Government & Communications

On April 3, President Donald Trump posted on Twitter:

The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast. The “Fakers” at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for fiction!

Nothing helps President Donald Trump more — or tightens his hold on his base more securely — than his cozy, mutually-beneficial relationship with conservative TV. Trump's feedback loop, including cable-news coverage, and mainstream-media squawking, convinces the president that he's winning his war on media.

[Commentary] President Donald Trump’s April 2 Sinclair tweet highlights the fact that in his administration, companies that favor the president seem to get treated one way, while those who appear to be neutral or even opposed to his administration risk getting publicly abused by him.  President Trump’s tweet in support of Sinclair dredges up this disconcerting history. But it’s also troubling on a deeper level.

President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager is calling for Jim Acosta to be stripped of his press credentials after the CNN White House correspondent questioned President Trump during the White House Easter Egg Roll. Brad Parscale shared an article from The Daily Caller, which reported that Acosta “yelled at Trump” during the event.  Parscale said in his tweet that he thinks it is time for Acosta to “get a suspension for breaking protocol.” “He continues to embarrass himself and @CNN,” Parscale wrote. “Pull his credentials for each incident.”

The news about “fake news” is not good. Large majorities of the American public believe that traditional media outlets engage in reporting fake news and that outside sources are actively trying to plant fake stories in the mainstream media. When it comes to the meaning of “fake news,” a majority believe that it involves editorial decisions as well as inaccurate reporting. The public feels that social media platforms are partly to blame for the spread of fake news and are not doing enough to stop it.

Now that Congress has made clear that a US search warrant covers emails stored overseas, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to moot a case involving a data demand issued to Microsoft for a drug-trafficking suspect’s emails held in Ireland. The case, argued in February 2018, centered on whether a US tech firm must comply with a court order to produce emails even if they are stored abroad — in this instance, in a Dublin server. On March 23, Congress passed, and President Trump signed, the Cloud Act.

A second member has quit the Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, also suggesting it has been carrying water for industry rather than drawing on a well of other sources to grow broadband deployment. Miguel Gamiño Jr., CTO of the New York City, said in a letter to FCC chairman Ajit Pai that after participating in 100 hours worth of calls, attending one all-day meeting in D.C.

The State Department wants to require all US visa applicants to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers, vastly expanding the Trump Administration's enhanced vetting of potential immigrants and visitors. In documents to be published in March 30's Federal Register, the department said it wants the public to comment on the proposed new requirements, which will affect nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the US each year.

The Office of Government Information Services Empowerment Act (H.R. 5253) would amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to permit the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to access records it needs from all agencies. (OGIS is part of the National Archives and Records Administration.) The office acts as a FOIA ombudsman, and it reviews FOIA policies and procedures and identifies steps to improve compliance with that act. CBO expects that any budgetary effects from implementing H.R.

Can a US technology company refuse to honor a court-ordered US search warrant seeking information that is stored at a facility outside the United States? Oral arguments in a pending case took place at the Supreme Court in February 2018, and they did not go well for Microsoft, the tech giant that is challenging a warrant for information stored at its facility in Ireland.