The Andrew Branca Show

Attorney Andrew F. Branca

MISSION: political analysis that is exuberantly pro-America as envisioned by our Founders, pro-Constitutional order, pro-western civilization, pro-meritocracy, pro-family, and adamantly opposed to everyone and everything that undermines those values. If those are your values, as well, hit that SUBSCRIBE button and join the Law of Self Defense community as we defend our great nation against the many forces that wish to tear it to rubble. 

  1. Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic for $250M — But Can He WIN?

    1D AGO

    Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic for $250M — But Can He WIN?

    BE HARD TO CONVICT if you’re ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself, your family, or your property! FREE WEBINAR! Saturday, April 25! FREE but you MUST REGISTER NOW: hardtoconvict.com For complete Medicare guidance, dial (617) 644-0093 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter. All @TheBrancaShow mugs! https://tinyurl.com/k778wj2k JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Exclusive Members-only content & perks! Only ~17 cents/day! $5/month! YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/hn32rfz9 Locals: https://tinyurl.com/yck4w9kf FOUNDING FATHERS SPEED DIAL: Founding Fathers SPEED DIAL: https://tinyurl.com/3f7pc8nz TODAY’s MEMBERS-ONLY SHOW: “DOJ Insider Exposes 16 Years of Political Takeover” YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/sd6n4bwj Locals: https://tinyurl.com/mrx49dbr FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over a hit piece packed with explosive claims — excessive drinking, missed meetings, a security team unable to wake him — and sourced almost entirely by anonymous officials hiding behind the reporter's promise of confidentiality. The article cites "more than two dozen" people, grants all of them anonymity, and names exactly zero of them. Not one person willing to put their name behind what they told the journalist. If the story is true and Patel is the disaster they're describing, you'd think at least one of those two dozen people would stand up and say so publicly. Instead, we get a wall of shadows. That's not journalism. That's a drive-by. Now, I want to be straight with you about what Patel is actually up against, because this lawsuit — however satisfying it may feel — faces a serious legal obstacle. Patel is a public official, which means he can't win a defamation case just by proving the story is false. Under the New York Times v. Sullivan standard, he has to prove actual malice — that The Atlantic either knew the claims were false when they published them, or acted with reckless disregard for whether they were true or false. That is a brutally high bar, and it's the bar that has killed more defamation suits against media organizations than almost anything else. So here's the question we're going to dig into today: does the complete absence of named, accountable sources — combined with the FBI's on-record denials before publication — give Patel enough to argue reckless disregard? We'll walk through the lawsuit, the legal standard, and what it's actually going to take for Patel to win this thing. Join me LIVE at 11 AM ET as I break it all down! Episode #1297.

    1h 22m
  2. Ballroom Battle: Trump Exposes MORE Judicial Overreach!

    APR 24

    Ballroom Battle: Trump Exposes MORE Judicial Overreach!

    BE HARD TO CONVICT if you’re ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself, your family, or your property! FREE WEBINAR! Saturday, April 25! FREE but you MUST REGISTER NOW: hardtoconvict.com All @TheBrancaShow mugs! https://tinyurl.com/k778wj2k JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Exclusive Members-only content & perks! Only ~17 cents/day! $5/month!  YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/hn32rfz9  Locals: https://tinyurl.com/yck4w9kf FOUNDING FATHERS SPEED DIAL: Founding Fathers SPEED DIAL: https://tinyurl.com/3f7pc8nz TODAY’s MEMBERS-ONLY SHOW: “Trump Confronts Politically-Compromised Pope! ” YouTube:https://youtube.com/live/QycUYjY43Ds Locals: https://tinyurl.com/4p9vas4r In a stunning display of judicial activism, unelected, black-robed, tyrannical, inferior federal DC district Judge Richard Leon has inserted himself into the heart of executive authority by blocking construction of President Trump’s privately funded White House ballroom—and the judge’s bosses on the DC Court of Appeals aren’t doing much to check his overreach of authority.  What began as a straightforward national-security and event-space upgrade has become the latest flashpoint in the separation-of-powers fight.  The preliminary injunction issued by Judge Leon claims a single individual who has an aesthetic objection to the new ballroom that has not even yet been built is sufficient for the unelected, black-robed, tyrannical, inferior, Article III Judicial branch to obstruct the core and plenary powers of the democratically elected Article II Executive branch.  This case perfectly illustrates the federal judiciary overreaching its legitimate constitutional bounds. Instead of deferring to the executive on matters of White House security and operations, the court is demanding Congress or the court itself micromanage the president’s own residence.  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals did issue a temporary stay until April 17, but only on the most superficial grounds, failing to recognize the inherent Constitutional inadequacy of the lawsuit itself.  This only underscores how shaky the district court’s reasoning is—yet the underlying message remains: activist judges believe they, not the elected president, get the final say on executive-branch real estate, as on everything else. Join me as I translate the actual court filings into plain English, expose the thin legal arguments behind the injunction, and show exactly how this power grab threatens every future president’s ability to manage the White House. If you want to understand why the judiciary’s meddling here is constitutionally dangerous—and what it means for the balance of power—watch until the end. Join me LIVE at 11 AM ET as I break it all down! Episode #1288.

    1h 26m
  3. MANDAMUS: “Vlad” Boasberg Publicly Humiliated!

    APR 24

    MANDAMUS: “Vlad” Boasberg Publicly Humiliated!

    BE HARD TO CONVICT if you’re ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself, your family, or your property! FREE WEBINAR! Saturday, April 25!   FREE but you MUST REGISTER NOW:  hardtoconvict.com All @TheBrancaShow mugs! https://tinyurl.com/k778wj2k JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Exclusive Members-only content & perks! Only ~17 cents/day! $5/month!  YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/hn32rfz9  Locals: https://tinyurl.com/yck4w9kf FOUNDING FATHERS SPEED DIAL: Founding Fathers SPEED DIAL: https://tinyurl.com/3f7pc8nz The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a writ of mandamus against District Court Judge Jeb Boasberg, one of the most powerful and public judicial rebukes a federal judge can receive. A writ of mandamus is not a polite suggestion. It is an appellate court telling a lower court judge, in plain terms, that he got it wrong, that he exceeded his authority, and that he needs to be corrected by force of court order. For Boasberg, who has made a habit of stretching his jurisdiction to its breaking point in case after case involving the Trump administration, this is not a surprise. It is a consequence. This is not the first time Boasberg has been checked by the DC Circuit, and the pattern is worth understanding. Judge after judge, ruling after ruling, Boasberg has inserted himself into disputes where the law did not support the aggressive posture he was taking. His conduct in the Alien Enemies Act litigation, including his attempt to launch criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration, was a remarkable display of a judge who appeared to be driven by something other than neutral legal analysis. The appeals court has now, once again, made clear that there are limits, and that Boasberg has exceeded them. In today's video, we break down the majority opinion issuing the mandamus, explain what the court said, what it means, and what it tells us about a federal judiciary that is still sorting out which judges are applying law and which are applying politics. If you have been following the Boasberg saga, this is the payoff episode. If you are new to it, this is the place to start. Either way, this one matters. Join me LIVE at 2 PM ET as I break it all down! Episode #1287.

    1h 51m
  4. “Harry Dresden” Home Invader: When Deadly Force Is Lawful!

    APR 20

    “Harry Dresden” Home Invader: When Deadly Force Is Lawful!

    BE HARD TO CONVICT if you’re ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself, your family, or your property! FREE WEBINAR! Saturday, April 25!   FREE but you MUST REGISTER NOW:  hardtoconvict.com All @TheBrancaShow mugs! https://tinyurl.com/k778wj2k JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Exclusive Members-only content & perks! Only ~17 cents/day! $5/month!  YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/hn32rfz9  Locals: https://tinyurl.com/yck4w9kf FOUNDING FATHERS SPEED DIAL: Founding Fathers SPEED DIAL: https://tinyurl.com/3f7pc8nz TODAY’s MEMBERS-ONLY SHOW: “Trump's Grand Strategy: Leashing China's Energy SourcesX” YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/_uWwU_xb86g Locals: https://lawofselfdefense.locals.com/upost/7857541/trumps-grand-strategy-leashing-chinas-energy-sourcesX Exactly a week ago an apparently deranged Jason Thomas Nichols made threatening demands at the front door of a home in Fairfield, CA, and engaged in a conversation with the homeowner through the Ring doorbell, which video captured the exchange.   The homeowner involved in that conversation was not home at the time, but a woman and small child were inside the home.  Nichols managed to gain access to the interior of the home, where the just-returned homeowner confronted him with a shovel.  Both Nichols and the homeowner would end up with head injuries as a result of this confrontation, but no injuries described as serious were reported. Shortly thereafter police arrived and Nichols was arrested, charged with four crimes, all of which could qualify as felonies, and then released on $35,000 bail.  This all could have gone much worse, of course, including with a bunch of the people involved—Nichols, the homeowner, the woman or child, the police officers--ending up dead from a variety of causes. In particular, of course, the homeowner could have shot down intruder Nichols inside his home.  But had the homeowner done so, would it have been a legally justified killing? California law does allow for the use of deadly force in defense of one’s home—but very specific conditions must be met, and the conditions set by California are different than the more common similar provisions in other states.  What about those states with more common defense of dwelling statutes?  What if this had occurred in, say, Fayetteville, NC instead of Fairfield, CA.  What would North Carolina’s more common defense of dwelling law have allowed this homeowner to do in fighting off this home invader? Let’s talk about defense of HIGHLY-DEFENSIBLE PROPERTY! Join me LIVE at 11 AM ET as I break it all down! Episode # 1285.

    1h 3m
  5. BAN on Home Made Bourbon STRUCK DOWN by Federal Court!

    APR 20

    BAN on Home Made Bourbon STRUCK DOWN by Federal Court!

    BE HARD TO CONVICT if you’re ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself, your family, or your property! FREE WEBINAR! Saturday, April 25!   FREE but you MUST REGISTER NOW:  hardtoconvict.com All @TheBrancaShow mugs! https://tinyurl.com/k778wj2k JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Exclusive Members-only content & perks! Only ~17 cents/day! $5/month!  YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/hn32rfz9  Locals: https://tinyurl.com/yck4w9kf FOUNDING FATHERS SPEED DIAL: Founding Fathers SPEED DIAL: https://tinyurl.com/3f7pc8nz TODAY’s MEMBERS-ONLY SHOW: “Trump Blockades Iran — Here's What Comes Next!” YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/bdw7ps2x Locals: https://tinyurl.com/ye25m6f6 This past Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down a landmark ruling in McNutt v. DOJ, striking down the federal statutes that have criminalized home distilling for over 150 years.  The law, rooted in an 1868 tax act, made it a federal crime — punishable by up to five years in prison — to operate a still in any home, yard, shed, or enclosure connected to a residence.  Remarkably, the basis for striking down the home distillation ban was the court’s finding that the Federal government had exceeded its Constitutional tax authority—in other words, a court recognized that the federal government does not have infinite authority to suppress the liberties of American citizens simply by calling that suppression “a tax.” Today we’ll break down the Fifth Circuit's full reasoning, which rests on two constitutional pillars: the Taxation Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause. I’ll explain exactly what those constitutional tests mean, how the court applied them, and what the government got wrong in its defense. This ruling is not the end of the story — a parallel case, Ream v. DOT, is currently pending before the Sixth Circuit, meaning there's a real possibility of a circuit split and eventual Supreme Court review. And while this decision enjoins federal enforcement, state laws on home distilling remain separately on the books.  Andrew breaks down what the ruling actually does and doesn't do, what comes next legally, and why this case matters well beyond whiskey — as a serious check on the federal government's power to criminalize what Americans do inside their own homes. Subscribe to The Branca Show for expert legal analysis you won't find anywhere else, and drop your questions in the comments. Join me LIVE at 11 AM ET as I break it all down! Episode #1283.

    1h 19m
4.4
out of 5
295 Ratings

About

MISSION: political analysis that is exuberantly pro-America as envisioned by our Founders, pro-Constitutional order, pro-western civilization, pro-meritocracy, pro-family, and adamantly opposed to everyone and everything that undermines those values. If those are your values, as well, hit that SUBSCRIBE button and join the Law of Self Defense community as we defend our great nation against the many forces that wish to tear it to rubble. 

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