Originally Posted By: Chant
I don't know about America, but in many European countries we have all these slander and libel laws. Laws intended to ensure that people can defend themselves against what they consider untruthful articles, newsstories, etc.

However. If you knowingly and intentionally put yourself "out there" for election to a political office or simply gather for yourself a lot of press you lose the protection of these laws.
Technically you're still protected but you're unlikely to win a case because you yourself chose to open yourself to public scrutiny and criticism.


That's not particularly different than the US law in this area. And that's why Obama's actions against his critics are particularly invidious. He he trying to 'rewrite' longstanding US law on free speech to stifle his critics.