Politicians should be held accountable when lies damage democratic institutions. Andrew Weissmann calls for structural reforms to prevent election deceit, arguing that returning to old norms is not enough. He proposes a Truth in Elections Act built on existing law and designed to hold political liars responsible without violating First Amendment free-speech rights. He points to the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 as a model, noting it criminalizes certain lies about military honors with intent to obtain tangible benefits and survived Supreme Court review. He also cites international examples where election systems are protected from damaging lies, including Brazil and the UK.
"If we ever get out of this mess, what systemic reforms can we do? Because I think we tried going back to the old norms [under Joe Biden] and thinking that was going to be enough, and maybe it will be, but I just have been thinking a lot about, structurally, what we can do differently. I think the circumstances in the United States have made it imperative that we be as creative as possible."
"Liar's Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America, Weissmann makes the case for major reform to hold political liars to account when their lies damage democracy itself, without falling afoul of free speech rights under the first amendment. Weissmann proposes a Truth in Elections Act, built on existing law."
"The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which criminalizes lying about military honors with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, survived a US supreme court challenge. Laying out his case for new legislation, Weissmann pointed to countries that protect elections from damaging lies."
"Examples include Brazil, where former president Jair Bolsonaro was jailed for election fraud lies that fueled a failed coup, and the UK, where, in 2010,"
Read at www.theguardian.com
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