Morality and Legality

   There are three primary types of obligations people face when dealing with other people: moral, legal and ethical. There are also, for many believers, religious obligations, but the topic for today is political -- the real world of presidential politics.
   Lawyers for NBC and its "Access Hollywood" show argued for days over whether the company could legally release a recording of Donald Trump saying lewd and vulgar things about women. The issues were these:
   -- Was there an expectation of privacy on the bus carrying Trump to the studio for an episode of a TV show?
   -- Was the company legally constrained by its contract  and therefore obliged to keep the video private?
   -- Did the larger issue of the public's right to know about a presidential candidate's background and past behavior override any legal or contractual obligation. The incident was recorded 11 years ago, before Trump became a presidential candidate.
  
   It seems NBC and the "Access Hollywood" producers knew about the tapes and were preparing their own news report, but were still debating the legal and ethical issues, as well as who would break the story first, the news division or the entertainment division.
   Meanwhile, the Washington Post got hold of the videotape, and since the newspaper had no contractual ties, its only concern was news value. Moreover, the newspaper could depend on reporter shield laws to protect the source that supplied the video to the Post, and would not be entangled in a dispute over contract law. In addition, a major newspaper such as the Washington Post has a greater impact than a TV gossip show, or a network facing a contract puzzle.
   So while the lawyers shilly-shalleyed and voted to hold the story until Monday, the day after the Sunday debate between the two presidential candidates, the Post broke the story online at 4 p.m. Friday, starting an avalanche of news coverage through the weekend, onto the debate stage, and for days afterward.
   It's possible, then, that those involved in the production and recording of the video used a CYA tactic, leaking the material and enabling a major newspaper to break the story. NBC could then say they had no choice but to cover a major news story that was already public.
   
   Meanwhile, producers of "The Apprentice" show, which starred Trump, have acknowledged the existence of outtakes containing more lewd remarks by Trump about women appearing on the program. But they claim they are contractually prohibited from releasing them.
   Nevertheless, the question remains as to the higher obligation: Legal or moral.
   It may be legal to withhold information about a presidential candidate's attitudes and behavior, but is it moral or ethical? The voting public has a right to know what kind of person it is who wants to be President of the United States of America.