The White House will be briefing on this shortly, and I’ll be on to react on Fox — Here’s a summary from The Free Press’s Eli Lake:
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has accused former president Barack Obama of being part of a “treasonous conspiracy” during the transition to Donald Trump’s first presidency. He and his top national security officials rushed through an intelligence assessment on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, Gabbard says, that falsely claimed that Russia intended to influence the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump in an effort to discredit the president-elect before his presidency even started.
That explosive claim is the heart of Gabbard’s new allegations that she says are supported by more than a hundred pages of documents her office declassified on Friday that reveal how America’s spies assessed Russian election interference in the final months of the 2016 election. “The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government,” she said.
Gabbard has recommended the Justice Department investigate and prosecute this alleged conspiracy. On Sunday, the president posted an AI video that depicted Obama himself being arrested by the FBI in the Oval Office. If Gabbard’s charges were true, Obama’s intervention would be the biggest scandal in American political history.
More from The Spectator: Russiagate Was Worse Than We Thought
Virginia Sparks GOP Worries
The convergence of paltry fundraising, weak polling and a candidate seen as incapable of fixing either has some in the RGA’s orbit unenthused, I’m told, about giving much more than the $500,000 the group has already contributed to Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, the Republican standard-bearer in Virginia. By comparison, the group gave $10.7 million directly to the now-term limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s winning campaign four years ago.
Leading Republicans have long been convinced that they have a better chance to win in New Jersey, the other state holding a gubernatorial election this year. The GOP nominee there, Jack Ciattarelli, ran a surprisingly competitive race as the standard-bearer four years ago and has the support of President Donald Trump.
Yet last week’s fundraising disclosures revealing that Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger has more than three times the cash on hand as Sears — $15.2 million to $4.5 million — have Virginia and national Republicans convinced they’ll lose the governorship absent a dramatic and unexpected change in the race.
The money disparity is especially disheartening for Republicans because fundraising in these off-off year elections tends to be self-reinforcing, with donors and party committees curtailing their giving when they see candidates lagging. To borrow a phrase from Haley Barbour — a legendary fundraiser and former GOP governor himself — good gets better and bad gets worse, certainly when it comes to campaign dollars in such an environment.
Making the problem worse, Sears is reluctant to make fundraising or even glaringly obvious political phone calls, according to multiple Republicans familiar with her campaign. She’s not reached out to some of the most reliable donors in Virginia or to top GOP figures such as the Virginia-based Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign co-manager. And while Sears and Trump met privately earlier this year in the White House, the president has yet to embrace her candidacy, a non-endorsement that stems from her criticism of him between his two terms.
This grim outlook has prompted irritation from some leading Republicans about the straits Youngkin may leave the party in on his way out of office. In fairness, the governor is at least trying to aid Sears. He has appeared with her on the campaign trail in Virginia and this week in Aspen introduced her to donors and recounted his own dismal polling four summers ago, according to a Republican present at the gathering.
Skydance-Paramount Promise Ombudsman
Skydance has told the Federal Communications Commission that once its acquisition of Paramount Global is complete, it will initiate a “comprehensive review” of CBS to ensure that the network is operating in the public interest, and that it will hire an ombudsman that will report directly to the president of CBS News “who will receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns” at the news division.
The ombudsman role will be guaranteed for at least two years, with CBS News leadership committing to “carefully review” any complaints.
Skydance also committed to eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) at the company, writing in a letter that, “The company is committed to ensuring that its storytelling reflects the many audiences and communities it serves in a manner that complies with non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws.”
Skydance made the commitments in a pair of letters to the FCC, with one focused on “addressing concerns about media bias” and another “to confirm the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that were in place at Paramount and-to-confirm our commitments moving forward.”
“Skydance, for its part, does not have DEI programs in place today and will not establish such initiatives,” the letter continues. “The company is committed to ensuring that its storytelling reflects the many audiences and communities it serves in a manner that complies with non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws.”
The DEI changes will impact the company’s hiring practices, promotion and development, compensation, and public messaging, among other areas. It will also eliminate the office of global inclusion.
Skydance also committed to maintaining a “productive partnership” with its CBS affiliates.
The commitments come as Skydance is seeking to secure FCC approval for the transfer of the CBS broadcast licenses, which is necessary to complete the Paramount Global transaction. The future of CBS News has been a hot topic in media circles, with the 60 Minutes settlement sparking outrage among many in the newsroom there.
✍️ Feature
🌍 Foreign
Examiner: Zelensky Faces Ukraine Protests, Cuts Anti-Corruption Body
The National Interest: Israel’s Gaza War Faces an Inflection Point
The Telegraph: The Truth About UNESCO Is Too Sinister to Ignore
🏛️ Domestic
📰 Media
Hollywood Reporter: Trump Sues Wall Street Journal for Defamation
The Spectator: Jon Stewart and Colbert Don’t Deserve Their Shows
Washington Examiner: Colbert Cancellation Is Capitalism, Not Censorship