The New York Times reports this morning that the American Civil Liberties Union will debate whether to sanction two of its board members for criticizing some of the ACLU’s recent actions in conversations with reporters. (Hat Tip to Orin Kerr)
Although the NYT article doesn’t mention it, this is not the first time the ACLU has been accused of attempting to muzzle the speech of its officers. In 1976 Charles Morgan Jr., director of the ACLU’s Washington office, resigned in a huff after the ACLU executive director complained about his public support (but in his personal capacity) for Jimmy Carter, an old friend. (Link is to a summary of an April 12, 1976, Washington Post article.)
Morgan said that he did not surrender his First Amendment rights when he joined the ACLU. Aryeh Neier, then the executive director of the ACLU (and now head of George Soros’s foundation), has a different take in his memoir, Taking Liberties.
