The First Amendment Protects Dirt By Jacob G. Hornberger!!
(2018-08-08 at 18:03:33 )

The First Amendment Protects Dirt by Jacob G. Hornberger

One of the most ludicrous aspects of the Trump-Russia brouhaha is the infamous meeting in Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and Russian lobbyists. The Russians had promised to reveal campaign "dirt" about Hillary Clinton.

That meeting has caused Trump critics to go ballistic. Why is that? Because, they are saying, the "dirt" constituted an illegal contribution to the Trump campaign. Federal law prohibits foreigners from making campaign contributions to United States candidates, and it prohibits United States candidates from receiving, soliciting, or accepting a campaign contribution from foreigners.

The controversy only goes to show how desperate the Trump critics are to remove President Trump from office before the 2020 presidential elections.

Let us imagine that Mueller secures a criminal indictment against the Trump officials for violation of the campaign law that prohibits foreigners from donating to United States candidates. Imagine the following testimony at trial:

Mueller: Did you give dirt to the defendants?

Russian: Yes.

Mueller: What was the dirt?

Russian: That Hillary Clintons husband had an extramarital affair.

What does Mueller do then? He obviously has to show that the dirt has value because giving a candidate dirt that has zero value would be the same as not giving the candidate anything at all.

Thus, we can easily imagine Mueller calling an expert witness to the stand:

Mueller: Are you an expert on the value of political dirt?

Prosecution Expert: Yes sir. I have a Ph.D. in political dirt and I have testified in many trials regarding the value of political dirt.

Mueller: What is the value of the dirt in this case?

Prosecution Expert: That dirt is worth $50,000.

Voila! An illegal campaign contribution of $50,000! Remove Trump from office and lock up the malefactors!

But then the defendants call their own expert witness to the stand:

Defense counsel: The Russians told Trump campaign officials that Hillary Clintons husband had an affair. What is the value of that political dirt?

Defense Expert: That political dirt is worth dirt.

Of course, the defense experts opinion could complicate the trial even more given that there might be a difference of opinion on the value of (real) dirt.

But here is the big question for Mueller, the United States mainstream press, and Trump critics: Why are Russians not free to say whatever they want? How can it possibly be a criminal offense under United States law for someone to say anything, including the utterance of political dirt?

I have always thought that the United States stands for the principle of freedom of speech. And does the First Amendment not prohibit the federal government from infringing on freedom of speech?

Yes, I know what the Trump critics would say: that the Constitution does not give rights to Russians. But actually, as we libertarians have long pointed out, the Constitution does not give anyone any rights. Instead, it enumerates the limited powers of the federal government. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, such enumerated powers do not include the power to infringe on anyones rights.

To make certain that federal officials got the message, our ancestors demanded the enactment of the First Amendment. It expressly prohibits the federal government from infringing on freedom of speech. And that protection applies to everyone, not just American citizens.

Let us not forget the Declaration of Independence, the document that Americans, including Trump critics, celebrate every Fourth of July. It says that everyone has been endowed with natural, God-given rights. "Everyone" includes Russians. Natural, God-given rights include liberty, which includes freedom of speech.

The fact that United States national-security state officials hate Russians and the fact that the United States mainstream press and Trump critics hate Trump and wish that Clinton had won the election is quite irrelevant. Like everyone else, Russians have the fundamental, God-given right to speak to people, including United States political candidates, and to say whatever they want to them. Moreover, everyone, including political candidates, have the right to listen to Russians and anyone else they wish to listen to, even if what is being said consists of dirt.

Printed here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!