The Chuck Turner Case Gets Stranger
A rabbi, an imam, an Episcopal priest, and a Buddhist nun walk into a City Council meeting…
That was the coterie of spiritual leaders who accompanied Chuck Turner yesterday (no catholics? Brian Wallace is not amused). Oddly that wasn’t even the strangest Chuck twist of the day. That came courtesy of the Feds who want to impose a gag order on Turner (good luck, there fellas).
Dianne Wilkerson has signed off on it, but not Turner, and really why should he?
As Dan Kennedy pointed out, this is a gross violation of Turner’s First Amendment rights. Here’s the part from the US Attorney’s office:
“Mr. Turner has held a series of press conferences and rallies since he was charged in this matter, aimed in part at bolstering his character and attacking the government’s motives for seeking an indictment against him from the grand jury,” wrote Assistant US Attorney John T. McNeil.
Well, yeah. That’s his right as a citizen. Innocent until proven guilty. The right to defend oneself. All that crap. What’s even more amusing/sad/frustrating is that Turner has called for legal action against media outlets who have reported on the case.
Doesn’t anyone believe in the First Amendment anymore?
January 13th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
[...] the hook for 50 grand (Ross’s numbers) for Swartwood, but a motion by the Feds to keep Turner from talking about the case (which seems like a clear violation of Turner’s First Amendment rights) would have prevented [...]