Ted Olson Quotes

Freedom of the Press and Constitutional Liberty must live or perish together.

The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people.

Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost

The basis of our government's being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.

Somebody ought to do on article on you, on your damn profession, your 1st Amendment.

A free press stands as one of the great interpreters between the government and the people. To allow it to be fettered is to fetter ourselves.

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive. ... And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution.

The press is the only institution that is truly accountable. The founding fathers put the First Amendment first for a reason.

The First Amendment protects the news media and the news media knows how to use it. Donald Trump doesn't understand it, he's never going to understand it.

I have sworn to uphold the Constitution ... and a free press is absolutely vital to the freedom of this country.

The freedom of speech and the freedom of press, it's just precious man, it really is.

Free speech exercised both individually and through a free press, is a necessity in any country where people are themselves free.

We have a First Amendment for good reasons. We need a free press because without an educated electorate we cannot have a functioning democracy.

I try to do that in this book without preaching - to try to do as you just said that you really have to defend the First Amendment rights of everybody.

Although I may find the type of programming seen during the 2004 Super Bowl and the 2003 Golden Globe Awards disgusting and disturbing, we must always work hard to defend the cherished freedoms so clearly outlined in our Constitution, including a healthy and free press.

As to the media, they are protected by the First Amendment, as they should be.

Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of achieving a free society.

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

The Washington Times wrote a story questioning the authenticity of some of the suggestions made about me in Silent Coup. But as a believer in the First Amendment, I believe they have more than a right to air their views.

I can only assume that your editorial writer tripped over the First Amendment and thought it was the office cat.

Of all times in time of war the press should be free.

If you care for the quality of life in our American democracy, then you have to be for censorship.

The 1st Amendment does not mandate that the press be accurate.

Freedom of the press is the mortar that binds together the bricks of democracy -- and it is also the open window embedded in those bricks.

Only in democratic countries is there the beginning of a suspicion that the old axioms about the press being the bulwark of liberty is something that affects the daily life of the people--that it is a living warning rather than an ancient wisecrack. A people that wants to be free must arm itself with a free press..