Cockburn’s Diary

The speculation in Trumpworld surrounding Mark Meadows, and whether the former congressman and White House chief of staff handed Special Counsel Jack Smith the tools he needed to indict the former president, continues to rise.  It’s already known that Meadows’s staff was the source of an audio recording where the former president made comments about the classified documents he took from the White House — they recorded an interview in July 2021 at Bedminster for Meadows’s memoir about his time in the White House, The Chief’s Chief, which you can purchase at Amazon in hardcover for a very modest $8.07. Trump discussed a document, one that he said he ought to have declassified before leaving the White House, about potentially attacking Iran.

Mad Joe Manchin yells at journos Senator Joe Manchin is furious — and he’s letting reporters know. Sources close to the West Virginia senator tell Cockburn that Manchin is fuming over a recent article in Fox News giving credit to House Republicans, and not Manchin, for the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The new major pipeline could help Manchin politically as he faces a perilous path to reelection next year. “Manchin is furiously calling reporters himself to push back on it,” according to a West Virginia source, despite that “the truth is that he played a relatively minor role in finally getting MVP done.

Emma Tucker has had her work cut out for her since she was moved from London to New York, and from the editorship of the Sunday Times to the helm of the Wall Street Journal. The step up to the pride of Murdoch’s newspaper stable from its plucky British cousin was enough of a challenge. Then Evan Gershkovich was arrested by Vladimir Putin’s goons, putting the paper’s leadership into full-blown crisis-management mode. Cockburn understands that the flat-out Tucker has been underwhelmed by the work ethic of her new American colleagues. “What do they all do all day?” she is reportedly prone to wondering out loud.

Senator Joe Manchin is eyeing the presidency... of West Virginia University, multiple Mountain State sources tell Cockburn. While Manchin hasn’t publicly expressed interest in the job, the stars may be aligning perfectly for him. Charleston political circles have been abuzz with the rumors of his interest for weeks now.  Seventy-five-year-old Manchin will be weighing all options that don’t entail a near-certain defeat at the ballot box in West Virginia next year, meaning a near-certain defeat at the national ballot box with a quixotic third party presidential campaign is unlikely. The presidency of WVU, which Manchin attended on a football scholarship before an injury derailed his career, makes a lot of sense for both parties.

Has FreedomWorks gone FreedomWoke? FreedomWorks has gone FreedomWoke? That’s the charge of a new campaign by Berman and Co, which says the Koch-funded group’s new COO, Marty Irby, has a history of working with radical animal rights groups with close connections to PETA... and Democrats. FreedomWorks, meanwhile, is a grassroots organization that advocates for free markets, personal liberty and lower taxes.Cockburn notes that Irby’s biography on the FreedomWorks website leaves out these details, instead listing only his lobbyist and consulting work with Republicans. According to his LinkedIn, the last time he worked directly for a member of the GOP was between late 2013 and early 2016, when he served as a communications director for Representative Ed Whitfield.

You’d think Fox Corporation would be sick of lawsuits by now — but there’s life in the old dog yet. The company has sent a letter to Media Matters for America, after the left-wing watchdog spent the week drip-feeding what they’ve brazenly titled “FOXLEAKS.” So far the “scoops” consist of... Tucker Carlson cracking a few jokes between segments.Fox lawyers write that the footage was “unlawfully obtained.” This has ruined Cockburn’s chances of winning $5, because he was sure Fox were the leakers. Cockburn’s second guess was Abby Grossberg, the former Tucker booker suing her old bosses for maintaining a toxic work environment — but a source familiar with the show says they don’t think it’s Abby.

A couple of years ago, you’d probably know Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for being one of the world’s most vocal antivaxxers, the black sheep of an American political dynasty and somehow married to Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm. A couple of years from now... might you know him as the US’s unlikeliest president?RFK Jr. is challenging President Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024. The DNC has declared that it won’t host primary debates — yet a Fox News poll this week showed Kennedy with 19 percent to Biden’s 62 percent. If the Facebook algorithm can help RFK inch that support up ten points or so, could the Democrats be forced to platform him?And who knows: Kennedy’s candidacy could prove to be a real shot in the arm for the Democratic grassroots.

Mood inside Fox ‘ebullient’ after Dominion settlement This week’s biggest surprise was Tuesday’s last-ditch $787 million settlement of the Dominion v. Fox News lawsuit. Despite the eye-watering payout, Fox sources tell Cockburn that the mood internally at the network was “ebullient.” This is perhaps unsurprising, given how Fox’s foes were slavering at the prospect of Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity et al being hauled before the court. Also Cockburn understands that Fox will only end up shelling out around half of the settlement fee, due to insurance liability coverage. Plus, the payout is tax deductible: what a bargain! Cockburn guesses we’ll have to wait for the next trial of the century...

Welcome back, Cocaine Mitch! Cockburn reported Thursday that three top Republican senators — John Barrasso, John Cornyn and John Thune — had been “actively reaching out” to other GOP senators ahead of a possible leadership vote, “including the sixteen who voted to delay the leadership election earlier this year.” Shortly after publication, Leader McConnell tweeted, “I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday.” And in an emphatic response to his Senate colleagues’ machinations, McConnell returned to the Capitol on Friday afternoon, for the first time in over a month. https://twitter.

Dylly dilly! Conservatives have been dumping out their Bud Lights lately — or in Kid Rock's case, shooting them —over the beer giant's decision to enter into a brand partnership with trans TikTokker Dylan Mulvaney. Higher-ups at Anheuser-Busch are thought to have been caught flat-footed by the scandal and resulting boycott and are fearful of potential financial ramifications. Could Mulvaney's other corporate partners be next? They include Nike, MAC Cosmetics, Ulta Beauty, the Qatari-owned Plaza Hotel and, most bizarrely considering Dylan's lack of a womb, Tampax... The Little Mermaid (she/her) Disney’s new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey is going even more PC.

Who to copy: #Resistance TikTok, Matt Walsh or Ivanka? Donald Trump has been indicted — and you have to post an opinion about it. Cockburn is sorry, he doesn't make the rules. Need inspiration? Well, if you're too online, in late middle-age and elated about the possibility of Drumpf in the slammer, why not crib from TikTokker @wepickld and shoot a video of you cracking open your "porn star hush money" bottle of Champagne? https://twitter.com/NormOrnstein/status/1641623539764674560 On the other hand, if you're outraged at the maligning of President Trump at the hands of Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg, you can do as the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh did, borrow from the Northern Irish Unionists and cry "NO SURRENDER." https://twitter.

Sinema abandons ActBlue Arizona maverick Kyrsten Sinema has been ruffling feathers this week, after taking a scalpel to the caucus lunches she used to have to attend while a Democrat. “Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are,” the independent senator told a group of GOP lobbyists today, according to Politico magazine. “The Northerners and the Westerners put cool whip on their Jell-O, and the Southerners put cottage cheese.” A moderate Democratic colleague told the same reporter that Sinema is "the biggest egomaniac in the Senate." Some honor! Further proving her independent streak, Sinema has finally changed payment processors, from ActBlue to Anedot, a competitor used mostly by independents and Republicans.

Is the GOP turning on DeSantis? Senate Republicans are annoyed that Florida governor Ron DeSantis parroted Donald Trump's quasi-isolationist take on the Russia-Ukraine war, a congressional insider tells Cockburn. The establishment GOP is apparently worried that the party's shift to a more nationalistic foreign policy could isolate the wealthy East Coast donor base, which is largely supportive of sending aid and weaponry to Ukraine. DeSantis's comments came in response to a query from Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who is trying to get all potential 2024 presidential candidates to go on-the-record with their stance on the conflict.

Texas showdown Democratic congressman Colin Allred is mulling a run against Senator Ted Cruz, Cockburn has learned. No major Democratic candidates have announced yet, with the Castro twins, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and, of course, Beto O’Rourke considered to be names in the mixer. Allred, a former NFL linebacker and civil rights attorney, represents a Dallas district in the House and could steal a march on the field by jumping in early… Hung up on Hunter Cockburn got word from the newsroom of a popular New York tabloid this week, whose staff extensively covered the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Poll: Harry and Meghan’s record unpopularity Prince Harry has been ostracized this week after getting the boot from daddy. King Charles reportedly let his son and daughter-in-law know that they had to vacate their belongings from Frogmore Cottage with four chilling words, which were that the royal residence was now "needed for someone else.” Good job the whining pair have found sanctuary across the Pond, right? Wrong. Harry’s popularity in the US has sunk forty-eight points since December and his wife Meghan's has dropped forty points, giving them net approval ratings of minus ten for the duke and minus seventeen for the duchess, according to polling by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek.

Tim Scott’s campaign preppers Rumors are flying that South Carolina senator Tim Scott is on track to announce his candidacy for president in 2024. The senator was in Iowa this week — and a tipster has provided Cockburn with more fuel for the fire. Scott's Senate campaign started adding conservative media folks to their supporters' email list this week, as journalists received messages welcoming them to the "team" they never signed up for. [caption id="attachment_45816" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Senator Tim Scott campaign email (Screenshot obtained by The Spectator)[/caption] The forced sign-ups seemingly occurred the same day Scott gave a sweeping speech in Des Moines, in the first caucus state in the Republican primary.

White House correspondents behaving badly Getting President Biden to answer to the press is hard enough. His handlers in the administration make it even tougher. And now it seems journalists are linking arms with them to help the aging president out. Tamara Keith, current head of the White House Correspondents’ Association and its apparent hall monitor, chastised her colleagues in an email a tipster passed to Cockburn about “decorum.” (Cockburn, you will be shocked to hear, is not a WHCA member and so is at liberty) Keith took umbrage when “at least three journalists continued loudly shouting” over a reporter, “making it impossible for the president to hear and answer the question. It didn’t reflect well on our profession.

Biden’s pornbrained FCC nominee One of President Joe Biden’s most embattled nominees for the powerful Federal Communications Commission was a staunch supporter of Ugly George, New York City’s “Cult Porno King,” and his right to showcase naked women on cable channels he leased, Cockburn has learned. Gigi Sohn is a lawyer by trade — and her past legal activism suggests that she’ll take a lax approach towards the never-ending influx of sexually explicit content on TV. Back in 1995, the Associated Press reported that Sohn “lamented” a court decision that upheld a law designed to limit people like Ugly George’s ability to air sexually explicit content during daytime hours.

Hammer time Cockburn hears that Jamie Kirchick, the New York Times bestselling author and sometime Speccie writer, has scored an exclusive interview with Armie Hammer, the disgraced Call Me By Your Name star that just might be a cannibal, out this weekend in Graydon Carter's Air Mail. Cockburn wonders whether the meet was over dinner — and if so, who was on the menu… Will CPAC be wack? We are just a month away from CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, which in the Trump era was one of the highlights of Cockburn's year (as you can see from his previous coverage). But buzz ahead of the flagship conservative conference this year has been muted — and right now the line-up lacks the dazzle of previous years, though it does, of course, include President Trump.

The Washington Post’s revolving door People are losing their jobs in all sorts of industries — but chances are the layoffs you’ve heard about most in recent weeks are in finance, tech or the media. Squeakiest wheel and all that. This week brought news that the Washington Post was cutting twenty newsroom jobs and shuttering its gaming vertical. Also out at the Post: Margaret Sullivan, who has left to sign as a columnist for the Guardian. It's not all departures at One Franklin Square though: executive editor Sally Buzbee has signed up a slew of names for the Opinion desk, including conservatives Jim Geraghty and Ramesh Ponnuru from National Review and disaffected liberal Ruy Teixeira.