George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson debated how to handle Barbary pirates, a historical parallel to today's Iran and Strait of Hormuz.

The Joe Biden years proved a hard truth: Lawfare works, and the right is far more vulnerable to it than the left.

Stacked judiciaries, activist allies, and unprincipled prosecutors all play their parts. But one factor matters above all others: money.

The left built a legal machine because it understood power. The right must build one because it understands what happens when power goes undefended.

Lawsuits are expensive. So are investigations, subpoenas, demand letters, bar complaints, defamation claims, and congressional inquiries. The left figured out that it could move political disputes into legal disputes and shift the fight to terrain overwhelmingly favorable to itself.

The cost is the punishment

The left has nearly conquered major law firm culture. Despite President Trump’s early executive orders aimed at changing that landscape, little has materially shifted. The left still enjoys a vast network of pro bono and donor-funded legal organizations ready to defend allies and pursue enemies.

Look no further than the nearly billion-dollar Southern Poverty Law Center, which has served as an investigative engine for government action against political opponents. That is one organ in a much larger ecosystem, and it dwarfs anything available on the right.

Similar efforts are already preparing for the possibility that Democrats win a House or Senate majority and then the presidency in 2028. If that happens, the right will return to the Biden years, with one key difference: The left views its earlier campaign as unfinished business. Its base believes Merrick Garland did not go far enough. Next time, they will.

The mere receipt of a congressional subpoena, demand letter, defamation claim, bar complaint, or federal investigative request can create legal bills that climb into the tens of thousands of dollars. Competent defense costs money, and the people most likely to become targets often cannot afford it.

The old model failed

During the Biden years, several noble efforts raised money for legal defense. But the old model had limits. A few senior-level individuals benefited from donor generosity. The money rarely reached the broader class of people caught in the machinery of political targeting.

The reason was simple: Lawyers are expensive.

I saw this firsthand. A friend of mine, a senior White House official in his early 30s who had not even been at the Capitol on January 6, received a subpoena from the January 6 committee and a not-so-friendly outreach from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was on his own.

Big lawyers charging big fees were representing bigger players. He received quotes he could never dream of affording just to deal with the investigation. For lack of a better term, he was pretty screwed.

RELATED: The left wants to put MAGA on the couch — then on trial

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I represented him pro bono and handled the January 6 committee and a daylong deposition. Weeks of prep and review went into the matter. Even discounted representation from a firm with relevant expertise would easily have cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The story has a happy ending. My friend now works at the FBI.

But that is one person and one story. My organization, the Oversight Project, does what it can to represent allies across the country caught in the crosshairs of weaponized targeting. Far more must be done before the next wave arrives.

Build the bench

The right needs to rethink legal defense. We can no longer hope to collect vast sums and spend them on a handful of high-priced outside lawyers. A serious movement needs a dedicated defense team.

The fundamental problem is cost. The model cannot depend on hourly fees that crest above $1,000.

The left has built a corps of highly paid attorneys who handle matters ranging from major lawsuits to symbolic complaints over reflecting pools or the naming of the Kennedy Center. Its financiers will pay lawyers to sue constantly and defend constantly.

The right has the opposite problem. It must accept that reality and build the equivalent of a nonprofit public defense network.

That may seem unfair to right-leaning lawyers who deserve the million-dollar paydays available in the left-wing ecosystem. But a serious political movement must be able to sustain itself by defending itself.

The conservative ecosystem needs major structural reform. Policy shops, communications firms, advocacy groups, and convening organizations all have value. But the movement has too much of that compared with the infrastructure needed to gain and maintain power.

A legal defense unit is one of those structural necessities.

A ‘public defender’ for lawfare

What would a public-defender equivalent for political allies on the right look like?

The current model concentrates money in legal defense funds that serve a few high-profile defendants and a few expensive, well-credentialed lawyers. The better model would create permanent, full-time attorneys working on salary inside a nonprofit structure to defend more people at lower cost.

Some cases will still require outside counsel or a hybrid approach. But the goal should be to build, credential, and develop a specialized legal bench equipped to handle lawfare.

RELATED: Republicans took ICE hostage — then bragged about saving it

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That bench should also reap the political rewards the so-called conservative legal movement has long monopolized: prominent appointments, elected office, and leadership positions. The days of prestigious Big Law careers converting automatically into prestigious political patronage should end unless they include acts of sacrifice and service to the broader cause.

Defense efforts should prioritize those most in need: ICE officers, mid-level political appointees, local officials, young staffers, activists, and others without meaningful financial resources.

The effort must also maintain integrity. Resources should go only to cases that can honestly be characterized as political weaponization. A legal-defense network cannot become a mechanism for defraying the costs of white-collar crime, contract solicitation, self-dealing, or financial misconduct.

This is not about shielding wrongdoing. It is about ensuring that actual ethical violations, not political speech or service to conservative causes, trigger professional consequences.

Change the incentives

When one side can impose costs without meaningful pushback, it will keep doing so. When the other side develops the institutional ability to absorb those costs and impose consequences in return, the incentive structure changes.

A public-defender-style legal network would create in-house capacity for rapid-response representation when subpoenas, bar complaints, investigations, or lawsuits strike. It would develop specialized expertise in constitutional, administrative, ethics, and First Amendment defenses tailored to political attacks. It would coordinate a nationwide roster of aligned counsel rather than leaving every target to negotiate alone with expensive firms.

Most important, it would operate on a charitable model that directs resources to the most vulnerable clients — the people who would otherwise be destroyed before the real fight even begins.

The left built a legal machine because it understood power. The right must build one because it understands what happens when power goes undefended.

General Christopher Donahue, who leads the US Army Europe and Africa, is retiring from his command by early next month. He was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard used two agents who once lived in Australia to direct arson attacks against Jewish targets in Sydney and Melbourne, the head of Australia's domestic spy agency said on Wednesday.

The post Iranian Agents Lived in Australia Before Directing Anti-Jewish Attacks on Sydney and Melbourne, Says Spy Chief appeared first on Breitbart.

The Democratic Party is undergoing a hostile takeover by democratic socialists — as evidenced in New York's primaries on Tuesday where Democrat establishment-types suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of radicals cut from the same cloth as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

With over 90% of the votes in on Wednesday morning, incumbent Rep. Daniel Goldman trailed former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander 65.8% to 34% — a whopping 31.8 percentage points.

'We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.'

Lander was endorsed by Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and the Working Families Party, and ran largely to the left of Goldman, heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.

Goldman — who was endorsed by AIPAC, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — did his apparent best to join his opponent, who is also Jewish, in criticizing Israel and virtue-signaling to radical would-be voters, but his best was nowhere near good enough.

After getting steamrolled at the ballot box, Goldman told supporters, "The voters of New York’s 10th Congressional District have spoken, and while this is certainly not the outcome I hoped for and worked so hard for, I respect their decision."

RELATED: CNN data analyst stunned by Democratic Party's takeover by Mamdani's fellow travelers

Brad Lander and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social, writing, "Weak and pathetic Congressman Dan Goldman just lost, BIG! I guess people didn’t like him illegally targeting President TRUMP. In any event, this jerk is finally GONE!"

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the five-term Democrat who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also lost to a Mamdani-backed radical, democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Chevalier is a black identitarian who co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a radical coalition that posted "death to America" on social media earlier this year; stated, "We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization"; and asked for "community and instruction from militants in the Global South, who have been on the frontlines in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order."

'NEVER be a communist Country!'

In addition to her involvement with the international intifada, Chevalier helped advance the Columbia rape hoax and made headlines for advocating against all deportations, claiming, "Israel doesn't exist," and demanding a "world without prisons or police." She was backed by Mamdani, the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, and Justice Democrats PAC.

With 88% of the votes in, Chevalier leads Espaillat — who enjoyed endorsements from Hochul, Jeffries, and New York Attorney General Letitia James — 49.4% to 45.9%.

Espaillat endorsed Mamdani for mayor last year.

Claire Valdez, a Mamdani-backed democratic socialist member of the New York State Assembly, won her primary race for Democratic incumbent Rep. Nydia Velazquez's seat, beating the Democratic establishment's apparent preference and Velazquez's desired successor, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

Valdez campaigned on abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, "demilitar[izing] the border," making it easier for illegal aliens to gain lawful permanent residence, defunding Israel, and super-charging the "Green New Deal." Like the other radicals, she also enjoyed support from Sanders, Justice Democrats PAC, and the DSA.

Following the Mamdani-backed candidates' clean sweep, Trump wrote, "America the Beautiful will NEVER be a communist Country!"

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Trump visits Senate GOP to push the SAVE America Act as Republicans struggle with unity ahead of the midterm elections.

A Texas justice of the peace was awarded more than $640,000 after being disciplined for declining to officiate same-sex weddings due to her faith.

Exec Buster Posey refused to answer any Pride night questions before Tuesday's game against the Athletics, creating an awkward scene with reporters.

UFC president Dana White says many celebrities are "closet" Trump supporters, telling OutKick the average person would be shocked to learn who they are.

An affidavit details Bailey Zimmerman's allegedly chaotic day at a New Mexico resort, from a wild soundcheck to $16,000 in hotel room damage.

A young student discovered a rare Nicolo gemstone at Korazim National Park, a biblical site linked to the ministry of Jesus near the Sea of Galilee. Here are details.

Thune's Senate won't pass or even vote on the the SAVE AMERICA but this they pass in a heartbeat.

The saddest number in the Reuters/Ipsos America 250 poll is not Donald Trump’s approval rating, which is bad enough. It is not the 77% of Americans who expect political violence to increase over the next five years. It is not even the 38% who doubt the United States will exist as a single country in 2276.

The saddest number is 30.

America reaches its 250th birthday not as a confident republic, but as an anxious one.

Only 30% of Americans say America is the greatest country in the world.

That doesn’t mean the rest hate the country. Polls can reveal what people are willing to say. They are notoriously bad at explaining why they say it. Forty-eight percent say America is one of many great countries. Thirteen percent say America is not great at all.

But the partisan split exposes the wound. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say America is the greatest country in the world. Only 11% of Democrats say the same. Among independents, the number is 20%.

We’re past mere disagreements over policy. People are no longer talking about the same country.

America approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and Americans can barely agree what the birthday means. Seventy percent say observing the anniversary matters. But only 34% say they are likely to attend or view an America 250 event. Fifty-five percent say they are unlikely. Sixty-three percent say the events have become too political.

Even the Fourth of July no longer escapes the country’s partisan sorting. Asked what best describes the holiday, 42% call it “a day where I celebrate the United States of America.” Among Republicans, 65% choose that answer. Among Democrats, only 24% do.

Twenty-four percent of Democrats and independents say they will not celebrate at all, compared with 8% of Republicans.

Flags tell the same story. Forty-one percent of Americans say they will display a flag or bunting outside their home on July Fourth. Sixty-four percent of Republicans will. Twenty-seven percent of Democrats will. Thirty-three percent of independents will.

A flag should not require a party registration. Neither should gratitude.

RELATED: Damning poll reveals what Democrats actually think of America ahead of its 250th birthday

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The Reuters/Ipsos poll is not an outlier. Gallup reported in 2025 that American pride had fallen to the lowest point in its polling history. In 2001, 87% of Americans said they were extremely or very proud to be American. After 9/11, that figure rose to 90%. Last year, it fell to 58%.

The partisan gap was immense: 92% of Republicans, 36% of Democrats, and 53% of independents said they were extremely or very proud to be American. PRRI’s 2026 America 250 survey was even bleaker: 51% of Americans said they were extremely or very proud of being American, down from 82% in 2013.

This problem cannot be solved by scolding. Some Democrats should be ashamed of their reluctance to love the country that shelters them. Some Republicans should be ashamed of mistaking loyalty to a president for loyalty to the republic. But contempt will not repair our civic fabric.

The more painful truth is that the presidency has become a proxy for the country. When their side holds the White House, Americans find it easier to say the country is good. When the other side holds it, the flag begins to look like a campaign banner, the holiday like a rally, and the anniversary like propaganda.

A healthy polity would know the difference between a country and an administration. Presidents come and go. The country remains. The Declaration remains. The graves remain. The songs remain. The old promises and principles remain.

But Americans struggle to make that distinction.

Still, the Reuters/Ipsos poll contains signs of life. Seventy-five percent say they value elections even when their party loses. Seventy-three percent say democracy is the best form of government. Seventy percent say the Declaration’s 250th anniversary should be observed. Sixty-one percent say celebrating July Fourth should make them think about America’s founding beliefs and ideals.

RELATED: ‘This is the greatest country in the world’: Vietnam vet's powerful remarks will leave you speechless

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Those are not the numbers of a dead country. They are the numbers of a seriously wounded one.

The distinction is vital because wounded countries can still heal. Dead ones obviously cannot. Americans have not forgotten the old civic language — at least not entirely. We still recognize liberty, democracy, the Declaration, the flag, and the Fourth. But those words now come carrying the stench of faction.

So America reaches its 250th birthday not as a confident republic, but as an anxious one. We still have fireworks, flags, cookouts, parades, and songs. Beneath the rituals sits a terrible question: Can a people remain one people when they no longer know how to be grateful for the inheritance?

Polls cannot answer that. They only show the wound.

A nation does not survive 250 years because its people are always proud of it. A nation survives when enough people love it through disappointment, correct it without despising it, and inherit it without pretending they invented it.

America doesn’t need citizens who pretend the wound is not there. It needs citizens who can see it clearly and love the country anyway.

Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure targets in Crimea as Kyiv's military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the 4-year-old war.

The post Ukraine Claims Successful Strike on Crimea Railway Bridge and Power Plant appeared first on Breitbart.

Film archives are pulling back the curtain to provide footage of an unfinished Orson Welles piece that he worked on for decades.

Spanish, French, Italian, and German sources are working together to allow the reconstruction of lost works that the "Citizen Kane" writer started production on in 1957.

'Welles' death in 1985 at age 70 meant he could not finish what was more than 30 years of work.'

Welles started the project in the 1950s in Mexico and continued to compile scenes and make changes in 1961 and 1969, Wellesnet reported. This footage was the start of Welles' work on a film adaptation of "Don Quixote," the 17th-century book that is widely credit with more than 500 million sales.

The deaths of multiple actors did not prevent Welles from continuing the project in 1972, then shifting to color footage, as he put together what is believed to be an experimental film format.

Although the movie is believed to have been nearly finished by 1982, Welles' death in 1985 at age 70 meant he could not finish what was more than 30 years of work.

Now, reconstruction of the film is set to commence through the collaboration of film archives across Europe, which will release the footage to be compiled and overseen by author and filmmaker Esteve Riambau.

Riambau published a book about Welles in the year of his death, and the Spaniard has reportedly been petitioning for the last two years to get approvals of the archival footage.

RELATED: Full 'Disclosure': Steven Spielberg's latest has no signs of intelligent life

Eduardo Parra/Europa Press/Getty Images

Mass amounts of film reel will be compiled from sources including Oja Kodar, Welles' unwed partner at the time of his death. The Croatian actress won custody of the "Don Quixote" negatives in 2017, which consists of 50,000 meters of film.

From France, the Cinémathèque Française will contribute a reported 80 minutes' worth of 35mm film that was actually screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the mid-1980s, according to citations in a Welles biography.

The Filmoteca Española in Spain has another reported 50,000 or so meters of 16mm film that it acquired in 1991, holding all the rights to the materials under the category of cultural and research purposes.

RELATED: Saving History

Central Press/Getty Images

The Filmmuseum München in Munich will contribute its own prints, negatives, tapes, videos, and other documents from Welles' films, including items that are said to only be "referring" to the "Don Quixote" project.

The intention — for unknown reasons — is that there will be three versions of the film, which will be screened at festivals and archives on a nonprofit basis.

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The government-established independent inquiry into Muslim child rape grooming gangs will begin its investigation with Bradford, Oldham, and London, despite long standing denials from Mayor Sadiq Khan that the British capital was impacted by the scandal.

The post Statutory Grooming Gang Inquiry to Begin With Investigations into Bradford, Oldham, and London appeared first on Breitbart.

Never forget the Democrats voted against stopping fraud in America.

The five liberal networks are going wall-to-wall with coverage of the ongoing saga surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is suffering an algae outbreak.