LAWSUIT/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the three years that Donald Trump rocketed from candidate to president, the PEN American Center has criticized him as a bully, an autocrat, a user of hate speech and an enemy of free expression. It has published studies, organized petitions and established a Press Freedom Incentive Fund. Now the literary and human rights organization, which includes thousands of authors and journalists, is taking a more direct step: PEN is suing the president. In a suit filed Tuesday [10-16-18] in federal court in Manhattan, the center, also known as PEN America, alleges that ‘official acts’ by Trump have ‘violated the First Amendment and his oath to uphold the Constitution.’ PEN cites such examples as reports that Trump was meddling in the proposed merger of AT&T and CNN, a frequent target of Trump’s anger (The Justice Department has sought to block the merger).”
–The Associated Press, “Literary Group Sues Trump, Alleges Free Speech Stifling,” The New York Times online, October 16, 2018