White House Appeal for Fishy" Emails Warrants Lawsuit
The American Association of Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education (CURE) have filed a lawsuit in DC District Court against the Obama White House for their request for fishy" emails from opponents.
Star Parker Founder & President of CURE expressed that while the White Houses bullying did not dissuade her she does find it disconcerting that President Obamas administration would see no problem in developing a database to track those who might oppose their policies.As a black conservative spokesperson and columnist intimidation tactics arent new to me" Parker said. But it is of great concern to see the current Administration build an enemies list of those who disagree with them on this important issue.
In an August 4 2009 press release the Obama Administration asked that supporters turn in any persons guilty of disseminating disinformation" that is contrary to their faming of liberal health care reform proposals.
Healthcarehorserace.com discovered last Tuesday that the White House disabled the
flag@whitehouse.gov" email address they provided for submitting the sources of fishy" emails.
Still the buzz surrounding the White Houses appeal persisted with Americans on both sides of the aisle concerned that the Obama Administration overreached by essentially monitoring the discourse of private citizens regarding policy issues that
will impact their lives forever.
Now the AAPS and CURE intend to fight for these Americans and make an example out of the Administration for their inappropriate exercise of power.
The White House has unlawfully collected information on political speech" thereby illegally using the power of the White House to chill opposition to its plans for health care reform according to the complaint filed in District Court <
http://www.aaps-eop-complaint.pdf/> for the District of Columbia by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) <
http://www.urbancure.org/>
The lawsuit was prompted by the White House solicitation for the public to report any fishy" comments to
flag@whitehouse.gov.
Although the White House slightly revised its data collection procedure last week the email address still exists the illegal activity continues and is part of an unlawful pattern and practice to collect and maintain information" on the exercise of free speech which continues in violation of the Privacy Act and First Amendment even if the Defendants terminate a particular information-collection component due to negative publicity."
The lawsuit outlines how the White House has employed a form of bait-and-switch" tactic of accusing the Plaintiffs and other opponents of spreading misinformation about the Administrations goals for health care reform and thereby refusing to come clean about its real agenda.
The groups believe that the White House knew that the data collection would chill free speech and in fact intended to do just that." According to Kathryn Serkes of AAPS the call to report Obamacare adversaries catalyzed a significant increase in the number and severity of scathing emails her organization received.
My hate mail started shortly after the White House issued the fishy request" said Kathryn Serkes Director of Policy and Public Affairs. We were quite visible and vocal before then so it doesnt seem like a coincidence. Who did they share their data with? With whom might they share it?"
A few significant excerpts from the AAPS and CURE lawsuit delivered to the White House include:
43. As part of their effort to advance the White House healthcare reform agenda Defendants have accused opponents (including Plaintiffs) of spreading misinformation on issues such as whether (a) health reform would provide public funding for abortions (b) put death panels" in place to deny care to the elderly or infirm (c) amount to a government takeover of healthcare and (d) increase healthcare costs..the Defendants and the administration have spread misinformation semantics and disinformation on these topics…..
45. By denying and continuing to deny that healthcare reform legislation includes death panels" that make individual life-or-death decisions on the elderly or infirm the Defendants and the current administration have ignored and implicitly denied and continue to ignore and implicitly to deny both that their healthcare reform agenda involves rationing healthcare…"
The lawsuit demands that the Obama Administration remove all information already collected and further be prohibited from collecting any personal data in the future." It requests declaratory and injunctive relief" a procedure that would force the White House to cease their fishy" email collections or face criminal penalties.
Such a judicial restraint is rare as the courts have ruled consistently in favor of the defendants right to freedom of speech. This case might be different however
because the White House is a federally-funded entity and the injunction in the eyes of the plaintiffs would provide the only remedy to correct their errors and protect the American people.
AAPS and CURE argue that Americans First Amendment-guaranteed rights to privacy and freedom of speech deem the behavior of the White House as unconstitutional.
The suit was issued yesterday to the Executive Office of the President" located at none other than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and was addressed to Nancy-Ann Deparle director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform and Macon Phillips the Director of New Media for the White House.
