Missouri AG Andrew Bailey: The Supreme Court must protect free speech | Opinion
In a free society, the debate between opposing viewpoints should be played out in the marketplace of ideas. Enshrined in the First Amendment, our right to free speech is the bedrock of our great nation. Unfortunately, free speech is under attack by the very people sworn to protect it: government officials.
In October, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear our bombshell censorship case, Missouri v. Biden, in which we alleged — and proved — a conspiracy by government officials to silence conservative speech on social media. In partnership with Louisiana, my office filed suit to combat the Biden administration’s censorship of speech that challenged the government’s narrative on everything from the COVID–19 lab leak theory, to the Hunter Biden laptop story.
The Biden administration’s censorship campaign was unsparing. Left-leaning federal bureaucrats used both direct and implied threats to distort public debate on key issues over the course of several years. We sued to stop it, and thankfully, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
The vast censorship enterprise uncovered in Missouri v. Biden is highly disturbing. What’s worse is it’s not the only example. The Supreme Court has agreed to review yet another case involving government censorship against political opponents: NRA v. Vullo.
Vullo goes back to 2017, when then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hatched a plot to destroy the National Rifle Association and its ability to advocate for gun rights. Working with Maria Vullo, then head of New York’s Department of Financial Services, New York initiated a campaign of public warnings and backroom threats to financial institutions designed to hamper the NRA’s ability to function.
Their message: Drop the NRA, or face regulatory reprisals.
This campaign succeeded. As an example, one of the NRA’s longtime insurance partners told them it had no choice but to drop their business for fear of losing its New York business license.
The New York DFS then issued a directive calling on all banks and insurance companies doing business in New York to “review any relationships they have with the NRA or similar gun promotion organizations, and to take prompt actions to managing these risks and promote public health and safety.” Gov. Cuomo issued a public directive the same day which underscored the purpose of Superintendent Vullo — to drive the NRA out of New York. The NRA filed suit to end this blatant violation of its First Amendment rights.
New York’s actions are inherently unconstitutional. In the 1960s, the Supreme Court held that implicit threats of reprisal against speakers disfavored by the government violate the First Amendment. This precedent is the same that supports our lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden. The NRA’s First Amendment claims withstood multiple motions to dismiss. On appeal, the Second Circuit wrongfully reversed. Under this view, any censorship of free speech would be justified by simply claiming the government has a general regulatory interest in combating so-called “misinformation.”
Thus, I filed a brief requesting the Supreme Court review NRA v. Vullo. The court agreed to hear the case, and the stakes could not be higher.
Regulators have enormous power over our lives. If speaking out on public issues in opposition to government officials means they can cut off access to financial services, our country has become little more than a dictatorship.
That’s not the America I fought to defend on the battlefields of Iraq or swore to protect as Missouri’s 44th attorney general.
If the Supreme Court lets the Second Circuit’s decision stand, it will set a devastating anti-free speech precedent at a time when the First Amendment is under widespread attack. The Supreme Court should correct the Second Circuit’s egregious misstep and uphold our Constitution.