The White House
An American Sign Language interpreter provides interpretation during a White House press briefing, April 2021.
Apparently, the squatter currently occupying the White House thinks that “real men” and “real women” don’t let American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters relay what they are saying to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
In fact, shortly after he moved back into the White House for the second time, the squatter was sued in federal court by the National Association of the Deaf and two named plaintiffs. The lawsuit sought to compel the squatter’s administration to include sign language interpretation as part of its public communications, including press briefings. Failure to do so, the complaint says, violates Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The lawsuit notes that the Biden Administration provided sign language interpretation of such communications, but this practice was almost completely eliminated when the squatter took over about a year ago.
The case was argued in court last July before U.S District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee. As Politico reported, the squatter’s lawyers argued in court filings that requiring ASL interpretation in press conferences “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public.”
Unpersuaded by this argument, Ali ruled in November that the White House must provide a qualified American Sign Language interpreter at all publicly announced press briefings conducted by the squatter or his press secretary.
“White House press briefings engage the American people on important issues affecting their daily lives,” Ali’s opinion states, mentioning such topics as health care, the economy, and “in recent years, a global pandemic.” He said the exclusion of deaf people from such communications constitutes a “clear and present harm that the court cannot meaningfully remedy after the fact.”
The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which could uphold or block Ali’s order.
This is not the first time that the National Association of the Deaf has sued the squatter over the lack of availability of ASL interpreters. In 2020, a federal district court ordered the White House to provide interpreters for all coronavirus-related briefings. That was in response to a lawsuit that said that the squatter “stands alone in holding televised briefings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic without ever having provided any ASL interpretation.” The complaint alleged, “The White House’s failure to provide ASL interpreters during COVID-19 related briefings, including press briefings, is against the law.”
The court ruled against the squatter’s administration but it appealed. This appeal was dismissed in March 2021 at the urging of the incoming Biden Administration, which agreed to provide ASL interpreters for all public briefings.
It’s worth noting that, in this earlier case, the squatter never tried to make the exceedingly silly argument that he has a right to project an image of himself as some sort of tough guy who can just choose to ignore disability rights laws whenever he feels like it, as he is doing now.
Then again, what else would you expect from a man who seems to think that he is above every law?