President Trump's lawyers: Courts have no say over his Twitter feed

NEW YORK — Lawyers for President Donald Trump say a judge should reject a lawsuit challenging President Trump's ability to block his critics from following him on Twitter.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday to try to put an end to a Manhattan federal court lawsuit that makes First Amendment claims. They say President Trump's Twitter feed, which has 33 million followers, is not state action.

The lawsuit was filed in July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven people rejected by President Trump after criticizing the president.

Jameel Jaffer, the institute's director, said President Trump's lawyers were wrong in their legal analysis. He said in a statement Saturday that the president is not above the law.

The lawsuit claims President Trump's decision to block some individuals was a viewpoint-based restriction.