The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie Can the Government Ban You from Telling the Truth?
Mar 11, 2026
Mark Chenoweth, president and chief legal officer of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, is a constitutional lawyer fighting administrative-agency overreach. He discusses agency gag rules that silence defendants, the SEC’s settlement practices and Powell v. SEC, censorship tied to government pressure on social platforms, and how courts are pushing back against agency power.
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How The Administrative State Expanded Over A Century
- The administrative state grew by layering agencies and expanding their powers beyond clear congressional limits.
- Mark Chenoweth traces agencies from the Interstate Commerce Commission through the New Deal, Great Society, and later expansions that created broad regulatory reach and mission creep.
Vaccine Injury Group Shut After Government Pressure
- Brie Dressen, an early COVID vaccine trial participant, created a Facebook support group after being diagnosed as vaccine injured by NIH.
- Chenoweth says the government pressured platforms to shut her group, illustrating DHS-era censorship tactics in Dressen v. Flaherty.
Chevron Overturn Shifted Power Back To Courts
- Overturning Chevron returns interpretive power from agencies to courts and Congress, reducing agency freedom to exploit statutory ambiguity.
- NCLA helped overturn Chevron, which Chenoweth says can force agencies to operate within clearer congressional limits.