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Veteran political reporter Neil W. McCabe discussed the upcoming departure of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and the potential candidates to succeed her during an appearance Thursday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show live from outside the White House.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Star, criticized local Nashville news outlets for a “total and complete media blackout” surrounding The Star’s recent legal victory securing access to records related to the 2023 Covenant School shooting.
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Former Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) teacher Samira Hardcastle is calling on educators to speak publicly about problems she says she witnessed firsthand in the district, including students struggling with basic academic skills and pressure on teachers to prioritize testing and district policies over student needs.
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Despite a Tennessee Supreme Court decision clearing the way for the release of records from the 2023 Covenant School shooting, The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter Tom Pappert warns that Metro Nashville could use procedural maneuvers to delay the documents’ release.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Metro Nashville’s appeal represents a major victory in The Tennessee Star’s years-long effort to obtain records related to the 2023 Covenant School shooting, according to The Star‘s lead reporter Tom Pappert.
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Vice President JD Vance endorsed Republican nominee Kenny Cody in the race for Tennessee House District 11.
In a statement distributed by Cody’s campaign, Vance called the Republican nominee a “friend” who would make a “fantastic” state representative for the district, which includes Cocke County and portions of Jefferson and Hamblen counties.
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Retired attorney and legal analyst Mark Pulliam said the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) “hate map” placed mainstream conservative organizations alongside groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), arguing that the organization’s approach to labeling groups as extremists has helped define its public identity and fundraising model.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said the prolonged legal battle surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia highlights what he described as the lasting impact of judicial appointments made during the Obama and Biden administrations, arguing the case demonstrates how federal judges can shape immigration policy through their rulings.
Pappert previously broke the story for The Star that Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in 2022 while transporting nine people in a vehicle under circumstances that raised suspicions of human trafficking.
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Tea Party Nation Founder Judson Phillips warned major American school systems are “dumbing down kids” following the resignation of an award-winning Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) teacher who publicly criticized the district’s academic standards, discipline policies, and treatment of teachers.
Phillips made the comments during Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show while discussing former MNPS teacher Samira Hardcastle, who resigned in May and appeared before the MNPS Board of Education earlier this week to explain why she left the district.
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Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, recommended Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matt Boyle to become the next White House Press Secretary following Karoline Leavitt’s announcement that she will leave the position at the end of August.
Leavitt announced her departure Wednesday after serving as President Donald Trump’s press secretary since the beginning of his second term. Trump said Leavitt would leave the administration to spend more time with her family while continuing to serve as one of his outside advisers.
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Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star, believes he has uncovered the historical reason Tennessee holds its primary elections on Thursdays, a tradition he said has puzzled him since he moved to the state more than three decades ago.
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Fifty-two years after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy says a growing reassessment of the former president’s legacy is challenging the conventional narrative surrounding his downfall.
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Legal analyst and retired attorney Mark Pulliam criticized several federal district judges for resisting or delaying implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in the case Mullin v. Doe allowing the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for certain countries.
The TPS program, established by Congress in 1990, allows the Department of Homeland Security to designate countries whose nationals may remain and work in the United States when returning to those countries is deemed unsafe because of circumstances such as natural disasters, armed conflict, or other extraordinary conditions.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) successful Republican gubernatorial primary campaign demonstrated the importance of voter outreach, local political relationships, and accurate turnout modeling in defeating U.S. Rep. John Rose (R-TN-06).
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EJ Haust, official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, said Republicans should be prepared for an expected legal battle if House Republicans attempt to block Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates from being seated in Congress over questions about whether they can truthfully take the congressional oath of office.
Haust made the remarks during Friday’s show while discussing comments made earlier this week by Newsmax host Tom Basile, who argued Republicans should examine whether lawmakers advocating policies that seek to fundamentally alter the U.S. constitutional system can legally take the oath required of congressional members.
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Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star, and public affairs specialist Clint Brewer discussed Thursday’s appearance by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alongside U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), describing the visit as a significant political development that occurred on Tennessee’s Republican primary election day.
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The lawsuit filed by two illegal aliens challenging Tennessee’s law making it a state offense to remain in the state in defiance of a final federal deportation order is unlikely to succeed and may not even survive initial procedural hurdles, according to The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter Tom Pappert.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) expressed confidence that she will secure the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor on Thursday, telling The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy that she expects to claim victory on election night while continuing to campaign across the state until polls close.
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Tom Basile, host of the Newsmax show “America Right Now,” argued that Republicans should explore whether candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) can legally be seated in Congress, contending that their policy positions raise constitutional questions about the congressional oath of office.
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EJ Haust, official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, praised OutKick founder Clay Travis’ $10 million challenge to the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, calling the proposal “absolutely brilliant” during Tuesday’s broadcast while arguing it would test claims about the competitiveness of women’s professional basketball.
On Monday, Travis announced on X that he was increasing his standing offer to stage a game between the Las Vegas Aces and a boys’ high school state championship basketball team.
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U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) said President Donald Trump’s endorsement has energized his reelection campaign and argued that affordability, jobs, and public safety are the issues voters are focused on as he seeks a third term in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
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Legal commentator and retired attorney Mark Pulliam argued the modern concept of pro bono legal work at the nation’s largest law firms has shifted away from serving the public and has instead become a vehicle for advancing left-wing political causes.
During an appearance Monday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pulliam began by explaining the original meaning of the term “pro bono.”
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With just two days remaining before Tennessee’s Thursday Republican primary, State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), the Trump-endorsed candidate in the race for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, sat down for an exclusive interview on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show to discuss his campaign’s priorities and the overall race ahead.
Citing the business experience he has frequently highlighted on the campaign trail—including building a funeral services company from a $60,000 home equity loan before selling it years later—Taylor said his private-sector background has given him skills he believes are lacking in Washington.
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Legal commentator and retired attorney Mark Pulliam warns that a group of federal judges in Boston is openly defying both the U.S. Supreme Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals by continuing to block the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for several countries despite what he described as a definitive ruling from the nation’s highest court.
During an appearance Monday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pulliam discussed the Supreme Court’s June decision in Mullin v. Doe, in which the justices ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration could end TPS protections for Haiti and Syria and that the statute generally bars judicial review of the Department of Homeland Security’s decisions to terminate TPS designations.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said Monday that unanswered questions surrounding U.S. Representative John Rose’s (R-TN-06) congressional financial disclosures could be easily resolved, but remain unanswered because the congressman’s office has not responded to requests for clarification.
Pappert discussed his reporting during Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, where he said Rose’s financial disclosure filings appear to contain inconsistencies involving reported holdings and sales of Alphabet Inc. stock and a mutual fund.
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In an exclusive interview, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she will continue pushing to keep the U.S. Senate in session through its August recess to advance the SAVE Act while also reaffirming her commitment to work with Tennessee lawmakers to close the state’s primary elections if elected governor.
During a Friday appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Blackburn discussed efforts to pass the SAVE America Act in Congress and expanded on her recently announced support for requiring Tennessee voters to register with a political party in order to vote in that party’s primary election.
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Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party and the Tennessee Tax Revolt, and The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy questioned U.S. Representative John Rose’s (R-TN-06) recent claim that he participated in the grassroots movement that defeated a proposed state income tax in 2002, following a report by The Star that found the photograph Rose shared as evidence was taken at a 2004 reunion event rather than during the protests.
During Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Leahy and Cunningham discussed the four-year campaign against former Governor Don Sundquist’s proposed income tax, with Cunningham describing the public pressure campaign as the deciding factor in defeating the measure.
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Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said former White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci could have been compelled to testify before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee if the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had approved granting him “use immunity,” arguing the legal mechanism would have prevented Fauci from invoking his Fifth Amendment rights during Wednesday’s hearing.
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Tea Party Nation founder and former prosecutor Judson Phillips said U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) could pursue additional legal action against former White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci after Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
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Author and retired college professor Dr. Carol Swain endorsed U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) bid for governor this week, while criticizing U.S. Rep. John Rose’s (R-TN-06) campaign tactics and questioning whether State Rep. Monty Fritts’ (R-Kingston) policy proposals are constitutional.
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Author and retired college professor Dr. Carol Swain and The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy weighed in Wednesday on former White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci’s decision to repeatedly invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during a U.S. Senate hearing led by U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), arguing the testimony raised additional questions about Fauci’s conduct during the pandemic.
Fauci, who was pardoned by former President Joe Biden on his final day in office, declined to answer questions before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination after stating he believed Paul was attempting to entrap him in a “perjury trap.”
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Legal commentator and retired attorney Mark Pulliam said a new bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) and U.S. Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX-26) could provide Republicans with a new legal avenue to restrict birthright citizenship despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order on the issue.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara that Trump’s executive order ending automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country violated the 14th Amendment.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said U.S. Rep. John Rose’s (R-TN-06) gubernatorial campaign has still not answered key questions from The Star about Rose’s past donations to Tennessee Democrats who supported a state income tax or his participation in Democratic primary elections, arguing that the campaign has characterized the outlet’s reporting as a “political attack” rather than disputing its factual findings.
During Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert discussed the campaign’s response to The Star’s reporting documenting Rose’s donations to Democrats who backed a state income tax between 1998 and 2002, as well as records showing Rose voted in three Democratic primary elections, including Tennessee’s 2004 Democratic presidential primary.
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Author and conservative commentator Eric Metaxas said he wrote his latest bestselling book, Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World, to give Americans a comprehensive account of the nation’s founding, arguing that understanding the American Revolution is essential rather than optional.
Metaxas made the remarks during an exclusive sit-down interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy at Landmark Booksellers in downtown Franklin.
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Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star, said U.S. Rep. John Rose’s (R-TN-06) past campaign contributions to Tennessee Democrats who backed a state income tax are significant because they came during what he described as one of the most consequential policy battles in the state’s history.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said his investigation into U.S. Rep. John Rose’s (R-TN-06) past political activity began after the candidate publicly denied claims that he had donated to Democrats and voted in Democratic primaries, telling listeners that campaign finance and election records ultimately confirmed both.
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Eric Metaxas, author and conservative radio host, sat down for an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy at Landmark Booksellers to discuss his latest book, Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World.
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Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said her longstanding relationships with members of the Tennessee General Assembly would allow her to work effectively with lawmakers while also pledging to launch a “Tennessee DOGE” initiative aimed at identifying waste, fraud, and government bloat if elected.
During an exclusive sitdown interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, Blackburn emphasized that her ability to work with legislators across the state is built on years of collaboration and would be a key asset if she becomes governor.
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Flock Safety’s decision to launch a nationwide audit of its license plate reader camera installations came after a Tennessee highway safety advocate identified what the company acknowledged were legitimate safety concerns with some of its equipment, according to The Tennessee Star’s Lead Reporter Tom Pappert.
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EJ Haust, a self-described political refugee from Minnesota and official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, criticized MyPillow Founder Mike Lindell’s newly unveiled immigration proposal, arguing the Republican gubernatorial candidate is embracing a form of amnesty in an unsuccessful attempt to appeal to Democrats.
Haust, who lived in Minnesota for 12 years before relocating to Tennessee following the COVID-19 pandemic, suggested Lindell’s proposal reflects a broader problem within Minnesota Republican politics.
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Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into New Jersey’s registration of roughly 6,600 noncitizens to vote should expand well beyond the Garden State, arguing the case exposes broader vulnerabilities in the nation’s election system.
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Laura McDonald, founder of Daughters Advocating for Restoration, said the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is facing a “governance crisis” after leaders adopted a policy allowing biological males who identify as women to join the historic women’s organization.
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Amid The Tennessee Star’s AI-assisted investigation into U.S. Treasury records that uncovered Biden-era funding for legal services benefiting illegal aliens, lead reporter Tom Pappert said governments “should be worried” as artificial intelligence enables journalists to expose buried public records and government fraud.
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State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate in Tennessee’s newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, said his “Make Memphis Matter” campaign in the Tennessee General Assembly helped bring state and federal attention to Memphis’ crime crisis, including an FBI operation and the creation of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Taylor discussed his efforts during an exclusive sit-down interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, explaining that his decision to run for the State Senate was driven by concerns over rising crime in Memphis and what he described as a lack of accountability for repeat offenders.
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Legal commentator and retired attorney Mark Pulliam said the controversy surrounding the selection of retired U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove as dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law highlights what he argues is a decades-long ideological transformation of legal education driven by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the nation’s law schools.
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State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who recently secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement in Tennessee’s Republican primary for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, reflected on his journey from small-town businessman to state lawmaker during an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, arguing his experience in both business and government has prepared him to serve in Congress.
During the interview, which aired during Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Taylor recounted growing up in a small town where his father owned a retail lumberyard and hardware store before discovering a career in the funeral industry as a teenager.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said his investigation into Metro Nashville’s taxpayer funding for nonprofits that provide legal services to illegal aliens has expanded beyond Tennessee, with federal records indicating at least a dozen cities may have used Biden-era American Rescue Plan Act funds for similar programs.
Pappert discussed the findings during Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, a week after The Star reported that Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration refused to release most records related to the nearly $1.5 million appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON).
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Dr. Carol Swain, author and retired college professor, reflected on the story of her great-great-great-grandfather, a freed slave named Thomas Jefferson who was born in Virginia in 1801.
Speaking during Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Swain confirmed that her ancestor came from Poplar Forest, Virginia, where Founding Father and third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson owned a plantation.
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Dr. Carol Swain, a retired college professor who was tenured at Vanderbilt University and Princeton University, praised British educator Katharine Birbalsingh’s approach to education, arguing that schools and universities should place greater emphasis on traditional teaching methods, academic fundamentals, and exposure to competing viewpoints.
Swain’s remarks came during Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show after hearing a clip of Birbalsingh, dubbed “Britain’s Strictest Headmistress,” discuss concerns about how history and culture are taught to younger generations, including the argument that students are increasingly exposed to narratives focused on oppression rather than a broader understanding of historical events.
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Following President Donald Trump’s primetime address Thursday announcing the release of newly declassified documents related to election security and foreign interference, former Federal Election Commission member and former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official Hans von Spakovsky said the disclosures were “shocking” and predicted they could trigger extensive litigation over voter registration rolls and election administration.
During an appearance on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, von Spakovsky responded to the White House’s release of documents that the administration says detail vulnerabilities in election infrastructure, alleged foreign acquisition of U.S. voter data, voter registration investigations, and reviews of noncitizens on state voter rolls.
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