this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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The two Republican lawyers [state attorneys general in Louisiana and Missour] sued [Biden, Fauci, Murthy and more], accusing them of:
Trump-appointed judge granted the state attourneys a temporary injunction against the federal government. Doughty wrote in his order that:
And they're going to show us this evidence right?..........right?
Is this evidence in the room with us right now?
What are you, some kind of communist? Of course not. They said it exists. That's enough.
Long story short, this judge thinks lying to the public about a pandemic, during a pandemic, is protected speech.
Well... Yes, it probably is. Because it's political speech, and because there's not a direct link to fraud or causal harm. See US v. Alvarez, 617 F. 3d 1198. When Trump says that he's a stable genius, that's protected speech even though 180 degrees opposed to the truth.
You'll notice that e.g. what Trump's attorneys said in public was very, very different from what they said to courts; it's a criminal offense to lie to courts, but it's largely legal and protected to lie to the public for political ends.
I hate that I agree with this. On the one hand, “lying about a pandemic during a pandemic” sure sounds a lot like “shouting fire in a crowded theater,” but things like the lab leak theory aren’t really a matter of public health. While there are times when the government can and should fight dangerous misinformation, this is the kind of executive power that needs to be kept in check by the courts for the executive’s own good.
Calling disinformation about a global pandemic political speech sure is something.