During oral argument in Murthy v. Missouri, a few of the justices, whose prior experience with the government informed their perspective, raised that the government regularly sticks its nose into the propriety of content in order to persuade media to say, or not say, things the government prefers, and there was nothing wrong with that.
Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan, both former White House lawyers, said interactions between administration officials and news outlets provided a valuable analogy. Efforts by officials to influence coverage are, they said, part of a valuable dialogue that is not prohibited by the First Amendment.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made a similar point. Continue reading