Commentary Culture Investigations

Trump had all the power he needed to dismiss Fauci. He just chose to run his administration dysfunctionally.

The United States and Israel are considering some form of a land blockade to crank up the economic pressure on Iran as the war against the Islamic Republic enters its sixth month, the Washington Free Beacon can report. The land blockade would complement the sea blockade that’s been in effect for some time.
“What if you just block the land? Suppose Iran can’t bring anything in, cannot take anything out,” a senior Israeli official told the Free Beacon—raising one possibility the two countries have been discussing.
The high-level official said such a blockade would be part of an “economic element” that could bring sufficient pressure to bear against Iran, which has so far proved stubbornly resistant to American and Israeli military power.
Iran has long borders with seven different countries—Turkey, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia—countries that each have different and complicated relations with the United States and Israel. It’s unclear how such a land blockade could work in practice.
“You need the whiteboard, and you have to go through that … put in all the various options. And usually, if you have enough experience, you can choose correctly between the options,” the official said.
In the days since the United States restarted its campaign against Iran earlier this month, Israel has stayed mostly on the sidelines, declining to reprise its attacks at the start of hostilities in February.
While Iran has attacked multiple Gulf nations, it has refrained since early June from launching strikes against Israel—something the official noted would guarantee the country’s reentry into the war.
“What would cause Israel to join? I’ll tell you one thing that would cause us to join immediately: an attack by Iran. We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly,” the official said.
The comments come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wraps up his eighth visit with President Trump since his return to office in 2025.
The pair’s meeting was businesslike and almost totally focused on Iran and Gulf issues—and various options for managing the war in the weeks and months ahead.
“The Commander-in-Chief has all options at his disposal,” a White House official told the Free Beacon.
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The Senate’s constitutional duty is to check presidential abuse of power. Our job in assessing nominees is to strive for consistency.

With the Federal Communications Commission just weeks away from possibly stripping The View of their status as a purported “bona fide news program,” and the fight over the license renewal of ABC-owned affiliates just heating up, the left was still trying to muster their defenses. However, the coalitions of liberal former FCC officials and far-left activist groups coming out of the woodwork on Disney and ABC’s behalf could not make any sound legal argument to counter the evidence provided by the Media Research Center, with some even taking nip at the companies in their support letter.As reported by Variety, a letter showing support was signed by a slew of leftist organizations and delivered to Disney CEO Josh D’Amero. The signatories included: the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fall of Freedom, Issue One, LGBT Tech, National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN America, People for the American Way, Public Knowledge, TechFreedom, The Media and Democracy Project, The Trevor Project, The Tully Center for Free Speech, and UnidosUS.“We urge you to continue to defend and exercise your First Amendment rights, so that we can all continue to exercise ours,” the collective proclaimed. 

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ABC via SnapStream

 The letter did seem to suggest that they felt ABC and Disney were being too silent about what they were going through and they needed to do more:“Meaningfully fighting back requires more than strongly worded regulatory filings. It requires that you make clear to the public what is happening to you and to them — that the government is violating the First Amendment,” the letter to D’Amaro reads. “Remember: the public rebelled against the heavy-handed attempt to force Jimmy Kimmel off the air, and stood with you. Disney now has the opportunity to stand with all of us in protecting our rights to watch, read, and access information the government wishes we would not. Illegal jawboning demands decisive and vocal resistance. Your rights, and all of our rights, depend on it.”As NewsBusters previously reported, ABC had waited until the final day of public comment to launch their audience write-in campaign.In a response to the Media Research Center’s petition to deny the renewal of broadcast licenses for eight ABC-owned affiliates, a laundry list of former FCC officials spilled 28 pages of ink without laying down a good legal argument in Disney and ABC’s favor. They were helped along by the leftist Protect Democracy Project and a collection of others likes Gigi Sohn of G Squared Strategies, Berlin Szoka of TechFreedom, and Andrew Jay Schwartzman.“This early license renewal proceeding is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Communications Commission and a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution. Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril,” they proclaimed.At no point did the group argue that MRC’s evidence of license violations (i.e. electioneering, promotion of political violence, abdicating their duty to act in the public interest etc.) were wrong or inaccurate in anyway.Instead, they falsely suggested it was part of ABC’s “editorial discretion” and right to flout their responsibilities as a broadcaster:Invoking the news distortion policy and equal opportunities requirement, these petitions ask the Commission to interfere with the stations’ First Amendment-protected editorial discretion: word choices, fact-checks, time covering certain topics, personnel, and the licensees’ perceived viewpoints. These are not legitimate subjects of FCC regulation. Indeed, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government may not “un-bias” what it thinks is biased. The news distortion policy has never authorized the type of interference with editorial discretion that the petitions call for. And, as a group of us argued in a separate petition, the policy is inherently vulnerable to abuse and should be repealed. Nor does the equal opportunities requirement permit investigation into whether, across all content, a licensee harbors partisan bias.Without ever addressing any of the MRC’s specific arguments, they contended, “The Commission has always underscored that ‘mere inaccuracy or difference of opinion’ cannot constitute a news distortion violation.”In fact, they took it a step further and demanded that the FCC repeal their policy to examine and discipline broadcasters for “news distortion.”“Both petitions ask the Commission to scrutinize and second-guess ABC’s editorial decisions at the microscopic level—word choices, fact-checks, the number of minutes spent covering particular topics, even personnel. These petitions only underscore the danger created by failing to repeal the news distortion policy,” they wrote.Yes, ABC does have editorial discretion. However, they can’t use that discretion to willingly violate the responsibilities they agreed to when they sought their licenses. This also wasn’t an effort at censorship because even if they lost their license, they could still compete as a cable news outlet like CNN and MS NOW.

Fox News Digital sought out David Bozell, head of America’s premier media watchdog, for his take on the media’s cover-up of the Fauci diaries. It has appeared across Fox’s social media platforms today.“I hope Dr. Anthony Fauci gets anything that comes to him. My main takeaway from the Fauci diary was the elitism on display, not just from Tony Fauci himself, who wore on his sleeve the fact that he was the top paid bureaucrat in the city for quite some time, but the joint elitism from Fauci and the anchors on some of these networks, Dana Basch and Jake Tapper.“These guys were thick as thieves with Tony Fauci as the pandemic unfolded, and most of America was shut down. Here is the real-time diary of the man who’s taking responsibility for shutting this country down, and the media don’t want to cover it. “Case in point: only CBS News of the broadcast networks, gave any time to the diary, just 24 seconds on Monday night. None of the networks had anything on their morning shows, on Monday and Tuesday morning.  None of the other two other broadcast networks broadcast anything about the diaries. “In fact, I just saw a clip on CNN from Abby Phillips’ show in which she shut down any mention of anyone talking about these diary entries. Silence is golden for these guys, and they’re going to cover this up as much as possible for their dinner mate, for their friend. And here’s Tony Fauci, who, according to his own diaries, helped anchors generate questions against members of the administration that he was working for, and there’s just no clearer sign of elitism on display than I think this insidious relationship that’s been revealed.” 

The relationship between AI and publishers is parasitic.

A couple of peeved GOP senators rightly demand a written rescission of the fund, but President Trump and the DOJ resist.

Covid czar Dr. Anthony repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination Wednesday – even when asked the most innocuous questions by Senate Republicans during a Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing.Fauci had to be legally compelled by subpoena to testify because he had previously refused to appear before the committee voluntarily to answer questions about his actions, public comments and guidance issued regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.”On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution,” Fauci replied more than a hundred times, even when Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked questions such as:”What day of the week is it?“What color tie are you wearing?”“What color is the carpet in front of you?”Sen Josh Hawley: “What day of the week is it?… What color tie are you wearing?… What color is the carpet?…”Fauci: Invokes the 5th for every questionWhat a complete joke…pic.twitter.com/bg9WNuXf3y— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 29, 2026In another viral exchange, Fauci pleaded The Fifth when the committee’s chairman, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) asked Fauci to acknowledge that there was a folder lying on a table a few inches away from him:Sen. Paul: “In the red folder on your table is a copy of Section 192 of Title II of the US Code.“Your counsel has been provided a copy, as well. That section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry.“Do you have that in front of you?”Dr. Fauci: “On the advice of counsel, I respectively decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.”“Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there’s a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right,” Chairman Paul responded.PAUL: In the red folder on your table is a copy of Section 192 of Title II of the US Code…… Do you have that in front of you?FACUI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/8NgHaHR61Y— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 29, 2026

When conservatives hear the term “independent political journalism,” they might think of people who are politically independent between the parties, or unaffiliated with establishment media outlets. But to liberals, “independent journalism” seems to be defined as “reliably anti-Trump/anti-Republican.”The Poynter Institute’s latest event for its supporters is a “salon” in Kansas City in October where they will honor former NBC host Chuck Todd with the “2026 Poynter Make a Mark Leadership Award, recognizing his decades-long impact on political journalism and his role as one of the country’s leading independent voices covering politics, democracy and public affairs.”Since leaving NBC, you could argue Todd is now “independent,” but his entire history at NBC underlined he was reliably Democratic in orientation, including a dinner party honoring a top Hillary Clinton adviser in 2015 at his home with his wife Kristian Denny Todd, a Democratic direct-mail fundraising specialist. It was one of several conflicts of interest with the couple.Poynter announced that at this “salon,” Todd and Poynter official Neil Brown will discuss “the future of political journalism, rebuilding public trust in news, the rise of independent media and what it takes for journalism to remain relevant in an increasingly fragmented and polarized information environment.” Liberals are always upset that conservative media has “fragmented and polarized” their attempt to dominate the media space. Then Poynter points out that they’re also handing out their “Make a Mark” award to two other Democrat hacks in the media: “Sarah Longwell, CEO and Publisher of The Bulwark, and Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, will also receive the award during Poynter’s Sept. 9 Salon Series event in New York City.”The Atlantic and The Bulwark are Poynter’s favorite snark to “make a mark.” The Poynter Institute is the parent organization of the deeply biased website PolitiFact, which calls itself “independent.” Naturally, Chuck Todd has a glowing rating at PolitiFact, with seven “True” or “Mostly True” ratings, and one solitary “False.”

MS NOW Reports host Antonia Hylton brought on The Bulwark’s senior national correspondent Jonathan Cohn on Wednesday to help her make sense of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a frustrating display of someone trying to have it both ways, Cohn admitted that there are legitimate questions that could be asked of Fauci but still managed to accuse Republicans of running “a show trial” aimed at putting Fauci “in jail.”Hylton led Cohn by asking, “Do you think any of them asked serious questions? Or would you say that the majority of this has been about scoring political points? I ask because Dr. Vin Gupta was on with my colleague Stephanie Ruhle just a little bit ago, and he said that, for example, Senator Lankford had some questions that he thought were actually interesting and fair. And so I wonder if you can basically help us cut through the noise here, separate sort of fact and—from fiction and from drama.” Really devastating lines of questioning from @SenJamesLankford….Lankford: “There are a lot of issues and a lot of questions that have come up, and hopefully, some day in the future, we’ll be able to get all this clarity and pull it together. More than a million Americans that… pic.twitter.com/Q4tOP2Xz1N— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 29, 2026 For context, Lankford asked Fauci if he brought up concerns that lockdowns were leading to children not getting their measles vaccines, which would lead to more excess deaths, at task force meetings. He also asked whether he had access to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s classified report that supported the lab leak hypothesis. Lankford further inquired about the cons of working with countries, such as China, with authoritarian governments.Cohn began by agreeing that there are fair questions to be asked, “Yeah. So, I mean, look, there are a few questions that are legitimate. And, you know, looking back over the pandemic, I mean, I think a lot of us have said for a long time, it was a, you know, it was a once-in-a-century challenge. We did some things right. We did some things wrong. Human beings were making decisions. We should continue to look back and say, have a sober examination of what we got right, what we got wrong, so we could do better next time.” The Bulwark’s national correspondent, Jonathan Cohn, tells MS NOW that “This is a show trial. This is Rand Paul deeply invested in this narrative that there was a conspiracy, as Ron Johnson deeply invested in this narrative, that scientists are misleading the country. It’s Donald… pic.twitter.com/LaGIggpZxs— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 29, 2026 However, Cohn then turned, “The problem is that that is not what this show is. This is a show trial. This is Rand Paul deeply invested in this narrative that there was a conspiracy, as Ron Johnson deeply invested in this narrative that scientists are misleading the country. It’s Donald Trump deeply invested in taking out vengeance on Fauci, who he thinks helped ruin his first term.”Alluding to Fauci always pleading the fifth, Cohn continued, “That is why Fauci doesn’t want to answer questions, because he fears, legitimately, the real purpose of this is not to get to the not to have a careful, thoughtful retrospective on how we handled the last pandemic and do better next time. It is an effort to get him, you know, extract vengeance on him and put him in jail.”Even if one grants the argument that some questions are more legitimate than others, it would follow that Fauci should have answered the legitimate ones, especially considering he was given a preemptive pardon.Here is a transcript for the July 29 show:MS NOW Reports7/29/202611:08 AM ETANTONIA HYLTON: But do you think any of them asked serious questions? Or would you say that the majority of this has been about scoring political points? I ask because Dr. Vin Gupta was on with my colleague Stephanie Ruhle just a little bit ago, and he said that, for example, Senator Lankford had some questions that he thought were actually interesting and fair. And so I wonder if you can basically help us cut through the noise here, separate sort of fact and—from fiction and from drama.JONATHAN COHN: Yeah. So, I mean, look, there are a few questions that are legitimate. And, you know, looking back over the pandemic, I mean, I think a lot of us have said for a long time, it was a, you know, it was a once-in-a-century challenge. We did some things right. We did some things wrong. Human beings were making decisions. We should continue to look back and say, have a sober examination of what we got right, what we got wrong, so we could do better next time. The problem is that that is not what this show is. This is a show trial. This is Rand Paul deeply invested in this narrative that there was a conspiracy, as Ron Johnson deeply invested in this narrative that scientists are misleading the country. It’s Donald Trump deeply invested in taking out vengeance on Fauci, who he thinks helped ruin his first term. And that is what this is all about. And, you know, and that is why Fauci doesn’t want to answer questions, because he fears, legitimately, the real purpose of this is not to get to the not to have a careful, thoughtful retrospective on how we handled the last pandemic and do better next time. It is an effort to get him, you know, extract vengeance on him and put him in jail.