Trump blocks Twitter accounts that disagree with him

[robkelk]

The legal question has been resolved. Link to out-of-USA copy of judge's ruling on KNIGHT FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, REBECCA BUCKWALTER, PHILIP COHEN, HOLLY FIGUEROA, EUGENE GU, BRANDON NEELY, JOSEPH PAPP, and NICHOLAS PAPPAS,  vs. DONALD J. TRUMP, HOPE HICKS, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, and DANIEL SCAVINO (17 Civ. 5205 (NRB)).

Analysis on The Register: President Trump broke US Constitution with Twitter bans – judge

While it may seem like a trivial matter, the judge goes to some lengths to explain her reasoning.

"This case requires us to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, 'block' a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the President of the United States. The answer to both questions is no," she begins her 75-page judgment.

And while there is an unnerving number of references to legal battles that Richard Nixon fought while president, there is a much larger precedent in play: whether any public official can block citizens on social media.

No surprise that Trump is being compared to Nixon. I've made that comparison myself elsewhere in this forum.