Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Hillary: The Movie



This film was released in 2008, and was supposed to have played on Cable Television before it was blocked:
The film was scheduled to be offered as video-on-demand on cable TV right before the Democratic primaries in January 2008, but as "electioneering communication" to do so was illegal under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act which was enforced by the Federal Election Commission. The producers went to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to get a declaration that they could show their movie and promotional ads for it despite BCRA. 
This case was titled Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and its final decision at the U.S. Supreme Court resulted in a major change in campaign finance law. 
The documentary interviewed various conservative figures such as Dick Morris and Ann Coulter and reviewed various scandals in which Hillary Clinton participated, such as the White House travel office controversy, White House FBI files controversy, Whitewater controversy, and cattle futures controversy.[1] 
The factual finding of the three-judge district court was that there was "no reasonable interpretation [of the movie] other than as an appeal to vote against Senator Clinton", thus making it "electioneering communication".[2] 
The Supreme Court did not change that decision, but applied the strict scrutiny test for the First Amendment of the Constitution and said corporations could not be banned from making electioneering communications.[3]

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