Facebook Oversight Committee Taking Comments on Trump’s Suspension
Social media giant Facebook has called for comments from the public on former President Donald Trump’s indefinite suspension from the platform, with the input set to inform a decision by an advisory panel on whether Trump will be allowed back on.
Facebook’s Oversight Board, which includes lawyers, current and former journalists, rights advocates, and academics, said in an announcement Friday that people and groups with “valuable perspectives” on Trump’s suspension can submit their comments via an online form by a Feb. 8 deadline. The advisory group has until April to decide on whether to reinstate Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, which the company froze after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
Advocates Fear Biden Policies Could Undo Trump-Era Protections for Religious Liberty
President Joe Biden’s first day in office was marked by a flurry of executive orders. Among those was an order addressing discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. It augurs measures that would expand transgender access in areas such as the locker room and school sports, but fails to mention protections on the grounds of religious belief.
Biden’s order earned praise from civil rights activists but for many religious liberty advocates and groups, the trajectory of the new administration’s policies are presenting concerns and questions over what they could mean for the constitutionally enshrined freedom to exercise one’s religion.
Kaine Floats ‘Alternative’ to Trump Impeachment Trial, but Schumer Holds Firm
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is working to get support to avoid an impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump but the body’s top Democrat said in a message Wednesday that a trial will definitely take place.
Tuesday’s vote on a point of order declaring the trial unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office drew support from 45 Republicans, showing clearly the difficulty Democrats would have in trying to convince 17 to join them to vote to convict the former president.
Kaine said the vote “was completely clarifying that we’re not going to get near 67 votes.”