Below is my column in The Hill on the new policy of Secretary Marco Rubio to deny entry of foreign figures responsible for the censorship of American citizens. It would constitute the first meaningful response to the growing threat of Europe to free speech in the United States. In the very least, it signals that the United States is prepared to fight to preserve this “Indispensable Right.”
Here is the column:
Winston Churchill once warned that “appeasement is feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last.” When it comes to the crocodile of censorship, history is strewn with defenders who later became digestives. Censorship produces an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech limits, and today’s censorship supporters often become tomorrow’s censored subjects.
This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stopped feeding the crocodile.
On May 28, 2025, Rubio shocked many of our allies by issuing a new visa restriction policy that bars foreign nationals deemed “responsible for censorship of protected expression” in the U.S.
The new policy follows a major address by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich challenging our European allies to end their systematic attacks on free speech. Vance declared, “If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump.”
At the time, I called the speech “Churchillian” in drawing a bright line for the free world. Rubio’s action is no less impressive and even more impactful.
Europe has faced no consequences for its aggressive efforts at transnational censorship. Indeed, this should not be a fight for the administration alone. Congress should explore reciprocal penalties for foreign governments targeting American companies or citizens for engaging in protected speech.
After Vance spoke in Munich, I spoke in Berlin at the World Forum, where European leaders gathered in one of the most strikingly anti-free speech conferences I have attended. This year’s forum embraced the slogan “A New World Order with European Values.”
That “new world order” is based on an aggressive anti-free speech platform that has been enforced for years by the European Union. At the heart of this effort is the Digital Services Act, a draconian law that allows for sweeping censorship and speech prosecutions. Most importantly, it has been used by the EU to threaten American corporations for their failure to censor Americans and others on social media sites.
After the World Forum, I returned home to warn that this is now an existential war over a right that defines us as a people —the very “Indispensable Right” identified by Justice Louis Brandeis, which is essential for every other right in the Constitution.
The irony was crushing. I wrote about how this nation has fought to protect our rights in world wars, yet many in Congress simply shrug or even support the effort as other countries move to make Americans censor other Americans.
What was most unnerving about Berlin was how Americans have encouraged Europeans to target their fellow citizens. At the forum was Hillary Clinton who, after Elon Musk purchased Twitter on a pledge to dismantle its massive censorship system, called upon the EU to use the Digital Services Act to force him to resume censorship.
Other Americans have appeared before the EU to call upon it to oppose the U.S. Nina Jankowicz, the former head of President Joe Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, has recently returned to the EU to rally other nations to oppose what she described as “the autocracy, the United States of America.”
She warned that the Digital Services Act was under attack, and that the EU had to fight and beat the U.S.: “Do not capitulate. Hold the line.”
Former European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton even threatened Musk for interviewing Trump before our last presidential election. He told Musk that he was being “monitored” in conducting any interview with now-President Trump.
The EU is doubling down on these efforts, including threatening Musk with prosecution and massive confiscatory fines if he does not resume censoring users of X. The penalties are expected to exceed $1 billion.
Other countries are following suit. Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes shut down X in his entire country over Musk’s refusal to remove political posts. These countries could remotely control speech within the U.S., forcing companies like X to meet the lowest common denominator set by the EU and anti-free speech groups.
There are free speech concerns even in such measures designed to protect free speech. This policy should be confined to government officials, particularly EU officials, who are actively seeking to export European censorship systems worldwide. It should not extend to academics or individuals who are part of the growing anti-free speech movement. Free speech itself can counter those voices. These are the same voices that we have heard throughout history, often using the very same terms and claims to silence others.
However, Rubio showed Europe that the U.S. would not simply stand by as European censors determined what Americans could say, read, or watch. As the EU threatens companies like X with billion-dollar fines, it is time for the U.S. to treat this as an attack on our citizens from abroad.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt put it simply during World War II: “No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.”
It is time to get serious about the European threat to free speech. And Rubio is doing just that — finally imposing real consequences for censorship. We are not going to defeat censors by yelling at them. Speech alone clearly does not impress them.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
The EU’s Digital Services Act is absurdly antithetical to American constitutional law.
Conflicts between EU Directives and national constitutional law are inevitable, but enforcement of this act amounts to a nuclear option.
“Directives” is the keyword here. Just like politbureau in ole USSR, EU pols elected themselves and pull rules out of their arses.
Maybe the greatest constitutional crisis of both the 20th and 21st Centuries is “Warrantless covert blacklisting” – commonly called “Cointelpro” tactics. 100% illegal in the United States under the U.S. Constitution.
This is arguably the worst and most dangerous constitutional violation in American history because it robs its victims of “legal standing” in the Judicial Branch court system.
It bypasses judges entirely. It bypasses constitutional judicial review entirely (“Marbury v. Madison” 1803).
No other violation of rights ribs you of legal standing. If your gun rights were violated, you have legal standing to challenge it in court. If any other right is violated you can challenge it in court.
On some levels, prisoners in real physical prisons have more rights than innocent Americans that were covertly blacklisted. Those real criminals can challenge mistakes and fraud in court, in a timely manner.
The U.S. Supreme Court may want to research what was termed “Cointelpro-On-Steroids” in 2001. Innocent Americans are still being harmed more than 20 years later John Roberts!
Anyone see that Trump is now looking to have Palente create an American database of all of the citizens? Here is the CEO of Pat stating that the whole reason the EU was able to stop anybody on the right was because of their software!
Based on this article it seems that Marco Rubio is about to bar anyone from volunteer from entering the United States or at the very least that’s what he should do if that’s what his order says and what he’s trying to do! if you’re the company that created the censorship architecture and now you’re gonna create an American database I’m sorry you’re an enemy of the American people!
Here he is on ex boasting about it
“CIA agent and head of Palantir Alex Karp says his company’s software “single-handedly” stopped the “far right” in Europe.
Founded in 2003 with funding from the CIA’s In-Q-Tel program, Palantir’s only client before 2008 was the CIA.”
Several people I shared this with said it was disconnected, but we’ll see
https://x.com/ReedCooley/status/1928890292041568697/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1928890292041568697¤tTweetUser=ReedCooley
Palantir’s stated goal is to make the USA the most powerful country on earth.
You can expect it to be attacked by our enemies as shown in this unhinged post by jd.
oH nOeS! The surveillance state in place since 2001, and greatly expanded under Savior Obamna, wants to more efficiently use their data with… unspecified contracts from known security groups?
Cry harder, little shepherd boy. The wolf came in long ago.
-Rabble
Funny how most folks for got about that. 911 created nightmare.
The state here in West Trumpistan today.
Bidenville without any leadership known is far superior.
Zelensky was momentarily successful and regretfully wrong.
General Patton was profoundly correct.
The Allies must have gone straight to Moscow in 1945.
WWIII started during the third term of Obongo under his demented ruse, Joe Biden.
The DIs taught us in Infantry School that the only possible response to an ambush is immediate direct attack—you’re in the kill zone and completely out of options, men.
Surrender is bereft of potency.
NATO must now fiercely counterattack Russia and negotiate its capitulation.
NATO is completely out of options.
The moslems In the EU and UK will do fine with Russia.
100 ON THE TERROR WATCHLIST WERE RELEASED ALL OVER AMERICA BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION!!
BOULDER TERROR SUSPECT WAS A BIDEN “NEWCOMER”
At the forum was Hillary Clinton who, after Elon Musk purchased Twitter on a pledge to dismantle its massive censorship system, called upon the EU to use the Digital Services Act to force him to resume censorship….Nina Jankowicz, the former head of President Joe Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, has recently returned to the EU to rally other nations to oppose what she described as “the autocracy, the United States of America.”
Democrats/MSM have nothing to offer except attack, insult, denigrate America. Successive polls reflect that Americans have tuned DNC/MSM out. They are at a point of no return. Not even
Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Ron Klain, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Jill BidenGreta Thunberg can save them.🤣
Democrats fall behind GOP in popularity: Poll
Democrats continue to trail Republicans in favorability ratings among Americans, according to the latest The Economist/YouGov poll. The poll, conducted in late May, shows the GOP with a net favorability rating of negative 11 percent, while Democrats follow 10 points behind, with a net favorability rating of negative 21 percent. Among Americans surveyed, 41 percent view Republicans favorably and 52 percent view them unfavorably, whereas only 36 percent of Americans view Democrats favorably and 57 percent view them unfavorably.
The latest poll comes as Democrats face renewed scrutiny over their handling of questions surrounding former President Biden’s age and mental acuity in the final months of his term in office.
The latest poll was conducted between May 23 and May 26 and included 1,660 U.S. adults. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5320664-democrats-republicans-popularity-poll/
Estovir – Greta Thunberg will singlehandedly restore the Dems’ popularity by saying “How dare you?” a few hundred times to the American people. That and side with terrorists while trashing Israel. The American people will love her for that, I’m sure.
They already say that constantly.
HOW DARE YOU to want secure borders
HOW DARE YOU to want illegals off the streets
HOW DARE YOU desire better care for homeless and veterans
HOW DARE YOU think differently than us
On and on and on, rabbling with the rabblerousers.
-Rabble
Looks like the law firms that caved to Trump are in a spot of bother.
Big clients are pulling business from these law firms complaining that they don’t know how to fight.
Republican mega-donor Ken Griffin owns the major hedge fund company Citadel The general counsel for the company stood up at a recent luncheon to question the firm they use. The lawyer, a former federal prosecutor, “essentially said, we want to be in business with people who are willing to undertake a fight”
Oracle was founded and co-owned by one of Trump’s friends, Larry Ellison. They are switching to another law firm. They don’t want to be represented by someone who doesn’t know how to fight. “If you can’t fight for yourself and your own principles, why should we hire you?” they said.
Trump should just quit, huh? I bet he will too. You just hold your breath, comrade!
This just in: Trump advocates for not putting your head in a plastic bag, wrapping it around your neck, and breathing deeply! More at 11.
-Rabble
*. If yall have any money sell all that you own and fly out like bat outta he//.
I think everyone here would agree that those who defraud the government should face the harshest possible penalties.
I know Trump believes this and has had Musk rooting out such fraud.
In 2016 a South Florida man, Lawrence Duran, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for defrauding Medicare of $87 million by filing 866,000 false claims through his health clinics.
I’m sure everyone will agree that this sentence was appropriate.
Trump just commuted his sentence to time served.
I wonder how much Duran had to pay Trump for this favor.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article307566596.html
Did he pay back the money?
No.
But why would that make any difference.
If you rob a bank, get caught, and the money is returned to the bank, then you are still guilty of bank robbery.
What an idiot.
Try to get a grip on reality instead of twisting yourself into a pretzel to rationalize Trump’s insanity and grifting.
I wasn’t. The deed is done with pardon. I’d like the money back.
His wife billed Medicare 866, ooo times? Jeez, that computer was spitting out billing 24/7.
He needs to be asked about this. The woman was commuted also. On the face of it pretty bad.
I thought the fake episcopalian property fraud was the worst scheme but Medicare fraud may get the prize.
I BRIEFLY looked at DJTs clemency and I don’t see a pattern. Many for obstructing entances to clinics, others for drug stuff, some like Roger Stone etc. There’s no pattern.
Medicaid is illicit and unconstitutional.
“[Congress] are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please,” Thomas Jefferson.
Congress may tax for ONLY debt, defense, and “general Welfare”—Medicaid provides for 16% of the population, which does not constitute “general Welfare.”
Read Article 1, Section 8.
* I disagree. In first world nations medical care is an expectation in whatever way it is made available. Medical costs are deductible, educating enough physicians, and HMOs are available for major medical coverage.
So you read Article 1, Section 8, understanding that we’re in the United States?
Since you’re so incensed by the defrauding of the US government, you must think the world of Elon Musk who has saved the government thousands of times that much money in his DOGE efforts, right? Right?
And even though you think Trump did the wrong thing on this pardon, you must think he’s a great president for directing Musk and others to root out such massive fraud, right? Right?
Classic cult behavior.
Make absurd conflations to try to rationalize the actions of a madman.
Here is a very simple question.
Do people who defraud the government deserve to go to prison for a long, long time ????
I seem to remember both Trump and Musk explicitly making statements to that effect.
It’s a yes or no question.
What a stupid response. It’s so obvious to everyone – perhaps everyone but you – that you don’t give a crap about the fraud involved, you just hate Trump and are incapable of admitting there is anything good about him. He is clearly rooting out hundreds of billions in fraud, waste, and abuse, yet you can’t admit it, you little child. Your TDS has made you mad. You are the madman here. You are the TDS-cult-member here.
P.S. Of course you post your drivel anonymously, meaning with no screen name.
OMFK
Why don’t you answer the question.
Do people who defraud the government deserve a long prison sentence??
Is Trump’s commutation in line with his explicit statements that fraudsters need to go to prison for a long time??
OMFK
So Trump is rooting out all this fraud, and simultaneously offering clemency to a fraudster.
And you seem to able to rationalize this.
It is obvious that the commutation was bought and paid for.
Trump has no interest in justice.
He is only interested in making a buck.
He is only interested in making a buck.
Wow are you delusional. Your TDS has made you psychotic. You have become completely detached from reality.
Trump donates his salary, he could make hundreds of millions or billions more in the private sector. He could have avoided all the lawfare and the assassination attempts by simply not running again and making a fortune in the private sector. You are pathetic.
So stupid!
Yes, they deserve a prison sentence, one that fits the crime. So, I guess you’re trying to trap me into saying I agree with Trump’s pardon. I don’t know the reason for the pardon, but from what little I have read I really don’t see why he would issue such a pardon. Without a good reason for it, I disagree with it. I don’t know the reason.
Now with that said, you, sir, are ridiculous. You come on here, pretending to be all outraged about the fraud, and yet you cannot even admit that Trump and Musk stopping 1,000 times as much fraud is a good thing. Your response to that is that Trump is a madman. You, sir, are the madman. You are literally deranged with TDS.
If you disagree with the above, then why don’t you explain why you are all outraged about this pardon but you can’t give Trump and Musk credit for doing the hard work of detecting where dishonest people are defrauding the government of literally hundreds of billions of dollars and trying to put a stop to it? Why is that? You are really pathetic.
OMFK
I gave absolutely no opinion about the efforts to root out fraud and abuse, apart from a simple observation that Trump and Musk were attempting to do just that.
You assume and project some other motive for my reasons to bring up the clemency.
You assume that I disagree with the efforts to root out fraud, in the complete absence of any statements by me to that effect.
You are simply setting up a straw man to attack without any rational basis.
That said, we agree that there is no obvious reason for this clemency.
But there has to be a reason.
Right ????
In the absence of any obvious reason, it is fair to assume that money changed hands.
In the light of all of Trump’s other money making ventures since regaining office, it is also fair to state that the Presidency is by far the most lucrative business that Trump has ever been involved in.
No, you’re wrong. I asked if, in light of your supposed outrage about the fraud, you were glad about Trump and Musk rooting out many times more fraud. You said that my question made me a cult member. So, that was a clear “no.” Which is what I expected, since I don’t believe your outrage about the fraud is sincere, you just hate Trump.
Second, yes there is always a reason for every decision, but no that doesn’t mean Trump is being personally bribed, which is ridiculous for the reasons I already pointed out. The reason probably had to do with some lobbying by the criminal’s friends. But suggesting this is how Trump “makes a buck” is delusional.
In sum . . . you are insincere in being supposedly shocked, shocked that there was such fraud and the fraudster was pardoned, and you are detached from reality in thinking the presidency is a lucrative business for Trump compared to what he could be doing instead. Those kind of delusions usually spring from a serious mental illness known colloquially as TDS, which it is obvious you have in spades.
Unfortunately you are the delusional one.
The evidence is quite clear that Trump is monetizing the Presidency for all he can.
Forbes has estimated that he has doubled his net worth on paper since regaining office.
This is mainly due to his big crypto scam.
His meme coin business has raked in billions of dollars from all over the world including from Saudi Arabia, UAE and other rogue nations trying to buy influence.
Of course this is all a scam. The meme coin has zero intrinsic value. It is literally something that was created out of thin air. The only reason to buy it is to curry favor with Trump, or to buy it on the greater fool theory that some idiot will pay more for it than you do.
It has also been bought up by other crypto shysters such as Justin Sun who has been indicted for fraud and has openly admitted asking Trump for a pardon.
Trump also pardoned the 4 founders of the BitMEX crypto exchange who were convicted of fraud.
Unsurprisingly, these criminals are also “investors” in Trump’s crypto scam.
Trump is simply using his crypto scam to launder vast sums of money from rogue foreign nations who want to buy influence, and from criminals who want to buy pardons.
This is all happening in the open. They are not trying to hide this scam.
The idea, as you suggest, that Trump is making a huge financial sacrifice as President is laughably absurd.
The Presidency is far and away the most lucrative money making enterprise that Trump has ever devised.
Massive fraud appears to be a vocation?
President Joe Biden granted a total of 80 pardons during his time in office, along with 4,165 commutations, making for a total of 4,245 acts of clemency. This is the highest number of clemency actions by any president in U.S. history.!!!!!
And we can be sure “Joe” didn’t actually sign any of them.
-Rabble
What does the professor think about when American president threatens law firms and higher Ed colleges and universities with fines and / or punishing THEIR speech ?
It has been pointed out hundreds of times on this blog that institutions don’t have a right to anyone else’s hard-earned tax money. They can say what they like, and they can foment antisemitism, and they can indoctrinate students into cultural Marxism, but they can’t maintain a claim on tax money while doing so. That is a privilege.
It’s like the old man has never heard of a First Amendment retaliation claim
#9. Probably like the rest of us, figure that punishing political opponents is exactly what the Democrat Socialists have been doing ever since Obama. Trump’s just getting started. Get out the popcorn.
maplady…………….You need to loosen your ponytail scrunchee. It’s way too tight and affecting your reasoning process.
You’re welcome.
What does the professor think when the Deep Deep State “Swamp” communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) conduct monumental and criminal “lawfare” against their opponent in a presidential election after stealing the previous one?
Free Speech is NOT SUBSIDIZED!—that is called propaganda. Free Speech does not include offenses, physical force against persons and properties. The entities you mentioned are warned to adhere to the law. As in many cases, where violations occur, wrongs in themselves against the general public are punished by forfeitures and penalties. This is basic law. Take off your mask and quit depriving your brain of oxygen [and common sense].
Professor Turley,
Just last week, Rubio shut down visas for foreign students until the government can develop a plan to screen their speech on social media. This administration does not care about free speech.
https://apnews.com/article/student-visa-social-media-d71aa33ff756c1383b362f69bf5b7a17
Shame on you for reading into the First Amendment a restriction that only applies to US citizens.
Praising this anti-free speech administration, which participates in viewpoint discrimination and censorship of private news organizations that use disfavored terminology (like the AP) or colleges that fail to capitulate to absurd demands, shows your true colors. This administration detains international students and university employees for merely attending pro-Palestine demonstrations or penning an anti-Israel op-ed. It has argued in court that it can deport visa holders who express disfavored speech. That’s who you are praising now.
An anonymous commenter who comes onto a professor’s blog and says “shame on you” to the professor is a troll, pure and simple. Such a person is not interested in reasoned dialogue.
Resorting to ad hominem rather than a rational response. And yet I’m not interested in “reasoned dialogue”
The troll is on the other foot, methinks
Yep, preparing for war. You want to meet abrego garcia during war-time or Mr. Kahlil?
If war is being declared by Rubio then there are some things he must do to prove it.
First, he (the Administration) should immediately and very publicly revoke and permanently forbid any US government security clearances for H. Clinton, Nina Jankowicz or others who actively attack, or aid or abet the attacking, any of our sacred constitutional rights using foreign interventions, governmental or economic;
Second, he should begin the process to review the right of people who openly advocate throttling our right to free speech to hold a US passport, much less the highly valued Red (diplomatic) passport that many almost certainly have, as they have declared themselves enemies of the US Constitution and the principles on which this country was founded and should not ever be seen as the face of the USA;
Third, and most distasteful, it is past time for Rubio (the Administration) to determine whether the US citizen, “new world order” types like H. Clinton and Nina Jankowicz who openly advocate against our constitutional rights and publicly urge foreign countries to defeat the US on the very issues that make the US special are committing treason.
Anything short of such measures will mean everything Rubio is doing on this front is likely all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Imagine where we would be if Harris would have won.
15 MILLION MORE UNVETTED LET IN!!!
It is a soft cold war for European and Chinese censors to attempt to force American companies to censor users of social media platforms. If the EU and China will not allow uncensored content, then they can ban X, and the rest of social media.
I am so glad that Elon Musk bought Twitter. No one else in tech seems as committed to free speech, and willing to stand head on against opposition and threats from Europe.
I appreciate Rubio’s response to foreign officials threatening American citizens unless they censor speech.
Marco Rubio and JD Vance= Future Presidents.
Americans who will defend America.