Author: David Corn

How the Media Aid and Abet GOP Hostage-Takers

Editor’s note: The below article is a preview of the lead item in the next edition of  David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter comes out twice a week (most of the time) and provides behind-the-scenes stories and articles about politics, media, and culture. Subscribing costs just $5 a month—but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of […]

Henry Kissinger at 100: Still a War Criminal

Henry Kissinger is turning 100 this week, and his centennial is prompting assorted hosannas about perhaps the most influential American foreign policymaker of the 20th century. The Economist observed that “his ideas have been circling back into relevancy for the last quarter century.” The Times of London ran an appreciation: “Henry Kissinger at 100: What He Can […]

How John Durham Succeeded by Failing

John Durham succeeded. Not in the conventional sense. This special counsel, appointed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr and handed the task of proving Donald Trump’s claim that the FBI’s investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal had been a “hoax” perpetrated by a supposed Deep State cabal, went 0 for 2 in the courtroom with cases he […]

With a Softball Interview of Trump, “The Messenger” Launches by Legitimizing Extremism

Democracy dies in the darkness—so goes the slogan of the Washington Post. It can also perish when authoritarianism is normalized with a thousand nicks. A new website called the Messenger demonstrates how such normalization is becoming ever more normal.  Days after CNN handed Donald Trump a town hall platform that cast him as a conventional political […]

Tucker Carlson’s Long Con

Tucker Carlson wasn’t always Tucker Carlson. Or maybe he was. When I met the recently defenestrated Fox host in the late 1990s, he was stylizing himself as a facts-driven reporter who happened to work for the conservative Weekly Standard. His schtick was that he was a journalist, not an ideologue. Sure, he had right-of-center opinions, […]

Donald Trump’s Lawyers Just Made a Big Mistake

Last week, when Donald Trump filed a $500 million civil lawsuit in federal court against his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, legal experts scoffed and guffawed. Trump’s suit accused Cohen of breaching confidentiality and “spreading falsehoods” about the former president—that is, ratting out Trump. The timing of the filing was suspicious, given that it […]

Here’s What Happened After Clarence Thomas’ Benefactor Let Scholars Dine Near His Nazi Memorabilia

After ProPublica revealed that billionaire and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow spent decades lavishing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with pricey gifts and globetrotting trips, follow up stories noted Crow is an ardent collector of Nazi memorabilia and indigenous American artifacts. What’s on display at his Dallas mansion includes two Hitler paintings, a signed copy of Mein Kampf, […]

Trump’s Indictment Is Yet Another Stress Test for America

Editor’s note: The below article is a preview of the lead item in the next edition of  David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter comes out twice a week (most of the time) and provides behind-the-scenes stories about politics and media. Subscribing costs just $5 a month—but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Our Land here. […]