Global pressure mounts on Israel as Gaza death toll surges, war deepens    Egypt targets 7.7% AI contribution to GDP by 2030: Communications Minister    Irrigation Minister highlights Egypt's water challenges, innovation efforts at DAAD centenary celebration    Egypt discusses strengthening agricultural ties, investment opportunities with Indian delegation    Al-Sisi welcomes Spain's monarch in historic first visit, with Gaza, regional peace in focus    Cairo governor briefs PM on Khan el-Khalili, Rameses Square development    El Gouna Film Festival's 8th edition to coincide with UN's 80th anniversary    Egypt's gold prices fall on Wednesday    Egypt expands medical, humanitarian support for Gaza patients    Egypt condemns Israeli offensive in Gaza City, warns of grave regional consequences    Cairo University, Roche Diagnostics inaugurate automated lab at Qasr El-Ainy    Egypt investigates disappearance of ancient bracelet from Egyptian Museum in Tahrir    Egypt launches international architecture academy with UNESCO, European partners    Egypt signs MoUs with 3 European universities to advance architecture, urban studies    Egypt's Sisi, Qatar's Emir condemn Israeli strikes, call for Gaza ceasefire    Egypt condemns terrorist attack in northwest Pakistan    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



`Hillary: The Movie,' now showing at Supreme Court
Published in Daily News Egypt on 23 - 03 - 2009

Months after its debut, Hillary: The Movie faces nine of the nation s toughest critics: the Supreme Court.
The justices review of the slashing documentary financed by longtime critics of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton could bring more than just a thumbs up or thumbs down. It may settle the question of whether the government can regulate a politically charged film as a campaign ad.
David Bossie, a former Republican congressional aide who produced the Clinton movie and another describing then-Sen. Barack Obama as an overhyped media darling, said his films are about important moments in American politics.
The outcome of this case will dictate how we re able to make films and educate people about them, he said.
At issue in the case being argued before justices Tuesday is the 90-minute anti-Clinton movie and television ads Bossie wanted to air during the 2008 primaries advertising the film.
Bossie s group, the conservative Citizens United, released the movie as Clinton, then a New York senator, was competing with Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The movie is unquestionably anti-Clinton, featuring commentary from conservative pundits, some of whom specifically say Clinton was not fit to be commander in chief.
One scene, which was used in an ad, has Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton who is now a critic of the Clintons, saying the senator is the closest thing we have in America to a European socialist.
The movie was shown in eight theaters. Bossie s group wanted to run ads on television in key election states during peak primary season and show the movie on cable television s video-on-demand.
Federal courts said the ads would violate the McCain-Feingold law, the popular name for 2002 revisions to the nation s campaign finance laws.
Judges called Hillary: The Movie a 90-minute attack ad, rulings that would require Citizens United to identify the financial backers for the ads if they were to appear on television.
The court also said that if Bossie s group showed the movie on cable television, financial backers would have to be named and the group would have to pay the cost of airing the movie.
Citizens United appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that Hillary: The Movie should not be considered a political ad. The group says there is nothing in the movie urging people to vote against Clinton. The group says the film is more of a documentary comparable to critical television news programs such as Frontline, Nova and 60 Minutes.
The fact that Hillary presents a critical assessment of Sen. Clinton s political background, character, and fitness for office does not convert the movie ... into an appeal to vote against Sen. Clinton, said Theodore Olson, Citizens United s lawyer.
Indeed, a critical exposition of the political background and policy views of a former first lady and sitting US senator is precisely the type of uninhibited, robust, and wide open debate and discussion that the First Amendment protects and encourages, Olson argues.
A panel of federal judges disagreed, calling Hillary nothing but an extended-length political attack ad. The Justice Department agreed, saying " Hillary is a 90-minute advocacy piece whose unmistakable meaning is that Hillary Clinton should not be elected president.
Some question whether that declaration strays too close to regulation of journalists, who generally have been exempt from campaign finance rules.
Without passing judgment on the content of Hillary, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a brief supporting Citizens United, telling the Supreme Court that the media has been critical of presidential candidates since George Washington.
By criminalizing the distribution of a long-form documentary film, as if it was nothing more than a very long advertisement, the district court has created uncertainty about where the line between traditional news commentary and felonious advocacy lies, the group said.
If the decision is upheld, I can certainly see journalists running afoul of this law in the future, lawyer Lucy Dalglish said.
This isn t the first time documentary filmmakers have been questioned in relation to campaign finance laws. Citizens United in 2004 sought to keep filmmaker Michael Moore from advertising Fahrenheit 9/11 - which was critical of President George W. Bush - in the run-up to the presidential election.
The Federal Election Commission, charged with enforcing the McCain-Feingold law, dismissed the complaint after Moore said he had no plans to run the ads during election season.
Bossie said Moore s success is what inspired him. Michael Moore forced me to recognize the power of documentary film, said Bossie, who was involved in the House s investigation of Bill Clinton that led to the president s impeachment and trial.
So regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, expect to see more politically charged movies from Citizens United.
Soon after Obama secured the nomination, Bossie s organization came out with Obama: The Hype Effect and ran into the same legal problems with the Federal Election Commission. That didn t stop the group from having free DVDs inserted into The Columbus Dispatch, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Bossie expects to produce at least 15 movies at his Washington-area studio by the next presidential election in 2012. Among them, he says, will be Stimulate This, an indictment of the recently enacted economic stimulus package.
The case is Citizens United v. FEC, 08-205. -AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.