Trump tweets wander close to illegal conduct
President Trump’s ongoing attacks on the news media come dangerously close to the line separating protected speech from illegal conduct, and may even cross over it. We would counsel him to stop wandering into areas of potential criminal and civil liability.
Trump’s tweet showing him body-slamming CNN can be seen as an attempt to threaten and encourage violence against critics. Making threats on the Internet to injure another person is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. While Trump would no doubt claim First Amendment protection, the Justice Department has successfully prosecuted people for threatening political statements. For example, conservative radio host and blogger Hal Turner was convicted and sentenced to prison for saying a panel of judges deserved to die after they upheld a handgun ban in Chicago.
The president’s retaliatory tweets against Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski also raise troubling legal questions. He tweeted that Brzezinski “was bleeding badly from a face-lift” when visiting his resort, and that Scarborough was concerned about a National Enquirer article exposing details about their alleged affair. Scarborough said the Trump’s office offered to stop the article if they publicly apologized for their criticisms of him.
It is a crime in New York (where the journalists are based) punishable by up to one year in jail to try to coerce someone to do something by threatening to expose a secret or to damage the person’s business, career or repu- tation. The president certainly appeared to be using his office to try to force Brzezinski and Scarborough to tone down their criticism. It is disturbing that he has ventured into this minefield.
Perhaps most troubling was the president’s June 28 attack on Jeff Bezos, the owner of The
Washington Post and founder and CEO of Amazon. “The #AmazonWashingtonPost, sometimes referred to as the guardian of Amazon not paying Internet taxes (which they should) is FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted. But by April, Amazon was collecting sales tax in all states that levy it.
The tweet creates libel exposure for the president, and many states also have laws that criminalize knowingly making false allegations of criminal misconduct. It also sends an unwholesome signal to his advisers; they are now reportedly mulling whether to punish CNN by blocking a merger involving its parent. The threat of using federal enforcement authority as leverage has echoes of Watergate, and we know how that turned out.
Trump’s tweets so far are unlikely to lead to a criminal investigation or prosecution. But each statute or legal standard that can be invoked in response to a tweet represents unacceptable behavior that causes injury and violates norms. Because Trump is so close to the line of criminal conduct, the risk is substantial that he could cross it — and find out the hard way whether he is immune from prosecution.