Author: William H. Freivogel

From Deep Throat to WikiLeaks

By William H. Freivogel The most outstanding example of the press and the courts acting together to check the abuse of presidential power is the Pentagon Papers. Congress had fallen down on its oversight during when on Aug. 7, 1964 it approved the Gulf of Tonkin resolution authorizing the Vietnam War. The resolution was based

Trump attacks checks on his power

By William H. Freivogel   In the past half century the most reliable checks on presidential power have been a watchdog press and independent judiciary. In his first weeks in office, President Donald Trump has attacked the legitimacy of both institutions with a fusillade of insults, misstatements and lies.  They were among the 133 lies

The Bill of Rights puts on a business suit

When America celebrated the 200th birthday of the Bill of Rights in 1991, no one foresaw the powerful forces that would remake it over the next quarter century. The communications revolution and rise of Facebook-Twitter-Google democracy The loss of privacy to unforeseen technology 11, 2001, and the growth of the national security state Citizens United

The press’s identity crisis

The press is losing its power, its credibility and its way. As the Bill of Rights turns 225, the one business it protects, the press, is suffering an identity crisis. Who is a journalist? Is Julian Assange a publisher? By democratizing news does the Internet serve democracy or confuse it? By serving as a world

Remembering Judge Rick

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard B. Teitelman was a friend of equal justice, a friend of the Bill of Rights and a friend of the journalism review. He was a friend of mine and many others his life touched. This issue celebrating the 225th the Bill of Rights is dedicated to Judge Rick who died