Will John Brennan face the music? JustTheNews published a long take on the recent Ratcliffe report about the Biden-era’s weaponization of the intelligence community, and in particular John Brennan’s potential criminal liability for lying to Congress:

“[Matt] Gaetz had questioned Brennan during a House Judiciary Committee closed-door interview in May 2023, where Brennan had denied playing any role in pushing the dossier into the ICA. […] The Steele Dossier went from being the centerpiece of FISA warrants, the centerpiece of investigations, to now being something so soiled and so tainted as an abuse of intelligence that everyone wants to claim it was someone else who put the Steele Dossier in this critical assessment regarding Russian election interference,” Gaetz said Monday. “CIA Director John Ratcliffe has now said that in fact it was Brennan who made an adjudicatory call that this would be included.”

Lying to Congress can be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which forbids making false statements to the federal government, including Congress. Unlike perjury, it is not limited to statements made under oath, but the statement must be “materially false” and made knowingly and willfully.

Kash, are you listening?

Apologies for typos in titles, but here’s a little clip some of you might enjoy. If it triggers you, well…suck it up, buttercup. God bless the USA. There, I said it.

The Penny Drops: (From Justthe News): “Climate change influencer once chums with Greta Thunberg now calls the movement a ‘scam’

“While her fans cheered her on, Biggers told Just the News that her beliefs in a “climate crisis” took a toll on her mental health. That’s true of many young people. The most recent poll on the topic, published in the renowned medical journal The Lancet, surveyed over 15,000 people aged 16-25 in the U.S. about their thoughts and emotions about climate change. The poll found that 85% are moderately worried about climate change, and nearly 58% are very or extremely worried. Nearly 43% said it impacts their mental health.”

IT’S OK TO SAY: “All men are created equal.”

From Just the News:

“A federal judge ordered the University of Oregon to pay $191,000 to Portland State University professor Bruce Gilley to cover his legal fees in a successful First Amendment challenge…”

BREAKING: “One person killed in shooting at ‘No Kings’ protest in Salt Lake City: police” according to Just the News….

“PISSED OFF?” Probably, but not for the reasons they gave. The New York Post reports that:

“ABC News staffers ‘pissed’ at Terry Moran over ‘stupid’ verbal assault on Trump aide Stephen Miller: ‘He should be fired’”

They claim to be pissed that Moran had biases, but I deeply suspect that what they are really pissed off at is that he got caught.

JOIN ME TONIGHT LIVE! I’ll be on at 7PM Eastern Time with Jeff Norman and Ryan Milton on “The Winers.” Tweet your comments and questions!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1651900958843221/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vZ1phAtiYc…

https://rumble.com/v6u0bj7-the-winers-ep.-36-streams-live…

A VIDEO WORTH WATCHING: or even subscribing to, that is, if you think American History and Free Speech matter.

Richard Miniter is an American investigative journalist and author, known for his work on national security and foreign policy. The video starts with the English Civil War And the Puritans, through The Left’s Fear of the Religious Right, and up to asking What’s the One Thing We’re Not Talking About That We Should Be?, and all points in-between.

Interviews and discourses with a wide range of bright minds, including Steven Fry, Sebastian Gorka, and Tom Holland are guests on various episodes.

Self-description:  “TRIGGERnometry is a free speech YouTube show and podcast. We believe in open, fact-based discussion of important and controversial issues.”

Here’s the one I recommend highly with which to start (link here)Here’s the X link and here’s the Facebook link.

SORT OF LIKE AN OPEN THREAD BUT WITH WINE: Instapundit readers are again warmly invited to watch and participate in a videocast in which I’ll be a guest. 7-8 PM EST tonight, and also available on replay.

And like all the best joints, no cover, no minimum.

Several IP folks joined in last week, asking questions or adding comments. The show’s theme is to talk about a wide range of subjects in the news and allow (gasp!) a reasonable conversation, respecting those who express unpopular but well-stated views.

What an idea, right?

Here are the links, take your pick of whichever is easiest for you:

Rumble

Facebook

YouTube

TourOfDuty

X

Twitch

Locals

Odysee

AS KENT BROCKMAN WOULD SAY: “I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.”

REWRITING YOUR HISTORY: One of the genuine problems with overbroad efforts to scale back libel defenses is that we may open up the opportunity for wealthy or “connected” people to completely rewrite history.

Background: There are more than a few bold-faced names who regularly threaten or file libel suits if your story does not paint them in the light in which they want to be seen. The Church of Scientology is a good example.

In my own personal experience, convicted felon Michael Milken sends in lawyers and spin-doctors every time he is referred to as “The Junk Bond King.” They all insisted to me that he is better known as a “philanthropist.” I suppose if you are paid enough to say that, you start to believe it.

Similarly, publishing magnate Conrad Black tried to ruin my weekend when one of our stories described — from court records, no less — his conviction on charges of felony fraud and obstruction of justice. He pushed the “lawyer” button, of course. To be fair, he was pardoned, but that does not erase the courtroom history of a mentally competent adult man who made the choices he did.

I once had the pleasure of responding to a complaint from Bill Ford, when our magazine piece mentioned the horrifically anti-semitic background of Henry Ford and the The Dearborn Independent. No matter how gently or fairly one describes the man’s history, there’s simply no getting around it. 

And now to the present. Gerry Adams of IRA and Irish political fame is suing the BBC because in 2016 it broadcast an allegation that Adams had been consulted on, and sanctioned, the 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Fein official who was revealed to have been a paid agent working for British intelligence. Reported by The Times of London, the writer says:

“There is no need to take a view on the Donaldson case, however, to appreciate that Adams is once again engaged in the wholesale rewriting of history. This is made clear by his own lawyer’s comments to the effect that Adams’s reputation has been grievously damaged by the Donaldson allegation, because, look, “Gerry Adams’ reputation is that of a peacemaker. It has taken Gerry Adams a lifetime to gain that reputation.”

Now, realize, this case is proceeding under Irish law, which is far less forgiving of a false and defamatory statement than that of our First Amendment. It’s always possible (especially as an EU member) that the Irish court recognizes a “public interest defense.”

In either event, the case may be a barometer for what could happen here if we were to adopt looser libel defenses.

Morally, I have no problem with eliminating blatant falsehoods, but the wrong decision may allow the elite to airbrush history going forward.

Worth keeping an eye on. 

**Typo fixed, thanks to eagle-eyed reader**

I HAD THIS ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE THIS EVENING:

See the double dodge here? The AP does a little fluffy piece on what “86” means. And the chatter is that Comey — God’s gift to law enforcement — had to know what it means.

But see, the real whopper gets assumed away, missed or ignored. His Comeyness says: “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk….”

Who in their right mind believes that he “just came across” this?

AP’s story at link below:

The old slang term ’86′ probably started as restaurant-worker jargon. Suddenly it’s in the news.

HOW COULD ANYBODY TELL? Living in a bedroom community in Northern New Jersey just outside NYC, I used to be held captive by the incredibly random, um, “service” (yes, those are scare quotes) of NJTransit. So when the engineers go on strike, can we really tell the difference?

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION: I’ll be a guest tonight on “The Winers” where we enjoy a tasty beverage and talk about…anything, I suppose. Starts at 7PM EST, and linkable all over the place. This is part of my progress to making my own show. This is right up Insta-readers’ alley, and your support is valuable. Did I mention it’s free?
https://www.facebook.com/events/1198147255096492
https://rumble.com/v6tee27-the-winers-ep.-34-streams-live…
https://www.youtube.com/live/naFZoQ8qmx8?si=r67N9g-2862L4JLD
https://x.com/RealScottRitter
https://ustourofduty.org/live/
https://www.twitch.tv/ustourofduty
https://ustourofduty.locals.com/…/6932679/the-winers-ep-34

WATCH THIS LEGISLATOR RUN HEAD FIRST INTO A BRICK WALL OF LOGIC.

DON’T LET LEGACY MEDIA MEMORY-HOLE JAMES HODGKINSON: I couldn’t find a word about this from the dead-tree media, but Just the News is reporting that a Congressional report released this morning says:

“The FBI “misled the public” for years in claiming a sniper’s attempt to kill Republican congressmen at a June 2017 baseball practice was “suicide by cop”, when it was in fact domestic terrorism, according to a new congressional report released Tuesday.”

Gee, you’d think an official report from the House Intelligence Committee might get their attention.

But I guess if it isn’t about Hegseth following Biden’s tradition of using third-party apps, or if it inconveniently exposes the narrative of “those GOP people are violent” then it’s not “All the fits that’s news to print.”™

I’m no psychologist, but doesn’t the Hodgkinson matter — a self-described “Bernie Bro” — show that it’s always projection?

WHY NEW MEDIA IS WINNING: JustTheNews is a straightforward news site, and not surprisingly, the basement-dwellers at Wikipedia (often the go-to grazing spot for legacy media and their scripted narratives) smear them as “right-wing.”

The fact is that many New Media outlets (like The Daily Caller and The Daily Signal) don’t slant the news: They report on facts and issues of interest to center-right readers traditionally and intentionally ignored and insulted by the Dinosaur Media. That cadre has left a legacy of genuine propaganda and genuine disinformation:

• Laptop? What laptop? 51 “experts” say it’s Russian disinfo.
• Biden was “sharp as a tack” until he wasn’t, and then, “we were badly misled.”
• Trump and Musk often give crowds a Nazi salute.
• Biden never got involved in Hunter’s crooked business dealings.
• “Very fine people.”
• Putin has embarrasing info which he uses to extort Trump.
• Kamala Harris’ loss was a result of racism and misogyny.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic of legacy media.

Of course, the MSM can’t get it though their heads that they are completely out of touch with the majority of Americans. After all, many Trump voters actually work with their hands (how disgusting!), don’t have advanced degrees from “institutions of higher education” and “cling to their guns and Bibles.”

Personally, even though I own neither, I find this particularly elitist, paternalist and outright offensive. I’ll never forgive Obama and his media stenographers for that, and I don’t care how sharply creased his trousers are.

So basically, the MSM line is “we’re smarter than you, your vote doesn’t really count, and by the way, ‘Shut up’.”

An anecdote: When I was running legal for Bloomberg News, one of our reporters in D.C. discovered that the ATF screwed up on a gun-running sting that resulted in providing a weapon  used to murder a U.S. border security officer. He had it before anyone else.

In casual conversation, the reporter told me the story had been spiked by big-shot editors in D.C. I tried to help the reporter break what I thought was a “Holy Sh*t!” story. When I rang the well-known and very influential editor to look into it, he simply said: “Oh, nobody wants to read that.”

Really? “Fast and Furious,” much?

The bottom line is that whether you disagree with Trump’s policies, or even dislike the man himself (which of course is your God-given right to do so) there’s no getting around that fact that Trump is (to quote Scott Adams or Andrew Klavan, I can’t remember which) a “GrandMaster-level troll” and knows how to get media to chase a laser pointer like a herd of cats.

Trump’s recognition of “New Media” and giving them a seat in the White House Briefing Room and the pool that covers the White House was a genius move. Of course, the MSM lost their minds, and forgot their supposed dedication to the First Amendment’s protection for speech that might upset others. It’s a safe bet that Joy Reid, Rachael Maddow and the others never read (or conveniently forget)  Near v. Minnesota, or even Fred Friendly’s “Minnesota Rag.”

So, what does “winning” look like? IMHO, have a look at this story by Just The News, who in conjunction with Real America’s Voice, hosted a two-day American Border Heroes Awards ceremony, recognizing the tragic impact of illegal immigrant’ felonies on Amercan families. The story gave voice to some of the “Angel” families’ stories:

“Chris Odette is a veteran whose 13-year-old daughter Chrishia was killed in 2014 by Ramiro Guevara, an illegal alien from Mexico. Guevara was behind the wheel of a car that ran over the little girl while she was crossing a street. Guevara did not have a driver’s license, and after killing the child, spent all of 35 minutes behind bars before being allowed to post a cash bond.

Guevara was released, and it took Odette more than ten years to get Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to finally make the effort to track down and apprehend Guevara. ICE, under the Obama Administration, reportedly did not cooperate with Odette’s search for information about the driver of the car that took his daughter’s life.”

Check teh Interwebs and I double-dog dare you to find coverage about the issue in The New York Times. My cursory search came up with nothing but stories sympathetic to the immigrants, with a sub-text that the criminals were the real victims.

Of course, I’d rigorously defend the NYT‘s right to publish such stories, but the absence of any semblance of balance or completeness is — as a matter of journalistic ethics or even quality — bordering on negligence. It even makes me wonder about (to borrow Justice Brennan’s phrase in Times v. Sullivan inspired by the Kansas case of Coleman v. MacLennan) “purposeful avoidance of the truth.”

Truth? Feh, that’s so old fashioned and not cool.

Can you imagine a universe in which The Guardian, MSNBC, or NPR would ever report on this in anything but a derogatory way? I can’t.

Moreover, can you imagine MSM actually supporting scholarships for Angel families?

Nope. 

**Disclosure: I provide legal and editorial consulting work for Just The News, The Daily Caller and The Daily Signal. 

BREAKING NEWS: “Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, from May 8-11, calling for Kiev to agree to it, according to the Kremlin.”
More at JustTheNews.

THE ECHOES OF “CATCH AND RELEASE”: It turns out that “loving father and husband” Kilmar Abrego Garcia isn’t the poor victim the legacy media wants you to think he is. JustTheNews exposes this guy’s history:

“The deported El Salvadoran man at the center of an intense court battle was flagged in 2022 by the Biden administration as a “suspect alien” who was possibly involved in “human smuggling/trafficking” after a traffic stop hundreds of miles from his Maryland home, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents reviewed by Just the News.”

The details show that during a routine traffic stop, the van Garcia was driving was full of people with no documentation, and the state trooper noted there was no luggage in the vehicle, leading the encountering officer to suspect this was a human trafficking incident.

But wait, there’s more:

“On Wednesday, DHS released a court filing showing that Abrego Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him a year before the traffic stop in May 2021 […] Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the deported El Salvadoran man at the center of an historic immigration case, admitted to authorities in 2019 when he was first detained that he entered the United States illegally and had no basis for seeking asylum […] Separate records released by Attorney General Pam Bondi show Abrego Garcia admitted to authorities in 2019 when he was first detained that he entered the United States illegally and had no basis for seeking asylum and that Maryland police positively identified him as member of the MS-13 criminal gang.”

Victimhood can be profitable, though:

“A “Go Fund Me” crowdsourcing campaign was reportedly set up by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), a charity that claims to provide assistance to immigrant workers. NDLON is partly funded through the left-wing ActBlue Charities, and their Facebook page displays images comparing ICE agents to Nazis capturing Jews. As of press time, the campaign has raised almost $200,000.”

THIS JUST IN: JustTheNews is reporting that the federal government’s main housing loan agency has referred New York Attorney General Letitia James to the U.S. Justice Department for possible prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud.

More to come, I’m sure.

OK, WHO’S BRINGING THE POPCORN? Reuters is reporting that Sarah Palin and the New York Times are headed back to a courtroom where the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate will try convincing a second jury the newspaper defamed her in an editorial about gun control.

My sentiments here.

THIS WILL PROBABLY GET BURIED: Many people have asked what was in the “manifesto” written by the “Covenant School Nashville transgender shooter.” Just the News has it:

“Being white sucks, but being black is so cool. Black people should rule. White people should fall, every white person who lived and died. I hate you all,” Hale wrote, per the New York Post. “I hate the American people. America is not the land of the free, it’s a land full of idiots. It will only get worse in this country, not near enough gods like me. America and its people all destined to soon be destroyed.”

It remains to be seen if legacy media bothers to report this at all…but I’m not holding my breath.

UPDATE (From Ed): Hannibal Lecktor*, call your office:

* That’s how the character’s name was spelled in his first onscreen appearance, played by Brian Cox, in Michael Mann’s chilling Manhunter from 1986.

THIS JUST IN: Hunter Biden agrees to give up law license in Washington DC. Just the News is reporting that:

“Former first son Hunter Biden has agreed to give up his law license in Washington, D.C., according to an affidavit that was unsealed by the Board on Professional Responsibility on Tuesday.”

The DC Bar docs can be found here.

THIS MIGHT LEAVE A MARK: I’m not privy to all the facts here, so I won’t pre-judge it. But I’ll tell you this: Former RNC Chief of Staff Chris LaCivita is suing The Daily Beast for defamation, and he is being represented by Harmeet Dhillon’s firm.

I’d take this very seriously, given (1) the DB’s track record of (IMHO, of course) irresponsible gossip-mongering and a “mission” to insult Trump and people living in “flyover states”; and (2) Dhillon is a certified bad@ss.

Your mileage may vary, take only as directed, and if condition persists see a doctor.

PERHAPS THEY CAN TRY MARKETING A “LIBERAL TEARS” FLAVOR: I found this amusing story somewhat underreported. It appears that:

“Ben & Jerry’s infamously woke CEO has been fired by the ice cream company’s fed-up parent company Unilever. David Stever was booted on March 3 after Unilever bosses grew tired of Ben & Jerry’s advocating for divisive progressive causes like Black Lives Matters, DEI, defunding the police and Palestinian rights.”

Here’s the best part… 

“Ben & Jerry’s remaining bosses have now filed a lawsuit accusing the parent company of firing Stever for his political activism.”

Hmm, so many similes from which to choose…”biting the hand that feeds you,” “pissing in the company water cooler,” “choosing the wrong hill upon which to die” or maybe even “circular firing squad?”

How about just autophagy?