A public-relations firm representing Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber is refusing university requests to repost videos of the MIT professor’s explosive remarks.

On Monday, the University of Rhode Island removed a October 2012 video of Gruber, in which the professor explained how the law was written to “exploit” the American voters’ “lack of economic understanding.” Observers cried foul, claiming the university was attempting to censor material that could prove harmful to the Affordable Care Act or the Obama administration.

But on Wednesday URI said that, after reviewing their contract with Gruber in the wake of an Associated Press request for the video, they found they did not have the rights to post the video on their own university website. They removed the video and contacted W. Colston Leigh, a PR firm representing Gruber in his speaking engagements, to request permission to repost the professor’s speech.

The PR firm denied that request without explanation. Wesley Neff, the president of W. Colston Leigh, did not respond to a request for comment.

The University of Pennsylvania also removed a Gruber video from their university website earlier this month, in which he mocks the “stupidity of the American voter.” That video, however, was quickly reposted following a firestorm of criticism. It is unclear if that university signed a different contract with Gruber or his representatives. UPenn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics did not respond to a request for comment.

The full URI statement:

Wednesday, November 19, 2014
University of Rhode Island statement regarding Professor Jonathan Gruber
On Monday, November 17, the Associated Press – Broadcast News Center requested clearance to use a video of a lecture presented by MIT Professor of Economics Jonathan Gruber at the University of Rhode Island on October 30, 2012, as part of its Honors Colloquium series. The speakers in the series, or their representatives, require the University to sign contracts that specify distribution approvals and/or language relating to their presentations including the posting of videos to the University’s website. In reviewing the Gruber contract before responding to the AP request, it was clear that the University needed written permission to post the lecture to its website. The University, therefore, immediately removed the lecture from its website and contacted the agency holding the copyright of Professor Gruber’s lecture to secure permission to repost. The agency will not provide its consent to the University to repost the video.