Judge: Trump shouldn’t block critics on Twitter
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment when he blocks critics on Twitter, a judge ruled Wednesday.
But U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan stopped short in her written decision of ordering Trump or a subordinate to stop the practice.
The judge said it was enough to point out that it was unconstitutional to continue to do so.
“A declaratory judgment should be sufficient, as no government official — including the president — is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared,” Buchwald wrote in her judgment..
The case was brought last July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven individuals blocked by Trump after criticizing the Republican president.
The Justice Department and a government lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, said in a release that his organization was pleased.
“The president’s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed after the president blocked some individuals from @realdonaldtrump, a nine-year-old Twitter account that has with more than 50 million followers.
Justice Department lawyers had argued it was Trump’s prerogative, no different from the president deciding in a room filled with people not to listen to some.
Buchwald, however, ruled that the tweets were made in a public forum.
“The president presents the @realDonaldTrump account as being a presidential account as opposed to a personal account and, more importantly, uses the account to take actions that can be taken only by the president as president,” the judge said.
After a hearing this year, the judge had suggested that Trump mute rather than block some of his critics.
At the time, a Justice Department attorney agreed that muting would enable Trump to avoid a tweet he doesn’t want to read.