When Trump Blocks Users On Twitter, He Does It Himself, DOJ Lawyer Says
If you’ve been personally blocked by @realDonaldTrump on Twitter, congratulations: It means you managed to draw the direct attention and ire of the president of the United States.
Justice Department attorney Jennifer Utrecht revealed Tuesday that while members of the White House staff sometimes help President Donald Trump craft his tweets, when he blocks someone, it’s totally unassisted.
Utrecht made the revelation during oral arguments before a panel of judges for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a ruling last year that it was unconstitutional for the president to block people on Twitter.
The Justice Department attorney tried to argue that Trump’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter account is for his personal use and that when he blocks someone, he is doing it as a private citizen.
The judges were not swayed by the argument, pointing to recent tweets in which the president used the account to discuss everything from North Korean sanctions to the Golan Heights and the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals’ White House visit.
Utrecht conceded that Trump occasionally uses the account in an “official capacity” but said it was primarily used to share his private speech.
But the judges said it appeared the president often blocked users critical of his policies and appeared to be engaging in “viewpoint discrimination,” which would violate the First Amendment.
