01-10-25 YMS Free speech and national security are on a collision course as the Supreme Court hears arguments over the fate of TikTok, a phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. White House Correspondent – and attorney – JON DECKER will be in the Supreme Court chambers as the Justices hear the case.

Free speech and national security are on a collision course as the Supreme Court hears arguments over the fate of TikTok, a phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. White House Correspondent – and attorney – JON DECKER will be in the Supreme Court chambers as the Justices hear the case.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Previously on your Morning show with Michael Del Chono.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
I think the younger you are listening right now, perhaps
the more interested you'll be in this. But the fate
of TikTok is in the hands of the Supreme Court
and freedom of speech with it. John Decker is joining us.
He's not only our White House correspondent, He's also a
Supreme Court bar attorney, which will be very handy today.
What is the Supreme Court looking at and how does

(00:25):
this case seem to be heading.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, this is a case that pits national security concerns
versus First Amendment rights. It's as simple as that. There
was a law that was passed last year, bipartisan fashion
signed by President Biden, and it dictates that TikTok must
sell itself by January the nineteenth, just a few days
from now, or it will essentially be banned in the US.

(00:51):
TikTok sue. They've lost it every lower level court. Now
it's up to the Supreme Court, and that's their last
hope in terms of surviving as company is the Supreme Court.
They will hear two hours of oral arguments today. I'll
be in the Supreme Court for that, and then they
must turn around and opinion very quickly because of that January,

(01:11):
the nineteenth deadline.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, there's not much time now. TikTok has a say
in the matter, and of course if they don't sell,
then the ban would go in effect. You go to
these hearings all the time, and you know, you can
tell a lot by the questions the justices asked, what
were you going to be listening for specifically?

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, that's right, I can tell a lot by the question.
Doesn't necessarily mean every time I get it right, but
you did get a good feel about how justices feel
about a certain matter that they're hearing, and this is
certainly one of those cases. You know, it's very similar, Michael,
to the Pentagon Papers case that came before the Supreme
Court that too pitted national security concerns versus First Amendment

(01:55):
rights and First Amendment rights one out in that case
before the Supreme Court in the ninth the King seventies
will see if that same thing holds true for this
particular case.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Closing moments with John Decker, our White House correspondent, You
and I were texting back and forth when the carriage
that carried the remains of Abraham Lincoln and John F.
Kennedy brought Jimmy Carter the rotunda. I thought Senator Thune,
the speakers, even Vice President Kamala Harris's, and the choir,
the naval choir, That whole ceremony was so powerful, so moving.

(02:30):
And then the actual national funeral yesterday. You noticed I
didn't text a lot because I didn't get a lot
I thought. I thought the Stephen Ford was spectacular. That
the friendship between two former presidents there and the story
of how they were flying back over the Atlantic Ocean
and began that friendship. And then they vowed to do
each other's eulogy. Of course only one coach fulfill it.

(02:53):
That was great. And then the son delivers the eulogy
that the former president Gerald Ford had written from That
was great. I thought the grandson's stole the show and
I didn't get imagine. But other than that, the sendoff
of Jimmy Carter and now he's back where he will
lie in peace next to his wife in Planes Georgia.
But your take on yesterday's ceremony.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, similar take as yours in terms of the eulogies
that we heard, you know, and you know it's Jimmy
Carter who chooses the people that deliver his eulogies. And
that's the reason why we heard from Steve Ford, we
heard from Ted Mondale, who were speaking on behalf of
their fathers, and that was a very interesting aspect of
the ceremony that took place at the National Cathedral yesterday.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Oh and I'll just end with this, Walter Mondale's son
the resemblance to his father's tonning and at every aspect,
John Decker, Boy, we had a lot to report this week,
glad I had you a little bit to do it
with it. All right, keep an eye on the Supreme
Court and we'll probably know a lot more on Monday
when we talked, miss.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
A little, miss a lot, miss a lot, and we'll
miss you. It's your morning show with Michael del Cherno.