Lieu Blasts Priebus’ Libel Comments
‘Marching America down the road to authoritarianism’
California Rep. Ted Lieu blasted White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’ proposal to loosen libel laws.
Priebus was asked on “This Week” on Sunday whether President Donald Trump would pursue opening up libel laws or a constitutional amendment.
“I think it’s something that we’ve looked at and how that gets executed or whether it goes anywhere is a different story,” Priebus said.
Lieu tweeted that Priebus’ attitude should worry Republicans as much as Democrats.
This is marching America down the road to authoritarianism. Reince Preibus statements on stifling the press should alarm even Republicans. https://t.co/p7yTZaFCyq
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 30, 2017
The California Democrat has been a frequent critic of Trump since his election. Lieu previously introduced legislation that tried to put a psychiatrist in the White House.
Lieu also tweeted a report card for Trump’s first 100 days, criticizing him for playing golf so much and inventing the word “bigly” (even though Trump has said he is saying “big league”).
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain? @RepTedLieu gives @POTUS @realDonaldTrump his first #100Days #ReportCard. Nothing but #BrokenPromises! #Trump100Days pic.twitter.com/MbQQpDVpVa
— Rep. Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) April 28, 2017
The report card also included a note to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have taken on advisory roles in the administration, saying “an intervention is needed.”