The Highlights - Vol. 15
The FCC continues to show why it shouldn't exist, James Kirchick takes down two in one week, & more
Democrats Blame Gun Owners for Islamist Terrorism and Their Own Bad Decisions
[I]n the last two weeks, we’ve had four separate Islamist terrorist attacks or attempted attacks against Americans on U.S. soil. [The perpertrators] were welcomed in and, in some cases, given U.S. citizenship. And most egregiously, you’re seeing Democratic elected lawmakers try to blame American gun owners for the awful decisions made by the U.S. government.
Washington’s Foremost Con Artist
How Ro Khanna turned a sex trafficking scandal into a campaign stunt
The California Democrat’s ambitions find fuel in the flames of conspiracy.
In this critique for The Washington Post, James Kirchick argues that Representative Ro Khanna is exploiting the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case as a calculated campaign stunt to fuel his 2028 presidential ambitions. Kirchick details how Khanna recently read the names of “wealthy, powerful men” into the congressional record, only for it to be revealed that several were ordinary individuals with no ties to Epstein. The author paints a picture of a reckless politician whose history of shifting political identities—moving from a pro-AIPAC centrist to a progressive populist—suggests a pattern of opportunism rather than sincere advocacy. Ultimately, Kirchick contends that Khanna’s willingness to foment conspiracy theories and ignore the DOJ’s own findings on the lack of an Epstein “client list” constitutes a dangerous form of demagoguery that makes him unfit for higher office.
WFB
An illegal immigrant from El Salvador who is nearly 19 years old and a junior at Fairfax High School in Virginia was charged with nine counts of assault and battery for allegedly groping fellow students. He entered the United States in 2024 and was released by the Biden administration.
DHS Urges Northern Virginia County Not to Release Illegal Alien Accused of Assaulting Teenage Girls
Fairfax County has a so-called Trust Policy that largely does not allow local police to contact ICE when they have an illegal alien in custody.
From “The Morning Dispatch” by The Dispatch
Carr Threatens Broadcast Licences
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned Saturday that broadcasters airing “hoaxes and news distortions” should “correct course before their license renewals come up” or risk losing their licenses, the latest in a series of administration threats against media outlets over their coverage of the war in Iran. Carr’s tweet came in reply to a Truth Social post from Trump that accused the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other publications of running “intentionally misleading” headlines about Iranian missile strikes on five U.S. refueling tankers at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia—coverage Trump called inaccurate, claiming four of the five planes had “virtually no damage.” Trump said Sunday that he was “thrilled” that the chairman was “looking at the licenses.” The FCC does not directly license national networks—only individual local stations, including network-owned and independently owned affiliates—and has not denied a broadcast license renewal in decades. Current TV license renewals are not scheduled until late 2028.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, told Fox News he does not “like the heavy hand of government, no matter who’s wielding it,” and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) described the warning as “outrageous.”
Judge Unjustifiably Sanctions Ted Frank
Original Jurisdiction with David Lat
Last August, Judge Mary Rowland (N.D. Ill.) dismissed Manhart—and hit Frank with monetary sanctions (in an amount to be determined), calling his legal arguments “frivolous.” Frank appealed, and the case is now pending before the Seventh Circuit (where Frank once clerked, for Judge Frank Easterbrook).
Ted Frank’s turnaround: Driving a class action for motorists ‘imprisoned’ by a protest by Jenna Green, Reuters
The litigation raises a recurring question in the law: Where is the line between asserting an innovative legal theory and a frivolous one? ….
Some of [Judge Rowland’s] criticism of the legal claims [advanced by Frank] strikes me as eyebrow-raising. For example, in rejecting allegations of false imprisonment—which Illinois case law has defined as “the unlawful restraint of an individual’s liberty or freedom of locomotion”—Rowland found that the lead plaintiff, who was unable to move his car for more than an hour and missed his flight as a result, was not confined to his vehicle against his will.
He could have exited the car and left it parked on the highway for a week “without facing legal penalties,” she wrote, citing the statutory definition of an abandoned vehicle. But as Frank’s team pointed out, under the Illinois Vehicle Code, a deserted car on the shoulder of the interstate would have been promptly towed.