WASHINGTON, November 22, 2021 — Today, on behalf of five former government employees, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the American Civil Liberties Union petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a challenge to the government’s system of “prepublication review,” which prohibits former public servants from writing or speaking publicly without first […]
Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
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Court Orders CDC to Release Trump Administration Policies Restricting Employees’ Ability to Speak to Press and Public
A federal court today ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release records concerning Trump administration policies that restricted CDC employees’ ability to speak to the press and the public about the coronavirus pandemic. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit last year when the CDC did not […]
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Former Govt. Officials, Media Organizations, Microsoft, Former Magistrate Judges File SCOTUS Briefs Challenging Secrecy of U.S. Surveillance Court
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2021 — Former government officials, former magistrate judges, media and civil society organizations, and Microsoft are filing amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court today urging it to hear a case challenging the secrecy of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s opinions. The petition was filed last month by the American Civil Liberties […]
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Facebook Oversight Board Should Delay Ruling on Suspension of Trump, Knight Institute Says
NEW YORK, February 11, 2021—Following Facebook’s announcement that its Oversight Board would review the company’s decision to suspend Trump from its platform, and in response to the Oversight Board’s call for public comment, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today urged the board to delay ruling on the question of Trump’s suspension until […]
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Justice Department Abandons Request that SCOTUS Hear Case Relating to Trump’s Now-Defunct Twitter Account
WASHINGTON, January 21, 2021 — In a brief filed just before President Trump’s term ended, the Justice Department abandoned its request that the Supreme Court hear a case involving President Trump’s practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account, acknowledging that the inauguration of a new president would moot the case. The Knight Institute filed […]
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Knight Institute Demands Attorney General Direct Armed Officers Deployed in DC to Display Identities and Agency Affiliations
WASHINGTON— The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr demanding that he direct officers who have been deployed to police or monitor the ongoing protests to wear badges or other markers displaying their agency affiliations, their identification numbers, and their names. Some of the heavily […]
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Second Circuit Denies Full Court Review of Decision Holding that President Trump Violated First Amendment by Blocking Critics on Twitter
NEW YORK, March 23, 2020 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today denied the Trump administration’s request for en banc review of the ruling by a three-judge panel holding that the president’s practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account violates the First Amendment. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia […]
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Knight Institute Comments on White House’s Review of John Bolton’s Upcoming Book
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2020 – Last night, the New York Times reported that former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming memoir included information that could undercut key elements of the president’s impeachment defense and was being held up in prepublication review. Prepublication review is a far-reaching system of censorship prohibiting millions of former intelligence-agency […]
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Knight Institute Challenges DOJ’s Claimed Authority to Categorically Withhold Key Legal Opinions
SEATTLE, Aug. 21, 2019 – The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to enforce a request for formal written opinions issued by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) prior to February 15, 1994. The request was filed on behalf of the Campaign for Accountability and […]
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Second Circuit Holds that Trump Violated First Amendment by Blocking Critics on Twitter
NEW YORK, July 9, 2019 — Affirming an earlier ruling of a federal district court, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held today that President Trump’s practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account violates the First Amendment. The decision comes in a case filed by the Knight […]
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Knight Institute Sues to Learn Whether U.S. Intelligence Agencies Complied With “Duty to Warn” Reporter Jamal Khashoggi of Threats to His Life
NEW YORK (Nov. 20, 2018) – The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today filed a lawsuit seeking immediate release of records concerning U.S. intelligence agencies’ compliance or non-compliance with their “duty to warn” reporter Jamal Khashoggi of threats to his life or liberty. U.S. intelligence agencies are obligated to inform a potential victim […]
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CNN Ruling a Victory for Press Freedom, Knight Institute Says
NEW YORK (Nov. 16, 2018) – District Court Judge Timothy Kelly today granted CNN and its chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, a temporary restraining order requiring the White House to immediately restore Acosta’s press access while a lawsuit challenging the White House’s banning of Acosta proceeds. The White House revoked Acosta’s press access earlier […]
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Knight Institute: CNN, Acosta Lawsuit Against White House Is a Necessary Defense of the First Amendment
NEW YORK (Nov. 13, 2018) – CNN and its chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, filed a lawsuit today after the White House took an extreme and unusual step of revoking Acosta’s White House access, effectively denying Acosta access to White House briefings. The Secret Service confiscated Acosta’s press pass after he repeatedly questioned the […]
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Federal Court Rules that President Trump’s Blocking of Twitter Critics Violates First Amendment
May 23, 2018 – A federal judge ruled today that President Trump’s practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account violates the First Amendment. The decision by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York comes in a case filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute at […]