Category: Media

Congress, Justice, Lawyering, Media

No, The Main Take-Away From Horowitz Was Not Debunking A “Conspiracy Theory”

I have a column out today on the Horowitz report in the Hill newspaper. As has become a common practice, the report was immediately and grotesquely misrepresented. On CNN, the takeaway was that the Inspector General “Debunks Trump conspiracy theory.” Chris Cillizza stated “That sound you just heard is the air coming out of the Trump conspiracy balloon.” It is all perfectly bizarre as are the attacks on both Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham for their disagreement on that one finding.

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Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics

Report: Barr Has Moved Against Giuliani In Meetings With President Trump

Attorney General William Barr has reportedly counseled President Donald Trump that his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has served him poorly and should be dropped. The Washington Post reported Sunday that Barr has directly raised with Trump the need for him to recognize what a liability Giuliani has become. It is an interesting story because Giuliani has not only become inappropriately intertwined with State Department business but also Justice Department business. It is not clear if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made any such objections, but the Post is reporting that various sources have confirmed that Barr has moved against Giuliani.

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Academics, Bizarre, Media, Politics

“Demonstrably False”: It Is Not True That The Johnson and Clinton Impeachments Had Shorter Impeachment Investigations

Today I posted a column addressing a false story circulating on MSNBC and other outlets that my testimony in the Clinton and Trump impeachments are in contradiction. In fact, the testimony is so close that I could be charged more with self-plagiarism than self-contradiction. However in the hearing there was another clearly false statement put into the record by the Democratic members: that I am “demonstrably wrong” in saying that this could be the fastest or shortest impeachment in history. While the effort is clearly designed to encourage people not to seriously consider my criticism of the record and process in this case, a little history — and my actual testimony — might be helpful.

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Academics, Bizarre, Columns, Media, Politics

“Agitated Passions”: A Response To Chairman Nadler Et Al.

In the wake of yesterday’s hearing, my office and home have been inundated with threats from people irate over the fact that I would question the sufficiency of this record for impeachment. There has also been a couple of facially false narratives that have been aired and are being widely disseminated without any apparent fact checking or analysis. I have addressed one historical point separately. In recognition of Sen. Pat Moynihan’s view that “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts,” I have published a column on these attacks: Hill Column

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Congress, Media, Politics

WSJ: Trump Knew About Whistleblower Complaint In August

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Donald Trump was briefed on the whistleblower complaint earlier than previously assumed. The Journal says that the briefing by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and National Security Council attorney John Eisenberg occurred in August, not September. That could offer significant support for the narrative of the Democrats in the ongoing impeachment effort.

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Bizarre, Media, Military, Politics

Wrong Guy: Former Pentagon Aide Fuels Speculation Before Admitting He Is Not “Anonymous”

Former Pentagon aide Guy Snodgrass has finally denied that he is “Anonymous” — the author of the book “A Warning.” That was however before he milked the speculation to awkwardly hawk his own less-than-sizzling book. In a Fox interview with Trace Gallagher, Snodgrass went out of his way to tease the speculation while shamelessly pitching his book to try to generate buzz. The curious effort seemed to do little to increase book sales but it certainly generated an abundance of criticism of the previously unknown former speechwriter to former Defense Secretary James Mattis.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Society

DNA Test Proves Hunter Biden To Be Father Of Child With Former GW Student Despite His Denials

Former George Washington student Lunden Alexis Roberts has faced a long and drawn out fight to prove that Hunter Biden is the father of her child. According to The New Yorker, Biden denied ever having sex with Roberts. It was not until November 9th that Hunter allowed himself to be tested. That would make the birth immaculate because DNA testing just proved that he is the father and, despite receiving his controversial payments of $50,000 a month from Burisma as well as other deals, Hunter Biden has been effectively a deadbeat dad.

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Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics

“Very Dangerous and Indeed Incendiary”: Barr Gives Controversial Speech To Federalist Society

I have long defended Attorney Bill Barr, who I believe has been unfairly criticized for his handling of the Mueller Report and other issues. However, despite my continued respect and long association with Attorney General Barr, I believe that he has been rightfully criticized for his speech at the Federalist Society last Friday. It is absurd for some to call for his impeachment, but the fiery political speech was in my view inappropriate and ill-advised for an attorney general. Indeed, given this difficult and historical period for the Department, the speech itself could fit Barr’s description of an “incendiary” moment for our system. This is a time where the Attorney General should strive to stay above the political fray — not contribute to it.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

“You’re Done”: Conservative Radio Host Fired On The Air After Criticizing Donald Trump

In an example of the increasing intolerance for opposing views, particularly about President Donald Trump, a conservative Denver radio host at 710 KNUS was cut off the air in mid show and fired after he criticized Trump. According to the Denver Post, former district attorney Craig Silverman had just criticized the President in a segment on Roy Cohn when the Program Director Kelly Michaels came into the studio and simply said “You’re Done.” Update: The company belated responded to media inquiries to deny that it fired Silverman for his views of President Trump.

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Lawyering, Media, Torts

David Boies Sues Alan Dershowitz In Latest Defamation Lawsuit Tied To Epstein Scandal
FoxNews Screenshot

Defamation lawsuits are flying New York between leading lawyers involved in the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. We recently discussed a court’s ruling against Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz in his effort to dismiss a defamation case against him. Now, leading litigator David Boies has filed his own defamation lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court. The filing came one day after Dershowitz on Friday — just one day after Dershowitz made accusations against him and his clients in his own defamation lawsuit in federal court.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

No, The U.S. Does Not Need European-Style Hate Speech Laws

Below is my column in USA Today on the latest calls for limiting free speech and imposing censorship on political speech. Last week, we discussed the refusal of students to allow former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to speak at Northwestern University and a New Yorker writer calling for the curtailment of free speech. These attacks are coming largely from the left where speech criminalization and censorship has become an article of faith for activists and some Democratic members.

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Academics, Bizarre, Free Speech, Media, Politics

New Yorker Writer Joins Growing List Of Liberals Calling For Censorship

My column in the USA Today concerns the growing movement among Democrats in seeking to limit free speech and embrace censorship. This trend was vividly on display this week when University of California-Berkeley sought to feature a speaker on free speech. The choice was a reporter who seeks to limit free speech and opposes those of us who advocate for the right as “absolutists.” New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz is actively seeking to convincing free citizens to give up this core freedom in the name of controlling extremism. Of course, all of the examples of extremism cited by Marantz seem to be found on the right.

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Academics, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

No Free Speech For “Overtly Racist Old White Dudes”: Northwestern Protesters Force The Cancelation of Jeff Sessions Event

I have previously written about the curtailment of free speech and the refusal of both faculty and students to allow opposing views to be heard on campuses. Northwestern University (one of my alma maters) has been particularly complicit in this trend against free speech. Now, protesters have blocked students and faculty from hearing remarks (and have a dialogue with) former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The incident at Northwestern follows a growing list of such conservative speakers barred from being heard by protesters.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Zuckerberg “Should Pay A Price”: Clinton Denounces Facebook For Refusing To Censor Political Ads

I recently published a column on the effort by Democrats to get Facebook and other companies to implement a system of censorship of political ads, which would be entirely unconstitutional if carried out by the government. Now, Hillary Clinton has declared that Mark Zuckerberg “should pay a price” for the damage that he is doing to democracy. It is a curious argument since, according to Clinton, Zuckerberg is apparently harming democracy by not curtailing free speech by censoring political speech. I have previously criticized President Donald Trump for his own anti-free speech and anti-free press rhetoric.

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