NY-17 Constituent: “Many of us were astonished that you would not let the press cover this public meeting, financed by taxpayers, in a publically funded location, so that people can find out what happens at these meetings.”
Vulnerable New York Republican and spotlight seeker Mike Lawler continues to face criticism for barring press from attending in-district events.
While Lawler claims the ban is to avoid events becoming a “spectacle,” government watchdog groups have stated that the ban is “a violation of the spirit of the First Amendment.”
DCCC Spokesperson Ellie Doughtery:
“Mike Lawler loves the national cable limelight but shirks away from local press that the Lower Hudson Valley relies on. Once again, Lawler’s priorities are completely out of touch with New York’s 17th Congressional District.”
Read more below on Lawler banning press from his in-district events.
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler continued his Congressional Town Hall press ban on Sunday, prohibiting a Journal News/lohud photographer and News12 television camera crew from documenting the public event, held at Westlake High School in Thornwood.
I was allowed to attend as a constituent in Lawler’s 17th Congressional District, but not as a member of the press. Attendees were threatened with expulsion if they recorded Lawler’s exchanges with his constituents or took pictures during the event.
The press ban, which Common Cause NY’s executive director called a violation of the spirit of the First Amendment, was in place for Lawler’s fourth Town Hall meeting this year. Lawler is among 18 House Republicans who won elections in 2022 in districts where President Joe Biden had bested Donald Trump in 2020.
The district includes Putnam and Rockland counties, Westchester north of White Plains, and a sliver of southern Dutchess County.
“Our policy regarding cameras is our policy regarding cameras,” said Lawler press spokesperson Nate Soule. “That’s whether it is you or News 12 or anyone else.”
Lawler’s staff at the entrance allowed me to enter because I lived in the district. But Soule requested that I not write about what I heard at the public meeting, even though he figured I’d do so.
“It says here we’re asking you to keep it off the record, but I can’t stop you from writing about it,” he said.
Why did Lawler have such a policy? I asked.
“If you want that question answered, you can email me about it,” Soule said.
Rep. Mike Lawler’s 12 rules for a Town Hall includes a ban on photography or recording what he said in the public meeting.
I reminded Soule that an email to him requesting an answer to that question, written on Dec. 1, remains unanswered.
Lawler, who appears often on national cable television news shows, insisted he had great rapport with the press corps.
Margaret Yonco-Haines, a Cold Spring progressive activist and member of the grassroots group, Take17, questioned Lawler’s media policy at Sunday’s Town Hall, which was attended by about 100.
“Many of us were astonished that you would not let the press cover this public meeting, financed by taxpayers, in a publically funded location, so that people can find out what happens at these meetings,” she said. “Why is this meeting not allowed to be covered by the press?”
Lawler said the press ban was a way to limit media exposure for his critics, whose opposition to his policies might gain traction in a forthcoming media report.
“This is actually about engaging in conversation,” said Lawler. “It’s not about people grandstanding in front of reporters, not about having snippets taken out of context or mischaracterized, as has often been the case by the person sitting behind you.”
That person happened to be yours truly, the LoHud Tax Watch columnist, who had reported on Lawler’s Nov. 19 Town Hall at Rockland Community College, after I’d walked into the public event with a friend’s ticket that no one checked.
That report touched on a wide range of issues: Lawler’s support for new House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Israel-Hamas war, the $10,000 cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes on your federal taxes, and the future of Social Security. I’d also delved into Lawler’s vote in the fall for a continuing resolution that cut federal discretionary spending by 30%, slashed aid to Israel by close to $1 billion, and reduced funding for federal law enforcement.
In early December, I followed up on the Town Hall. I’d emailed Soule, asking if there was a bill pending in Congress to enact Lawler’s tax breaks for private school parents and whether there was an estimate on the tax break’s cost to the U.S. Treasury.
It seems like an reasonable question for Lawler, who rails regularly about the spiraling federal deficit.
