If President Trump gives bad advice, can you sue him?

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President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, listens to a reporter’s question at the coronavirus (COVID-19) update briefing Thursday, March 26, 2020. Photo credit: Tia Dufour/White House.

President Trump has been making implicit threats to governors with relief funds amid the coronavirus crisis. Are there any legal restrictions on his ability to play favorites? Could any state or anyone sue because the president sent personal protective equipment to states whose governors said nicer things about him? Ken says the president has a lot of immunity in this area, even when he’s talking about unscientific treatments for Covid-19. Is Fox News also immune? What’s the difference here?

President Trump’s campaign has sent some angry cease-and-desist letters to TV stations that have aired a super PAC ad that criticizes his handling of the pandemic. And, parts of a lawsuit against the president for his revocation of press passes is allowed to move forward in part. 

Plus: an update on federal courts, now a few weeks into this crisis; Bill Barr is directing the Bureau of Prisons to release some federal inmates, and his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee has been postponed. Could that not be a Zoom meeting? 

Credits

Producer:

Sara Fay