Democrats and leftists are coming out in droves to support podcaster and former CNN host Don Lemon after his arrest for participating in a mob that disrupted a St. Paul, Minn. church service, in violation of the Constitution and federal civil rights statutes.
However, not only is their reasoning flawed, but they also exhibit a short, selective memory.
Flawed Reasoning:
Trump critics argue that the administration violated Lemon's First Amendment freedom of the press, but those rights aren't absolute.
Simply calling himself a journalist isn't enough — he has to be judged by his words and deeds, as an ABC News host discovered yesterday.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared on Sunday's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" when the host brought up Lemon's arrest.
"And he was — this was despite the fact that a magistrate judge in an appeals court refused to approve the request. And the Chief Federal District Judge Patrick Schultz wrote that there was no evidence that Mr. Lemon engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so," Stephanopoulos said.
"So, when do you believe that Mr. Lemon crossed the line from reporting on what was going on to criminal activity?" he asked.
Blanche wasn't having any of it.
"Conveniently missing from what you just showed, George, is the appellate court and a judge on the appellate court who said just a few days later there was clearly probable cause — and it wasn't even a close question," he began.
"A grand jury, which is what our system has set up to determine whether probable cause exists, concluded that there was probable cause.
"That indictment is now public. Everybody in this country can pull it up and read for themselves and see what the grand jury found that Mr. Lemon did.
"We talk about the First Amendment right. You have a right of freedom of religion, which is just as important as any other right that we have," Blanche added before delivering the final punch.
"And George, I don't know if you've watched the videos or read the indictment about what it's alleged that Mr. Lemon did, but if anybody in this country thinks that that is quote, independent journalism, I would like to have a conversation with you."
The moment Lemon joined the mob, he lost his press credentials and became a demonstrator. Demonstrators also enjoy First Amendment protections — but only when they peacefully assemble.
That leaves another First Amendment protection in place — the right of the congregation to freely exercise the religion of their choice.
And they're the only ones without fault.
As columnist and media personality Jon Gabriel observed, "Don Lemon wasn't arrested for exercising his first-amendment rights. He was arrested for preventing other Americans from exercising their first-amendment rights."
Selective Memory:
If Democrats are concerned about First Amendment freedom of the press violations, they have only to look to themselves.
In 2013 even the liberal New York Times editorial board and The Washington Post blasted the Obama administration's flagrant freedom of press violations. Obama's Justice Department spied on both Newsmax Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen when he was at Fox News, as well as numerous Associated Press reporters, without their knowledge.
"With the decision to label a Fox News television reporter a possible 'co-conspirator' in a criminal investigation of a news leak, the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news," the Times’ board wrote.
Noting the Justice Department's seizure of Associated Press phone records, the board accused the Obama administration of "a heavy tilt toward secrecy and insufficient concern about a free press.”
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank also condemned the Obama White House.
"[T]he administration's actions shatter the president's credibility . . . ," he argued. "If the administration is spying on reporters and accusing them of criminality just for asking questions — well, who knows what else this crowd is capable of doing?"
When TMZ's Harvey Levin blasted Trump over the Lemon squeeze, frequent Newsmax contributor Larry Elder emptied both barrels.
"Hey, @HarveyLevinTMZ, Where were you when 'Dictator'@BarackObama was president?"
Elder asked. “He used the Espionage Act to prosecute more journalists and those who ‘leaked’ to journalists than all presidents before him COMBINED. You — and your other 'freedom of the press' Obama-loving/Trump-hating media lefties —d idn't say . . . S—T!!!"
And as far as that goes, Lemon may have sealed his own fate in 2019 when he repeated on CNN "nobody is above the law."
But all things considered, The Babylon Bee, a satirical, humor-driven "news" site with the motto "Fake News You Can Trust," may have said it best with this headline, "Chilling: If They Can Arrest Don Lemon For Something As Simple As Breaking The Law, Imagine What They Can Do To You."
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read more Michael Dorstewitz's Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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