task Force Agent) are the ones who supposedly provided information about Alharbi. The court ruled that their identities were necessary in order to speak with them, so that the court could verify what they said. If what they said was true, then the defamation suit would fail, since it would mean that Beck reported accurate information. The sources’ identities will be revealed under a protective order. Other sources, who will remain anonymous, gave background information or information regarding Napolitano’s testimony.

more...

[mattclearing]

10. Cheatwood and Weasel? For Real?

You can't make this stuff up.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. The First Amendment does not enter into this. Headline is bogus.

There is no allegation that the Congress has made a law restricting the exercise of free speech, assembly, or practice of religion that is applicable here.

This is a civil lawsuit.

[7962]

7. Look what happened to NBC with Richard jewel & the Atlanta Olympic bombing

Jewel won a case against them and this is much the same thing. Beck continued to blame this guy even after the govt said he was NOT involved. Thats defamation IMO

[Bradical79]

8. Is the accuracy of his sources important?

If he shows they have sources in the DHS that gave them the information he ran with, wouldn't that sink the lawsuit even if they were feeding his company bullshit information?

[packman]

9. You gotta be kiddin' me

"then-President of TheBlaze Joel Cheatwood and Joe Weasel, who was head of TheBlaze‘s investigatory documentary unit, "

Then they turned the evidence over to the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howwel..