Category: Politics

Media, Politics

They Might Be Foreigners! Washington Post’s Lorenz Justifies Hit Piece On Libs of TikTok
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Libs of TikTok has been much in the news recently after a column by the Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz and a suspension by Twitter.  Lorenz was on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” on which Brian Stelter praises her writing and said that “I can’t wait to see what you’re working on next.”

However, it was one of the key justifications for the piece that stood out in the interview. Lorenz said that Washington Post targeted the host because she might be a foreigner. Since the Russian collusion stories, the media has been whipping up a fear of how “foreigners” are secretly influencing our society, politics, and culture.  It increasingly seems like “They might be foreigners” is now the rallying cry for the left to justify every excess.

Continue reading “They Might Be Foreigners! Washington Post’s Lorenz Justifies Hit Piece On Libs of TikTok” →

Media, Politics

“A Magnet for Conspiracy Theories”: Wikipedia Kills Entry for Hunter Biden’s Investment Company
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Wikipedia editors are under fire this week for removing the entry for Rosemont Seneca Partners, the investment company connected to Hunter Biden and his alleged multimillion dollar influence peddling schemes. The site bizarrely claimed that the company was “not notable.” The timing itself is notable given the new disclosure that Hunter Biden’s business partner, Eric Schwerin, made at least 19 visits to the White House and other official locations between 2009 and 2015. That included a meeting with then-Vice President Joe Biden despite Biden’s repeated claim that he knew nothing about his son’s business dealings. Schwerin was the president of Rosemont Seneca. Continue reading ““A Magnet for Conspiracy Theories”: Wikipedia Kills Entry for Hunter Biden’s Investment Company” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

Destroying Democracy to Save it? Court Advances Effort to Block GOP Candidates from Ballots

Below is my column in the Hill on the recent decision of a federal judge to allow a challenge to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) from appearing on the ballot as an insurrectionist. In my view, the underlying claim is meritless. The theory, supported by figures like Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, runs against the clear language and history of the Disqualification Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Destroying Democracy to Save it? Court Advances Effort to Block GOP Candidates from Ballots” →

Constitutional Law, Politics

New York Appellate Court Declares Democrats Engaged in Unlawful Gerrymandering

We previously discussed how a New York judge struck down the new voting districts pushed through by Democrats as unconstitutional gerrymandering.  That was followed by another blistering decision striking down the Democratic plan for Maryland as “extreme partisan gerrymandering.” Now an appellate court has also found that Democrats were trying to rig the next election and the five-judge panel ruled  against the plan. The Democrats also recently lost a redistricting fight in Wisconsin after their map was found to be “racially motivated” and unconstitutional.

Continue reading “New York Appellate Court Declares Democrats Engaged in Unlawful Gerrymandering” →

Columns, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Selling Censorship: Could the Twitter Board Trigger Shareholder Lawsuits Over ESG and Anti-Free Speech Policies?

Twitter LogoLast week, Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal sounded more like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in rallying his troops to defy the existential threat of Elon Musk while pledging that they will not be “held hostage.” The threat, however, was not a private buyout but the threat that Twitter might be forced to respect free speech on the site. The problem for the Board members is that they could find themselves in court if their anti-free speech stance continues to stand in the way of shareholder profits.  Such a lawsuit could be a bellwether for shareholder opposition to boards pursuing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies over profits.

Continue reading “Selling Censorship: Could the Twitter Board Trigger Shareholder Lawsuits Over ESG and Anti-Free Speech Policies?” →

Criminal law, Politics

Durham: Five Witnesses Connected to the Clinton Campaign’s False Russian Claims Have Refused to Cooperate

Special Counsel John Durham continues to drop bombshells in filings in the prosecution of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann. Just last week, Durham defeated an effort by Sussmann to dismiss the charges.  He is now moving to give immunity to a key witness while revealing that the claims made by the Clinton campaign were viewed by the CIA as “not technically plausible” and “user created.” He also revealed that at least five of the former Clinton campaign contractors/researchers have invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to cooperate in fear that they might incriminate themselves in criminal conduct. Finally, Durham offers further details on the involvement of Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias and former British spy Christopher Steele in the alleged false claims.

Continue reading “Durham: Five Witnesses Connected to the Clinton Campaign’s False Russian Claims Have Refused to Cooperate” →

Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Showdown at TJ: How a Virginia High School Became The Latest Battleground Over Racial Discrimination

Below is my column in the Hill on the litigation over the new admissions policy at the elite Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. The school board ended the use of an admissions test in favor of a “holistic approach” to achieve greater diversity at the school. Notably, this week, the board defended its policy before the Supreme Court by insisting that it was not “race balancing” and that the new policy is entirely “race neutral.” However, the board replaced a race-blind, merit-based system for the express purpose of achieving greater diversity. Indeed, one board member declared “in looking at what has happened to George Floyd . . . we must recognize the unacceptable numbers of such things as the unacceptable numbers of African Americans that have been accepted to TJ.”

The Virginia Attorney General (and various other states) have filed to challenge those assertions in a potentially important case that would allow the Court to consider allegedly discriminatory admissions practices and polices not just on the college but the high school levels.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Showdown at TJ: How a Virginia High School Became The Latest Battleground Over Racial Discrimination” →

Free Speech, Media, Politics

Freedom is Tyranny: Robert Reich Goes Full Orwellian in Anti-Free Speech Screed

We recently discussed the gathering of Democratic politicians and media figures at the University of Chicago to discuss how to better shape news, combat “disinformation,” and reeducate those with conservative views. The political and media elite shared ideas on how to expand censorship and control what people read or viewed in the news. The same figures are now alarmed that Elon Musk could gain greater influence over Twitter and, perish the thought, restore free speech protections to the site. The latest is former labor secretary under President Clinton, Robert Reich, who wrote a perfectly Orwellian column in the Guardian titled “Elon Musk’s vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense.” However, the column offers an insight into the anti-free speech mentality that has taken hold of the Democratic party and the mainstream media.

Continue reading “Freedom is Tyranny: Robert Reich Goes Full Orwellian in Anti-Free Speech Screed” →

Columns, Criminal law, Media, Politics

Hunter Biden Likely to be Charged Under FARA . . . If the Justice Department Applies the Mueller Standard

Below is my column in the New York Post on the potential liability of Hunter Biden under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). I recently testified on FARA reforms and its history of enforcement.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Hunter Biden Likely to be Charged Under FARA . . . If the Justice Department Applies the Mueller Standard” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Politics

“The Serpent Beguiled Me”: The Whitmer Prosecution and the Entrapment Defense

“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” That line may be the oldest statement of a criminal defense articulated in what could be styled as Eve v. The Serpent in Genesis. Eve sought to excuse her own conduct by the inducement of the serpent. As shown by her (and Adam’s) expulsion from the Garden of Eden, it is a difficult defense to make even with the Almighty as your jury.

It appears, however, that Eve’s defense had greater success in Michigan this week after a jury failed to convict a single member of the alleged conspiracy to kidnap and execute Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. The serpent in this case, according to the defendants, was the United States government. Continue reading ““The Serpent Beguiled Me”: The Whitmer Prosecution and the Entrapment Defense” →

Columns, Media, Politics, Society

The Reeducation of America: Obama Calls on Our “Better Angels” to Change Voter Viewpoints

Below is my column in The Hill on the recent “disinformation conference” held by leading democrats and media figures. It was a confab of the liberal politicians and journalists over how to deal with problems like Republicans, Fox News, roughly half of the voters and most television viewers. The solution for some seemed to be reeducation led by the media through even greater advocacy journalism and censorship.

This weekend MSNBC analyst John Heilemann and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa) added their own suggestion for such reeducation. Dean agreed with Heilemann that Democrats “have to scare the crap out of [the Democratic base] and get them to come out. They can’t motivate them on the basis of hope or their pocketbooks or any of these accomplishments. They have to scare the crap out of them.”

Here is the column:

Continue reading “The Reeducation of America: Obama Calls on Our “Better Angels” to Change Voter Viewpoints” →

Columns, Media, Politics

Garland Gets His Fish: Liberal Activists Move From “Pack the Court” to “Sack the AG”
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Below is my column in the Hill on the campaign to sack Attorney General Merrick Garland over his failure to prosecute former President Donald Trump. Political strategist Cheri Jacobus posted on Twitter that “It’s time for a group of respected, experienced, influential legal eagles to sign a letter to President Biden demanding the firing of Merrick Garland. It has to happen, and this can give Biden some political cover. The status quo cannot stand.”

It is Garland’s Luca Brasi moment delivered by some of the same figures on the left who pushed to Pack the Court.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Garland Gets His Fish: Liberal Activists Move From “Pack the Court” to “Sack the AG”” →

Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

The Stanley Kowalski Defense: Durham Seeks to Force the Clinton Campaign and DNC to Turn Over Evidence in Sussmann Case

It is always good to have a “lawyer acquaintance” when things get tough. In “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the character Stanley Kowalski famously assures to Blanche DuBois that he has “a lawyer acquaintance” who will protect her. The same appears to be true for the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC. Special Counsel John Durham is fighting to get access to evidence related to his prosecution  of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann. The documents are being withheld by the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Fusion GPS, and Perkins Coie. There are 1,455 withheld documents, but only 18 reportedly involved a lawyer. However, they are arguing that their “lawyer acquaintances” shield their communications from disclosure to the Special Counsel.

Continue reading “The Stanley Kowalski Defense: Durham Seeks to Force the Clinton Campaign and DNC to Turn Over Evidence in Sussmann Case” →

Media, Politics

Applebaum’s Apathy: Writer Declares the Hunter Biden Laptop Story to be “Totally Irrelevant”

It appears that some media have a new narrative after admitting that the Hunter Biden laptop is legitimate after all. According to Atlantic Magazine writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum, the story never did matter because it was just not interesting and “totally irrelevant” to her. Strangely, however, it once did. Applebaum pushed the false narrative as she was slamming others for publishing “Russian disinformation” and using the Hunter Biden story as an example. It only became uninteresting when it turned out to be true. The one convincing assertion, however, is that it was simply not viewed as “relevant.” What was clearly relevant for Twitter and most media outlets was the election of Joe Biden. Otherwise, as captured by Gaston de La Touche, it is a matter of sheer boredom.

Continue reading “Applebaum’s Apathy: Writer Declares the Hunter Biden Laptop Story to be “Totally Irrelevant”” →

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks