🛑 Retaliation. Intimidation. Censorship. This Is a Legal Flashpoint.

The current administration has taken increasingly aggressive steps to suppress press freedom, target disfavored viewpoints, and intimidate legal advocates, all with profound implications for the First Amendment and the rule of law.

Recent actions have included:

• Banning the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One

• Filing lawsuits against major media outlets for defamation and "election interference"

• Proposing the elimination of public funding for NPR, PBS, and the Voice of America.

Courts are beginning to weigh these efforts, which many legal scholars see as retaliatory and unconstitutional.

 📊 According to Pew, 49% of U.S. adults who closely follow the news say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about press freedoms today (Pew Research, April 2025). As these cases make their way through the courts, lawyers across the country have both the tools and the responsibility to act now.

 📚  Key Legal Actions and Executive Orders

 📜 Executive Order 14290: Defunding Public Broadcasting

Signed May 1, 2025

This order directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease funding for NPR and PBS, labeling them as "politically biased media." The administration has argued that public broadcasting is no longer a necessary expense for taxpayers.

 ⚖️  Legal challenges

• NPR Lawsuit Filed May 27, 2025. NPR and several public radio stations allege the order constitutes viewpoint discrimination and violates the First Amendment.

• PBS Lawsuit: Filed May 30, 2025. PBS argues the executive order undermines editorial independence and represents a direct attack on constitutionally protected speech.

 🏛️ Congressional Actions and Rescission Request: The administration has formally requested Congress rescind $1.1 billion in CPB funding—part of a broader $9.4 billion rescission package aimed at defunding public institutions viewed as critical of the administration.

 📡 Dismantling Voice of America: The Advance Warning

Before the May 2025 push against NPR and PBS, the administration moved in March 2025 to curtail and restructure Voice of America (VOA), a trusted source of independent U.S. news worldwide for over a century.

The VOA actions included:

• Terminating international news wire contracts

• Replacing global coverage with partisan domestic content

• Imposing sweeping staffing cuts at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)

These steps were set in motion by Executive Order 14238, which explicitly called for the elimination of USAGM. Framed as a cost-cutting and "neutrality-restoring" measure, critics argue it served as an early test case for the administration’s broader agenda to reshape or silence public-facing institutions.

 ⚖️ A federal court temporarily blocked the administration’s efforts in March, but the D.C. Circuit later reversed that decision, allowing the plan to proceed. 

  🗣️ What Can Lawyers Do To Defend the First Amendment?

• Host events on First Amendment litigation efforts.

• Issue public statements defending the legal profession.

• Support nonpartisan watchdogs tracking First Amendment violations.

• Create rapid response plans to help locally targeted individuals or institutions.

• Write Letters to the Editor or Op-Eds for your local newspaper or digital media about issues concerning you. Feel free to let us know if you need some help with this.

• Write a LinkedIn post, share reliable news information, or share well-written opinion pieces with your social media network. "Liking" or "Reposting a LinkedIn Post" is a great place to start.

 💻  New Webinar Series Launching Soon

Very soon, we will launch a new webinar series called What Lawyers Can Do to Defend the Rule of Law. Legal experts will highlight actionable strategies and concrete opportunities for lawyers to take action, whether through litigation support, pro bono representation, collective action, amicus briefs, public comment, or otherwise.

Webinar panelists will share examples of successful lawyer-led initiatives making a meaningful impact today and how to get involved.