Where Have You Gone Woodward and Bernstein?
By John Kass
July 30, 2023
The walls are closing in on President Joe Biden, and one lie after another falls apart about grandpa grifter’s reported millions of dollar bribes from foreign sources, from China, Ukraine–not Chicago, but other places where political influence peddlers and other pimps buy and sell politicians by the pound.
And now that the sweetheart plea deal for crackhead First Son Hunter Biden has fallen apart, even the left wing pundits want to dump him for California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying old Joe at 80 is just too old.
They play a weasel’s game, ignoring the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris is a black woman. She might be a nincompoop but she’s not senile in need of a drool cup like her boss. Will she kneel and crawl away from her ambitions and dreams to satisfy the same billionaire socialists who sold out Sen. Bernie Sanders and who expected him to sit down like a trained pooch?
Bernie sat like a pooch.
If only the corporate legacy news media wasn’t sodden and corrupt, as if journalism was a sugar cookie dunked in spoiled milk.
But for right now in Joe World, the Democrat president is being portrayed as an infirm bag of bones. Pressure mounts to dump him and save what power they can for themselves and install Newsom or some other pretty boy in there and throw black Democrats some table scraps. As long as the corporate legacy news media plays ball–and they always have played ball, ginning up some racial controversy to distract black Democrats as if they were the suckers in a game of “Find the Pea” –it just might work again.
But if they think old Uncle Joe is moving kinda slow now, if they think the president is decrepit now, just wait until Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer is scheduled to testify in Washington this week to discuss the dozens of times Joe Biden was on speakerphone with other foreign business officials.
Miranda Devine of The New York Post and author of “Laptop from Hell” had a fascinating column about Archer. I leave the links so you might read it. Please do so.
“Hunter Biden would dial in his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone into meetings with his overseas business partners, according to testimony expected before Congress this week from Devon Archer, the first son’s former best friend,” Miranda Devine wrote.
“Archer, 48, who is facing jail for his role in a $60 million bond fraud, is scheduled to testify to the House Oversight Committee about meetings he witnessed that were attended by Joe Biden either in person or via speakerphone when Hunter would call his father to introduce him to foreign business partners or prospective investors.
“We are looking forward very much to hearing from Devon Archer about all the times he has witnessed Joe Biden meeting with Hunter Biden’s overseas business partners when he was vice president, including on speakerphone,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the committee chairman.
Remember that for years the Democrats and their media lickspittles have insisted–and Joe Biden has himself stated emphatically and publicly before the last presidential election, that he knew nothing of his son Hunter’s shady overseas business deals. Of course he knew.
He was the muscle. And Hunter, like his Uncle Jim before him, was the bagman. The guy who carried the treasure to “The Big Guy” or “President Ten Percent.”
Those of you who know Chicago know how this works–The Delaware Way is the American Way is the Chicago Way. And how do you keep the suckers from ‘beefing’ or ‘complaining?’ You control the media to suppress problematic facts. And do they ever control it.
Now you understand why the Democrat Media Complex was so furious with voters after the mid-term elections. They would be exposed. All the rocks would be turned over. There were no moist corners in which to hide.
The great heavyweight champion Joe Louis had a saying, “They can run but they can’t hide.” Eventually they’d be trapped and take a public beating.
I’d like to think that is true, but the difference being that there is a great political machine between Biden and his opposition. They protect Biden and take the punches for him and then counter-attack with deadly vengeance, and as long as there are low-information voters out there (i.e. stupid, easily manipulated voters) who don’t read and don’t pay attention. These are the true chumbolones who steadily consume corrupt media the way diabetics guzzle soda-pop. And it is through this stupidity–most of it demonstrated by Democrats during big-city elections, that guys like Joe and Hunter Biden are protected and saved.
I don’t want it to be so. I want them trapped and panicked and waving for thin air, but that only happens with a reasonably honest news media, and most assuredly not the crew of rats with press credentials that run along the Potomac today.
Why do officials from China keep smirking at our Washington establishment class and why the Washington establishment kowtows and bows? It’s the way you might respond to a dog wearing velvet pants and doing tricks to convince you he’s human, with a smirk or smile.
Should Biden be impeached? I certainly hope not. I saw what the Democrats did to America on repeated and failed Trump impeachments. It was their hysteria and their protection of fops Adam Schiff that turned my stomach. And the contempt that Democrats showed the nation by elevating the oily creature.
But I do agree with the Speaker that there should be an impeachment inquiry, and if reports are true that Biden father and son took $5 million in bribes each, then let’s see them dance to their destruction with capped teeth showing in a Biden overbite.
Here’s my question, the one I asked in the headline of this column: Where Have You Gone Woodward and Bernstein?
And by this I don’t mean the old geezers themselves rolling the bones of Nixon as party favors and entertainments of their past glories, but the spirit of the Watergate journalists determined to get to the story and tell the story no matter what political boss said “No” regardless of party. I remember reporters like that. They weren’t about impressing anyone. The best of them wouldn’t have done well in the Twitter or X-verse.
I worked with a few.
When I was a kid reporter going to work each morning in the great Gothic Cathedral of the Tribune Tower, I’d made it a practice to read and study on some of the great quotations of American journalism that were carved into the walls and the floor. It was like reading the stern admonitions of the Anglo Saxon gods.
My favorite quotation is quite brief, and was set above a door leading to the elevators to the Chicago Tribune newsroom where I started as a copyboy. I would read this quote from Lord Thomas Macaulay every day and I still get goose bumps when I think of it:
“Where there is a free press the governors must live in constant awe of the opinions of the governed.”
But now I suppose that should be amended to reflect the leverage and constant awe the governors must feel to Twitter or Facebook/Meta committees, and their friendships with the Department of Justice hacks and other media “influencers” in government.
I do remember how upset and panicky the Chicago Tribune newsroom became when I worked there and wrote columns in support of Miranda Devine and The New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden, his self-incriminating laptop and the national establishment’s effort to silence reporting about it. And whatever Woodward and Bernstein once stood for–and they did some heroic work–is defiled every day by the new journalism.
The old journalism business model has collapsed. The new greasy journalism model is here. A new crop of new editors shake like reeds at the march of the newspaper union Bolsheviks–for example, my old Tribune– in league with the cadre of hard left politicos determined to see Chicago and other big cities fall and leaving victims of violent crime without a voice. A few decent journalists remain, but most anyone with any credibility has left corporate legacy journalism in Chicago to the harpies that despoil it.
And Woodward and Bernstein? They’re dust in the wind now, as dusty as memories from the old Washington establishment Gridiron Club dinner where reporters wore white tie and tails and bowed to potentates wearing sashes. I’ve worn the monkey suit and have attended that dinner. You’ll see evidence of the primping. And see newspaper bosses preening, and journalists singing show-tunes and ditties–at the Gridiron and the White House Correspondent’s Dinner–to entertain their political masters whom they served as guardians of the Washington establishment.
The political pretorians loved those dinners. And years ago, I knew then at those dinners why the people hated men in white ties and tails. It was phony. It was Washington. And the people on the outside mocked by the likes of limp twits like Seth Meyers? They were the Forgotten American people and they hated us and all of Washington. And the wise ones still do.
Right now there is no time for nostalgia as reporters scramble to find any excuse possible to change the subject and avoid whether Joe Biden took 10 million dollars in bribes from foreign players, or if you prefer, pimps. Perhaps “UFOs AMONG US” will work or some multi-part series on Barbie’s sex life.
Who can say? The corporate media to which I gave most of my life will find out that it can’t ever come back to the good grace of the people after running a Biden family cover-up that they ran from the time the laptop was found. Because it has illuminated too much. And this week more drama. This week with Devon Archer
Joe Biden is too old to run again—best that he be bundled away off stage—so they won’t have to see him fall for his crimes and take his Democratic Party enablers down with him. Or so they hope.
But he’s had his hand out for 50 years. Grafting and grafting. Taking and taking. From the credit card companies that kept him going. As the wide open southern border with Mexico allows trafficking in little children and fentanyl that murders their older American brothers and sisters. Joe was a grifter back in Delaware. And with the new Russian oligarchs. And the Ukrainian oligarchs. And the Chinese oligarchs. All sending him and many other members of the Biden family millions upon millions of dollars so they could live like kings on a government salary.
His boss, the “sainted” Barack Obama turned the Blind Eye. He not only knew. He let it happen. The Obamas learned in Chicago that the people are fools.
Just distract them with shiny objects like manufactured “racism” and the cheapest kind of Chicago Way hustle falls right into their hands.
-30-
Comments 94
Bravo, John. Keep up the truth telling. We are listening!
Let’s assume everything you wrote about today is true. It pales in comparison to what Donald Trump has done and what he has tried to do to this country. As for Woodward, he continues to report and write books. I don’t think he is beholden to legacy media.
You must be one of those obtuse Bolshevik-influenced morons I commented on in my comments below that I posted this morning!
This is not about Trump. The issue is not some teeter-totter where for Biden to be corrupt Trump must be a saint. They both need to go and an honest and effective press needs to report objectively about both.
Yes! Finally, some common sense. Both Trump and Biden are just too old, and both are tainted with multiple scandals.
Help me out here.
You’re saying that if all that is written about the Biden family is true, it is not bad enough to warrant holding them accountable?
Is that what you’re saying?
Please highlight ‘what Trump has done’ and what he’s tried to do to the country that has you downplaying Joe Biden’s actions. I think you’re filled with emotion and letting your personal issues with Trump cloud rational objectivity.
I am replying to this comment because it is at the top of the list as I write. It seems to me that most or many of the comments follow the philosophy that if Joe Biden is bad (which I believe he is), then Donald Trump must be good, (which I believe he is not). The frightening thing about where our nation is today is that our choices at the ballot box are limited to two unsavory characters. I agree that journalism is dead, and the reason it is dead is that the same influencers who, by dint of their gobs of money determine who can afford to run for office, are the same people who own the media. Thanks to our Supreme Court having ruled that PAC’s can be treated as individuals while retaining the status of corporations when it comes to disclosing whose money is behind the candidates, there is no mechanism in place to prevent this condition. The system needs an overhaul, but the legislators who must take the responsibility for such an overhaul are for the most part beholden to those same billionaires who got us into this mess in the first place. What can we as individuals do to stop the spiral?
Couldn’t agree more…and I can taste that sugar cookie in the sour milk.
Amen! Keep it going loud and clear!
“The Obamas learned in Chicago that the people are fools.
Just distract them with shiny objects like manufactured “racism” and the cheapest kind of Chicago Way hustle falls right into their hands”
Carve that on the walls of Tribune Tower.
When the demise of America is complete and the ideals of its founding fathers as laid out in its constitution null and void. It will be the failure of the fourth estate to perform its duties as the watchdog of the Republic that will be deemed most responsible.
Like Diogenes with his lamp, you seek out and speak wisdom and truth. Any person with an ounce of sense sees Biden & Co. clearly. The folks in flyover country do too. They may drive a huge 4×4 pickup but they are not stupid. They work for a living. No freebies because they have the power. How did a guy from a tiny state gain so much influence. Hmm Is there a reason big banks and CC operations and major corps are based in Delaware? Well Big Joe been influencing for 50 years. And poor misunderstood Hunter. Fathers a kid he wouldn’t acknowledge till his ass was brought into court (on a private jet of course) and now daddy is finally acknowledging her (can we say last ditch damage control as his Dem mommies and grandmas were getting upset. ) Oh yes to court to plead out a sweetheart deal, again on a private jet (with its registration number obscured in photos ). But oops the judge sort of upended that. We will see how it plays out. And if you think for a moment if he is convicted of something Daddy won’t pardon him on his last day in office no matter what he says now, I have a bridge to sell you. TERM LIMITS at every level. Only way to keep things just a tad more honest for those of us who work for a living.
Where are Woodward and Bernstein? They’ve sold out too. Cashing checks from MSNBC both. WAPO and NYT when given an incendiary story leaked by the young Mass National guard kid who got hold of damming evidence from the intelligence files, they didn’t publish it. Instead, they found the leaker and turned him in!
The legacy carries water for the government now. They only go after people they are told to. They were told to go after Trump, so they did. They were told to lay off Joe, so they did. They peddled the Covid lies, went after anyone who questioned what they were doing, and now are doing damage control.
There is no reason why you should not still be writing for the Tribune. In fact, your loyal readers likely made up a nice chunk of subscribers. They give it away online now a buck for six months. I hope Greg Pratt is happy.
How true John.
The Libune Editorial Board even admitted it in a piece last week. They used the phrase “The Democratic Party and their surrogates in the media….”
How telling that they admitted that the legacy media is nothing more than shills for the Left.
I can’t help but shake my head when the the media describes any Republican as Far-Right, radical or worse when the worst thing they will label a Democrat is Progressive.
John is back. Great column.
That the commercial media hasn’t completely got the message that Joe has to go from the Dems in charge kinda baffles me. Maybe they can’t admit they’ve been wrong and won’t give up on their socialist dorm room fantasies.
Excellent! Telling like it is, something for which journalists in general, and Chicagoans in particular, used to be known.
I hope it’s not too late to save our republic. I keep thinking of Khrushchev’s quote from before I was even born: “we will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the United States. We will bury you from within”
I am hoping Bari Weiss and the Free Press are leading the charge to remake the media. With Matt Taibbi and Michael Schellenberger leading the charge with Elon’s help behind the scenes in 10 years we will see an entirely different news media model
Great column. It’s hard to believe that somebody like Biden is President. We should be very skeptical of blowhards who tell tall tales of their brilliance (“buddy, my IQ is higher than yours”) and bravado (“I kicked Cornpop’s butt”)! It speaks volumes that the last two elections have featured candidates like Biden, Trump, and Clinton for the office once held by Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Eisenhower.
Joe Biden’s puppet master is Obama. Just look at his appointments, all from Obama’s reign! As long as he’s pulling the strings Ole Joe will dance.
Good point. The connection is hidden well in the Washington jungle. Will any one dare peel back another layer of the onion? Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f$&@ things up. Joe’s satellite phone worked well. The dots are being connected for the first time for many of John’s readers whom read the opposite MSM fodder that fueled Trump Derangement Syndrome for eight years.
Bernie Sanders sold himself to progressives as a populist bulldog, but D.C. Demwits played Bernie for what he is for them…. a progressive sheepdog.
Chicago’s corruption is “small ball” compared to the national corruption of Joe Biden and his gang of progressives. The southern border, drugs, human trafficking, and the “woke” weakening of our national defense, business, sports, and education are rotting our country’s foundation.
You nailed it on many levels. There is only opinionated journalists now. The truth scares them. The Trib is filled with charlatans. How does a journalist from California that gets hired here a year ago think they know Chicago?? Pratt is a neutered puppy looking for an owner. A.D Quig couldn’t find the truth if it was in front of her. And Fran Speilman is no better. Cheerleader for the left. Heather Cherone can’t bring herself to say Democrats have run the city for over 80 years. They all act as some mysterious force has kept Chicagos west and south sides held back. They use deflect words like systemic racism. Disinvestment.segregation. Maybe they should take a civics lesson. George soros son just took over so expect for it to get even worse. Sadly if you’re under 30 you don’t even read the news. Just what gets fed to you on Tik Tok. Most wouldn’t even know who Woodward and Bernstein are! I.Qs are going down according to a recent survey. America is going down a long slow path to stupidity.ABC world news does ten minutes of anti Trump every night and barely mentions Biden at all or for less than two minutes. Sad times for our country. let’s see how the Presidential Debates go with Biden and whom ever is the Republicans choice. Maybe then America and Journalists will wake up and show some backbone and get back to objective journalism.
Outstanding column! Will be sharing it. Best of all, the mention of Obama. Is that why he said “You don’t have to do this, Joe.”? Miranda did the work of Woodward and Bernstein. And they know it.
Outstanding, as usual, Mr. Kass, and your Greek ancestors are once again proud of you. There are very few people like yourself who actually care enough about the truth to write about it. I haven’t watched the news on TV for about 7 years, because I find it insulting to watch some goof, who may have never had an original thought, and who claims to be a “journalist”, reading a teleprompter and trying to convince me how to think.
I’d much rather read the words of a real “Journalist” like John Kass, who writes the truth and challenges me to formulate my own opinion.
Great column. Now if only enough citizens knew how to read it.
The citizens do not want to read. They would prefer to be read to, like children. Even if it’s lies and propaganda, they will believe it. In-depth reading takes courage and unfortunately today, people lack courage to read truth.
Gave up on the Trib when John Kass left. Have followed him since. He calls them as he sees them – honestly and with vigor. God bless you John.
I believe that Joe Biden is the most corrupt president that our republic has seen. Congress lacks the guts to be truly objective in evaluating the crimes of the Biden Family. The press covers up for them.
It is disgusting what is happening to our country.
Phew !!!! Man, you’re not kidding about all of this crap.
But, Gavin Newsome ???? The biggest left wing idiot out there. And the goofballs will flock to him ! And JB is probably just as bad, if not worse (although he thinks he’s God)
Will we ever have a decent choice to choose from ?
Yep – Newsome IS the biggest left wing idiot – a useless, corrupt pretty boy. I know, he is our governor. Moderates or independents have been wishing for years that at least ONE of the parties will put out an actual competent choice. So far, neither party has done crap.
John,
Your whole column was right smack in the X-ring.
I sent it to both of my Senators and my (mostly worthless) Congress Critter.
Well done.
Kass……once again, you nailed it. Unfortunately there are too many uninformed voters without any skin in the game who follow the dictates of their masters like lemmings. They have been gaslighted and are intoxicated on the political cool-aid being fed to them.
This column says it all! I will be forwarding it to family and friends in the hopes that it will open their eyes to what is happening to our country. In a word, it is shameful.
Thank you for articulating it all with such mastery. Unfortunately, not enough Americans are following what is going on. These are the “low-information voters” out there that you mention. I know many of these. As long as things are chugging along without any bumps in the road for them, they ignore the news and don’t take the time to figure things out. I think it may be more ignorance than stupidity on their parts, but maybe I am giving these folks the benefit of the doubt. If you get your news from the View then you are one of them!
I do hope that impeachment proceedings are started asap. In the very least Biden has violated the FARA act. I hate to see our current VP as President – that was a brilliant insurance policy against impeachment – but what else can be done? Would also like to watch the senate Democrats and Swampy Republicans talk their way out of the evidence of bribes, etc. Now that would be some good TV!
Excellent article – needs to be sent to everyone who voted for Biden. And God bless Miranda Devine for her reporting.
Woodward would never report against a Liberal because Liberals just don’t do that!
Bob Woodward of Wheaton, IL was beholden to the bureaucracy and a friend of the Deputy Director of the FBI, his secret source. It was the bureaucrats that he was protecting. In December 1972, President Nixon announced his plan to reduce the bureaucracy, thereafter Woodward and “Watergate” broke with the help of the FBI Deputy Director. Election interference by the FBI has been going on during my entire adult life. Most people were too busy to notice.
The over two million federal employees are your federal government, not Congress, the President or Courts. The Constitutional scheme of checks and balances has been overcome by bureaucratic power that controls the press, the masses and businesses. Billionaires have figured this out and thrown in with the controllers to further their fortunes. Freedom and Liberty are simply dreams, not reality.
Question is Yianni, would Bernstein and Woodward have gone after the president if he was a democrat? I think not, but that’s just me. Nixon was as arrogant as Joe is today, and pissed off so many, that everyone was gunning for him, especially after the cover up. Just like currently – Joe’s cover up is going to be his undoing. Problem for us is, can the country survive for any length of time with Harris taking over? She’s dumber than a brick, and was probably selected by Joe as his insurance policy against impeachment. Might just work, unless he’s forced to resign like tricky Dick! In any event, journalism is dead, gone, history. Social media platforms have seen to that!! Stay tuned….
This week will be pivotal. With the DOJ threatening Devon Archer with arrest in an unusual (I’d say unprecedented) Saturday letter to him before he testifies tomorrow before the House Oversight Committee, the political environment is red hot. Could use a few good men and women who are intellectually curious in the DC press corps but that’s not to be. Col. McCormick is turning over in his grave. A week from Tuesday is the 49th anniversary of Nixon’s resignation. You don’t suppose we could get lucky and – nah, we’re too populated by obtuse Bolshevik-influenced morons!
Excellent column. Biden is certainly as corrupt a President as we have had. He is also as dimwitted and careless in execution of the lawful affairs of state. It doesn’t speak well for those, especially Obama, who put him there. The Dumbing of America.
I escaped Illinois and Chicago four years ago and moved to a Free State. I unfortunately still subscribe to the Chicago Fibune I am sorry to confess. My wife says its its so I can keep my blood pressure elevated. She’s probably right. The Chicago Fibune once considered a conservative news outlet. Not anymore. This ain’t your daddys paper for sure. The Fibune routinely publishes biased, non factual “stories” by crack “journalists” like the not-so great Megan Crapeau and the rest of the Scooby gang from the discredited Northwestern School of Journalism. Recently the Fibune reported on one of the illegals being housed at a police station being molested by unknown Chicago Police Officers. The Fibune had a picture showing a “demonstrator” holding a sign that read “CPD keep your filthy hands off our migrants” on its front page. Not one reporter attempted to look any further other than the information that was being spoon fed to them by COPA, a biased political arm of the city . Never let facts get in the way of a good photo op, right? The story was a complete fabrication and I’m sure COPA would have loved to parade a Chicago Police Officer in handcuffs to the public so you can be pretty sure they did their best to find someone to lock up. The story was complete bullshit and had any reporter asked a few questions it would have been obvious this story was bullshit. Hard to believe the Fibune still refers to itself as a “conservative” newspaper. The good news is rags like the Fibune and the Chicago Slum Times are on the ropes financially and dying since anyone, even a gelatinous headed, dim bulb like Riga -Tony could see through the crap they publish as news. The Chicago Slum Times was basically given away a few years ago for nothing and hopefully The Fibune will be also. Both have one foot in the grave already. Maybe some bored billionaire might decide to found a bona fide conservative newspaper to report actual news in a truthful manner. I know its a long shot but we can always hope. Me? I’m cancelling my on line Chicago Fibune subscription AGAIN. I’ve had enough.
The pubahs of the fair left have this plan prepared. On or about Jan. 6th, of 2024, they will announce that Vice-President Kamala Harris is resigning her office of Vice President to take over Operation Push’s Monochrome Coalition and use all her talent to lead the group to glorious new highs.
President in name only will then be obligated to select another person to be Vice President. He will appoint Susan Rice, Obama’s link to the Biden Administration. Shortly after that, early February, Joe will announce he is resigning as President due to some drastic illness making him incapable of continuing in office.
The next day, Jill will lead him out of the White House, hop on a helicopter and retire to Rehoboth beach where he will live out his days.
That afternoon, Susan Rice is sworn in as the next President of the United States and the third and fourth Obama administration continues to destroy the United States of America.
So well stated, John. With the exception of a few like you, all “journalism” is one-sided today. I look at Fox News and Newsmax and exclusively see coverage of the “Biden Crime Family”. I look at MSNBC, CNN and the 3 major networks and the coverage is all about President Trumps “crimes” re: January 6th, alleged election interference and White House documents. The reporting is so biased that I cannot even assume that the Truth lies somewhere in between. The Fourth Estate is in ruins.
Great column!!!! The Chicago trib is now a useless rag and the Sun-times is even worse. They both are puppets for the Pritzker, Johnson, “Prickwinkle” and Raoul regime! The same goes for PBS, WGN, ABC, WMAQ and WBBM. Have I left any out? Thank God for the internet where I can find people like you and others who are not afraid to take on the evil of the mainstream media!!!
ONLY one word to add “Thanks Mr Kass”! Oops that’s 3 not 1.
Watching the GOP and right wing media grievance merchants twist themselves into breathless knots while spinning, conjuring and elevating any half plausible crumb that JUST MIGHT LEAD TO THE EVIDENCE THAT PROVES the story about the corruption of “the Biden family” would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. I get it, there is an enormous appetite on the right for “evidence” that the FBI and Justice Department are deploying a double standard or that Biden deserves to face criminal charges just as much as former president Donald Trump. Every day Fox News headlines scream BOMBSHELL! WHISTLEBLOWER! SMOKING GUN! (Uneducated white guys love hyperbole..) and yet here we are in reality land, the place where Trump is staring down his THIRD indictment and writers like Kass will hurls themselves onto the keyboard and pound out any kind of smokescreen to aid in his defense. You know how a Republic dies?? When a criminal grifter like Trump acts in defiance of the law, dismissing the FBI, Media and the White House (or anyone else who DARES hold him accountable..) as corrupt, and men like Kass rush to his defense, promoting fringe stories as evidence of said corruption, stories they know are built around half truths and shady allegations, but no hard facts. Worse yet? When those same men do so KNOWING it’s all a smokescreen, toss away any integrity because it’s ‘us’ versus ‘them’ and we must ‘own the libs!”. That’s how a January 6th happens. That’s why the ‘big lie’ won’t die. That’s why the GOP talks about ‘trans athletes’ versus an improving economy. That’s how a Republic dies John, hope you are satisfied with your contribution.
The ignorant and onanistic guest craps in the punchbowl, yet, again!
Dated reference. I mean when was the last time you went to an event that had a punchbowl?? Try ‘farts in the elevator’, way funnier. (:
So let me get this straight. Because Trump is indicted, Biden is immune from criticism and investigation? No hard facts? More than a dozen LLC’s have been created, with documented cash infusions into them from multiple countries.
As for the “improving” economy. Yes, inflation is down from its peak, but the fed knows they’re not going to be able to get the inflation genie back in the bottle that Biden let out, so they have to keep raising rates. Try telling a prospective homeowner looking at a 6 to 7% mortgage instead of the 2 to 3% they were able to get 3 years ago that the economy is improving.
I would argue the entire Biden investigation, and all its sketchy allegations and phony criminal tributaries, are all manufactured too obscure and deflect from Trump’s VERY REAL crimes. It’s a smokescreen, nothing more. Does ‘Tom Stark’ know something the justice department doesn’t?? Why aren’t they watching Hannity!!! HE has all the facts, why they MUST be corrupt, right? Please. See it for what it is, a dose of ‘whataboutism’ to placate the base. Kass used to be a journalist with integrity, now he peddles in this nonsense. That’s sad because we need a Chicago-centric voice to speak truth to power (even if its now based in Indiana..). As for the economy, no one is screaming ‘recession’ anymore, now it’s all trans athletes and ‘woke.’ I wonder why??
Do you know something that the Oversight Committe doesn’t know? If there was nothing to what has been presented as factual like the dozen+ LLC’s and cash payments from multiple countries, then why hasn’t this been explained away by the administration? And the Department of Justice has never protected the sitting president, whether Republican or Democrat? Really?
As for the economy, there are still many economists predicting a downturn. Check back in 6 months and see how great the economy is humming. Oh, and in the meantime, those first-time homebuyers are just screwed.
..and when the economy continues to hum along, improving, what will you feel? Anger? Resentment? That’s the nature of the problem. The ‘oversight’ committee was designed for the express purpose of keeping the base angry, defending Trump and amplifying any possible grievance into conspiracies, and revenge for Trump’s first two impeachments, nothing more.
The latest GDP numbers were + 2.4%. More like limping than humming. Any wagers that the GDP increase will hit a mediocre 3% in the last 2 quarters? I say no.
And BTW, you seem uncharacteristically silent on those 7% mortgage rates.
After your illness, if there was any question that you would regain your voice, it has been answered by this column for certain. Welcome back John.
I’m curious. How difficult is it to ignore the hypocrisy of writing a column about Joe Biden’s “50 years of grafting and grafting” at a time when candidate Trump is facing a THIRD indictment?? How do you look the other way? I’m no legal expert, but it seems the volumes of evidence against Trump are so devastating a first year law student can see he is in serious trouble, yet here we are dissecting the ‘Biden Crime Family.’ SERIOUSLY? What universe do you live in? The one where January 6th was a ‘mostly peaceful demonstration?’ The one where Trump actually won the election? The one where Dominion voting machines were ‘rigged?” (Ask Fox how that worked out..) How do you do it?? I couldn’t. I’ll ask the same question I’ve asked dozens of times: What is the hold that Trump has on so many people, so much so that they are willing to abandon reason, integrity and logic in his defense? Here’s another: when he is convicted (andI believe he will be..) what then?? What will the next January 6th look like? Will the Proud Boys lead the assault this time?? What role will media designed to generate anger and ‘whataboutisms’ play when otherwise good people turn on the government because they’ve been fed a steady stream of ‘corrupt FBI’ nonsense?? That genuinely scares me.
You put it perfectly, ” I’m no legal expert, but it seems the volumes of evidence against Trump are so devastating a first year law student can see he is in serious trouble, yet here we are dissecting the ‘Biden Crime Family” You are correct, you are no legal expert.
Seems you ignore the IRS agents that testified under oath that all in not correct in Delaware. You ignore all the details that have been put forth by the various committees: lots of LLC’s producing nothing and receiving millions. All the contributors of cash received was access to the Vice President and now President.
We have to dissect the Biden Crime Family because no one in the press, tv or liberal cable tv will even discuss it. They, like you want to protect the Creepy, Corrupt, Hair Sniffing, baby nuzzling crook in the White House.
What scares me is people like you who think the FBI and Justice Department are fair and equitable, blind justice instead of the double standard of justice directed by Merrick Garland. I really don’t care for Mitch McConnell, but the greatest thing he ever did was keep a total incompetent like Garland off the Supreme Court. That must just irritate you to no end. Ha Ha. .
Must be easy to be a criminal when all you have to do to avoid accountability is blame the police for being corrupt, which is exactly what Trump is doing, and you’re helping. Correct, I’m no legal expert, seems you received your degree from Fox..
We used to call them “door kickers” reporters who went after the scum no matter where they were hiding. When I started at the Daily News in the mid 1960s all four chicago papers had a bunch of them. I greatly admired them for their determination, honesty and commitment to their profession. For the most part they are gone, replaced by propagandists.
So true.
Mr. Kass, proud to be of Greek heritage Sir when I read your magnificent columns & why I am a subscriber. When you left the Tribune, I left the Tribune after many years of having Tribune subscription. Today’s column outstanding like you Sir, Keep up the fine job & proud of you. You’re in my prayers nightly for a full recovery, you’ve got this. My best to you & your family & thanks for being you! 😊😉🙏🏻🤞🏻👊🏻
Great column Mr. Kass! Glad you are back!
Excellent column. My question has plagued me for sometime now. What does the media gain by sitting in the pockets of the left? I have watched and observed how they report on a story and twist it.
How do they live with the themselves knowing their job is to report, not fabricate? The old saying of you have one job to do.
How does the first dog bite seven times and it is swept under the rug? If you or I had a dog that did this it would be put down? I can’t even imagine doing one’s job at the risk of being bitten.
Thanks for your column.
John. You mention the Chicago Way as the model for Joe’s grifting and grafting. As such, you of all people should know that the “bag men” go to prison; the “big guys” do not.
Great column today John. I don’t live in a complete echo chamber so I still read the Chicago Tribune. You are correct that the corporate legacy news media will find any excuse possible to change the subject and perhaps write about “UFOs AMONG US.”
Lo and behold, what is in today’s Chicago Tribune? A columnist in the editorials writes about UFOs.
Solid column on many fronts.
The Tribune was once a great newspaper as was the New York Times and Washington Post. They each were able to be homes or landing spots for many different opinions. Stifling or suppressing news because the truth was inconvenient was not something the papers did or tolerated.
Finding the truths is so much harder these days as one needs to be forensic in getting to sources and also understanding the biases of the writers.
The standards have been lowered so much.
Great article, John. I wonder why the SAR (Suspicious Activity Reports), required to be submitted by the banks on large transactions, were not investigated? Those who swept the reports under the rug should be brought to task. Connecting the dots to “The Big Guy”.
Your best column in many months, John, looks like your recovery is progressing well.
FWIW, the link to the NY Post article doesn’t work, but I think this one is similar:
https://nypost.com/2023/07/23/hunter-biden-put-then-vp-dad-joe-on-the-phone-with-business-associates-at-least-2-dozen-times-ex-partner-devon-archer-to-testify/
Won’t any responsible journo need a Deep Throat-like figure to move any investigation along like W & B had or could journalism be done, in this case, without that inside info ?
Riga Tony never ceases to amaze with his constant blathering proving he is an idiot. His lamebrained postings prove this as fact. He claims to have a prep school education, funded by his imaginary parents vast wealth. If this were true then his parents are obviously owed a refund. I, for one, sincerely wish he would go back to managing his imaginary billion dollar corporation which controls his fictional real estate empire of hi rises and apartment buildings in Beloit Wisconsin. But as they say in the fast food industry, where in actual reality Tony Phony is a highly skilled french fry technician, ” ..get back to work, stupid. Those fries ain’t gonna cook themselves!”. Perhaps when he’s done playing on his phone, he will create a great batch of tasty fries. I mean we all love a good batch of fries, don’t we?
I laughed when they tried to sneak a sweetheart immunity deal through. I’ve heard those things are usually rubbles stamped. Luckily they got a real judge, not some political hack.
Hunter is as phony and dirty as a three dollar bill. He’s a drug addict and a scumbag. Joe should have got him a nice income and washed his hands of him, but it does appear they had a family business going.
The problem with getting Joe is you know he won’t get convicted in the Senate. If the Republicans win the WH in 24, the new AG can go after Joe when he’s a civilian, but as Trump has shown, it takes a lot to get a former president.
Hopefully the bag man does do time, even if it’s in an analog type spa. He can’t leave. Maybe he gets an Epstein deal where he can. Go to “work” and still likely receive “massages”. And speak frequently with Clinton, Gates, Dershowitz, and the Prince.
You see, it’s a private club and we ain’t in it.
That’s why merely electing Republicans isn’t enough, although they’d likely be better. We need systemic change, true representation in Congress, and accountability across all levels of government,
As soon as Obama said that there wasn’t “a scintilla of a scandal” in his administration, you knew he was lying.
The news media are no longer the “truth tellers”.
The are doing the heavy lifting for perpetuating the many government lies.
They are the enablers.
And it will be on their bones that we re-build journalistic integrity and trust.
Say, in about 50 years.
If I recall John, you and former TWO TERM President Obama once bonded over your shared nicotine habit, and your mutual desire to quit, and just how hard it is to do. Common ground on a human level if not ideological, but the column you wrote at the time was, if nothing else, gracious. Not anymore John, gracious won’t pay the bills, will it??
JOHN KASS IS BACK!!
God has blessed us with John Kass and he has come a long way down the path of regenerating what he always had, but had been dimmed. But the hand of God comes open for John and His hands filled with the gift of journalistic abilities….an answer to our prayers.
Yes, John, you are a gift. I know you are not blushing as that is not you, but you are the most sincere of journalists around these days and it is a happy thing to read your column. Thank you God, Thank you John Kass.
Tom Adams
Beautiful! This is so on point. The Chicago Way is alive and well in Washington.
Wow, right on target, John, great column!
This will be a very interesting week.
This is not about Trump. The issue is not some teeter-totter where for Biden to be corrupt Trump must be a saint. They both need to go and an honest and effective press needs to report objectively about both.
I agree 100%. Trump has been (and is about to be) indicted, which means the evidence was enough for a grand jury. My argument is that, in response, the GOP and right wing media have taken tax evasion charges against Hunter and spun them into some kind of almost plausible International crime conspiracy that the media is ignoring! They aren’t, there is no ‘there’ there. It’s a tactic, nothing more.
Yeah, I definitely see all the news breaking about the evidence against Trump.
Definitely….
Uhmm….
Not.
Tony. There are substantive reasons behind the cliché that a grand jury “would indict a ham sandwich.” First, the proceedings are secret. Second, the jury only hears the case as argued by the prosecution. There is NO defense argument presented to the jury. None. Zero. Third, the laws are so voluminous that any one of us is likely breaking some law, at some time on some day. What this means is that if there is a change in administration in 2024 i.e. the DOJ now is led by a Republican it is very likely that Hunter will be indicted on multiple charges. But the bigger story is so will Joe Biden. The only group that was largely immune from grand jury indictment were the police. But if recent history is any guide, that is no longer true. Anyway, it’s “tit for tat” time in American politics. Bad news, in my opinion.
Wow, we agree, at least on the ‘tit for tat’ point. My push is: Trump has grifted, litigated and spent to avoid accountability his entire life. Now, faced with damning charges and a mountain of evidence, he pivots to the ‘everyone out to get me is corrupt!!’ angle, which means he could never be held accountable for anything, ever. Think about that, a permanent ‘stay out of jail’ card, what would YOU do with that? Last week the White House declared emphatically there would be no ‘pardon’ for whatever crimes Hunter has committed, that’s accountability. There are millions of armchair litigators in the comment sections Bruce and I have desire to join the ranks, but I’m not going to ignore how the accused attacking the credibility of the accusers, and aligning thousands of journalists to the cause, is tearing this country apart.
Tony: From a political POV there is nothing to be gained by saying “if Hunter is convicted of a federal crime, I will pardon my son.” On the other hand by saying “I won’t pardon my son” plays well on Main Street. And if it turns out to be a lie, the history of presidential pardons suggest that such a lie would have absolutely NO adverse consequences what so ever to Joe Biden or his son.
So IMO the “White House” emphatically declaring at this stage of the game that there would be no pardon for Hunter if he is convicted of a federal crime is on the same level as the emphatic “I will not commit American boys to do what Asian boys should be doing” (LBJ circa 1964) or “if you like your doctor you can keep him” (BO, circa 2009). I will believe in the accountability of which you speak if and when Hunter is convicted and just prior to Joe leaving the White House he in fact does NOT pardon his son. Yes, that would be accountability. Short of that, mere virtue signaling of no consequence.
Anyone else having trouble opening the link to the Miranda Devine article?
Great article John. Only hope the “independents” could rise up and vote some honest politicians in office.
I just experienced an example of how the Democratic Media Complex (DMC) ignores Hunter Biden. About 6 weeks ago I had a left wing friend from college post FB about the Trump document indictment. I commented “what about Hunter Biden…”. He just responded: “I don’t know much about Hunter Biden ….” with a link to a Wikipedia article. I credit him for doing some research, but the DMC has him completely in the dark.
Regarding Americans being fools, I don’t think the founders could have anticipated just how corrupt and one sided the media would become. They obviously knew that you couldn’t always believe what you read (both Thomass Jefferson and John Adams hired newspapers to smear each other in their contested Presidential campaign) but today’s behavior of the legacy media is unprecedented American history.
More info about the DMC: https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-company-trying-to-control-your-mind
This – direct, poignant and comprehensive piece – evidences that my friend is not “back;” rather, it proves that he never left! The last true journalist that the haters hate can never be compromised. Time and events have clearly validated you, John!
“Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., acknowledged that the Republicans’ widely-hyped witness in their probe of the Biden family’s business dealings “didn’t know anything” about unverified allegations that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden had accepted millions in bribes.
Igor Derysh
Tue, August 1, 2023, 7:48 AM CDT
James Comer Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., acknowledged that the Republicans’ widely-hyped witness in their probe of the Biden family’s business dealings “didn’t know anything” about unverified allegations that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden had accepted millions in bribes.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and fellow Republicans had hyped a closed-door session with former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer as part of their growing Biden probe that has yielded no actual proof.
Archer during the nearly five-hour testimony said that President Biden was not party to any of his son’s business deals and that Hunter had merely tried to sell the illusion that he was providing access to his father, Democrats on the panel said according to The New York Times.
Archer also said President Biden met and spoke with his son’s international business associates several times as Hunter Biden tried to boost his business but did not discuss any business. He said Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone to talk to business partners about 20 times over a decade, members of the panel told the Times.
Comer said that Archer testified that President Biden was put on the phone to sell the family “brand.”
“Devon Archer’s testimony today confirms Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son’s business dealings and was not involved,” Comer said in a statement.
The Times noted that Archer’s testimony also underscored that Biden falsely claimed during the 2020 campaign that no one in his family received money from China even though Hunter and his business partners received millions from a Chinese firm. He also repeatedly claimed in 2019 that he had “never discussed” his son’s business dealings.
Legal experts were unimpressed with the findings.
“That’s the best they got?” tweeted national security attorney Bradley Moss.
Democrats on the panel say Archer testified that President Biden’s interactions were brief and casual and focused on topics like the weather.
Archer “was unequivocal and stated very clearly that they never discussed any business on that phone conversations that were niceties. And there was a hello. And there was talk about the weather or whatever it was, but it was never any business,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told reporters.
Goldman added that Archer testified that Biden spoke to his son frequently after his other son Beau died in 2015.
“The witness describes in vivid detail about how devastating that was to both Hunter Biden and to Joe Biden, and how their communications picked up dramatically in the aftermath,” he said. “Because Joe Biden was calling his son to check on him and Hunter Biden was calling his dad to check on him. It had nothing to do with business. And that is the sum and substance of what the testimony was.”
Goldman also said that Archer “categorically” denied the Republicans’ bribe allegation.
Biggs, who is pushing for an impeachment inquiry, also acknowledged to reporters that Archer had no information on the unverified claims from an anonymous informant that the Bidens accepted bribes.
“He didn’t know anything about it,” Biggs told reporters after the session.
Impeachment? Based on what exactly??
This is a longshot prediction – but I think these are desperate times. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor is under a little bit of pressure about her pressuring colleges to buy her book. As she is the weakest left wing judge intellectually and legally I see her being given the “option” to resign do to ‘health reasons.’ Kamala will be nominated and if that happens, she will get the approval from the Senate, with some bloviating from the uniparty Republicans, but no real pushback. And Whoala! Gavin Newsom becomes the Vice President, and Joe suddenly has bad fall, and his medical condition and recovery “will not allow him to continue as President, as much as he really wants to.”
OK. I’ll play along. What’s in it for Justice Sotomayor? Why should she resign? Her book dealing is on a par with the practices of RBG, Justice Kennedy, Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito and I suspect a whole lot of past Justices. She broke no law, and she certainly will not be impeached. So again. What’s in it for her?
I was a 25 year Chicago Tribune subscriber. When the media, including the Trib, abandoned journalism in service to the Democrat Party (see any of the multitude of Obama puff pieces by Kristi Parsons for specific examples), I sensed that what I was receiving every morning was not news. These were Democrat talking points. You don’t need any gumshoe reporters when the preferred party spoon feeds you your headlines. Stenographers work cheap, don’t question their sources, and are always envious of those who chose careers that actually pay real money.
In 2016, the few adults at the Tribune gave in to the stenographers. For the past seven years, any missive that would throw shade at President Trump, whether properly sourced or not, immediately made it to the front page above the fold. Hard left Deep State operators like John Brennan and James Clapper were considered credible sources, as, no doubt, were their minions. The New York Times and Washington Post led the way down the Deep State Trump Rabbit Hole and the rest of the media sang the chorus.
Three multimillion dollar investigations later, we learned that most of the press is merely the mouthpiece of the Democrats and the unelected Washington rulemaking bureaucracy. Russia? Fake news. Ukraine phone call to inquire about Burisma bribing Joe Biden? Impeach President Trump for getting too close to the truth.
The entire time, the Trib published story after story, all anonymously sourced, insisting that the walls were closing in on President Trump. They were all lies. Every. Single. One.
My subscription didn’t survive 2017. I grew tired of the infantile hysterics of the children inhabiting the Tribune newsroom. The one-sided, left slanted reporting became not only boring, but uninformative. These pretenders to journalism would attack any who dared question the slant or the fake stories, even as the subscriber base contracted mightily, along with the physical size of the once-great daily newspaper. The Trib’s financial losses mount every year, even as the activist children in the newsroom turn their back on 60% of their potential customer base.
Then came the purge. First, they pulled out their knives for Kasso. That was easy for the Trib Children, as his was truly the voice of reason. The woke children even purged Eric Zorn. If Zorn is to your right, that says more about your level of woke lunacy than it does about poor Eric.
I gave it up. I don’t miss it. I miss the old Chicago Tribune. The one who asked tough questions of all politicians and never, ever simply took their word for it. That was actual journalism, and it assume room temperature seven years ago.
What amazes me is that the Tribune still has their poor telemarketers calling me trying to get my money. The Tribune has been reduced to a junk mail producer, putting a plastic bag of ads on my driveway, but no news is in the bag and hasn’t been for years.
I shouldn’t be surprised at their futile sales calls. Networks still ask serial liar and traitor Adam Schiff for a quote. Thus the hashtag:
#JournalismIsDead
-30-
Mr. John Kass,
What was so great about Woodward and Bernstein and “WATERGATE – THE GREATEST POLITICAL CORRUPTION CRIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY”
Watergate was much ado about practically nothing.
No one died in Watergate, no young teens were drugged and raped.
More people died in Ted Kennedy’s car than were killed in Watergate.
Polish J Director Roman Polanski drugged and raped more young teens than in all of Watergate and Roman Polanski never spent a night in jail and he continues to direct Hollywood movies and has them widely released, favorably reviewed throughout the USA and the World.
What was the big fuss about Watergate (as the Southern Rock Bank “Leonard Skynard” once sang “Watergate does not bother me, does your conscious bother you?”)?
Here’s the real scoop on Watergate.
A very low level J Defense Department Official was (breaking the law) leaking classified Defense Department documents to the NY Times and the Washington Post that the Viet Nam War was going that well and would probably result in a stalemate, divided Viet Nam as was the case in/after the Korean War.
Like duhhhhhhhhh – I was 9 years old at the time and I knew that! It wasn’t a big Defense Department secret!
Some also low level Nixon aides led by G Gordan Liddy harrassed Daniel Ellsberg, tapped his psyschiatrist’s phone did “dirty tricks” against one of what they perceived to be “Nixon enemies”, “Enemies, subversives of the war efffort, anti Americans etc). Well they were right about the New Left in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
Again nobody, killed, beat, or raped Daniel Ellsberg or anyone else in Watergate. And it’s acknowleged that President Nixon never gave orders to G Gordon Liddy or anyone else to harrass Daniel Ellsberg or anyone else at the Watergate Hotel.
Nixon’s huge worst ever crime was:
“Covering up Watergate” big fu#*&$@ deal.
And after this Woodward and Bernstein WaPost, New York Times Media coup against the Nixon Administration Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia all fell to Communism, with the Viet Nam and Cambodian Communist reigns of terror the Killing Fields being one of THE worst human slaughters in human history.
The New York Times, WaPost , American Lib Democrat Left (Jane Fonda etc) either ignored, denied these Communist slaughter, the Killing Fields or tried to blame the slaughter on American Conservatives Saigon anti Communist war efforts for supposedly making the Communists mad. “If we only tried to reach out to the Viet Namese Commmunist and the Khmer Rouge Communists and tell them how sorry we were for our colonialism and neo colonialism they would have supposedly been like Haight Ashbury Hippies or Swedes”.
Nope
So, yes I say President Nixon got a very raw deal from the “American media” (yeah right) (Dan Rather, NY Times, WaPost). Nixon pretty much ended the Cold War with Russia (Reagan idiots brought it back) made the opening to China and worked for peace with honor in Viet Nam – gave Vietnamese and other anti Communist countries the support they needed to contain Communism in it’s existing countries.
The NY Times, CBS, CNN continue their vicious smears, lies against Conservatives, Christians, anybody that opposes their woke, PC agenda that has gotten really weird.
“The Killing Fields”
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Fields-Christopher-Hudson/dp/0330285130/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2QPJ0FUXCTNJR&keywords=book+the+killing+fields&qid=1690911766&sprefix=book+the+killikng+fields%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-2
Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of the probe, including Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; Obstruction of, and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; and Conspiracy Against rights. But please, lets talk about the ‘Biden Crime Family..’
And you believe the DOJ. Based on your posts, that would figure.
Bribery > Process Crimes