The Fifth Estate

Dangerous alliance. In 1787, Edmund Burke said there were “Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there [sits] a Fourth Estate more important than they all.” The notion of some vital power beyond our government was imported to the New World, and today constitutes a core belief of the American liberal: there is no free people, we’re often told, without a free press independent of congress, the courts, and our president. But throughout the 20th Century thousands of media outlets gradually consolidated, and by the dawn of our internet era only a few giants remained. These giants largely shared a single perspective, and in rough agreement with the ruling class the Fourth Estate naturally came to serve, rather than critique, power. This relationship metastasized into something very close to authoritarianism during the Covid-19 pandemic, when a single state narrative was written by the press, and ruthlessly enforced by a fifth and final fount of power in the newly-dominant technology industry.

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Garland names special counsel to lead Trump-related probes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Friday to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.

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House Republicans release a scathing report alleging politicization of the DOJ and the FBI

On Friday, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee released 1,050 page report detailing the claims made by myriad whistleblowers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the abuse of power and politicization of the nation’s foremost law enforcement authority.

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Rob Reiner claims Trump ‘directly’ responsible for attack on Paul Pelosi, calls for indictment

Director, actor, and longtime Democrat activist Rob Reiner blamed former President Donald Trump for the recent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, Paul Pelosi, claiming it was “directly” tied to Trump challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

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