A recent raid by San Francisco police on the home of a freelance journalist has put the spotlight on how government officials can abuse their power to target dissenting voices.
Bryan Carmody obtained a confidential police report that painted an unflattering picture of the late public defender Jeff Adachi, a frequent critic of the police department, who died in February from a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol.
As part of an investigation to find the source of the leak, police officers obtained a warrant to search Carmody’s home, then handcuffed him and seized his computers, phones, and hard drives, as well as a copy of the report.
This was not a rogue operation. But the warrants have not been released, and free-press groups have sued to have them unsealed.
It’s incidents like these that make it easy to understand why the public is concerned about corruption, transparency, and accountability in politics. Some proposed solutions, though, would merely shield politicians from accountability and silence the people speaking out against abuses. One such example is the so-called For the People Act, which the House passed in March and that is now being split up into its component parts as part of a tactic to persuade the Senate to take up at least some of its provisions.
Packaged as “transparency” measures, many would further insulate politicians from the people they are supposed to represent.
Engaged voters holding their elected officials accountable is the lifeblood of an open political system, and a foundational freedom upon which the American political system rests.
To see how the measure runs counter to that idea, consider the stand-alone Honest Ads Act (Subtitle C in the original HR 1), which would make it harder for Americans to engage in policy debates and exercise their free speech rights.
Maryland just experimented with a similar policy that sparked legal challenges. Local newspapers, including the Washington Post, challenged the law’s constitutionality, asserting that requiring them to publish information on their websites would be government-compelled speech. A federal judge agreed and blocked the law from taking effect. A similar fate would surely await any such federal law.
Instead of erecting barriers to participation as the Honest Ads Act would, we should be knocking them down. And in concert with people and organizations from across the political spectrum, that’s what Americans for Prosperity has been doing at the local, state, and national levels.
In Peachtree, Ga., citizens came together to defeat a proposed ordinance that would have allowed city officials to use tax dollars to pay for defamation lawsuits against their own constituents.
In Tennessee, lawmakers backed a proposal that strengthens protections for journalists, whistleblowers, activists and other individuals speaking out on issues from so-called “SLAPP” lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation).
And we’ve joined other organizations in supporting several pieces of federal legislation that would remove barriers keeping members of the press, citizen watchdogs, and everyday Americans from freely accessing information about their government.
We share the concerns about the corrosive influence of a rigged system in which the well-connected team up with politicians at the expense of everyone else. But bad ideas are bad ideas, whether they’re rolled into one bill or considered one at a time.
We think there is a better way. That’s why we’re bringing partners together to support increasing citizen access to information about their government, shining a light on corruption, and making it easier to engage in civic life. And it’s why we’re raising concerns about proposals that, however well-intentioned, would accomplish the exact opposite.
Brent Gardner is chief government affairs officer at Americans for Prosperity.
