Category: International

Columns, Constitutional Law, International

Operation Absolute Resolve: Why Trump Went Off Script and Why it Will Not Matter

It can fairly be said that the most precarious jobs in the world are those of a golf ball collector at a driving range, a mascot at a Chuck E. Cheese, and a Trump Administration lawyer.

That was evident at the press conference yesterday as President Donald Trump blew apart the carefully constructed narrative presented earlier for the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Some of us had written that Trump had a winning legal argument by focusing on the operation as the seizure of two indicted individuals in reliance on past judicial rulings, including the decisions in the case of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Continue reading “Operation Absolute Resolve: Why Trump Went Off Script and Why it Will Not Matter” →

Columns, Criminal law, International

The United States Captures Nicolás Maduro and his Wife

In an extraordinary military operation, the United States launched a large-scale military operation in Caracas, Venezuela with special forces seizing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. There is a pending 2020 indictment of Maduro in the Southern District of New York where he is expected to be taken to face prosecution. Continue reading “The United States Captures Nicolás Maduro and his Wife” →

Columns, Free Speech, International

“We are the Free World Now” — Europe Declares War on Free Speech

Below is my column in The Hill on the move by the Trump Administration against five leading figures in the European censorship movement, including Thierry Breton, the former European Union commissioner responsible for digital policy. The United States is finally responding to what is an existential threat to American values. It is worth noting, as I discuss in my new book, Rage and the Republic, that the EU is not only exporting its censorship rules but threatening American companies that do not meet its environment, social and governance (ESG) policies. It is time for Congress to follow suit and get into this fight.

Here is the column:

Continue reading ““We are the Free World Now” — Europe Declares War on Free Speech” →

Free Speech, International

French President Macron Praises Brigitte Bardot’s “Life of Freedom” After Unrelenting Censorship

This week, the world lost one of the most iconic actresses in history: Brigitte Bardot. It was a terribly sad moment for many moviegoers. However, for the free speech community, the death also brought one of the most bitter and hypocritical moments as French President Emmanuel Macron heralded Bardot as someone who “embodied a life of freedom.” As discussed repeatedly on this blog, Bardot was repeatedly prosecuted by the French government for exercising her free speech. Continue reading “French President Macron Praises Brigitte Bardot’s “Life of Freedom” After Unrelenting Censorship” →

International, Media, Politics

The UK Health Care Disaster is a Cautionary Tale for America’s Rising Class of Armchair Socialists

The Washington Post shocked many of its Democratic readers this week by telling the truth about the growing disaster in the UK’s National Health Service — a cautionary tale as a few Republicans plan to join Democrats to extend the failed Obamacare subsidies rather than reform our own broken health care system. Continue reading “The UK Health Care Disaster is a Cautionary Tale for America’s Rising Class of Armchair Socialists” →

International, Torts

China Sues Sen. Schmitt and Others For Defamation Over COVID-19 Lawsuit

Years ago, I called the pandemic arguably the greatest case of negligence in the history of torts. However, with millions dead and hundreds of billions expended, it was unlikely that China would ever be truly held accountable for its actions. Those failures include not only the alleged release of the virus from the Wuhan lab but also China’s concealment of the release until it had spread globally. A $24 billion judgment was secured in Missouri earlier this year, but China defied the verdict.

Now, it has countersued, naming former Missouri Attorney General and now Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., among others as defendants. Even by the standards of the Chinese legal system, this action is legally absurd. However, in the CCP-controlled court system, the verdict is little in doubt. Continue reading “China Sues Sen. Schmitt and Others For Defamation Over COVID-19 Lawsuit” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International

Britain Moves to Curtail Jury Trials and Free Speech

Below is my column in The Wall Street Journal on the move to sharply curtail the use of jury trials in Great Britain. The ill-conceived move is the work of Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor David Lammy, who previously denounced the idea as an abandonment of British values and the loss of a critical protection for citizens. It is a tragic variation on Winston Churchill’s legendary observation about the fleeting virtue of the insufferably sanctimonious. Like the socialite who was indignant when Churchill puckishly offered a small amount of money to sleep with him, it turns out that Lammy was “just haggling over price.” When faced with significant savings, Lammy is willing to toss aside the right that once defined them as a people.

Continue reading “Britain Moves to Curtail Jury Trials and Free Speech” →

Free Speech, International

So It Begins: The European Union Unleashes the DSA on X with Initial $140 Million Fine

For years, some of us in the free speech community have warned about the threat of the European Union to free speech, particularly in the enactment of the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU has virtually declared war on free speech and is targeting American companies. That war just began with the first DSA fine. Not surprisingly, X was the chosen target — a company blamed by many in the EU and the U.S. for rolling back free-speech protections. Continue reading “So It Begins: The European Union Unleashes the DSA on X with Initial $140 Million Fine” →

Free Speech, International

British Arrest Man for Posting a Picture Holding a Shotgun in the United States

In my book, The Indispensable Right, I discuss how free speech is in a free fall in Great Britain, where officials continue to crack down on an ever-widening array of viewpoints. This week, that ignoble record worsened with the arrest of Jon Richelieu-Booth, who told the Yorkshire Post that he was arrested for posting a picture on the networking site LinkedIn of himself holding a shotgun at a friend’s homestead in Florida. Continue reading “British Arrest Man for Posting a Picture Holding a Shotgun in the United States” →

Criminal law, International, Media, Politics

A German Court May Have Just Shattered One of the Biden Era’s Biggest Lies

Below is my column in The Hill on the latest development in the investigation of the environmental crimes committed in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the waters near Denmark and Sweden in 2022. The German court issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian in a move that could prove an embarrassment for not just Volodymyr Zelensky but Joe Biden. The truth is still unknown with allegations against both Russia and Ukraine. There are “false flags” flying on both sides that dismiss clues pointing to one country or the other. However, the Germans appear to be zeroing in on key Ukrainian figures.

Here is the column: Continue reading “A German Court May Have Just Shattered One of the Biden Era’s Biggest Lies” →

International, Politics, Society

Do Good Politics Make for Good Grammar? Users of Grammarly Receive Prompts on Supporting Ukraine

This weekend, I had a curious experience in writing my column on the Hill discussing whether Ukraine committed environmental crimes in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines and then lied to its allies while receiving billions in aid. While writing the column, the Grammarly program automatically ran to check for typos. Suddenly, a message from the company popped up in the box for possible grammar problems. It was actually a message about my need to support Ukraine. Continue reading “Do Good Politics Make for Good Grammar? Users of Grammarly Receive Prompts on Supporting Ukraine” →

International, Torts

“What has Become of Us”: Rosie O’Donnell May Have Just Handed Trump a Golden Defamation Lawsuit
I have previously expressed skepticism over some defamation cases against the media brought by President Donald Trump under existing case law. However, comedian Rosie O’Donnell may have supplied the President with a another defamation case if she cannot back up sensational claims made against the President to her 2.9 million TikTok followers. She states as a fact that the President is an “adjudicated rapist” and settled child abuse cases.

Continue reading ““What has Become of Us”: Rosie O’Donnell May Have Just Handed Trump a Golden Defamation Lawsuit” →

Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Venezuela Sentences Doctor to 30 Years for WhatsApp Message

The Venezuelan socialist regime has just sentenced a 65-year-old doctor, Marggie Orozco, to 30 years in prison for criticizing the regime of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in a WhatsApp voice note in 2024. Orozco was reportedly found guilty of “treason to the fatherland, incitement to hatred, and conspiracy” in complaining about the regime’s distribution of the often hard-to-find domestic gas cylinders in her community. She has already suffered two heart attacks in the last two years, including one while in prison.

Continue reading “Venezuela Sentences Doctor to 30 Years for WhatsApp Message” →

International, Politics, Torts

“You Can’t Handle the Truth”: UK Health Watchdog Reportedly Refuses to Release Data on Vaccine Deaths

The United Kingdom’s public health service is reportedly refusing to release data on the potential relationship between the COVID vaccine and excess deaths. The reason? It would upset people to know the truth. The question is whether British citizens have become so passive and yielding that they will support their government, keeping them from learning the facts about vaccines and allowing them to reach their own conclusions.

Continue reading ““You Can’t Handle the Truth”: UK Health Watchdog Reportedly Refuses to Release Data on Vaccine Deaths” →

Free Speech, International

German Activist Seeks Asylum in the United States After Antifa Death Threats

For years, some of us have been writing about the collapse of free speech protections in Europe as the left criminalizes a wide range of expressions and viewpoints. Now, a leading young German advocate, Naomi Seibt, known as the “Anti-Greta,” is seeking political asylum in the United States after years of Antifa threats. At one time, the idea of someone seeking asylum from a Western democracy would have been considered material for the Onion. Today, it is credible given the rising intolerance for opposing views in countries like Germany. Continue reading “German Activist Seeks Asylum in the United States After Antifa Death Threats” →