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But as part of Mr Bastiaans defamation claim, he has denied the allegations and said he never breached the Liberal Party constitution.

Mr Bastiaan said Nines reports had portrayed him as corrupt and asserted he may have committed a criminal offence.

He has also been subjected to hatred, ridicule and contempt following the reports, court documents allege.

On Tuesday, Mr Wilson criticised Nine for filing its defence documents weeks late and just days before another segment on the matter was broadcast on current affairs program 60 Minutes, alongside fresh articles in newspapers.

Mr Wilson questioned whether this was done to allow McKenzie more time to make further investigations, door-stopping and harassing a witness, and flagged that further action would probably be taken to restrain McKenzie from approaching witnesses.

We say it is wrong when you have a party to the proceeding using his journalistic position to go out and actually pressure people who have already been named as witnesses in the proceeding, Mr Wilson said. With a view to put pressure on Mr Bastiaan to resolve the case.

Mr Mukerjea dismissed the allegations as false and said they amounted to accusations of contempt of court and an abuse of process, and singled out McKenzie who is one of the countrys most decorated journalists.

The allegations are vehemently denied, Mr Mukerjea said.

Justice Besanko said the latest allegations were only aired orally and would not be dealt with unless evidence and appropriate documentation was submitted to the court.

Mr Wilson, thats your allegation, but Im not determining the merits of these matters this morning, he said.

Outside the hearing, McKenzie denied harassing witnesses and said The Age and Sydney Morning Herald would continue to hold politicians on both sides to account.

Trying to door-stop politicians about serious allegations is fundamental to ensuring our democracy is appropriately oversighted, and our lawyers will continue to resist efforts to stop investigative journalism from shining a light, he said.

Mr Bastiaan resigned from the Liberal Party last year.

The matter will return to court in December.

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Federal Court dismisses bid to prevent reporting on alleged abuse of public resources - Sydney Morning Herald

KARIN Kirkpatrick, Opposition Critic for Children, Family Development and Childcare, on Monday kept pressing the government to listen to many heartbroken parents, who are furious about the NDPs top-down approach and callous announcement to end direct autism funding by 2025.

The BC Liberals said they had received numerous emails from families and advocates expressing serious concerns for the lack of transparency, information and consultation regarding the decision. They added that such a dramatic change would take away the well-established supports and relationships that took many years to build, while creating another waitlist for families to compete with each other for already scarce resources and services.

Kirkpatrick stressed that parents should not be removed from the decision-making process when it comes to the care of their children, especially children with support needs. They want and rightfully deserve choices and direct involvement. It is time for the NDP to show some respect and stop the clawback of the autism funding, she said.

VIDEO:MLA Kirkpatrick presses the NDP to stop the clawback of autism funding

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BC Liberal critic Kirkpatrick presses the NDP to stop the clawback of autism funding - Voiceonline.com

Media top headlines November 15

In media news today, Kamala Harris' spokeswoman hits back at CNN, an MSNBC anchor gets slammed on Twitter for arguing Americans can afford more expensive groceries, and Axios warns about a 'reckoning' on news outlets that touted the Steele dossier

Two liberal CNN commentators who support Vice President Kamala Harris are unhappy with their outlet's own story outlining frustration and dysfunction in her office.

A lengthy CNN piece Sunday outlined mutual exasperation between Harris and President Joe Biden's offices as her approval rating dips, with the former's aides feeling hung out to dry as she tackles thankless tasks without White House cover, and the latter's staff having "thrown up their hands" at her "lack of focus," as CNN put it.

"Defenders and people who care for Harris are getting frantic," CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jasmine Wright reported, adding, "She's perceived to be in such a weak position that top Democrats in and outside of Washington have begun to speculate privately, asking each other why the White House has allowed her to become so hobbled in the public consciousness, at least as they see it."

U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks to American and French reporters during a press conference at the InterContinental Le Grande Hotel in Paris, France November 12, 2021. Sarahbeth Maney/Pool via REUTERS (Reuters)

CNN commentator Bakari Sellers, who backed Harris' ill-fated presidential bid, complained on "New Day" about the overall way the first female vice president is treated in the media.

KAMALA HARRIS SPOKESWOMAN SLAMS CNN'S GOSSIP REPORTING

"I have a larger issue with the tone and tenor by which Kamala Harris is covered, and I think we saw that in this article," he said. "I had to push back heavily on this article and throw a little cold water on it. I spent a little time with the vice presidents office and no ones frantic, but more importantly she just got back from a flawless overseas trip to France dealing with a very prickly issue where we had some freezing of our diplomatic relations with France, and she by all means performed extremely well."

Sellers, who was quoted in a separate Washington Post article defending Harris, bemoaned that the CNN piece mentioned a Harris gaffe from her diplomatic trip to France, where she appeared to awkwardly employ a French accent during a lab visit.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about his Build Back Better agenda and the bipartisan infrastructure deal as Vice President Kamala Harris stands by in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 28, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

"When you have these articles come out, it puts a lot of us in a defensive posture, because we see that a lot of people are treating Kamala Harris the same way they treated Hillary Clinton, which is attempting to end her political career in a death by a million cuts," he said.

Sellers acknowledged there was frustration among Harris' allies with how she was being deployed by the West Wing. Harris has stumbled through being the point person on thorny issues like Democrats' desired voting system overhaul and the mounting border crisis.

"The fact is, shes come into this being a great team player because there was a thought that she would not be a team player, and shes been nothing but a great team player," Sellers said.

KAMALA HARRIS ASKED HOW FRANCE TRIP WOULD PREPARE HER FOR THE PRESIDENCY

Also, CNN legal and national security analyst Carrie Cordero didn't care for the piece, quoting the article's headline, and tweeting, "Alternatively, Accomplished, Brave & History-Changing @VP Doesnt Conform to Mythical Expectations of a Pandemic-Era, Post-Insurrection Vice Presidency."

The piece touched a nerve in the White House, with press secretary Jen Psaki tweeting out a defense of Harris that appeared to be in direct response to the article. Harris' approval rating was a dismal 28 percent in one recent survey, a historically bad number for a vice president and especially after a comparatively brief time in office.

(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the countryfrom voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband," Psaki tweeted.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Symone Sanders, who serves as senior adviser and chief spokesperson for Harris, also chimed in, writing, "It is unfortunate that after a productive trip to France in which we reaffirmed our relationship with America's oldest ally and demonstrated U.S. leadership on the world stage, and following passage of a historic, bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create jobs and strengthen our communities, some in the media are focused on gossip not on the results that the President and Vice President have delivered."

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CNN commentators fume after CNN report on Kamala Harris office dysfunction: 'I had to push back heavily' - Fox News

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Detectives investigating the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell have returned to the property on the NSW mid-north coast where he went missing seven years ago. Police are digging up the garden at the Kendall home where his foster grandmother lived and where he was last seen in 2014. Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said on Tuesday there had been a significant breakthrough in the case and he was confident police would solve the mystery of the boy's fate. "There is certainly one person in particular that we are looking closely at," he told Sydney radio 2GB. Police are investigating whether the boy died after falling from a balcony at the Kendall home, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. It says a police cadaver dog is at the scene and Strike Force Rosann will consult a forensic anthropologist, an archaeologist and a hydrologist in a bid to unearth new evidence in the case. Mr Fuller said he didn't want to say too much for fear of compromising the investigation. "Officers have been working tirelessly to get to this point where we are searching land, again using the best technology available," he said. "They inherited what was a bit of a mess and have really cleaned up that investigation and they have a clear strategy and one of those is going back to Kendall." The case of the missing boy in the Spider-Man suit has captured the nation's attention since William disappeared from the garden of his foster grandmother's Kendall home in 2014. On Monday, NSW Police announced they were conducting a new "high intensity" search for William's remains near the property. Police are being helped in the search by 30 SES volunteers. Volunteers are using chainsaws and other heavy-duty equipment to clear dense bushland, including felling large trees. Asked about reports police were seeking an apprehended violence order against a person or people of interest in the case, Police Minister David Elliott was reticent to say too much. "It is a matter of public record that police are issuing AVOs," he told the Seven Network. "We need to be cautious about how we discuss that in the public domain so smart lawyers don't use our comments to neutralise a conviction." Earlier, he told the Nine Network it was "a matter of public record that a number of people who had relationships with William have been questioned by police". William's foster family have never been publicly named due to legal reasons. Ten reporter Lia Harris, who interviewed the foster parents for her 2019 podcast Where's William Tyrrell? said she had recently received a subpoena from the coroner's court for "a very broad range of material". "Everything that I had uncovered in my research for the podcast, audio files, documents, everything, including those raw tapes of my extensive interviews with the foster parents," she told 2GB on Tuesday "To me, it signalled that they had either taken a new direction or they had a new theory they were working on." The findings of a coronial inquest into William's disappearance, which concluded last year, are yet to be handed down. A $1 million reward for information on the case still stands. Australian Associated Press

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November 16 2021 - 11:16AM

Detectives investigating the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell have returned to the property on the NSW mid-north coast where he went missing seven years ago.

Police are digging up the garden at the Kendall home where his foster grandmother lived and where he was last seen in 2014.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said on Tuesday there had been a significant breakthrough in the case and he was confident police would solve the mystery of the boy's fate.

"There is certainly one person in particular that we are looking closely at," he told Sydney radio 2GB.

Police are investigating whether the boy died after falling from a balcony at the Kendall home, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

It says a police cadaver dog is at the scene and Strike Force Rosann will consult a forensic anthropologist, an archaeologist and a hydrologist in a bid to unearth new evidence in the case.

Mr Fuller said he didn't want to say too much for fear of compromising the investigation.

"Officers have been working tirelessly to get to this point where we are searching land, again using the best technology available," he said.

"They inherited what was a bit of a mess and have really cleaned up that investigation and they have a clear strategy and one of those is going back to Kendall."

The case of the missing boy in the Spider-Man suit has captured the nation's attention since William disappeared from the garden of his foster grandmother's Kendall home in 2014.

On Monday, NSW Police announced they were conducting a new "high intensity" search for William's remains near the property. Police are being helped in the search by 30 SES volunteers.

Volunteers are using chainsaws and other heavy-duty equipment to clear dense bushland, including felling large trees.

Asked about reports police were seeking an apprehended violence order against a person or people of interest in the case, Police Minister David Elliott was reticent to say too much.

"It is a matter of public record that police are issuing AVOs," he told the Seven Network.

"We need to be cautious about how we discuss that in the public domain so smart lawyers don't use our comments to neutralise a conviction."

Earlier, he told the Nine Network it was "a matter of public record that a number of people who had relationships with William have been questioned by police".

William's foster family have never been publicly named due to legal reasons.

Ten reporter Lia Harris, who interviewed the foster parents for her 2019 podcast Where's William Tyrrell? said she had recently received a subpoena from the coroner's court for "a very broad range of material".

"Everything that I had uncovered in my research for the podcast, audio files, documents, everything, including those raw tapes of my extensive interviews with the foster parents," she told 2GB on Tuesday

"To me, it signalled that they had either taken a new direction or they had a new theory they were working on."

The findings of a coronial inquest into William's disappearance, which concluded last year, are yet to be handed down.

A $1 million reward for information on the case still stands.

Australian Associated Press

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Garden a focus of William Tyrrell probe - Daily Liberal

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Hundreds of people in the NSW central western town of Forbes have been ordered to evacuate before major flooding that's predicted to inundate the district within hours. The evacuation order was issued by the State Emergency Service about 11am on Tuesday, warning 1800 residents to leave before 9.30pm. SES Commissioner Carlene York told reporters 800 homes are expected to be inundated, with the Lachlan River expected to match or exceed major floods in 2016. The flood has been slow-moving and is not expected to peak until midnight, but she urged residents to get out early. "It just adds additional risk, people trying to get out at night and trying to get to safety, because they can't judge the water or they can't see what roads have isolated them," she said. Already the SES has had to conduct more than 35 flood rescues - many unnecessary - putting the lives of volunteers at risk. And more are inevitable, with volunteers reporting some people are saying they'll refuse to leave their homes. Ms York pleaded with them to change their minds. "It's not unusual for people who have lived in that area and lived through a number of floods to say, it didn't flood last time, I'll take the risk and stay," she said. "But every flooding is different and water flows in different ways. "I would rather someone move out of their home for a day or two and come back and find everything in place than having to rescue them if the water's coming up through their home." An evacuation centre has been set up at St Andrews Presbyterian Church for those unable to get to alternative accommodation with family or friends. SES and Rural Fire Service volunteers are doorknocking and delivering about 10,000 sandbags to residents as well as helping prepare properties. The Lachlan River is expected to peak at 10.65 metres in Forbes on Wednesday. Moderate flooding has already occurred upstream at Cowra, and major flooding at Nanami, where the river peaked at more than 12.4 metres. Downstream from Forbes, major flooding is also expected at Cottons Weir and Jemalong. The Macquarie, Paroo, Macintyre, Belubula, and Snowy rivers have also flooded, after parts of the state copped a month's worth of rain in days. "Some of those locations (received) even two to three times what you would get in November," meteorologist Agata Imielska said on Monday. "Catchments are wet, dams are full. This is exactly what we've been talking about for this season, with the elevated flood risk. "It is a really important time to really be keeping a very close eye on any flood warnings." Australian Associated Press

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November 16 2021 - 1:45PM

Hundreds of people in the NSW central western town of Forbes have been ordered to evacuate before major flooding that's predicted to inundate the district within hours.

The evacuation order was issued by the State Emergency Service about 11am on Tuesday, warning 1800 residents to leave before 9.30pm.

SES Commissioner Carlene York told reporters 800 homes are expected to be inundated, with the Lachlan River expected to match or exceed major floods in 2016.

The flood has been slow-moving and is not expected to peak until midnight, but she urged residents to get out early.

"It just adds additional risk, people trying to get out at night and trying to get to safety, because they can't judge the water or they can't see what roads have isolated them," she said.

Already the SES has had to conduct more than 35 flood rescues - many unnecessary - putting the lives of volunteers at risk.

And more are inevitable, with volunteers reporting some people are saying they'll refuse to leave their homes.

Ms York pleaded with them to change their minds.

"It's not unusual for people who have lived in that area and lived through a number of floods to say, it didn't flood last time, I'll take the risk and stay," she said.

"But every flooding is different and water flows in different ways.

"I would rather someone move out of their home for a day or two and come back and find everything in place than having to rescue them if the water's coming up through their home."

An evacuation centre has been set up at St Andrews Presbyterian Church for those unable to get to alternative accommodation with family or friends.

SES and Rural Fire Service volunteers are doorknocking and delivering about 10,000 sandbags to residents as well as helping prepare properties.

The Lachlan River is expected to peak at 10.65 metres in Forbes on Wednesday.

Moderate flooding has already occurred upstream at Cowra, and major flooding at Nanami, where the river peaked at more than 12.4 metres.

Downstream from Forbes, major flooding is also expected at Cottons Weir and Jemalong.

The Macquarie, Paroo, Macintyre, Belubula, and Snowy rivers have also flooded, after parts of the state copped a month's worth of rain in days.

"Some of those locations (received) even two to three times what you would get in November," meteorologist Agata Imielska said on Monday.

"Catchments are wet, dams are full. This is exactly what we've been talking about for this season, with the elevated flood risk.

"It is a really important time to really be keeping a very close eye on any flood warnings."

Australian Associated Press

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Forbes evacuation order as flood threatens - Daily Liberal

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Single-use plastic bags, straws and cutlery will be phased out in NSW within a year after a government plan to remove billions of items from the plastic waste stream passed parliament. Lightweight plastic bags will be banned from June 2022, while plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds will be outlawed from November. Microbeads will be phased out of products such as handwash and make-up, and styrofoam cups, plates and containers will also be prohibited by November as well. NSW generates 800,000 tonnes of plastics every year. Environment Minister Matt Kean on Tuesday said the legislation was a "game changer" in the state's fight against plastic waste. "Only 10 per cent of plastics in New South Wales are recycled, with the rest ending up in landfill, or worse, littering our streets, dumped in our parks and washing up in our waterways," Mr Kean said. "This legislation is expected to stop 2.7 billion single-use items from ending up in our natural environment and waterways over the next 20 years." Businesses would be supported in making the transitions, Mr Kean said, and exemptions would apply for members of the community who rely on single-use plastics for disability or health needs. The government's broader plastics action plan, which also includes cleaning up plastic pollution and investigating alternatives, will cost $356 million over five years. The NSW government has committed to achieving zero emissions from organics in landfill by 2030 and also wants to extract more biogas from waste. NSW aims to cut total waste per capita by 10 per cent, cut litter by 60 per cent and triple the plastic recycling rate by 2030. Green groups welcomed the long-awaited move when it was announced earlier this year, but say the government should not wait three years to review the use of other plastics including heavyweight grocery shopping bags and single-use plates and cups. Australian Associated Press

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November 16 2021 - 2:55PM

Single-use plastic bags, straws and cutlery will be phased out in NSW within a year after a government plan to remove billions of items from the plastic waste stream passed parliament.

Lightweight plastic bags will be banned from June 2022, while plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds will be outlawed from November.

Microbeads will be phased out of products such as handwash and make-up, and styrofoam cups, plates and containers will also be prohibited by November as well.

NSW generates 800,000 tonnes of plastics every year.

Environment Minister Matt Kean on Tuesday said the legislation was a "game changer" in the state's fight against plastic waste.

"Only 10 per cent of plastics in New South Wales are recycled, with the rest ending up in landfill, or worse, littering our streets, dumped in our parks and washing up in our waterways," Mr Kean said.

"This legislation is expected to stop 2.7 billion single-use items from ending up in our natural environment and waterways over the next 20 years."

Businesses would be supported in making the transitions, Mr Kean said, and exemptions would apply for members of the community who rely on single-use plastics for disability or health needs.

The government's broader plastics action plan, which also includes cleaning up plastic pollution and investigating alternatives, will cost $356 million over five years.

The NSW government has committed to achieving zero emissions from organics in landfill by 2030 and also wants to extract more biogas from waste.

NSW aims to cut total waste per capita by 10 per cent, cut litter by 60 per cent and triple the plastic recycling rate by 2030.

Green groups welcomed the long-awaited move when it was announced earlier this year, but say the government should not wait three years to review the use of other plastics including heavyweight grocery shopping bags and single-use plates and cups.

Australian Associated Press

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Single-use plastics to be banned in NSW - Daily Liberal

Twice in an interview on CNBC following the announcement of the Presidents Build Back Better framework, Treasury Secretary Janet YellenJanet Louise YellenThe wealthy pay more than their 'fair share' and liberals know it The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - GOP dealt 2022 blow, stares down Trump-era troubles Biden faces high stakes with progressives on Fed pick MOREasserted that the taxes outlined for high-earning taxpayers and corporations by the framework (not to mention, the numerous tax breaks for news organizations, trial lawyers, unions and wealthy citizens of high tax states) represented their "fair share."

While I hope that Congress has the good sense not to enact Build Back Better, thank goodness a liberal politician can finally discuss taxes responsibly, without demonizing an entire class of Americans.

For decades, we have heard liberal politicians including presidents, cabinet members and congressional leaders demonize wealthy Americans by asserting that ourdeficit problems could be resolved,and progressive social policies achieved if only the "rich would pay their fair share of taxes." It is divisive and demagogic the height of public irresponsibility for anyone in power to demonize any class or group of Americans.

Evenon its face, the claim that the rich were under-taxed was always erroneous. The top 10 percent of taxpayers pay 70 percent of federal income taxes. What would be "fair?" 75 percent? 90 percent? The top one percent pays 40 percent of federal income taxes, despite earning only about 21 percent of total reportable income. Is that less than their fair share? Since 2001, the top 1 percents share of federal income taxes paid grew from 33 to 40 percent.

Moreover, whatgoes unsaid in liberal framings of our tax system is that50 percent of Americans pay virtually no (less than three percent of) federal income tax. This fact is especially problematic, ashalf of Americans have no direct personalinterestin reducingfederal spending. This explains why rich new social programs often poll so well they do not cost half of Americans anything.If you don't have to pay for Congress's profligacy, why oppose more spending? And, would it be "fairer, better for America, if 80 percent of Americans paid no taxes?

Admittedly, payroll and excise taxes tend (paid by most working Americans) are more regressive, but, by almost any measure, the United Statess tax system is significantly more progressive than almost every country in the lefts beloved Europe, which relies primarily upon highly regressive value-added taxes to fund their vast social programs. Are those tax systems fair?

Unfortunately, in a tax system that relies heavily on its citizens willingness to file and report their own income, some people cheat. The IRS estimates that the tax gap (that is the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they pay) is approximately $400 billion. But cheaters span all income levels. Three of the largest areas of cheating come from low-income taxpayers who claim excessive amounts of refundable tax credits (like the earned income tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credits), middle-income small businesses (like restaurants and stores) and sole proprietors (like hairdressers, doctors and handymen) that transact with high amounts of cash and from the under-reporting of income from so-called pass-through entities (like limited partnerships), a favorite investment vehicle of high-income earners, for which the IRS is unable to electronically trace and verify income without an audit. Cheaters do not pay their fair share, but cheaters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and income tax brackets.

Liberal politiciansshould have the integrity to say what they really mean: "We want to spend more money on social programs (or we want to redistribute wealth in America) and need to raise taxes to pay for it. For the same reason that gangster Willie Sutton once answered for why he robbed banks, we want to tax the rich more not because they do not pay their fair share, but because that is where the money is.

President Joe BidenJoe BidenFederal appeals court affirms stay on Biden vaccine mandate for businesses Why Democrats' prescription drug pricing provision would have hurt seniors Tennessee governor signs law restricting COVID-19 mandates MORE promised a more civil, less divisive, administration. With the Secretary's declaration that we will achieve "fairness" in Build Back Better bill if enacted, and even if it does not become law, lets hopethat liberal politicians will stop once and for all attempting to demonize the wealthy, or any other class, of Americans.

David F. Eisner was the assistant secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2018-2021.

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The wealthy pay more than their 'fair share' and liberals know it | TheHill - The Hill

In a feature piece for theWashington Post Magazine, reporter Emily Kaplan writes that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an institution that has excelled at survival and, often, reinvention.

Looking back at its nearly 200 year old history, Kaplan cites key moments in the Church's past when it made significant changes in its practices. When the Church was under threat from the U.S. government in 1890, then-prophet Wilford Woodruff banned the practice of polygamy citing prophetic revelation. Such was the case in 1978, when a new revelation paved the way for Black men to receive the LDS priesthood. And today, in a church that values personal revelation from God, younger, liberal members may slowly be changing the character of the faith. We'll talk with Emily Kaplan this Friday at 11 a.m. about the future of the LDS church.

Airs: Nov. 12, 2021 at 11 a.m. MT and 7 p.m. MT.

GUESTS

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Emily Kaplan On The Rise of the Liberal Latter-day Saints - KUER 90.1

If theres anything that liberal elites, especially Black liberal elites, hate more than white rednecks, its Black conservatives. Elites see them as sellouts, or Uncle Toms. MSNBC host Joy Reid once referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence ThomasClarence ThomasSupreme Court wrestles with limits on digital billboard ads, free speech Winsome Sears: The latest Black conservative to make liberals nervous Will Supreme Court allow constitutional oversight to be outmaneuvered by Texas abortion law? MORE as Uncle Clarence. And since theyre not related, it was simply a cheap shot at a man whose conservative worldview makes him, in Reids view, a traitor to his race.

In 1991, then-Rep. Major Owens (D-N.Y.), a Black liberal, testified against Thomass confirmation, comparing him to Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian military officer who collaborated with the Nazis. Three years later, on PBS, political commentator Julianne Malveaux, another Black liberal, said: I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early, like many Black men do, of heart disease. Now a dean at Cal State University Los Angeles, Malveaux has apologized for the remark, calling it a wisecrack.

Youd think Thomas was a grand wizard in the Ku Klux Klan, the way elites attacked him. And, of course, hes not the only Black conservative who drives liberals up the wall.

When radio talk show host Larry Elder, a Black conservative, was running this year to unseat California Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomJudge ends Britney Spears conservatorship after 13 years Manson family member Leslie Van Houten again recommended for parole Newsom says he canceled climate summit plans because kids wanted him home for Halloween MORE, a progressive Democrat, the Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece with the headline, Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. The author, Erika D. Smith, is a Black woman of the left.

But for liberal elites, theres no shortage of Black conservative targets. So now we have Winsome Sears, the Black conservative who was just elected lieutenant governor of Virginia, who is the latest Black voice of supposed white supremacy. No fooling.

Professor Michael Eric Dyson, a Black intellectual who teaches at Vanderbilt University, was a guest on MSNBC the other day and said Sears is a ventriloquist for white bigots. There is a Black mouth moving but a white idea running on the runway of the tongue of a figure who justifies and legitimates the white supremacist practices, he said.

But, of course, Dyson wasnt surprised he expects nothing good coming out of the mouth of a Black conservative. So, to have a Black face speaking on behalf of a white supremacist legacy is nothing new, he said.

As for Reid, who smeared Thomas as an Uncle Tom, on election night last week she said, You have to be willing to vocalize that these Republicans are dangerous, that this isnt a party thats just another political party that disagrees with us on tax policy, that at this point, theyre dangerous. Theyre dangerous to our national security, because stoking that kind of soft, white nationalism eventually leads to the hardcore stuff.

But Sears a former Marine and the first Black woman to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia was having none of it. I wish Joy Reid would invite me on her show lets see if shes woman enough to do that, she said on Fox News the day after she won. Id go in a heartbeat and wed have a real discussion without Joy speaking about me behind my back, if you will.

I am a heartbeat away from the governorship, in case anything happens to the governor. How are you going to tell me I am a victim? she said. And I didnt do anything special to get here, except stay in school and study. I took advantage of the opportunities available here in America.

We can do better its not 1963, she added.

Except, when the subject is race, its always 1963 to elites on the left. Its always Birmingham, Ala., and the hateful Bull Connor, or some other racist place and person in the Old South. Youd think that by now progressives would have, well, progressed. But theyre stuck in the past. On matters of race, the past is their safe space. Thats when Blacks were victims and whites, their oppressors. Winsome Sears is telling them that Its not 1963 anymore, and thats something they dont want to hear.

Its a good message, one that liberal elites Black and white might give some thought to, if they werent so busy smearing Black conservatives who had the gall to stray from the liberal plantation.

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBOs Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Patreon page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.

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Winsome Sears: The latest Black conservative to make liberals nervous | TheHill - The Hill

Special Counsel John Durhams investigation into the Trump-Russia probe has further discredited the infamous Steele dossier, which provided the roadmap for the liberal media to paint the former president as compromised by the Kremlin and even a possible sexual deviant.

Durham indicted Russian national Igor Danchenko, who is believed to be the sub-source for former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the dossier.

The scandalous dossier funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign through law firm Perkins Coie provided the liberal media with countless anti-Trump headlines, cable news segments and helped set the tone for years of daily, feverish Russiagate coverage.

INDICTMENT OF STEELE DOSSIER SOURCE REMINDS MEDIA WATCHDOGS OF NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WHO HEAPED CREDIBILITY ON IT

Danchenko pleaded not guilty Wednesday to making false statements about the source of information that he provided to Steele for the dossier but the damage was done long ago, as pundits on MSNBC, CNN, reporters at major newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post, and countless other news organizations heaped credibility on the dossier for yeras.

Here are five of the biggest offenders.

MSNBCs Rachel Maddow helped pushed the discredited Russian collusion narrative.

Rachel Maddow

MSNBCs biggest star relied on the dossier for so much content that Steele probably deserves a writing credit on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Maddow routinely insisted "pieces" of the dossier had checked out back when the entire thing was completely unverified. She dedicated so much of her programming in 2017-2019 to hyperventilating over whether or not Trump colluded with Russia that ex-MSNBC host Krystal Ball slammed her former colleague in 2019 when the Special CounselRobert Mueller'stestimony began to debunk Maddows favorite narrative.

"Rachel Maddow, youve got some explaining to do," Ball saidon her former show "Rising."

Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple has written a series of columns calling out members of the media who pushed the bogus dossier. Back in Dec. 2019, Wemple penned a column headlined, "Rachel Maddow rooted for the Steele dossier to be true. Then it fell apart," which came out nearly two years before Durham further discredited it.

Maddow even seemed to dismiss the severity of the new revelations when the Durham indictments continued to undercut her favorite narrative. Journalist Drew Holden recently called her the "vociferous cheerleader of the Steele dossier," noting she "hyped it at every turn."

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Maddow was hardly the only figure at MSNBC to boost the dossier, with others such as Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes also touting it or at least claiming it was not "disproven."

"The dossier on its face is still considered an unverified document compiled by British Intelligence officer Christopher Steele based on raw Intelligence. To date, none of it has been disproven, and whole big parts of it are holding up," Wallace said in 2018.

BuzzFeed provided liberal news outlets with endless anti-Trump fodder when it first published the dossier on Jan. 10 2017. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo - S1AETILHYYAA

BuzzFeed News

The website best known for listicles and pop culture quizzes provided liberal news outlets with endless anti-Trump fodder when it first published the dossier on Jan. 10 2017. The article headlined, "These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia," admitted the claims were "explosive but unverified" and BuzzFeed ran with it anyway.

"The dossier, which is a collection of memos written over a period of months, includes specific, unverified, and potentially unverifiable allegations of contact between Trump aides and Russian operatives, and graphic claims of sexual acts documented by the Russians. BuzzFeed News reporters in the US and Europe have been investigating various alleged facts in the dossier but have not verified or falsified them," reporters Ken Bensinger and Miriam Elder wrote.

"Now BuzzFeed News is publishing thefull documentso that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government," the Buzzfeed reporters continued.

BuzzFeed noted the dossier had "circulated for months and acquired a kind of legendary status among journalists, lawmakers, and intelligence officials."

BuzzFeeds decision to publish the dossier rocked the journalism industry, with many Trump critics praising the outlet and other media watchdogs condemning it as reckless.

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CNN reported in Jan. 2017 that then-President-elect Donald Trump was officially briefed on what came to be known as the Steele dossier.

CNN and MSNBC

CNN reported in Jan. 2017 that then-President-elect Donald Trump was officially briefed on what came to be known as the Steele dossier.

Once CNN published its report, BuzzFeed decided Americans needed to see it for themselves.

CNNs initial report even noted that then-senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway dismissed the dossier as "unverified and untrue," but the liberal network ended up spending years promoting it anyway.

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Officials like national security analyst Steve Hall and anchor Anderson Cooper stated it was "not" discredited or disproven in their coverage of it in 2017 and 2018. Anchor and ex-Obama official Jim Sciutto relentlessly defended the dossier, repeatedly saying it was "corroborated" and at one point calling it "not bogus."

Jonathan Chait

New York magazines Jonathan Chait penned a December 2017 article headlined, "The Steele Dossier on Trump and Russia Is Looking More and More Real," which detailed the crudest elements of the anti-Trump report.

Chait noted the lewd sexual claims had not been proven before saying that "hardly settles the question" of whether or not the dossier was legitimate.

"As time goes by,more and moreof the claims first reported by Steele have been borne out. In general, there is a split between the credibility afforded the dossier by the mainstream media and by intelligence professionals. The former treat it as gossip; the lattertake it seriously," Chait wrote. "Unverified private reporting should not be taken as gospel truth, and no doubt some of the tips Steele picked up are false. But we should probably be giving far more weight to the possibility that the darkest interpretation of Trumps relations with Russia is actually true."

Chait has also spent ample time defending the dossier on Twitter, frequently writing things like "maybe the dossier is real" and "dismissive coverage hangs on the assumption [former Trump attorney] Cohen is more credible than Steele. That is not a solid assumption."

Jane Mayer

New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer helped make the dossiers author a household name with a glowing profile in March 2018.

Mayers piece was titled, "Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier," with the subhead "How the ex-spy tried to warn the world about Trumps ties to Russia." The lengthy story poo-pooed conservative pundits who felt the dossier was a partisan smear and essentially dismissed that Clintons campaign helped fund it in the first place.

Mayer explained how Steeles family was middle class with blue-collar roots, fawned over his prestigious education and examined his time working for the Secret Intelligence Service.

Former British spy Christopher Steele arrives at the High Court in London, Britain, July 20, 2020. (REUTERS/John Sibley)

"Even before Steele became involved in the U.S. Presidential campaign, he was convinced that the Kremlin was interfering in Western elections," she wrote, noting that Steeles sources felt Trump could be "easily blackmailed" because of "perverted sex acts" that took place in Russia.

Many of the alleged "perverted sex acts" landed in the dossier.

"The credibility of Steeles dossier has been much debated, but few realize that it was a compilation of contemporaneous interviews rather than a finished product," Mayer wrote. "Regardless of what others might think, its clear that Steele believed that his dossier was filled with important intelligence."

The profile of Steele helped legitimize the dossier in the eyes of many liberal pundits who worship legacy publications such as The New Yorker.

"Its too early to make a final judgment about how much of Steeles dossier will be proved wrong, but a number of Steeles major claims have been backed up by subsequent disclosures," Mayer wrote.

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In July 2018 Mayer tweeted, "Steele's opposition to Trump was based on his investigation, which unearthed alarming, and myriad ties between America's future president and Russia's corrupt rulers. Calling that a bias is like saying the FBI is biased against crime."

In July 2020, the aforementioned Holden accused Mayer of being "one of the media personalities at the forefront of pushing the validity of the dossier" and the New Yorker scribe responded.

"Steeles overall thrust was that Russia was trying to interfere in the 2016 election," Mayer wrote. "And about that he was absolutely right, correct?"

Fox News Brooke Singman and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

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Discredited anti-Trump Steele dossier was embraced by liberal media: Here are five of the biggest offenders - Fox News