Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, has shifted her focus from former President Donald Trump to an independent website, VDARE, which the outlet suggests is part of an ideological war that threatens the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and dissent. This recent offensive against VDARE, employing similar lawfare tactics as against President Trump, highlights the cost and struggle of defending free expression.
In a post on Good Friday 2024, VDARE’s founder and editor, Peter Brimelow, ominously announced, “VDARE.com’s crucifixion by New York State’s communist Attorney General Letitia James.” VDARE has been battling relentless subpoenas from James, sinking nearly $1 million in legal fees over three years.
AG James has been unyieldingly searching for faults within VDARE’s operations.
The AG has turned scrutiny on VDARE’s own real estate properties to fuel her campaign. In 2020, VDARE eyed self-preservation when denied the use of hotels for conferences and difficulty receiving credit card donations; the foundation bought a $1.4 million castle in West Virginia. The property purchase, notwithstanding similar acquisitions by other charitable organizations, has now sparked legal debates over whether the castle serves as a residence for the founders.
The legitimacy of this issue remains contested, with Lydia Brimelow, Peter’s wife and President of the VDARE Foundation, firmly asserting that the castle is not their home but their office. Conversely, New York trial court judge Sabrina Kraus argued that the Brimelows paid rent to live on the site. Regardless of the validity of either claim, Brimelow clarified that the family had been paying independently determined rent to their separate charity – VDARE Foundation.
The crux, however, is accused of being pointedly aimed at VDARE’s conservative leaning, spurring questions on why other property tycoons evading responsibilities aren’t pursued similarly to Trump or VDARE.
VDARE is now at the brink of another potentially costly dilemma – as part of the investigation, they are pushed to surrender 40 GB of emails and risk revealing the identities of anonymous writers and donors or bear a $150,000 expense for redaction.
