YOU HAVE GOT TO BE F’KKING KIDDING ME: Misappropriation of imagery is a long-used tool by Pallywood, but this one takes the motherlovin’ cake. This guy is what we call in Appellate Litigation an “asswipe.”

CAN WE BE SUED? When asked that question by countless reporters and editors, I reply that “any idiot can file a lawsuit. Filing a winning one is another story.”

Here’s a case of a moronic lawsuit brought by some Seattle SJW’s who thought it was a novel idea to claim that Fox News should be treated like a defective product. The Washington state group known as the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics, or WASHLITE, filed a suit in Superior Court of Washington State in April, calling for an injunction that would keep Fox News from “publishing further and false and deceptive content” about the coronavirus pandemic. The law has rejected this kind of idiocy multiple times, and I have litigated (and won) this issue before. Ideas can be wrong, but not “defective.” Here’s an example of one such case that explains it nicely.

Fortunately, the court gets it right, quoting precedent in its ruling dismissing the case:

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

You don’t like Fox? Great, change the channel.

You scared it will “teach” people the “wrong” ideas? That’s the most condescending, paternalistic elitism of the worst kind.

IN THE MAIL: Timely book by author and classical pianist Hyperion Knight called “The Manuscript.” Set in medieval Italy under the siege of a pandemic.  Hyperion is an interesting guy, and one of my first pals to call the 2016 election accurately.

QUID PRO JOE? Breaking news  in Eastern Europe that Ukrainian parliament member Andrii Derkach released audio recordings purportedly revealing secret conversations between former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and Joe Biden. The audio purported has Biden saying, among other things, that:

“And now that the new Prosecutor General is in place, we’re ready to move forward to signing that one billion dollar loan guarantee.”

So far, nothing from the western press, and some Russian outfits are already using the “doctored tape” argument. Let’s see if the tape is legit.

Impeachment Boomerang: The wheels are coming off the Russia Collusion Hoax train. JustTheNews.com is reporting that hundreds of documents now show that Former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch who testified to Congress that “she knew little beyond an initial briefing and press reports” about Burisma Holdings, had in fact been extensively briefed on the Ukranian energy company that paid Hunter Biden as much as $50,000 a month.

State Department memos obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Yovanovitch’s embassy in Kiev, including the ambassador herself, was engaged in several discussions and meetings about Burisma as the gas firm scrambled during the 2016 election and transition to settle a long-running corruption investigation and polish its image before President Trump took office:

“The discussions about Burisma inside Yovanovitch’s embassy were so extensive, in fact, that they filled more than 160 pages of emails, memos and correspondence in fall 2016 alone, according to the State Department records obtained under FOIA by the conservative group Citizens United.”

Yovanovitch, you’ll remember, was the ambassador fired by President Trump over the hysterical keening of outfits who lauded her as a heroine. NBC — who seems to get fooled a lot these days — said “Yovanovitch’s testimony hewed very closely to what she’d told investigators in her closed-door testimony last month.” CNN said America “would see former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as the national hero she is” and that her “testimony was powerful, credible and moving.”

It’s all coming apart, and this explains the former Obama Administration officials — including The Lightworker Himself — bellowing about the “rule of law.” It’s more projection. Heroes don’t lie under oath to Congress. Read the whole thing.

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE:  If you ever said — even in good faith — that Trump “colluded” with Russia, or that Trump was Putin’s “puppet” or that Russia “gave” the election to Trump, now is your chance to say you were fooled. The wheels are coming off the train of lies. Mollie Hemingway is following the roadmap of deception, and it’s not looking good:

“Not only was information on Russia not fully shared with the incoming Trump team, as Obama directs, the leaks and ambushes made the transition chaotic, scared quality individuals away from working in the administration, made effective governance almost impossible, and materially damaged national security. When Comey was finally fired on May 9, in part for his duplicitousness regarding his handling of the Russia collusion theory, he orchestrated the launch of a Special Counsel probe that continued his efforts for another two years. That probe ended with Mueller finding no evidence of any American colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election, much less Trump or anyone connected to him.”

Insiders say Obama, Rice and Schiff are terrified of facts coming down the road. You can hate Trump all you want, that’s your right. But Due Process means nothing if it’s denied to those you hate. Ask the Scottsboro Boys or Reuben “Hurricane” Carter.

THIS GUY AGAIN: Earlier this month we’ve seen revelation after revelation about what a crock the FBI investigation into collusion was. JustTheNews.com is now reporting that Steele testified in a British court that he believed both then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and then-Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice were aware of his dossier research as it was going on in summer 2016:

“Steele told a British court he believed he had been hired by the Fusion GPS firm owned by Glenn Simpson through the Democratic National Committee-linked law firm Perkins Coie to assist the Clinton campaign during the election, according to a transcript of the testimony […] “I presumed it was the Clinton campaign, and Glenn Simpson had indicated that. But I was not aware of the technicality of it being the DNC that was actually the client of Perkins Coie,” Steele testified.”

Now here’s the conundrum: The DNC, Schiff, and the deep staters in the FBI hired a discredited spy to create a spurious dossier. They leaked that dossier to media, and once it was published, the would-be coup plotters obtained a FISA warrant under less-than-honest circumstances. They swore up and down that Steele was credible. So do they now claim he is not to be believed? And it’s difficult for those of us who knew he was dodgy in the first place ought to be careful about putting too much stock in his words.

As the famous line in cross-examination goes: “were you lying then, or are you lying now?”

Dispatches From The Epicenter: Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly by NYC and NJ.

Thanks. We needed that.

“YOU GET THE GOVERNMENT YOU DESERVE. GOOD AND HARD.” — H. L. Mencken

JOURNALISISMS: An object lesson in journalism from Google News’ headlines.

One says “here’s what he says.” OK
The next says “Here’s what he asked.” OK
Then the network that brought you this guy completely screws it up.
On purpose.
Asking a question is not “suggesting” something.

IT’S A FLOOR WAX AND A DESSERT TOPPING: Laura Loomer, (described here as “alt-right”) sued Facebook for booting her, claiming their labeling her as “dangerous” was defamatory. Facebook says that decisions to label people as “dangerous individuals” is an expression of Facebook’s opinion of that person and their posts — something clearly protected by the First Amendment.” Techdirt reports that Facebook’s pleadings say:

To the extent she alleges Facebook called her “dangerous” by removing her accounts pursuant to its DIO policy and describing its policy generally in the press, the law is clear that calling someone “dangerous”—or saying that she “promoted” or “engaged” in “hate”—is a protected statement of opinion.

But waitaminute: I keep getting told by the left that Citizens United is wrong, and that corporations shouldn’t *have* First Amendment rights. Or do they really mean to say that corporations they *perceive* as conservative should have no such rights? Why do I suspect the latter?

THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY: I seem to remember a meme about the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting a different result. JustTheNews does a round-up of how Dems are berating Trump supporters.

“A Nazi prison guard has been sent back to Germany after years of living in the United States,” Conan O’Brien said. “After a long manhunt, authorities found him hiding at a Trump rally.”

It’s the “basket of deplorables” all over again. Forget the fact that alienating and belittling voters is contrary to alleged liberal principles of open-mindedness or freedom of thought. It’s virtue signalling writ large and even Democratic operatives admit it will backfire.

There. I fixed it.

THE SHAM THAT WAS THE “RUSSIA COLLUSION” INVESTIGATION: JustTheNews publishes an excellent survey cataloging what you already suspected:

“[A]fter countless open record lawsuits, congressional investigations, sworn depositions and declassifications, there is compelling evidence that the FBI did not have justification to sustain its nearly three year-long, now debunked, Russia collusion probe or to support Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants targeting the Trump campaign.”

There is no other way to describe this other than a legislative attempt of a coup d’etat. The deniers kept bellowing, the lapdogs in MSM led the gaslighting that “there was no evidence” and painted anyone who thought it worth looking into as “loony conspiracy nuts.” Not so fast:

The latest revelations came Friday, when previously classified footnotes from the Justice Department inspector general were unmasked and showed the FBI had stunning reason to distrust Christopher Steele’s dossier when the former British spy first pitched it in July 2016.

Of course, while Russia was the convenient bogeyman, China was busy hiding the truth about COVID-19, manipulating supply chains and pressuring the W.H.O. into legitimizing their — I’ll say it — crimes against humanity.

BECAUSE THEY’RE SWAMP CREATURES. THAT’S WHAT THEY DO. In another episode of “We Have to Pass It to See What’s In It” it turns out that the COVID bill exempts the Federal Reserve from their obligation under the law to make their records public. Politico reports that:

“Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing its meetings or keeping most records about them, according to a POLITICO review of the legislation.”

Even worse, when contacted by POLITICO, the Senators wouldn’t take ownership of the provision:

Spokespeople for Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the chairman and ranking member on the Senate Banking committee, declined to comment on how the change was added to the recovery bill or who requested it.

Oh, yeah, I said some stuff, too.

OH BOY, IS AUNTIE MAXINE GONNA BE PISSED: A Democratic state representative from Detroit — who is also a woman of color — is crediting hydroxychloroquine and Republican President Donald Trump who touted the drug — for saving her in her battle with COVID.

“Whitsett said she was familiar with “the wonders” of hydroxychloroquine from an earlier bout with Lyme disease, but does not believe she would have thought to ask for it, or her doctor would have prescribed it, had Trump not been touting it as a possible treatment for COVID-19 […] “It has a lot to do with the president … bringing it up,” Whitsett said. “He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority.”

I can just imagine Maxine Waters saying she should have died like a “true sister” rather than acknowledge being helped by Bad Orange Cracker.

FOR ALL YOU SECOND-GUESSERS AND BLAME-SEEKERS:

“This is not a major threat to the people of the United States.”

— Dr. Anthony Fauci, Jan. 21, 2020

JUDGES DO GET IT WRONG: No matter how you feel about these particular media defendants, the judge here committed reversible error in holding that saying in good faith but erroneously that a man convicted of a misdemeanor is a “felon” is a substantial enough falsity for a libel case to stand. Mind you, the complaining party makes a valid observation:

In his complaint, Blankenship explains, “We live in an age of weaponized defamation where lies can be repeated in more ways at more times in more places with more speed than anyone could possibly have imagined even five years ago.”

But that isn’t enough. The degree of harm is not relevant to the question of scienter or fault. If publishers are required to be 100% accurate in describing legal pleadings or face bankrupting libel suits, then who would risk reporting any legal news? That, my friends, is the genius of our Founding Fathers’ design of the First Amendment.

“Sometimes false speech must be protected in order to provide breathing space for other expression.”

OUTSTANDING PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING: From The Daily Caller, reports of the corporate version of the “payday loan” racket doing its best to squeeze every last dime from small businesses:

“There’s lots of talk about helping small businesses. But in the last few days, lawyers running lawsuit mills are suing small businesses to extract cash,” Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra tweeted on March 19 about the MCA industry. “The lawyers work for lenders that offer pricey payday-style loans using sketchy contract terms to restaurants and businesses.”

The story details how companies skirt usury laws through the sale of a portion of a business’s future income at a discount. Typical MCA agreements require businesses to make payments every business day of a set dollar amount until the agreement is settled.

**Disclosure: I act as outside Newsroom Counsel to The Daily Caller and occasionally contribute media-related commentary to the site. 

“LA MAFIA È COME LA CORONAVIRUS—TI PRENDERÀ DOVUNQUE.” [The mafia is like the coronavirus—it will get you wherever you are.] Old friend and renowned investigative reporter Richard Behar filed an interesting report on how Organized Crime is taking advantage of the Wuhan virus:

“In Switzerland—of all places, considering it’s one of the safest countries in the world—GI-TOC cites reports of criminal groups looking to loot properties. How so? “They claim to be from official state agencies and request access to properties with a view to disinfecting the areas of coronavirus.” Meanwhile, in China and Laos, traders have been falsely marketing rhino horn products as “cures” for the virus.”

Read more details here.

WELCOME TO THE TWILIGHT ZONE. POPULATION: JOE BIDEN
OK, look. He’s a hack. A likable, run-of-the mill, baby-kissing, glad-handing hack. That’s not news. But for heaven’s sake, how long can these idiots pretend the cheese hasn’t slipped off the cracker? “Professor” Biden?
Now he’s claiming to be a college professor. The Washington Examiner reports that:

“When I left the United States Senate, I became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania,” Biden claimed. “And I’ve spent a lot of time — and the University of Delaware has the Biden School as well, so I’ve spent a lot of time on campus with college students.”

Um, yeah, well, about that:

Biden was present on the University of Pennsylvania campus four times to make speeches in 2017 and again in 2018. He was paid $776,527, which amounted to nearly double the average salary of the professors on campus at the time, according to PhillyMag.

My professorship at NYU (adjunct, not tenured) pays in the neighborhood of $7,000 per class, and that’s for being in class with students, plus creating material, exams, and administrative bullshit.

THIS JUST IN:  NO PORK FOR NANCY! House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Panderville)  just announced she has dropped procedural blockage and will allow a vote on the Senate’s version of the COVID bill instead of holding the nation hostage by demanding what some commentators called “racial and gender pay equity provisions, diversity on corporate boards, increased use of minority-owned banks by federal offices, and a grab-bag of other diversity-themed requirements.”

JustTheNews appears to be the first with this development:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that she will attempt to pass the Senate’s coronavirus economic stimulus package – putting aside the alternative, projected $2.5 trillion measure that she proposed. The California Democrat said she’ll try to pass the Senate’s projected $1.8 trillion measure by unanimous consent, meaning House members can say yes without having to come to Capitol Hill to vote.

More to come, for sure.

Note: Normally the Instateam doesn’t post during certain hours, but the Good Professor thought it important enough to let folks know now.

STANDING UP: Columbia University President Lee Bollinger deserves great credit for taking a stand in a time where inmates are running the asylum. Most universities — as we all know — have gone off the deep end in cowering and catering to the puerile whims of youngsters. (Oberlin College ring a bell?)

One of the most awful examples has been the BDS movement on campuses. You want more Ilhan Omars? This is how you get more Ilhan Omars. From Bollinger’s earlier statement:

“I plead with everyone on our campus to be careful and vigilant against legitimate debate turning into anger, then to hatred and demonization, and invidious discrimination,” he said.

Disclosure: He also penned of the foreword for the upcoming fifth edition of my book, so I’m both biased and proud.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF JIM ACOSTA BEING RE-ASSIGNED TO COVER THE LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT SAY “AYE.”
Because this is what real press suppression looks like.

TUCKER CARLSON DROPS A TRUTH BOMB: “Our existential threat is not global warming. It’s China.”
This should be shared widely. It may very well be the most thoughtful, balanced, bi-partisan and yes — humanistic — television editorial writing in decades. Bravo, Tucker Carlson.

Watch the whole thing.™