Trump impeachment was a frame, Florida school-choice lessons and other commentary

Deep-state watch: Trump Impeachment Was a Frame

Documents just released by Tulsi Gabbard “show a coordinated effort to frame President Trump” over his July 2018 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, roars Hans Mahncke at The Federalist. “Perhaps the most significant” revelation: the “conflicts of interest” of whistleblower Eric Ciaramella, who was “involved in organizing” the 2016 meeting that pushed Kyiv to oust the prosecutor probing Hunter Biden’s firm — the issue Trump alluded to during his call. Ciaramella’s “complaint” was a “coordinated effort” to target Trump that involved the National Security Council, then-Rep. Adam Schiff and a compromised Intelligence Community Inspector General, who rewrote the rules about hearsay evidence to keep the furor going. “It worked”: Joe Biden’s Ukraine shenanigans were “effectively removed from the 2020 campaign.” The news comes “seven years too late”: “The statute of limitations” has expired, so “no one will ever be held accountable.”

Education beat: Florida School-Choice Lessons

Florida “leads in school-choice investment,” cheers Danyela Souza Egrov at City Journal, as it allocates 11.2 % “of its total education budget to these programs” and 53% “of Florida’s K-12 students now attend a school selected by their families” though “Florida’s Education Savings Accounts only became universal in 2023.” This system allows families “to customize their children’s education,” including “religious education.” Yet most parents who “opt out of their local public school” not “sending their kids to private schools” but instead opt for “charter schools and open enrollment (attending a public school outside their assigned school).” Let’s hope “more states will look to Florida as a blueprint for empowering families and supporting the growth of quality, customized educational options.”

From the right: Dethrone the ABA

Though DEI programs “are supposed to be on their way out of higher education,” the American Bar Association accreditation “standards still push law schools to require diversity training,” gripes The Wall Street Journal editorial board. The “ABA has moved to the political left” and maintains a “near monopoly on law-school accreditation” that “steers law schools in the same direction.” A “better way” would be for “schools to have alternatives.” The ABA’s “federal recognition” is up for review; it has already “lost its privileged status approving judicial nominees” because of political bias, and now “it’s risking the same as accreditor.”

Libertarian: Swalwell’s Fall — Why Now?

Eric Swalwell was until very recently “a high-profile member of Congress” and the “leading Democratic candidate” for governor of California, observes Reason’s Robby Soave, but has “quit both jobs” following multiple accusations of “sexual misconduct” including rape. But “why now?” Swalwell has been a “constant fixture on progressive and mainstream media programs” for years, and the DC “gossip” about his misconduct is that “whispers” had been heard about it for years. “It is strange that no one tried back in 2020” to dig out the truth as he was running for president, but that would’ve required “investing in real reporting talent, not just clickbait and hot takes.” 

Economist: High Cost of High Minimum Wage

“Although increases to the minimum wage help those lucky enough to keep their jobs, hours and benefits, they hurt many more,” explains Francois Melese at The Hill. “Businesses already hurting from inflation and tariffs have little cushion to absorb higher wage bills. Some turn to AI and automation. Others cut hours, reduce headcount, or outsource work.” Consider California’s 2024 hike for fast-wood workers: “Even as the industry’s employment nationwide grew by about 1 percent from September 2023 to September 2024, California suffered a more than 3 percent drop, shedding nearly 20,000 jobs” — while fast-food prices jumped from 12% above the national average to 20%. Plus: “When wage floors rise above productivity, employers become more selective about whom to hire. Teenagers, recent graduates and low-skilled workers are the first to be priced out of jobs.” Thus unemployment for NYC 16- to 24-year-olds is 13% above the nation average, and 20% above for young blacks.

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board