Floyd Abrams

“The First Amendment is not a partisan issue.”

“It is a central tenet of the First Amendment that the government must remain neutral in the marketplace of ideas.”

“Secrecy is the badge of fraud.”

“The very purpose of the First Amendment is to foreclose public authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind.”

“In the world of the First Amendment, the viewing public is the ultimate judge.”

“The core of the First Amendment is that the government can't be trusted to decide what the public should know.”

“The role of the press is to be a watchdog, not a lapdog.”

“A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know.”

“The argument that the press is too powerful is a recurring theme. It's a theme that goes back to the founding of the republic.”

“The notion that the government can't withhold information from the public is a First Amendment principle.”

“You cannot have a free press with a supine press.”

“There are risks in a free society. The greatest risk of all is to not be a free society.”