By Lee Williams
My colleague John Crump at Ammoland News deserves praise for his coverage of the AutoKeyCard case, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives charged Matthew Hoover and Justin Ervin with illegally selling machinegun auto sears and conspiracy.
Crump reported about all aspects of the complex case and his coverage was exemplary. It was chock full of nuance and context, which can be difficult with any legal case, especially the federal variety. Crump asked tough questions and he held those in positions of power accountable, which is what journalists are supposed to do.
The result: there was little Crump’s readers did not know about the case.
The prosecutor, Assistant U. S. Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor, didn’t appreciate Crump’s reporting. Still, both Hoover and Ervin were convicted last April, so you’d think she would have been somewhat mollified. You’d be dead wrong.
According to court documents, one of the defendants, Hoover, gave Crump a copy of his presentence investigation report, or PSR, and suggested that Crump report on the contents. As a defendant, the document was Hoover’s to give to whomever he wanted.
When AUSA Taylor heard about it (through monitoring Hoover’s jailhouse phone calls), she went bonkers…literally. Her sole focus has become stopping Crump, and she forgot all about things like the First Amendment. Keep in mind, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Taylor swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”
AUSA Taylor immediately fired off a motion asking the court to stop Crump for publishing the PSR.
“WHEREFORE, the government requests that this Court issue an order reiterating that the PSRs are non-public documents and may not be disseminated beyond court personnel, the defense teams, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and order that any individuals who possess a copy of the PSR without authority (including Crump, Hughes, and Erica Hoover) destroy it and confirm its destruction in writing, and any other relief this Court deems necessary to protect the sentencing process in this case,” Taylor’s motion states.
Legally, what Taylor is seeking from the court is known as prior restraint, asking a judge to suppress the publication of a story. It’s censorship, pure and simple, but it occurs before a word is ever uttered or printed. The First Amendment places severe limits on the government’s ability to censor any publication because it violates our right to free speech. Over the years, the courts have overwhelmingly rejected requests from the government to gag reporters.
Besides, what Crump sought to publish was a simple court document, part of a public trial. It wasn’t the nuclear codes. It wasn’t classified and it contained zero state secrets.
Crump’s legal team pointed out in their response to Taylor’s lunacy that she asked the court to restrain Crump’s speech without even “providing any notice to the parties to be bound or an opportunity to be heard.”
“To call the government’s request untethered to American constitutional law would be putting it mildly,” their response states.
A journalist?
In her motion, Taylor refers to Crump as a “YouTube Personality.” Unfortunately, we’ve seen this type of bad behavior from government officials before. They imply that someone isn’t a member of the press, and therefore not subject to the protections normally awarded to “real” reporters. This is bunk, and Taylor and her boss should be ashamed.
Nowadays, how do you even define who is or isn’t a journalist? Does a reporter working at a weekly newspaper whose stories are read by a few hundred people qualify? How about a digital reporter working for a website like Ammoland News whose stories are seen by hundreds of thousands of people?
It appears Taylor wants to decide who qualifies as a member of the press. Maybe she’ll even create press credentials for them, which she can revoke if she doesn’t like their stories.
You can see where this is going. Taylor doesn’t like a free press. She wants to be in charge what can and can’t be published. She wants reporters who don’t dare question her authority. Unfortunately, questioning authority is what good reporters are supposed to do.
I’ve never spoken to AUSA Taylor. She didn’t return calls or emails sent Wednesday evening, but I know more than a few folks who have worked as federal prosecutors. Most wanted a lucrative partnership at a private law firm or a judgeship once they’d prosecuted cases for a few years. I hope AUSA Taylor knows that the path toward a corner office or a black robe can be difficult for those who so cravenly violate someone’s constitutional rights – especially when they’re not even a defendant in the case.
Thomas Jefferson said, “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
AUSA Taylor has asked the court to restrain Crump’s press freedoms, and that is a massive infringement of his constitutional rights. At the very least, I hope she learns a valuable lesson from all of this.
Eric Friday, general counsel for Florida Carry, Inc., put it simply: “If she’s not doing anything wrong, what is she trying to hide?”
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This story is part of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and is published here with their permission.
Clearly AUSA Taylor is a tyrant who needs to be fired to protect the public from her actions. There is plenty of room in the private sector for people like that, perhaps CNN?
Disbarr her
What happened in utah with the fbi killing somebody. Sending swat when they didn’t have to in utah. Was hoping TTAG would have something up about it by now
Oops sorry for the odd wording. Was at a red light typing
Probably will see it as more of the facts are identified, only heard about it on the radio this morning and even then it was a bit of a confused mess.
Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant > https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/utah-threats-biden-fbi-shooting-20230810.html
I heard on radio (Glenn Beck) that they couldve easily waited til this guy went to the grocery store or something to take him down, without Swat involvement. Also hes like an elderly dude i think
They love their shock-and-awe tactics.
The same thing could have been done to arrest Koresh at Waco , but they chose to kill women and children.
There are no “members of the press”. Freedom of the Press = Freedom of Written Expression, and applies equally to every US Citizen.
Thank You!
People need to understand this.
Especially the idiots in government positions.
But then the plastic nitwits who became “opinion leaders” by reading a teleprompter for a living wouldn’t get to feel special anymore.
I’ve commented about Matt Hoover(CRS Firearms channel)at length. Not this evil Leftard judge. Why does it matter if Hoover gives public information to Crump? It matters not a whit. Yes quite often Youtube folks are infinitely better than “offical” 4th estate commies. Soon POTG will wake-up-I’m hoping!
From what I gathered she is a Rino and a member of the romney squad. One would expect such a hissy fit to come from a democRat however after all the concocted blatant slander pumped out by the media since DJT was elected weak knees are buckling like those of Rinos christy and that hurd guy who no one ever heard off, etc. TRUMP 2024.
Watchdog group reveals Fauci and NIH scientists personally collecting royalty payments from taxpayer-funded inventions > https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/watchdog-group-reveals-fauci-and-nih-scientists-personally-collecting-royalty-payments-from-taxpayer-funded-inventions/ar-AA1f1IFV?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=279d4a8393a84f00f59147a2de45b4a7&ei=35
This is what is wrong with our entire federal system! These bureaucrats all think that we are subjects to be ruled and punished if we say no! We have especially under this current Administration strayed so far from what our Founding Fathers wanted and created that if they were alive today would take the lead in another American Revolution even without F16 or nuclear weapons as so many democrats have publicly proclaim!
It seems that the bureaucrats have learned nothing from 20 years of asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan and our withdrawal from that country!!
The ones that did learn anything in the last 20 years are not the ones in any relevant positions………….or employed if the bureaucracy has a say in it. No one likes to be told their idea is bad let alone pants on head retarded.
Thursday (today) at the Illinois State Fair ribbon cutting, Gov. J.B. Pritzker responds to Bishop’s questions about the anticipated release of the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision on the challenge to Illinois’ gun and magazine ban, and perceived conflicts of interest from the $1 million donation to each of two then candidates, now justices of the Supreme Court.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQYoXzy60sc
Geez fat boy bribed the gals with a $1000000 each. There’s a reckoning coming!
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
The article author wrote:
“Keep in mind, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Taylor swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” ”
Did she? Really? Got video of that? And even if she did, why would a lying leftist actually keep their oath? Besides, just to split lawyers’ hairs I can’t find anything in the Constitution directly addressing whether a convicted defendant has any right to give their PSR to anyone.
The government has power over Hoover and they are determined to make him ask permission to do every single thing he wants or must do. That’s the leftist way.
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