After the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, New York City’s new mayor wanted you to think he was somehow informed through official channels. “I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody,” Zohran Mamdani claimed.
Media instinctively parroted him, assuming it must be true. But those of us who stopped to think, and who know not to take Mamdani at his word, immediately saw that the claim made no sense. Why would he possibly have been briefed? Now, he has admitted: by “briefed” he only meant that his staff told him about it. He learned about the operation the same way you and I did.
So in that sense, today you get “briefed” in much greater detail — not just about the operation, but about the legal questions surrounding it. Welcome to the first episode of the new year.
In this episode, I piece through the news wreckage for you. You’ll learn about what a president is and is not allowed to do according to the Constitution and international agreements. Also:
🤦 the hypocrisy of the Venezuelan government claiming the attack was ‘colonial’
how Islamist terrorists have gotten a stronghold in the country
why a joint attack on Syria by two European countries is significant
🎭 the unintentionally hilarious twist in a live BBC segment, and more
Edited, hyperlinked transcripts will follow for paid subscribers, so be sure to subscribe.
As we kick off a new year, a giant THANK YOU to everyone helping the show get this far — whether by supporting, spreading the word, or rating and reviewing:
Reminder: Get in your votes for the worst media fails of 2025:
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Welcome to the 2025 Media Fail Awards! Big legacy media spread lies every day. This is your chance to vote for the worst of the worst.
Here’s hoping we can sustain another year of fact checking the media! In a world in which politicians lie routinely with help from the media, you need a source that actually checks the receipts.
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Big love,
JL
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