Category: International

Courts, International

Judge to Trump Administration: I Feel Unfacilitated
Screenshot

After the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, I wrote a column disagreeing with the media coverage that claimed that the Trump Administration was ordered to return Garcia to the United States from El Salvador. The Administration mistakingly sent Garcia to a foreign prison. However, the Court only ordered that the Administration “facilitate” such a return, a term it failed to define. Now, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis is indicating that she feels unfacilitated, but it is unclear how a court should address this curious writ of facilitation.

Academia, Columns, International, Media

Biden’s Administration May Have Suppressed COVID Evidence Contradicting Chinese Claims

Below is my column in the Hill on recent disclosure that the Biden Administration may have withheld evidence contradicting the Chinese on the origins of COVID. Millions of Americans lost loved ones and would like to know who was responsible. It appears that our government and many experts were less motivated to find that answer.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Biden’s Administration May Have Suppressed COVID Evidence Contradicting Chinese Claims” →

Constitutional Law, International, Supreme Court

A Writ of “Facilitation”? Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case
The media lit up yesterday with the order of the Supreme Court in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an accused MS-13 member mistakingly sent to El Salvador. I have previously said that the Administration should have brought back Garcia immediately and pushed for deportation under existing laws. Yet, in the order, the Court ordered the government to “facilitate” the return without stating what that means. Continue reading “A Writ of “Facilitation”? Court Issues Curious Order in the Garcia Case” →
Free Speech, International

German Editor Sentenced and Fined for Satirical Picture of Interior Minister

We previously discussed the case of  Deutschland-Kurier editor David Bendels who published a satirical meme of Interior Minister Nancy Faeser holding an altered sign that read “I hate freedom of speech.” Ironically, the sign was believable given the anti-free speech positions of Faeser and the German government. Faeser, however, went ballistic. In a country that routinely arrests people for their views, the matter was immediately turned into a criminal investigation. In a decision that could easily have been rendered in China or Iran, a Bamberg district court in Bavaria sentenced Deutschland-Kurier editor David Bendels to seven months in prison on probation and a fine of nearly sixty percent of his annual income. It is only the latest evidence of the free fall of free speech in Germany. Continue reading “German Editor Sentenced and Fined for Satirical Picture of Interior Minister” →

Congress, Free Speech, International

“Content Agnostic”: EU Official Denies Anti-Free Speech Policies in Bizarre Letter to Congress

Congressional SealAfter returning recently from speaking at the World Forum in Berlin, I testified in the Senate Judiciary Committee and warned about the building threat to free speech from the use of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan has taken up the issue and received a letter from the EU’s Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen. The letter is both evasive and deceptive. Continue reading ““Content Agnostic”: EU Official Denies Anti-Free Speech Policies in Bizarre Letter to Congress” →

Columns, Free Speech, International

Celebrate Saint Patrick by Chasing Censors Out of Ireland

Below is my column in the Hill on truly celebrating St. Patrick on this holiday. Despite our shared history and values, the United States and Ireland are moving further apart on free speech. Ireland has followed the European Union in embracing speech regulation and censorship. If we truly want to honor the legacy of St. Patrick, we can start by honoring free speech. We need to chase the censors from Ireland.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Celebrate Saint Patrick by Chasing Censors Out of Ireland” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, International, Politics

No, the House Should Not Impeach Judge Boasberg Over His Tren de Aragua Restraining Order

 

I have previously written against calls to impeach federal judges who have ruled against the Trump Administration in the issuing of temporary restraining orders (TROs) and preliminary injunctions. The latest target of such calls in the House is  District Court Judge James Boasberg, who issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.  GOP members are making a mistake in engaging in the same impeachment craze that took hold of the Democratic members in prior years (and continues this year). The way to respond to such rulings is to appeal them, not to try to remove judges (which is neither warranted nor likely). Continue reading “No, the House Should Not Impeach Judge Boasberg Over His Tren de Aragua Restraining Order” →

Free Speech, International, Religion

British Blasphemy? UK Government Moves Toward New Definition of “Islamophobia” for Speech Regulation

Recently, after the speech of Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich, various European leaders went public to express their shock and disbelief that they would be accused of rolling back on free speech. For many of us, it was a laughable display of denial, particularly from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In a country that has eviscerated free speech, Starmer told Bret Baier that the UK “guards” free speech and “we don’t believe in censoring speech.” Now, the government is continuing this month with its effort to regulate and criminalize speech. The effort to crack down on “Islamophobia” could create a type of blasphemy standard if it encompasses criticism of the faith or its practices.

Continue reading “British Blasphemy? UK Government Moves Toward New Definition of “Islamophobia” for Speech Regulation” →

Academia, Columns, Free Speech, International

The American Rōnin: How Displaced “Disinformation Experts” Are Seeking New Opportunities in Europe and Academia

Below is my column in the Hill on the new American emigres: “disinformation experts” who are finding themselves unemployed with the restoration of free speech protections.

Here is the column: Continue reading “The American Rōnin: How Displaced “Disinformation Experts” Are Seeking New Opportunities in Europe and Academia” →

Academia, Free Speech, International

The Royal Society Moves to Expel Musk Over His Political Views

Founded in 1660, the Royal Society is one of the most prominent scientific organizations in the world with associations to such luminaries as Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Despite that proud history, British scientists are pushing to politicize the society and expel Elon Musk because they disagree with his political views. It is not simply anti-intellectual but self-destructive for a society committed to the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Continue reading “The Royal Society Moves to Expel Musk Over His Political Views” →

Congress, Free Speech, International

“Listen Carefully it’s Actually Much Darker”: How the Left is Framing Free Speech as a Front for Fascism

The defense of free speech by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich, Germany, has led to open panic on the left in fighting to maintain European censorship and speech criminalization. The response of the American press and pundits was crushingly familiar. From CBS News to members of Congress, Vance (and anyone who supports his speech) was accused of using Nazi tactics. It is the demonization of dissent.

Continue reading ““Listen Carefully it’s Actually Much Darker”: How the Left is Framing Free Speech as a Front for Fascism” →

Columns, Free Speech, International

The American Moment: Critics Prove Vance’s Point on the Threat of the Anti-Free Speech Movement

Below is my column in the New York Post on the unhinged response to Vice President J.D. Vance’s historic defense of free speech in Europe. The chorus of criticism from press and pundits was immediate. Literally speaking through tears, German diplomat Christoph Heusgen responded to VP Vance: “It is clear that our rules-based international order is under pressure. It is my strong belief that this more multipolar world needs to be based on a single set of norms and principles.” Indeed, it is and that is a good thing. Vance was speaking truth to transnationalists who view free speech as a threat to the “international order” that they maintain. The response from the American left was even more bizarre. Not only did CBS’s Margaret Brennan suggest that free speech caused the holocaust, but Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) said that Vance, in defending free speech, used “some of the same language that Hitler used to justify the Holocaust.”

Here is the column: Continue reading “The American Moment: Critics Prove Vance’s Point on the Threat of the Anti-Free Speech Movement” →

Columns, Free Speech, International

“The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech

Below is my column in the Hill on the historic defense of free speech by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich last week. Where John F. Kennedy went to Berlin to declare “Ich bin ein Berliner,” Vance went in Munich to declare a type of “Ich bin ein Amerikanisch.” He spoke of free speech as an American with a power and clarity that is unrivaled in modern times. As expected, he is being attacked by Europeans and many in this country on the left. However, his speech was a tour de force of our core values.

Here is the column:

Continue reading ““The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech” →

Columns, Free Speech, International

With Trudeau on his Way Out, Can Canadians Get Their Free Speech Back?

Below is my column in the Hill on the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his anti-free speech legacy. The collapse of free speech in Canada is a cautionary tale for Americans. It shows how Trudeau and the Liberal Party used faux rhetoric of tolerance and inclusion to justify intolerance and exclusion.

Here is the column: Continue reading “With Trudeau on his Way Out, Can Canadians Get Their Free Speech Back?” →

Academia, Free Speech, International, Media

A New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Get the United States Out of the Censorship Business

On this New Year’s Eve, billions of people will gather with friends to ring in 2025 with the hope of a better year to come.  For the first time in many years, free-speech advocates have a reason to celebrate.

With 2024, we will say goodbye to one of the most reviled offices in the Biden Administration: The Global Engagement Center. I discuss the Center in my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage as one of the most active components in the massive censorship system funded by the Biden Administration.  The demise of the GEC is a good start. However, like weight loss resolutions, it will take much more of a commitment if we are going to restore free speech in the United States.  It is time to make the ultimate resolution to rip out the censorship root and stem from our government. Continue reading “A New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Get the United States Out of the Censorship Business” →

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks