Trump's lawyers: Courts have no say over his Twitter feed

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Trump's lawyers: Courts have no say over his Twitter feed

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Oct 14, 2017, 12:00 PM ET

Lawyers for President Donald Trump say a judge should reject a lawsuit challenging Trump's ability to block his critics from following him on Twitter.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday to try to put an end to a Manhattan federal court lawsuit that makes First Amendment claims. They say Trump's Twitter feed, which has 33 million followers, is not state action.

The lawsuit was filed in July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven people rejected by Trump after criticizing the president.

Jameel Jaffer, the institute's director, said Trump's lawyers were wrong in their legal analysis. He said in a statement Saturday that the president is not above the law.

The lawsuit claims Trump's decision to block some individuals was a viewpoint-based restriction.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trumps-lawyers-courts-twitter-feed-50481158

[Iliyah]

1. Treason . . .

[Ms. Toad]

2. It's a legal stretch to say that preventing someone from following you

hinders your free speech.

[madville]

3. Makes sense for his personal account

I would say that his personal RealDonaldTrump account is his to do what he wants with. The official POTUS or Whitehouse accounts should be treated as government property. If they rule against him they are saying that no politician or government employee has the right to block users from their personal accounts.

I would agree that his personal Twitter account is not official government business.

[Eugene]

4. Then-Press Secretary Spicer said Trump's personal tweets are official statements.

Trump’s Tweets ‘Official Statements,’ Spicer Says (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-s-tweets-official-statements-spicer-says-n768931

It is an official communication channel on which Trump does not tolerate dissent.