Jim Acosta Deserves Due Process

Due Process of Law is a bedrock principle of the US Constitution. No one can be deprived of life, liberty or property without Due Process of Law. It is a principle that applies to the Federal Government through the Fifth Amendment, and to the State Governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. 

The concept of Due Process is actually fairly simple at its core. If the Government wants to take away a person’s right, whether it be property or a federal benefit, the Government must give notice of its intent to do so. The notice must sufficiently disclose the Government’s reasons. The person must be given a meaningful opportunity to defending his or her right. The Government must give the person a fair hearing. 

Due Process is messy. It’s inefficient. Due Process causes delay. That is by design. That is because a democracy is not supposed to do the most expedient thing; it is supposed to do the right thing. Thus, while it may be expedient to trample on the rights of a minority class for the benefit of the majority, Due Process prevents that from happening unless the Government has a darn good reason. To put simply, minority rights are protected against pure majority rule. 

And this is what frustrates President Trump time and time again in the manner that he runs the Federal Government. Trump wants things done his way, right away, no questions asked. To tell him he can’t do things his way is a mark of personal disloyalty, not a mark of true patriotism that values the rule of law above all else. 

Coming from the business world, Due Process is not the way Trump operates. He is used to demanding personal loyalty of his employees. He is used to winning negotiations through leverage and strength, not legal virtue. 

It should therefore come as no surprise when Trump expresses disdain for Due Process. We can’t have undocumented aliens come in the country and be given a hearing with the Immigration Courts. That will take too long. We can’t have recounts in the State of Florida. That’s just delay. We should just recognize who the winner is now and move on. 

One of the most egregious examples of Trump’s disdain for Due Process is his treatment of CNN Reporter Jim Acosta. It’s no secret that Acosta’s relentless questioning irritates Trump. He has routinely called Acosta rude and tried to evade Acosta’s questions. Last week, Trump revoked Acosta’s press pass. 

Ostensibly, the White House revoked Acosta’s press pass on the allegation that Acosta assaulted a young woman intern attempting to retrieve the microphone from Acosta. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders even tweeted a video to back up her claim. 

The problem is that the White House acted without giving Acosta notice of its intent to revoke his credentials or an opportunity to defend himself. In short, the White House denied Acosta Due Process. 

The denial of Due Process is particularly egregious in this case. Many claim that the video Huckabee Sanders released, which happened to originate from Alex Jones’ Infowars, was doctored. Governments should never be permitted to take away a person’s right through trumped up evidence. Thus, the evidence must be tested and Acosta must be given an opportunity to attack its reliability. Jim Acosta must be given Due Process. 

Acosta and CNN have filed a lawsuit over Acosta’s press credentials. One of the allegations is the denial of Due Process in violation of the Fifth Amendment. It is a decision that the court must decide properly in order to reign in Trump’s resistance to Due Process and temper his more dangerous authoritarian tendencies. 

By: William J. Kovatch, Jr.