Journalist arrested after asking some hard questions about Rudy Giuliani's knowledge of 9/11

[RagingInMiami]

Unbelievable that this has not made the mainstream media considering the guy was surrounded by a sea of reporters when he was arrested after asking Giuliani's staffers about the ex-mayor's prior knowledge that a World Trade Center building would collapse.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOerYpJse30

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Reporter_arrested_after_Republican_debate_0606.html

http://infowars.com/articles/ps/giuliani_reporter_arrested_on_orders_of_giuliani_press_sec.htm

[pberq]

1. Kick & Nominated

Is it fascism yet?

[a kennedy]

2. Wow,

[geardaddy]

3. The raw story link is broken.

[RagingInMiami]

5. It was working a moment ago

[RagingInMiami]

9. Fixed

The one that works is an html link, the one that doesn't is an an htm link. Go figure.

[stillcool]

4. I don't suppose this post...

will be here much longer, so I'll kick it while I still can..before its off to the dungeon. :kick:

[RagingInMiami]

6. This post is not about 9/11

It's about a huge violation of the First Amendment caught on camera.

[stillcool]

11. I see that...

which is why I K&R'ed...but it's got the taboo in the title.

[originalpckelly]

19. This was on the campus of a private university...

if it had been on a street corner, then it would be unwarranted and unconstitutional, however, when you're on someone else's property you don't have the right to raise hell and get away with it if they don't approve.

[RagingInMiami]

22. How was he raising hell?

It was a press conference and he was asking questions.

[Atman]

23. Bullshit.

He didn't "raise hell." And, more important, he was credentialed by the sponsoring organization. He was officially recognized as a reporter whose purpose for being there was to ask questions and cover the event. He did so...and was arrested when they didn't like his question.

How dare you try to justify this type of gestapo tactic for one second. Wake the fuck up, man.

.

[Gabi Hayes]

25. god...the irony is simply STAGGERING. can you imagine the outcry

if Chavez had resorted to this sort of fascist tactic in Venezuela?

If you don't know what I'm getting at, just wait until the inevitable Chavez-as-Hitler-Pol-Pot-Stalin thread makes its way up the board.

you'll see what I mean

[Cha]

7. It comes under the heading of..

"IT'S THE MEDIA, STUPID!" and "ghouliani is a fascist prig who's not gonna be president of the USA".

[wildbilln864]

8. K&R #9! n/t

[AuntPatsy]

10. Read that earlier on the net, should be breaking news on all stations...

I even wondered why it took so long to be posted here.

[IChing]

12. It hit the greatest page 3 times here yesterday.

with numerous recommendations averaging around 30
on three separate threads.

[AuntPatsy]

14. Thought it just happened, I was not on the net yesterday.

[wildbilln864]

13. kick damnit! n/t

[CGowen]

15. I saw a blip on the CNN blog

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/05/spinning-out-of-control/


MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) — The debate’s over, but the real fun is just underway. All the action right now is in the Spin Room. Never heard of such a place? Well, it’s where the candidates go to tell journalists and bloggers what they just said - and meant - in the debate.

And it’s where ’surrogates’ go to brag about how well their candidates performed, which is basically SPIN.

Right now the room is packed. Reporters are doing live shots at the corners of the room and journalists and camera operators are crowding around surrogates speaking from ten different stations, one for each campaign. It’s quite a zoo but very entertaining. The biggest star in the room right now is Senator Sam Brownback. He’s the only candidate in the room but more will follow.

And guess what: Someone was just escorted out of the spin room by security. No details yet. But this also happened in the spin room during the Democratic debate on Sunday when blogger Eric Alterman was arrested.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

[originalpckelly]

16. I don't know about you, but would you trust a squirrelly acting person around...

a bunch of Presidential candidates?

This person was also harassing the individual, he could have just asked the question in a normal tone of voice, but he didn't and the tone of voice appears to be very threatening. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have someone come harassing myself out of nowhere about stuff that just doesn't make any sense (which is probably how the spokesperson felt being a Republican who never has heard this stuff before like DUers have.)

[RagingInMiami]

21. His tone of voice and his appearance is very subjective

I've been at loads of press conferences and his tone and attitude was not any different than many reporters, including myself when I feel I am being stonewalled.

[slowry]

17. Ok

So they have the equipment to broadcast live, worldwide, over the Net, but they can't produce a piece of paper with the transcript? They just shouted the guy down, and when he didn't want to wait for them to boot their laptop, and hit up Google Video, they just flipped out more, showing no sign of letting up.

If someone did that to me, I'd expect a little help from the police too, if they're standing right there. Where in the 1st Amendment are these kids afforded the right to shout someone else down, who doesn't want anything to do with them (after even attempting to humor them)?

Also, the clip in question doesn't seem that interesting. Giuliani says they were headquartered in a building near ground zero, and someone came in and warned them the tower was going to come down. They didn't have time to pick up the stuff on their desks and leave the building, before it did, so who exactly were they supposed to warn? And wasn't whoever warned them obviously warning people already?

Eugghhhh... all I feel is embarrassment for these kids.

edit: but I do clearly find this all entertaining, which is sad. Here's another clip, where they approach the Ghoul himself: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GbPSgNf-b-0&mode=related&search=">http://youtube.com/watch?v=GbPSgNf-b-0

It's sad. The girl has no self-confidence, and can barely get out the question. The guy off-camera isn't sure where Giuliani was at the time of the warning, even though he says the actual address, in the clip in question.

Guh back to codemonkeying for me...

[originalpckelly]

20. I know, plus it doesn't fall under the 4th amendment as it was on private property.

I have a huge problem with a debate being held on private property, but when it is, then this sort of arrest is not illegal or even unconstitutional.

[RagingInMiami]

24. "they showed no sign of letting up"

I guess that reporter did not get the memo that dictates a journalist is supposed to speak when spoken to and go away when they are told to do so.

I guess that reporter did not get Bush's memo that dictates a reporter only has one question to ask, so he better use it wisely.

I guess that reporter still believed there was such a thing as freedom of the press.

The truth is, even if you don't think the question was relevant or if you think that is was unprofessional, it was still protected under the First Amendment.

You ask: "Where in the 1st Amendment are these kids afforded the right to shout someone else down, who doesn't want anything to do with them (after even attempting to humor them)?".

Tell me where in the First Amendment does it say you don't have the right to shout someone down who doesn't want anything to do with you.

The First Amendment is very broad. Even offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment, which is why the KKK has the right to march through black neighborhoods.

The reporter may have offended Giuliani's flack with his questions, but he was not breaking the law.

The reporter was charged with criminal trespass, but how can you charge someone with trespass after you invite them onto your property?

This was a press conference, which means a multitude of reporters were invited to attend. If you arrest one of them because you don't like the questions they ask, then you are in violation of the First Amendment.

Giuliani's flack could easily have done what Bush does every day to Helen Thomas. Ignore him.

[slowry]

27. "We demand an answer".

You keep saying it was the question itself which caused this scene, when it was clearly the way the kid was shouting and "demanding" an answer. Just because they were invited doesn't mean they can do whatever they want. Even when the police came over to break it up, he kept going, talking himself right out of the building.

They were confrontational and unprofessional from the start ("you're live on the internets"). If they had a transcript, it seems clear that the guy would have at least tried to respond, but they gave him no reason to.

Giuliani's flack could easily have done what Bush does every day to Helen Thomas. Ignore him.

The guy in his own words "tried to be polite", even as they sabotaged him in a snotty way, yet still he was going to try to answer. When he did try to ignore them, they kept shouting; if Helen Thomas acted this way in a press conference, she'd be removed all the same -- there is, however, no comparison between these guys and Helen Thomas.

It feels really nasty having to defend anyone working for Giuliani, but this just seems way overblown and silly.

edit: here's some more of "wearechange"'s work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ4iYUcak-A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ4iYUcak-A

More solid journalism?

[RagingInMiami]

28. The "kid" got roughed up outside

according to the other reporter. His camera was damaged in the process.

Having gone through this myself, I totally believe this happened even though we did not witness it. After all, we have yet to see a video of what the reporter was recording. I'm sure that ended up in the memory hole.

You obviously have not been to a whole lot of press conferences because I can assure you, they can get nasty. This reporter may have been aggressive. He may have been pursuing a dead angle. He may have been unprofessional.

But he acted no different than Geraldo Rivera or many other "top-notch" reporters during a heated interview. Not everybody is as easy-going as Katie Couric.

[slowry]

29. If it's true he was roughed up outside, that's different.

Assuming he wasn't getting physical himself, then yeah, that's messed up, and a whole different ballgame.

btw, I followed your story a couple few months(?) back with rapt attention, as stories of cop-thuggery always entertain, though in a very vomit-inducing way. This just seems like, well, people from infowars.com trying to get arrested, as they seem to like to do.

Once in awhile I still hear the scream of that dude who got tasered like 12 times in some University library... damn internets.

[RagingInMiami]

30. When I was getting arrested

And they were bashing my head against the pavement and twisting my wrist back to less than a 90 degree angle, I protested against their aggressive behavior.

But I shut my mouth as soon as one said, "If you don't shut up, we're going to tase you."

After all, I remember that guy's screams as well.

[slowry]

32. .

:scared:

[tbyg52]

35. ...but how can you charge someone with trespass after you invite them onto your property?

Easy--it's repug-think. When he asked an inconvenient question, he became un-invited.

[VP505]

18. So many

questions about this whole sordid affair, I hope the reporter can get some good representation and file suit against all involved. This is the kind of thing that our bill of rights supposedly should prevent. Tell me that two terms of Bu$hCo, his Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act haven't done much damage to our country. This incident should open the eyes of everyone regardless of party that something is really wrong with our system.

[Rex]

26. Didn't he get the memo? 911 changed everything!

They spout that shit and really mean it when it comes to avoiding questions that should have been answered years ago.

That he got arrested for asking questions should raise alarms, but not in America.

[LibertyorDeath]

31. Great comment on Youtube below video

"A reminder of 9/11. 2 bldgs in New York specifically designed to withstand multiple 747 jet collisions crumbled to the ground after been hit by 1 plane each. A third 47 story skyscraper crumbled in the same fashion.. without the impact of a jet. A plane in Pennsylvania crashes to the ground, and only small bits of debris could be found at the scene. And lastly, a plane an hour after the previous episodes occur, is able to hit the pentagon with no challenge by the military."

[AuntPatsy]

33. seirously, if all that does not leave one asking questions I don't know what would.

[RagingInMiami]

34. Just try having a reporting asking a politician to explain all that

without getting arrested.

[B Calm]

36. Giuliani's staffers acting like mobsters..

[Supersedeas]

37. the Bernie Kerik effect