Academia, Free Speech

MSNBC Legal Analyst and Law Professor Barbara McQuade Doubles Down on Laptop “Conspiracy Theory”

We have previously discussed the view of Michigan Law Professor and MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade on free speech. We have strikingly different views on free speech. McQuade just published “Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” and calls free speech our “Achilles heel.” My book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, is out in the coming days with a more robust view of free speech.

McQuade’s call to limit free speech is justified as needed to combat disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. Yet, McQuade just went public with a full-throated defense of what the U.S. government now calls a “conspiracy theory.” She maintains that the Hunter Biden laptop should still be discounted or dismissed as Russian disinformation. Continue reading “MSNBC Legal Analyst and Law Professor Barbara McQuade Doubles Down on Laptop “Conspiracy Theory”” →

Columns, Courts, Media, Politics, Supreme Court

Capitol Vapors: The Faux Outrage Over the Alito Flags and Tapes

Below is my column in The Hill on the renewed attacks on Justice Samuel Alito after a liberal activist secretly taped a dinner conversation with him and his wife. The feigned outrage of pundits and politicians is absurdly unconnected to anything even remotely surprising or unethical in the comments.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Capitol Vapors: The Faux Outrage Over the Alito Flags and Tapes” →

Media, Politics

The Washington Post’s Philip Bump Makes Last Pitch to Keep the Laptop “Conspiracy Theory” Alive

Across the media, journalists have recognized that the Hunter Biden laptop is authentic and, as established early by American intelligence agencies, not “Russian disinformation.” With the authentication of the laptop in the Delaware trial as “real” and untampered, most media has chosen to walk away with a slightly embarrassed shrug. Not the Washington Post. Its columnist, Philip Bump, was one of the most prominent purveyors of what the U.S. government now calls a “conspiracy theory.” This week, Bump ran another column to assure liberals that they were right all along about the laptop story.

Continue reading “The Washington Post’s Philip Bump Makes Last Pitch to Keep the Laptop “Conspiracy Theory” Alive” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society

Here is an Excerpt From The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage

The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage is about to hit the shelves around the country. The pre-ordered copies of the first edition will be mailed in days with a formal release date of June 18th. I wanted to thank everyone who has pre-ordered the book and the generous comments of reviewers.

The book has been 30 years in the making. The book explores our struggle with free speech and why we continue to grapple with the meaning of this core, defining right. It does so in part through the stories of courageous figures who refused to yield to the demands of others to be silent, even at the risk of their own lives. The book seeks to reexamine the essence of this right and how, after a brief moment of clarity at our founding, we abandoned its true foundation as a natural or autonomous right. Many agree with Justice Louis Brandeis that free speech is indispensable but not why it is indispensable. That lack of proper foundation has left the right vulnerable to continual tradeoffs and contractions, particularly in what is now arguably the most dangerous anti-free speech period in our history.

Here is an excerpt from the book for those interested in obtaining a copy:

Continue reading “Here is an Excerpt From The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” →

Criminal law

Did the Defense Make Prison More Likely for Hunter Under the Sentencing Guidelines?

For months, I have been expressing disbelief that Hunter Biden and his defense team were going to take the gun case to trial. Even on the eve of the trial, I thought that the defense might snap into sanity and plead out the case. The reason was simple. A guilty plea would have materially improved the chances that Hunter could get probation and avoid jail by accepting responsibility. Conversely, a trial in a case with overwhelming evidence of guilt would make it less likely that a judge would depart from the guidelines at sentencing. Nevertheless, Hunter went forward with a nullification strategy and, in so doing, it may have nullified his best chance to reduce the risk of jail time. Continue reading “Did the Defense Make Prison More Likely for Hunter Under the Sentencing Guidelines?” →

Columns, Criminal law, Lawyering

Hunter Comes Up A Donut Short of a Defense in Delaware

Below is my column in the New York Post on the conviction of Hunter Biden in Delaware and how his nullification strategy may have backfired. As discussed below, empathy can turn into insult when jurors are given patently implausible theories by the defense. Hunter finally found a group of people who were unwilling to see him as immune from responsibility for his conduct. Hunter literally came up a donut short of a defense in Wilmington.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Hunter Comes Up A Donut Short of a Defense in Delaware” →

Congress, Criminal law

“I Take Responsibility”: Pelosi Admits Fault for the Lack of Security Precautions on January 6th

For years, some of us have asked why the Capitol was so poorly prepared for the January 6th riot. As part of the coverage on that day, I remarked at the start of the protests that I had never seen the Capitol so thinly protected for a major demonstration. Some paths to the Capitol were protected by a handful of bicycle officers and thin barriers. Now, a previously-unreleased video taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., admitting that she was responsible for the lack of preparedness. Continue reading ““I Take Responsibility”: Pelosi Admits Fault for the Lack of Security Precautions on January 6th” →

Politics

Lawfare Bingeing: New Jersey Announces an Investigation into Trump Liquor Licenses

Many of us have expressed alarm at the politicization of the criminal justice system in New York by figures such as Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. It now appears that New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is angling to get into the lawfare frenzy. Continue reading “Lawfare Bingeing: New Jersey Announces an Investigation into Trump Liquor Licenses” →

Columns, Constitutional Law

Can Democracy Survive the “Defenders of Democracy”?

Below is my column in The Hill on the latest calls to protect democracy with distinctly undemocratic measures. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insisted that the 2024 election was our D-Day, suggesting that voters would have to fight the GOP like the Nazis in World War II.  Clinton previously called on Europe to censor American citizens when Twitter sought to dismantle its censorship program and called her defeat in the 2016 election “illegitimate.”  Yet, for many civil libertarians, the “defenders of democracy” are the very threat to democracy going into the 2024 election.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Can Democracy Survive the “Defenders of Democracy”?” →

Academia

Graduating McGill Student Seen Spitting at President as Crowd Cheers

Various posters on social media have featured a video of a graduating McGill University student appearing to spit on the Dean and another faculty member. She then produced a sign demanding divestment from Israel. As she appeared to spit on the President Deep Saini and the other faculty member, the audience can be heard cheering. The school later reportedly edited out the ugly incident and would not confirm that it will be taking any action against the student. Continue reading “Graduating McGill Student Seen Spitting at President as Crowd Cheers” →

Academia, Free Speech

Disinformation Allegations Fly at Harvard’s Disinformation Center

For years, free speech advocates (including myself) have criticized the new rationalization for censorship in the cause of combating disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. As discussed in my new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,  there is a burgeoning cottage industry in academia in helping corporations and government agencies to target certain political, social, and scientific viewpoints. One of those centers is located at the Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. Now, however, the faculty are accusing each other of misinformation over the departure of “misinformation and disinformation” expert Joan Donovan. Continue reading “Disinformation Allegations Fly at Harvard’s Disinformation Center” →

Criminal law

Will Hunter Take the Stand? He May Want to Think Twice Before Checking That Box

This weekend, the Hunter Biden team is reportedly debating whether to have him take the stand on Monday, a move rife with risk. Most criminal defendants avoid such appearances given the potential damage of a withering cross examination. Those risks were evident in the recent testimony of Hunter’s daughter, Naomi, which backfired badly on key points. Continue reading “Will Hunter Take the Stand? He May Want to Think Twice Before Checking That Box” →

Congress, Courts, Criminal law, Media, Politics

Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court

Below is my column in Fox.com on the authentication of Hunter Biden’s laptop in the Delaware trial. The government has denounced the Russian disinformation claims as a “conspiracy theory” and put on evidence that there is no evidence of tampering with the laptop. The FBI declared the laptop to be “real” and “authentic” and the court agreed. It was introduced as evidence before many reporters who previously embraced the debunked “conspiracy theory.” As discussed below, Houdini’s elephant was just revealed on stage and most of the audience looked away.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court” →

Congress, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering

Garland’s Moment of Truth: With the Perjury Referral, the Attorney General Faces a Clear Choice Between Principle and Politics

“Conscience doth make cowards of us all.” Those words from Hamlet captured the moral dilemma for many of us as we face the costs of conscience.

For each of us, there often comes a moment when our principles are put to an undeniable and unavoidable test. It may be as simple as cheating on a test, shoplifting a product, or admitting to a wrong. It is natural to want to avoid such moments, particularly when we cannot even admit to ourselves that we may not be the person we have long claimed to be. Continue reading “Garland’s Moment of Truth: With the Perjury Referral, the Attorney General Faces a Clear Choice Between Principle and Politics” →

Columns, Criminal law

Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification

Below is my column in the New York Post on the first day of testimony in the trial of Hunter Biden. Every claim of the defense seemed to collapse in the first two days of the trial. The defense argued that Hunter did not check the box on the gun form, so the prosecutors called the employee who watched him fill out the form. It claimed he was not using drugs at the time, so the prosecutors read texts from the next day in which Hunter sought to buy crack and called a series of witnesses on his continual use of crack during the period. The defense previously claimed the laptop showed evidence of tampering, so the prosecutor called a FBI agent establishing that there is no evidence of tampering and that the laptop is authentic. The defense claimed that Hunter just wandered into the store and was pressured to buy a gun, so prosecutors called an employee who testified that Hunter came in specifically wanting to buy a gun. As previously discussed, the lack of a defense is becoming glaringly obvious as is the nullification strategy.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification” →

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks