As NewsBusters reported, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was hassling Navy veteran Zachary Young as he tried to get a book published about his successful defamation trial against CNN, even demanding he delete everything to do with his manuscript. While the CIA never cited what exactly it objected to, it seems as though the Agency was more interested in protecting themselves from embarrassment. A NewsBusters investigation has uncovered that the CIA public affairs director who improperly burned him to CNN had actually worked for the network. In his letter to the CIA’s Publications Review Board, Young noted how then-Public Affairs Director Tammy Kupperman Thorp improperly outed his affiliation with the agency to then-CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt as he was working on the defamatory report on Young (bold added to highlight): The trial record also establishes that my prior CIA affiliation was not merely incidentally mentioned by a private individual or inadvertently disclosed by an unauthorized outsider. It was confirmed through the Agency’s official press function. The documentary record, admitted as a trial exhibit and broadcast nationally, shows CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt formally tasking the Agency’s Office of Public Affairs on October 29, 2021, stating: “FYI I asked Tammy if they can look into the other guy’s claim that he’s CIA.” This was not a casual conversation. It was a directed request to the Agency’s official press office to look into whether a named individual was connected to the CIA. Marquardt testified under oath at trial that Tammy Kupperman Thorp, who served as the CIA’s Director of Public Affairs from 2021 to 2025, confirmed my Agency background and described the practice as a “steer,” which he defined on the record as the Agency’s established method of informally confirming information to credentialed journalists. This testimony is further corroborated by Marquardt’s contemporaneous written communications stating that the Director of Public Affairs “just basically told me that dude was former CIA.” These communications were entered as exhibits and displayed during the televised proceedings. The disclosure of my identity was accordingly the result of an official Public Affairs response to a media inquiry, provided by the Agency official responsible for press relations, and later confirmed through sworn testimony and contemporaneous communications in open court.  A NewsBusters investigation into Thorp examined her public (as of publication) LinkedIn profile and found that she had worked for CNN as a “supervising producer” on matters of “justice, transportation, [and] regulation.” She was at CNN from January 2017 to January 2020.  According to her, her duties entailed: “Led CNN’s coverage of the US Justice Department, FBI, Homeland Security, Supreme Court, and immigration policy. Edited television scripts and digital stories, authored digital content.” In a little over a year, Thorp bounced from CNN to a PR firm to director of media relations at military contractor BAE Systems before landing in the CIA as their director of public affairs.     Interestingly, she started at the Agency in May 2021, just months before the fall of Afghanistan, Young’s efforts to help rescue nearly two dozen women and baby, and CNN’s maliciously defamatory report about him. She was only on the job a few months before burning Young to her former employer, who she worked for just a year prior. Even more interestingly, Thorp’s time at the Agency ended in February 2025. Young won his trial against CNN in January 2025. Thorp’s page for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance boasts of her use of the revolving door to shift between the media and governmental positions: Tammy Kupperman Thorp is an award-winning journalist and public affairs practitioner with more than 30 years of experience in public affairs, media, and national security, most recently serving as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Public Affairs. Just before joining CIA, Tammy directed media relations for BAE Systems, Inc. From 2017 to 2020, she led CNN’s coverage of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, focusing on issues including the Mueller investigation, immigration, and the confirmations of two Supreme Court justices. On June 17, 2026, Thorp appeared on The Readiness Edge with Dr. Jennifer Posa, one of her friends and colleagues from her time at the Agency. As she ironically described the appearance on her LinkedIn activities page, she was there “to talk about the importance of teamwork.” She also beamed about working at CNN in the interview.     In a statement to NewsBusters, Young expressed suspicion of the CIA’s relationship with CNN given Thorp’s close ties: I've wondered about the relationship between CNN and the CIA for a while now. I can't tell you what to make of it, only what I've seen with my own eyes. Tammy Thorp spent years at CNN before becoming the CIA's official spokesperson, the person who speaks for the Agency to the media. In that official capacity, she's the one who confirmed my background to a CNN reporter. I'm not going to pretend I have the full picture. But having lived through this, it's hard not to wonder. Politically, Thorp is a liberal. According to OpenSecrets, her only personal political donation was to President Obama’s reelection in 2012 to the tune of $750. She was working for the National Counterterrorism Center as a managing editor at the time. Her husband Frank Thorp is the Democratic alderman of Ward 8 of the Annapolis City Council in Maryland. She also started her media career at NBC News.

On Thursday morning, the “Big Three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC were forlorn over the left’s now-former Senate darling in Maine Democrat Graham Platner, who insisted late Wednesday he’ll quit the race amid on-camera claims of abuse and assault from two ex-girlfriends, a fake working-class persona, a Nazi tattoo, odious social media posts about minorities and veterans, and a tawdry profile on a children’s website. But those were largely afterthoughts on their flagship newscasts with ABC still downplaying the Nazi tattoo, CBS showing zero interest in party accountability, and NBC ignoring one of the ex-girlfriends (Lyndsey Fifield) in favor of actor Patrick Demsey passing on the seat. NBC’s Today co-host Craig Melvin described Platner as an “embattled” candidate who said he would quit “following a string of sexual misconduct accusations.” Senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson called the “bombshell” development “stunning, certainly, if not shocking, considering the chorus of calls that have been building” following “new, explosive allegation against him” from Racicot. “Once seen as a rising star, Platner, facing a firestorm these last few days after a former romantic partner, Jenny Racicot, publicly alleged he sexually assaulted her five years ago,” she declared. But along with fretting Platner has “throw[n] into chaos a race Democrats saw as their best hope of flipping a Republican Senate seat,” Jackson and Melvin spent over 30 seconds gushing over the fantasy of a Senator Dempsey: NBC's 'Today' didn't mention Lyndsey Fifield in their story Thursday about Platner dropping out, but you know what they had 43 seconds for? Talking up McDreamy passing on campaigning to place him on the ballot pic.twitter.com/SJSpzJJmoX — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 9, 2026 MELVIN: So, Hallie, perhaps no surprise here, a number of folks have already thrown their hats in the ring to be Platner’s replacement in that race. But notably this morning, there’s someone who says he’s not going to be running. That’s making some news. What can you tell us about that? JACKSON: Yeah, that’s right, Craig. He — a familiar face and not just in his home state of Maine. Patrick Dempsey, you may know him as McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy. He says he gave real thought to running, but in a new op-ed, Dempsey says, while public service is honorable, he thinks he “can contribute more effectively through the life [he’s] already built.” Incredibly, Today reupped a truncated version in the second hour, including a rehashing of the Dempsey news. Disney-owned ABC’s Good Morning America was similarly ludicrous. Co-host Michael Strahan also framed the story as one of concern for his fellow liberals: “Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner dropping out of the race after mounting pressure after one accused him of sexual assault. Democrats are now racing to replace him on the ballot.” D.C.-based correspondent Jay O’Brien made Fifield a footnote in history, further bolstering the cynical view that Racicot’s interviews a week before the drop-out date for Platner was (along with the bottom dropping out on polling) the story that actually forced someone’s hand. O’Brien said Platner only ended his campaign because of an “accusation of sexual assault...and unrelenting pressure” from allies, but left in his wake “an all-out scramble amongst Maine Democrats.” Thursday’s Platner segment on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ was ludicrous. From huffing about Democrats having to “rac[e] to replace him” to a half-sentence on @LyndseyFifield to touting him as “an oyster farmer” to boasting of his “anti-establishment jolt,” correspondent Jay… pic.twitter.com/I3gkg5fGTa — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 9, 2026 “The announcement following an arduous three-day collapse of Platner’s candidacy after an ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual assault, which he denies...Jenny Racicot telling Politico she dated Platner on and off starting in 2019. She claims that, in 2021, he showed up at her home ‘almost blackout drunk’ and says Platner forced her to have sex against her will,” he added. O’Brien conceded “a chorus of Democrats...had previously stuck by him when other alleged parts of Platner’s past came to light” and boiled down Fifield’s story about a years-long emotionally and sexually abusive relationship to an afterthought alongside other scandals the broadcast networks refused to touch until May 31. Take notice of O’Brien’s absurd framing of the Totenkopf and emphasis of Platner as “an oyster farmer” even though that claim was dubious (click “expand”): A chorus of Democrats, including top supporters like Senator Bernie Sanders pushing Platner to drop out. Many had previously stuck by him when other alleged parts of Platner’s past came to light, including another former girlfriend who accused him of abusive behavior, which he has denied. Also, sexual messages Platner acknowledged sending to multiple women shortly after he was married in 2023, and questions about a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi image Platner says he drunkenly got on leave with other Marines in 2007, which he later covered up, claiming he didn’t know its significance. An oyster farmer and Marine combat veteran, Platner bringing a progressive, anti-establishment jolt to the race to unseat Maine’s longtime Republican senator, Susan Collins, a seat Democrats almost certainly need to flip to take back control of Congress. After a standoff with state Democrats, Platner taking parting shots at party leaders who, by Maine law, now have just over two weeks to replace him on the ballot. Left out of O’Brien’s rundown? Platner’s profile on the site Kik, which is seen as a hotbed of pedophilia. CBS Mornings brought up Fifield and Racicot, but the laudatory language ends there as it too was concerned about their team’s future in Maine. “Now to the political meltdown in Maine that could impact control of the U.S. Senate. Overnight, Democrat Grant Platner said he is dropping out of his state Senate race. It follows allegations of rape and physical abuse, which he denies. Democrats are scrambling to find a new nominee,” featured co-host Vlad Duthiers began. Congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns noted Platner was “defiant” in “dismissing those allegations and arguing it was the party system trying to force him out, but now the hard work begins as Democrats here trying to pick up the pieces[.]” Notice the level of concern on Thursday's 'CBS Mornings' for Democrats in post-Platner. While they did mention both Fifield and Racicot, the second block in particular with a former Obama official was absurd. It was an exercise in finding a way to spill a lot of words without… pic.twitter.com/3SWARfA9zD — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 9, 2026 Ahead of soundbites from both women, Huey-Burns said Platner voiced “he intends to drop out” following “a week of mounting allegations, vanishing support, and a showdown with state Democratic Party officials” and new claims “of sexual and physical abuse.” Huey-Burns pivoted to the field of candidates looking to take Platner’s place, including one she interviewed in former Maine director of health, Dr. Nirav Shah. CBS had a second segment with CBS News contributor and former Obama official Joel Payne that served as an exercise in finding a way to spill a lot of words without actually saying anything. “He seems, though, to be blaming the Democratic establishment for forcing him out. Joel, is that because party leaders concluded he was simply unelectable, because — or because Democrats feel that there’s some kind of moral obligation here for a candidate facing an allegation like this to withdraw, regardless of whether or not it’s been proven,” Duthiers asked. Aside from a passage when he conceded Maine Democrats have to ensure a new candidate doesn’t have the stench of a coronation like in 2024 with Kamala Harris, try and search for contrition in Payne’s answers that his side almost got away with enthusiastically backing someone of Platner’s ilk (click “expand”): He kind of, you know, offered up [a] very strong critique of the establishment because his campaign itself was a commentary on the establishment and the power that he hoped to rebalance between working people and between those in power. And so, the fact that he offered this commentary and this critique is not surprising because this was essentially a proxy war about that. I think what we go from here is Democrats trying to pick up the pieces and you hear a lot of commentary online about, well, how did we get here? Who’s fault is this? Is it the fault of the people that identified Graham Platner? Is it the fault of the establishment class who did not offer up the type of candidates who would appropriately challenge a Platner in the primary? And to me, I think there’s medicine for everybody to take and I think what Democrats across the country and in Maine are doing right now is trying to learn the lessons of how we got here with Platner, and where do we go next? And how do you refocus on trying to defeat Susan Collins in November? (....) It is important that this decision is transparent, and open, and public. I think a lot of Democrats are learning the lessons from what happened with Joe Biden in 2024. Very different circumstance, obviously, but same impact voters chose somebody, and then because of decisions out of their hands, that person was not on the ballot, ultimately, when they chose them in a primary. I think what Democrats want to do is make sure that Maine voters, particularly those who are reached by Platner’s working-class, economic populism message feel represented, and they don’t feel like the type of candidate with the type of focus and the type of agenda that they believe in, that that is not represented on the ballot in November. And Caitlin talked about there’s going to be a nominating convention by the end of the month. You’ve talked about some of those candidates, whether it’s Troy Jackson or Nirav Shah, Dan Kleban, there will be lots of folks, I imagine, who jump in and lots of opportunities for people to weigh in. To see the relevant transcripts from July 9, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

With Democratic Party Nazi Graham Platner finally dropping out of the race for Senate in Maine, the liberal ladies of ABC’s The View thought the Democrats could pat themselves on the back. During Thursday’s episode, they defended how long it took Democrats to turn on Platner and engaged in some electioneering as they urged their Democratic Party to find someone who matched Platner’s platform. Despite it taking around 10 months for Democrats to reject Platner after his Nazi tattoo first became public knowledge, co-host Joy Behar praised the development and falsely compared Justice Brett Kavanaugh to Platner. Meanwhile, co-host Sunny Hostin wanted to play with whataboutism: BEHAR: But at least the Democrats are dumping him. Whereas, Susan Collins was one of the major votes to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and he also had allegations exactly like this. If I recall correctly. Am I wrong? HOSTIN: Well, the allegations were a little bit different but they were of a sexual nature. BEHAR: Exactly. HOSTIN: And you have someone like Pete Hegseth who is actually in the cabinet who was accused of rape, and actually settled with that woman and paid her $50,000. Hostin followed up with a message and a demand for the Democratic Party that they find someone like Platner to pick up the baton: But I will say this, you know, to Whoopi's point about the Maine voters will speak, they've interviewed a lot of Maine voters after he stepped down, and one Maine voter in particular said, 'Platner did show to establishment Democrats that this is exactly what Maine wants, these are the policies that we want. This is the messaging that we want.' And I think when you look at Platner's platform which was ban billionaires buying elections, universal healthcare, defend Medicare and Medicaid, protect Social Security, support unions, support public schools, support our veterans, no more pointless wars, and bring Gaza genocide to an end.   Joy Behar falsely claims Justice Kavanaugh "had accusations exactly like" Platner's against him. Sunny Hostin calls on her Democratic Party to find someone who speaks to Platner's voters because she insists Democrats can win the seat: JOY BEHAR: But at least the Democrats are… pic.twitter.com/uTmyuviXj7 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 9, 2026   “If Maine is saying that's the type of candidate they want, those are the policies that they want, then I think the Democratic National Committee needs to listen to that and find, you know, some sort of contender that speaks to those voters,” Hostin argued. Hostin again expressed her desire for Democrats to rally in an attempt to beat incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins. “But I think that this is a winnable race. I think Susan Collins is not good -- not a fair representation of the Maine voter right now, and I think the Democrats need to win this race,” she declared. Hopefully, the next candidate wouldn’t hold the baton with their arm at a 45 degree angle while goose strutting around. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin remarked that Democrats really damaged their credibility by holding onto Platner for so long and really couldn’t effectively argue they held “the moral high ground.” “And it's harder to argue that when you have several people who you defended the bigoted statements he had, you stood by him when he had the Nazi tattoo,” Farah Griffin pointed out. To which Behar griped: “But they got rid of him now, so it's a clean slate eventually.”   Whoopi Goldberg suggests it's fine that Democrats stuck with Platner and defended his Nazism for so long because Trump is president: ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: The point being that, I just think this is such a missed opportunity and there's also this question of the moral high… pic.twitter.com/oQmeeYvn3A — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 9, 2026   As Farah Griffin argued that it took too long, moderator Whoopi Goldberg interjected to defend Democrats by blaming President Trump: FARAH GRIFFIN: Eventually, like, how long does it take? GOLDBERG: You know how long it takes. I takes You-Know-Who is still sitting there. So, yeah. This is more evidence that The View was not a “bona fide news program.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View July 9, 2026 11:05:51 a.m. Eastern (…) JOY BEHAR: But at least the Democrats are dumping him. Whereas, Susan Collins was one of the major votes to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and he also had allegations exactly like this. If I recall correctly. Am I wrong? SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, the allegations were a little bit different but they were of a sexual nature. BEHAR: Exactly. HOSTIN: And you have someone like Pete Hegseth who is actually in the cabinet who was accused of rape, and actually settled with that woman and paid her $50,000. But I will say this, you know, to Whoopi's point about the Maine voters will speak, they've interviewed a lot of Maine voters after he stepped down, and one Maine voter in particular said, 'Platner did show to establishment Democrats that this is exactly what Maine wants, these are the policies that we want. This is the messaging that we want.' And I think when you look at Platner's platform which was ban billionaires buying elections, universal healthcare, defend Medicare and Medicaid, protect Social Security, support unions, support public schools, support our veterans, no more pointless wars, and bring Gaza genocide to an end. If Maine is saying that's the type of candidate they want, those are the policies that they want, then I think the Democratic National Committee needs to listen to that and find, you know, some sort of contender that speaks to those voters. Because he could have won this race but for these -- I think the additional allegations that came forward that the voters did not know about. SARA HAINES: Yes. HOSTIN: But I think that this is a winnable race. I think Susan Collins is not good -- not a fair representation of the Maine voter right now, and I think the Democrats need to win this race. (…) 11:08:27 a.m. Eastern ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: The point being that, I just think this is such a missed opportunity and there's also this question of the moral high ground. I think Democrats really wanted go into the midterms saying, 'we are running on the moral high ground, we hold our own accountable.' And it's harder to argue that when you have several people who you defended the bigoted statements he had, you stood by him when he had the Nazi tattoo. BEHAR: But they got rid of him now, so it's a clean slate eventually. FARAH GRIFFIN: Eventually, like, how long does it take? GOLDBERG: You know how long it takes. I takes You-Know-Who is still sitting there. So, yeah. [Applause] HOSTIN: Somebody is still sitting there. (…)

The divisive and controversial 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show put on by radical rapper-activist Bad Bunny has been nominated for nine Emmys, the Television Academy announced Wednesday. Despite prompting more than 2,000 FCC complaints, the politically-outspoken, far-left Puerto Rican singer’s halftime show – performed almost entirely in Spanish – has been widely celebrated by liberal, legacy media. But, the Spanish-only performance has been criticized by English-speaking viewers for excluding them. Likewise, his repeated crotch-grabbing offended many of those watching the performance. Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has become notorious for his LGBTQ advocacy, political activism, profanity and explicit sexual and drug-related content. He is known for wearing dresses and skirts for fashion magazine shoots and performances in order to flout social norms, for example. He is also an outspoken critic of capitalism and U.S. policies. Nonetheless, Bad Bunny’s performance and halftime show were “critically acclaimed” and deemed worthy of multiple Emmy nominations by the entertainment industry as it becomes ever more overt about inserting radical propaganda inserted into its products. The nine nominations Bad Bunny’s halftime show received include: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), lead performer. Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special. Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special. Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming. Outstanding Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program. Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special. Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special. Outstanding Music Direction. Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

In the newspaper on July 3, The New York Times tried to play Historian in a series of little profiles under the headline: These 8 Americans Shaped History. The Debate Over How Continues. You could see the obvious contrast in the modern subjects: Phyllis Schlafly vs. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Times reporter Jeremy Peters was pro-Ginsburg, except she took too long to retire. He began: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg had attained folk hero status as the notorious R.B.G. for her lifetime of legal work dismantling gender bias in the law. But her decision not to retire has put an asterisk on her legacy.” Times reporter Vivian Yee complained "anti-feminist" Schlafly “slayed” the so-called Equal Rights Amendment, but the cultural Left was winning: By 2016, much of American life had turned nightmarish for someone like her. Gay marriage: widely accepted. Abortion: legalized. Gender-neutral bathrooms: commonplace on many campuses. Many women no longer measured their success in marriage and children, but in financial independence and personal fulfillment. In these eight profiles, Times reporters used “conservative” 12 times. There were no words like “liberal” or “left-wing” or “progressive” for Ginsburg. But Yee complained Schlafly “tarred feminists as radicals, just as her heirs do now.” The Left’s positions on abortion on demand, gay marriage, and biological males in women’s sports are never “radical.” And then, Yee suggested Schafly was “divisive” – and somehow Ginsburg wasn’t?? They also accused Schafly of hypocrisy: The political divisions that defined those 1970s debates “only got more pronounced over the years,” leading to today’s hyper-polarization, said Marjorie J. Spruill, the author of Divided We Stand. “And Schlafly’s tone had a lot to do with it.” Schlafly’s victories came wreathed in paradoxes: She presented herself as a model wife and mother, breastfeeding all six of her children, yet she had resources (her husband, a lawyer, came from wealth) and a housekeeper that allowed her to run political campaigns and churn out books, newsletters and commentary. While exalting homemaking, she lobbied (unsuccessfully) for a top post in the Reagan administration. NewsBusters acquired an unpublished letter sent to the editor of the New York Times from Anne Schlafly, Phyllis’s daughter: America's 250th anniversary was an opportunity to reflect honestly on the men and women who shaped our nation. Instead, The New York Times has chosen to spotlight the shortcomings of eight influential Americans while giving comparatively little attention to the accomplishments that earned them a place in history. Among those featured is my mother, Phyllis Schlafly, who is portrayed as a hypocrite because she championed the importance of mothers and homemakers while remaining active in public life. But that ignores an important fact: she raised her six children before devoting herself fully to politics, often saying that homemaking and public service came at different seasons of her life. Women do not surrender their voice when they have children, and mothers have every right to help shape the public policies that affect their families. Without ever holding public office and while living in a Midwestern town of just 35,000 people, my mother inspired millions of American women to become engaged citizens. A decade after her death, Americans are still debating her ideas. That enduring influence is why she deserves to be remembered as one of our nation's most consequential figures, not reduced to a caricature. Anne Schlafly told NewsBusters: “Why is The New York Times so reluctant to engage with competing viewpoints on issues like feminism? A publication that prides itself on open debate should be willing to examine whether the promises of modern feminism have matched the lived experiences of women, or whether alternative perspectives deserve a fair hearing.” Feminists suggest they want women to have choices, but they really don’t believe it. They mock their choices if it’s being a housewife (God forbid being a “tradwife”) or working in conservative politics. Yee wrote "feminist never tire" of leveling the hypocrisy charge today, against conservative women like Erika Kirk and Katie Miller.