Tulsi Gabbard brings a sledgehammer to Mitt Romney and Keith Olbermann By Andrea Widburg
Tulsi Gabbard is a former Democrat party member of the House of Representatives, a former presidential candidate, and a current lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. She’s too left on some things for me, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders, lots of common sense, and a dislike for being used as cannon fodder for America’s newly hawkish leftists and RINOs. Because she’s suggested that America should not rush into a shooting war with a nuclear Russia on behalf of Ukraine, especially given revelations about biological labs in Ukraine, Mitt Romney and Keith Olbermann have called her a traitor. What’s great is that Tulsi is pushing back by demanding an apology or, if she does not receive one within a week, promising to sue.
Tulsi’s attorney is the brilliant, and very successful, Harmeet Dhillon. On Wednesday, Dhillon sent a “cease and desist” letter to both Romney and Olbermann. In the letter to Romney (here), Dhillon details Tulsi’s long record of active service in the United States military. She then spells out Romney’s defamatory statement:
On March 13, 2022, you tweeted the following: “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.” [Footnote omitted.] Your tweet had no surrounding context and was not part of a broader conversation. Your accusation that Representative Gabbard, a combat veteran and current military officer, has engaged in “treasonous” activity is completely false, a fact of which you were well aware when you made your claim. And as explained below, your accusation that Representative Gabbard lied also has no basis in fact.
Dhillon’s demand letter explains to Romney that defamation occurs when a person knowingly publishes a false, and derogatory, statement about another. When the defamatory statement falsely accuses someone of criminal activity, it’s called “defamation per se,” which means that the plaintiff does not have to prove injury; it’s assumed.
Treason, of course, is one of the most slanderous statements one can make about anybody. After all, it’s the only crime specifically defined in the Constitution itself. (U.S. Const. art. III, 3, cl. 1: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”)
After warning Romney to preserve all relevant evidence, Dhillon makes the demand: “immediately cease and desist from making false statements,” and “retract/takedown of such statements you have made.” Should Romney fail to comply within a week, Tulsi will sue. And please note that (this is my addition; it’s not in Dhillon’s letter), because Romney was not speaking on the floor of the Senate when he made these statements, he cannot claim immunity as a defense.
Although I cannot find a copy, Olbermann presumably received an almost identical letter. In his case, he stated on television:
They [Tucker Carlson and Tulsi] are Russian Assets and there is a war.
There’s a case for detaining them militarily. Trials are a sign of good faith and patience on the part of democracy.
Somewhere along the line, the award-winning, Cornell-educated Olbermann missed the fact that America is not at war with Russia.
It’s absolutely brilliant that Tulsi is threatening litigation, and it would be great if Tucker would do the same. It’s one thing to call someone stupid or otherwise to disagree with him. Those are matters of opinion and part of vigorous debate in a society dedicated to free speech. It’s another thing to accuse them very loudly and seriously of committing one of the most heinous crimes in the federal law books. This is especially true if the accuser is a sitting senator or a prominent media personality.
What’s also brilliant is the whole lawfare aspect of Tulsi’s demand that she receive a complete apology or that Romney and Olbermann must be prepared to appear in court. Leftists have managed to change America completely through lawfare. Meanwhile, for too long, conservatives have just kept trying to turn the other cheek. That must end.
The culture war in America demands that those who wish to stop the madness use American institutions (free speech, voting, and lawfare) to push back hard. We’re at the cliff’s edge, and we either drive the left back so that we can stand again on firm ground or we yield again and again, leading to America’s inevitable free fall.
(For an example of how leftists use lawfare, check out what happened in Tiburon, California.)
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