Judging Freedom - Texas Sues U.S. Over Airport Mask Mandate

Episode Date: February 17, 2022

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Hello there everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here with Judging Freedom. Today is Thursday, February 17th. It's about 2022. It's about 225 or 230 in the afternoon here on the east coast of the United States. And last night, a very interesting lawsuit was dropped in federal district court in Texas. The state of Texas is suing the federal government to block the CDC requirements for masks at Texas airports. Now, Texas airports, just take Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston alone, without all the others, have a huge amount of traffic. But the Attorney General of Texas, in his capacity as the guardian of the civil liberties of everybody in Texas,

is taking on the feds by arguing that the CDC does not have the authority to compel the airlines to compel passengers to wear masks. So the government loves to interfere at the intersection of private enterprise and their customers. And the airlines are the area where they've interfered the most. Of course, you have to go through a TSA grab and grope or magnetometer or whatever the heck it is to pass muster for the federal government, not for the airport. The airport could have its own means of certifying that you're not a danger to the plane, but the government has taken that right away from them. The airport could have its own means to make sure the air is clean and clear and safe in a plane, but the government has taken that away from them by requiring the masks in the airports and on the

planes. Question, does the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, commonly called CDC, have the authority under the Constitution of the United States to compel airlines to compel individuals to wear masks? A secondary question is, does the CDC regulate the airlines? The answer, in my opinion, to both questions is no, and I predict that a federal judge to whomever this case is assigned will agree with me. The CDC was established to conduct experiments and to advise the executive branch of the federal government on public health problems. It does not have the authority to issue regulations. We know that because the Supreme Court zapped its regulations with respect to evictions of tenants who can't pay rent.

So you have a bunch of physicians in Atlanta telling every landlord in the country, you can't exercise your local rights under your state constitution to throw out a tenant who's not paying his or her rent. Now you have a bunch of physicians in Atlanta telling airlines, you must compel your passengers to wear masks. And the owners and operators of airports, which are not the airlines, they're governmental and pseudo-governmental entities. Here in the New York City metropolitan area, it's called the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is a bi-state authority. It's owned by both the state of New Jersey and the state of New York. Even though it's thrice removed from the voters and from accountability to the voters, it is a governmental entity. The CDC told it. Newark Airport, JFK Airport, LaGuardia Airport, you shouldn't let anybody in the airport, even if they're going there to get their shoes shined,

without a mask on their faces. Do a bunch of doctors in Atlanta have the authority to do this? In my opinion, no. And I applaud Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of the state of Texas. And I applaud Greg Abbott, the governor of the state of Texas, for taking on the federal government in its own courts, in its own forum. Prediction, partially a wish the feds will lose. Judge Napolitano, judging freedom. you