Tom Fitton: Obama administration knew about Hunter Biden corruption concerns

TIME's staff praised them effusively and criticized Trump. Editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said they were so recognized for “changing the American story

Latest Stories

  • Alan Dershowitz says Texas lawsuit tossed by Supreme Court should tell Trump's allies they 'can't count on the judiciary' to invalidate the election results

    The attorney and Trump ally said the president would need a "perfect storm" of courts, governors, and state election officials aiding his cause.

  • 'We have no oxygen': First journalist to access Yemen after Covid discovers major cover up in country of her birth

    Like many others in March I was spending my days locked down in my London flat, listening to reports about how overwhelmed the NHS was and the struggle to get essential supplies. However where I differed is that all I could think about was Yemen. I am British, but I’m originally Yemeni, and regularly report from it for BBC News and the World Service. If the UK was struggling to cope, I thought to myself, just how would the authorities in Yemen fare? I was terrified for them: my family, my friends, the nation. But I mainly feared for my grandmother. She is in her late 70’s and ticked all the vulnerable categories. I began calling my sister who lives in northern Yemen every day asking her if there were any cases. But while I was terrified, she, like so many others in the war-torn country was oblivious to the threat. The Houthi authorities in the north hadn’t announced a single case. From London I set about trying to find out what was truly happening, but it was near impossible. The Houthis had imposed a blanket restriction on all Covid reporting from areas they control.

  • Jerry Falwell Jr. spent heavily on Trump, GOP causes with funds from nonprofit Liberty University

    Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University in August after a series of scandals involving sexual indiscretions and questionable use of university funds on friends and family, but Liberty's board is still split on the partisan direction Falwell steered the private evangelical Christian school founded by his father, Jerry Falwell Sr.Especially divisive, Politico reports, is the question of whether Liberty should continue funding the Falkirk Center, a conservative "think tank" named after Falwell and GOP activist Charlie Kirk that "has produced no peer-reviewed academic work and bears little relation to study centers at other universities," but did run "pro-Trump ads, hired Trump allies including former adviser Sebastian Gorka and current Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to serve as fellows, and, in recent weeks, has aggressively promoted [President] Trump's baseless claims of election fraud."As a 501c(3) nonprofit, Liberty University is technically barred from supporting political candidates and spending money on political campaigns. But the Falkirk Center, founded in 2019, "purchased campaign-season ads on Facebook, at least $50,000's worth of which were designated by the network as political ads, that promoted Trump and other Republican candidates by name," Politico reports. And more generally, since endorsing Trump for president in 2016, Falwell has "pumped millions of the nonprofit religious institution's funds into Republican causes and efforts to promote the Trump administration, blurring the lines between education and politics."Last July, for example, the Falkirk Center held a two-day summit on China policy at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., featuring a host of GOP officials and Trump allies but no Democratic speakers, Politico reports. Numerous evangelical groups have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars holding events at Trump's Washington hotel, where "prominent evangelical ministers were given VIP status," The New York Times reported in October. But Liberty University also has an academic mission, and slashed its humanities programs even as it poured millions into GOP organizations."The Falkirk Center, to me, represents everything that was wrong with Liberty when Jerry was there," Karen Swallow Prior, a professor at Liberty for 21 years who left at the end of last school year, told Politico. "It's brazenly partisan." University spokesman Scott Lamb said the donations to GOP organizations "are consistent with the mission and focus of Liberty University as an evangelical Christian university," and went toward "nonpartisan" activities like voter registration.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • Spectacular eruptions from Mount Etna

    The eruptions began at 9:20 p.m (2020GMT) on Sunday (December 13) and continued until around 3 a.m. (0200GMT) the following morning. According to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, there were two eruptive fissures on the south-eastern crater of the volcano. Volcanic ash from the eruption covered parts of the nearby small Catanian villages between Pedara and Tremestieri Etneo. On Monday morning, cars, streets and balconies were covered in black ash as workers and locals worked to clear it up.

  • UAW, US Attorney reach deal to reform union after scandal

    The United Auto Workers and the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit say they have reached a settlement with the goal of reforming the union in the wake of a wide-ranging bribery and embezzlement scandal. Terms of the agreement will be announced at a Monday afternoon news conference in Detroit.

  • U.S. expects to have immunized 100 million against COVID-19 by end of March -Slaoui

    The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Sunday. The first vaccine was authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators on Friday night and began shipping on Sunday. "We would have immunized 100 million people by the first quarter of 2021," U.S. Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui said in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Joe Biden's agenda 'a little hazy' and criticizes his Cabinet picks as lacking an 'overall vision'

    Joe Biden has promised to build the "most diverse cabinet based on race, color, based on gender that's ever existed in the United States of America."

  • Father who 'begged' GP for an MRI scan dies from cancer after Covid backlog

    A father-of-two who had to "beg" to get an MRI scan because of the coronavirus crisis has died of cancer, his family have revealed. Sherwin Hall, 27, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, went to hospital on March 23 suffering from leg pain but despite repeated visits he was only given a course of antibiotics for a misdiagnosis of prostatitis. After "begging for a scan" and 13 hospital visits in four weeks, Mr Hall was finally given an MRI on May 26 which revealed a 14cm malignant tumour in his pelvis and 30 small tumours on his lungs. Before his death, Mr Hall said: "I kept begging them in April and May to give me an MRI scan, but no-one would listen. "Both my GP and my consultant told me that I couldn't get one because scanning services were slowed down because of the coronavirus." His widow, LaTroya Hall, who is being supported by the Catch Up With Cancer Campaign, said: "I am devastated. I have lost the love of my life. "If Sherwin's cancer had been found earlier it is likely he would still be here today. He would want me to do everything I can to prevent other families suffering as we have. "It worries me that the Government and NHS leaders continue to say cancer services are back to normal; our family's experience has been that, even now, this is simply not the case.” Mr Hall's death comes as cancer patients, celebrities and NHS staff have launched a Christmas video as part of a campaign calling on the Government to boost cancer services "devastated" by the Covid-19 crisis. The Catch Up With Cancer campaign was launched by the parents of Macclesfield beautician Kelly Smith who died after her treatment for bowel cancer was stopped because of the pandemic. TV presenter Victoria Derbyshire said in the film: "I'm Victoria Derbyshire and all I want for Christmas is for people who've noticed changes in their body or noticed unexplained symptoms to go to the doctor's please." Cancer charity MacMillan says the backlog of cancer patients from the first lockdown is 50,000 while there might be double the number of patients from the second lockdown. An international study has suggested that for every four-week delay in treatment there is a 6 per cent to 13 per cent reduction in survival which could lead to the death of tens of thousands of cancer patients who could have survived under normal circumstances. A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: "Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a priority throughout the pandemic and we urge people to come forward if they have symptoms. "The NHS is working hard so as many people as possible get the help they need and more than 870,000 people were referred for cancer checks between March and August. "We've given £3 billion to support the NHS in tackling the impact of Covid, including £1 billion to provide extra checks, scans and operations."

  • Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits

    President Trump told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade on Saturday, in a clip broadcast Sunday, that no judges have had "the courage" to allow his lawyers and allies to argue his baseless claims that the election was "stolen," specifically criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court for declining to "go into the evidence" on his cases because of "little technicalities, like a thing called standing."> "They're winning these things on little technicalities, like a thing called standing." pic.twitter.com/fPdLMHX3bg> > — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 13, 2020In fact, several courts have offered to hear pro-Trump lawyers argue their case, and U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig in Wisconsin shot down the latest of those cases on Saturday. "A sitting president who did not prevail in his bid for reelection has asked for federal court help in setting aside the popular vote based on disputed issues of election administration, issues he plainly could have raised before the vote occurred," wrote Ludwig, a Trump appointee. "This court allowed the plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits. In his reply brief, plaintiff 'asks that the Rule of Law be followed.' It has been."The "most telling aspect" of Ludwig's ruling isn't that "the rejecting was done by a Trump-appointed judge" or "that it was done on the merits," Andrew McCarthy argues at National Review. It's when Ludwig notes that "on the morning of the hearing, the parties reached agreement on a stipulated set of facts," meaning "there was no actual disagreement between the Trump team and Wisconsin officials about the pertinent facts of the case."In other words, "there was no there there," McCarthy writes. "Despite telling the country for weeks that this was the most rigged election in history, the campaign didn't think it was worth calling a single witness. Despite having the opportunity of a hearing before a Trump appointee who was willing to give the campaign ample opportunity to prove its case, the campaign said, 'Never mind.'" And "this is not the first time the campaign ducked an opportunity to prove its claims of a stolen election in court," he adds. In Wisconsin, as in Pennsylvania and Michigan, "every time a court offers him an opportunity to establish by proof what he is promoting by Twitter, Team Trump folds." Read more about Ludwig's ruling at National Review.More stories from theweek.com National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide The Constitution has an answer for seditious members of Congress

  • One person shot in violent protests in Washington state

    Police in Olympia arrested one person Saturday afternoon following a shooting at a violent protest between two heavily armed groups near the Capital building. The Olympia Police Department said the person who was shot was taken to a hospital by other civilians. The two groups had opposing political views, and each side was heavily armed with rifles, handguns and clubs, and engaged in violent clashes, police said.

  • Iran's Rouhani defends execution of captured dissident journalist Zam

    DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended Saturday's execution of a prominent dissident journalist based in France and captured by Iran last year, saying the death sentence passed on Ruhollah Zam was carried out lawfully. European countries "have the right to comment, but Zam was executed upon a court's ruling," Rouhani told a televised news conference, noting that the judiciary was independent. "I think it's unlikely that this will hurt Iran-Europe relations."

  • Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler posed for a photo with a former KKK chief - but says she didn't know who he was

    Chester Doles was jailed in 1993 for viciously beating a Black man. On Friday, he posted a selfie with Loeffler to Russian social media site VK.

  • Blast on tanker in Saudi port caused by 'external source'

    An explosion on a Singapore-flagged oil tanker off the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Monday was caused by an “external source”, the ship’s owner said. The BW Rhine was hit while discharging refined oil products at Jeddah about 0400 on Monday local time, Hafnia said in a statement, without giving more information on the cause of the explosion. The 22 crew were uninjured and able to extinguish a subsequent fire onboard, the tanker company said. “It is possible that some oil has escaped from the vessel,” the statement read. “But this has not been confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are at the same level as before the incident.” Saudi authorities did not immediately acknowledge the blast, which followed several other recent incidents in the Red Sea, a vital shipping lane for oil and cargo. On November 25, an oil tanker was damaged at the Saudi terminal of Shuqaiq, south of Jeddah, which the Saudis blamed on a naval mine laid by Houthi rebels from Yemen. While Houthis have previously laid mines in the Red Sea, Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, said if the Houthis were responsible for Monday’s blast, it “would represent a fundamental shift in both targeting capabilities and intent.”

  • More than a quarter of excess deaths in the U.S. in 2020 were from non-COVID-19 ailments, analysis finds

    More than a quarter of the estimated 356,000 excess deaths in the United States in 2020 have been attributed to ailments other than COVID-19, a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.Diabetes deaths are believed to be around 15 percent above normal nationwide this year, and at least 20 percent in several states, including New Jersey, where the figure is estimated to be 37 percent.Deaths from Alzheimer's and dementia, high blood pressure, and pneumonia and the flu are all estimated to have increased at double digit rates compared to a normal year, as well. However, many of these cases could have been undiagnosed coronavirus infections, particularly early in the pandemic when testing was scarce.The Times notes the excess mortality, regardless of the cause, is likely at least partially related to the coronavirus pandemic, which has created disruptions in the health care system. Economic stress and social isolation stemming from lockdowns could also have played a role, especially for people with chronic illnesses. "You end up choosing between your prescription medications or buying groceries or keeping a roof over your head," Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the Times. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • Supreme Court won't revive Kansas voter registration ID law

    The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. A federal appeals court had declared the law unconstitutional. Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote.

  • Philippines targets deal for 25 million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine

    The Philippines aims to finalise negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March, a coronavirus taskforce official said on Monday. President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing, wants to inoculate all his country's 108 million people, preferably buying vaccines from Russia or China. Philippine officials had met with Sinovac representatives on Friday and there would be another meeting this week to finalise a deal, Carlito Galvez, the country's vaccine chief, said.

  • Putin installed a replica of his Moscow office at his beachside retreat so he could pretend to be in the thick of things while shielding from COVID-19, report says

    Vladimir Putin is heavily shielded from COVID-19, with visitors made to walk through disinfectant tunnels or quarantine for weeks before meeting him.

  • China warns of interference over Bloomberg journalist arrest

    International pressure is mounting after a Chinese Bloomberg journalist was detained by Beijing.

  • Donald Trump's defeat is good. Why does it feel so bad?

    Today should be a celebratory day. The Electoral College will gather in state legislatures across the country and cast its votes, and Joe Biden will officially be designated the next president of the United States. The system, such as it is, is still working despite dozens of junk lawsuits, multiple attempts to undermine the will of the voters, and endless falsehoods from the loser of the presidential election. We're not an authoritarian country, yet.But it doesn't feel great, does it?The election of Donald Trump in 2016 made many of us fear for American self-government. But the election of Biden in 2020 hasn't provided the relief we'd hoped for — not yet, at least. That's probably because thousands of Americans are dying every day from the coronavirus, a disaster that grows more tragic with each passing moment, but also because, while the Electoral College vote should be the functional end of the 2020 presidential election, it almost certainly isn't. There are still cards for Trump and his allies to play, and it is clear they'll be playing those cards right up to noon on Inauguration Day.The most notable card, of course, is Congress. In early January, the legislative branch will meet to tally the presidential election results — a rubber-stamping exercise in most years. But Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a Trump ally, has other ideas: He is contemplating a challenge to the voting results in the swing states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and Wisconsin."We have a superior role under the Constitution than the Supreme Court does, than any federal court judge does, than any state court judge does," Brooks said. "What we say, goes. That's the final verdict."Like other efforts to overturn Biden's election, Brooks' scheme probably won't be successful. It is, however, dispiriting.I've spent much of the last four years anticipating a moment of ultimate clarity — a point in time when Trump's influence in our politics would be snuffed out, or when his victory over America's institutions and good sense would be complete. There would be a moment when he either won or lost and the rest of us would have to live with the results.Instead, Trump has created a little-known third option: He has lost, and he keeps losing, then losing some more, but he refuses to bow to reality. Worse yet, he has persuaded a critical mass of elected Republicans to join him in that refusal. Dozens of Republican members of Congress and state attorneys general joined Texas' misbegotten lawsuit to overturn the election results. The Supreme Court made quick work of that case on Friday, but the fact that so many elected officials signed onto the legal kamikaze mission suggests that Trump's influence on the GOP won't soon fade. The president may lose influence and attention once he leaves the White House, but, with some exceptions, the party seems more hostile to good old-fashioned democracy than ever.The picture gets worse when you account for the specter of violence. The offices of the Michigan legislature will be closed today because of threats. In Washington, D.C., and Olympia, Washington, election-related fights spilled into the streets over the weekend, replete with stabbings and a shooting. This isn't exactly a peaceful transition of power.Today's Electoral College vote won't fix these problems. We're stuck in limbo — not quite a failed democracy, but not quite a full democracy either. Maybe we will have to live with that muddled state for a while. That will be difficult and exhausting, but the alternative is to surrender to the lies and cynicism of Trump and his cronies.The beginning of a new presidential administration usually feels like an opportunity for a fresh start, a bit of spring cleaning in the federal government. We're not getting that this year. The rot won't be removed so easily. So while today should be a day to celebrate the renewal of our self-governance, it seems instead like a time to mourn.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • A man was physically assaulted while supporting Democratic candidates at rally in Georgia, police say

    The attacker punched the rally-goer before ripping up his campaign sign for Georgia Democratic Senate candidates, local news reported.