Eric Herr: We all still have a responsibility to tell the truth

To The Daily Sun,

Bruce Jenket’s Letter to the Editor on April 18 covers much ground, from the Special Counsel John Durham's report to prosecutions for free speech and President Joe Biden administration deliberate failures like COVID misinformation and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Jenket describes my recent letter to the editor: “Voters should rely on facts, reason, and loyalty to the Constitution” as hypocritical, suggesting we resolve this via telephone, letting his assertions survive in print. I don’t think so. Bruce does deserve a thoughtful response in print. But that will require several letters to the editor.

In his letter, Bruce noted, "All the individuals and business (Fox News) cited were prosecuted for free speech.” I wrote that both Rudy Guilliani and Fox News had faced defamation suits over their statements regarding election fraud. Guilliani was sued for defamation by two election workers in Georgia, not the Department of Justice, for his statements regarding their actions during the election. On July 26, 2023, Guiliani admitted in court filings that he made defamatory statements about the two election workers. Jenket asserts that the Constitution's First Amendment protected Guiliani’s statements.

Freedom of speech is indeed a Constitutionally-protected right. But that protection does not absolve false statements that injure a third party, i.e., defamation. With free speech comes responsibility. The Supreme Court found in favor of the Georgia election workers, imposing a $148 million penalty on Guiliani. Guilliani’s reaction, “It will be reversed so quickly, it may make your head spin.” The lower court decision was upheld on appeal.

Similarly, Fox News was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation. Fox settled, avoiding a trial, paying DVS $787 million, the largest settlement for defamation by a media company in US history. Like the Georgia case, the suit was brought by a private party, not the Department of Justice.

Both legal actions were about bearing responsibility for making false statements that injure another party, not Free Speech.

We all enjoy Constitutionally-protected freedom of speech. But we also have a responsibility to the truth.

Eric Herr

Hill