[Peace-discuss] Obama, Clinton & SC vs. 1st Amendment

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Supreme Court backs use of terrorism law against free speech
	By John Burton
	22 June 2010

In the only “terrorism”-related case this term, the Supreme Court on Monday 
upheld 6-3 a provision of law making it a federal crime to “knowingly provide 
material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization,” even if the 
“support” consists only of “expert advice or assistance” for “lawful, 
non-violent purposes”—in other words, political speech.

The US Secretary of State can designate any “foreign organization” as 
“terrorist” based on “classified information” establishing that it “engages in 
terrorist activity” which “threatens the security of United States nationals or 
the national security of the United States.”

Under this week’s decision, an individual can be sentenced to as much as 15 
years imprisonment if found to “support” a designated organization, even if only 
by means of engaging in discussions with it or speaking on its behalf...


The Obama administration’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, appealed the 
injunction to the Supreme Court, where he was represented by Solicitor General 
Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace retiring Associate 
Justice John Paul Stevens on the court.

The case represents further proof that the assault on democratic rights 
initiated by the Bush administration in the name of a “global war on terror” is 
being continued and deepened under the Obama White House.

The challenged law is a provision of the “Antiterrorism and Effective Death 
Penalty Act of 1996” (AEDPA), a thoroughly reactionary and demagogic crime bill 
signed into law by Clinton on the first anniversary of the Oklahoma City 
bombing. Additional AEDPA provisions severely limit access to habeas corpus for 
death row prisoners and others challenging convictions for serious crimes...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/scus-j22.shtml


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