President Trump would not be legally liable if his supporters hurt reporters in responding to his broad demand this week that they “challenge the media,” according to a top constitutional lawyer and professor.
“He’s probably OK as far as that goes because he’s not actually asking anybody to do anything,” said Brendan T. Beery, a law professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
Last night in Phoenix I read the things from my statements on Charlottesville that the Fake News Media didn’t cover fairly. People got it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2017
Citing court rulings, he told Secrets, “He’s off the hook while he’s president for anything at all to do with politics or policy, even if it’s scandalous.”
Trump this week traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., for a rally in which he repeatedly slapped the media and its reporting on his administration. During the address, he charged that the media is responsible for the division in the country.
At one point he singled out his press corps, drawing boos from the crowd. “But the very dishonest media, those people right up there with all the cameras. So the — and I mean truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media, they make up stories. They have no sources in many cases. They say ‘a source says’ — there is no such thing. But they don’t report the facts,” said the president.
Not only does the media give a platform to hate groups, but the media turns a blind eye to the gang violence on our streets! pic.twitter.com/Mau0B1qYIP
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2017
He later added, “The media can attack me. But where I draw the line is when they attack you, which is what they do. When they attack the decency of our supporters. You are honest, hard-working, taxpaying — and by the way, you’re overtaxed, but we’re going to get your taxes down. You’re taxpaying Americans who love our nation, obey our laws, and care for our people. It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions, and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions.”
mr president,
i’ve been a journalist 50 yrs. Never met one who didn’t love USA.
Many risk their lives reporting on US values.
Cheap shot— Tom Brokaw (@tombrokaw) August 24, 2017
Beery said the speech prompted his students to ask if the president had crossed the line to “enticing” supporters to attack reporters, something that might put the president in legal trouble locally.
But he said the broad language used at the rally didn’t cross that line. “Bashing the media, he always ties it back to himself, and unfair coverage and all that. My guess is that a judge would look at all that and say I don’t have to agree with it but it’s political,” he said.
“It’s kind of a teaching moment,” said the professor, adding, “That’s your classic distinction between opinion and advocacy.”
In fact, he said in a statement that there are several reasons why Trump wouldn’t be held legally responsible for violence at a rally:
“First, he’s president, and many commentators think that a president can’t be charged with a crime while in office. Second, the crime he could be charged with would be incitement, but that requires advocating (meaning expressly asking the audience to do something) for lawless violence, and Trump usually says things like ‘they’re dishonest’ and ‘sick’ and ‘bad people’ without ever asking anyone to do anything to reporters. Third, as to civil liability, the president has absolute immunity for anything even remotely related to politics or policy, and slamming the media probably falls into that category.”
But maybe not for Trump rally organizers, especially if there is a noticeable lack of security and Trump ramps up the rhetoric.
“As for them, the more he misbehaves the more foreseeable it is. If they don’t have adequate security, and adequate safeguards, the more foreseeable it is that somebody is going to get hurt,” said Beery.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
