The Man Who Wants to Lock Out the Press Has a Favorite Book. You're Not Going to Like It.

He wrote as Hitler in college, praised Mein Kampf's propaganda after, and now he's in federal court arguing reporters don't belong in the White House.

Sep 24, 2026

Michael Velchik is an American lawyer and currently serves as senior counsel in the US Department of Justice's civil division.

Author's Note:

This one's short. But when I stumbled onto this today, I knew I had to squeeze it in somewhere... even if it's just a simple "late night short." Some things can't wait until morning.

The Man Who Wants to Lock Out the Press Has a Favorite Book. You're Not Going to Like It.

He wrote as Hitler in college, praised Mein Kampf's propaganda after, and now he's in federal court arguing reporters don't belong in the White House.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter: Special Late Night Brief

I want to tell you about a lawyer.

Not just any lawyer. This one works for the Department of Justice. And right now, he’s arguing in federal court that the press (CNN, MSNBC, Politico) has no right to walk through the White House doors.

His name is Michael Velchik.

Now…here’s where it gets interesting.

Back in 2011, Velchik was a Harvard senior taking a Latin class. The assignment? Write from the perspective of a “controversial figure.”

He picked Hitler.

And…whatever he wrote was so disturbing that…according to the Boston Globe, his instructor made him throw it out and start over.

Think about that for a second. At Harvard. Where they’ve seen everything.

But wait. It gets worse.

About 18 months later, he’s getting ready for law school…and he fires off an email to a friend. Want to know what he said was his favorite book he’d read that year?

Mein Kampf.

And…when he reviewed it…he praised Hitler’s talent as an orator and propagandist. The Holocaust? Six million murdered Jews? Not a word.

Now let me ask you something.

If a man admires Hitler’s grasp of propaganda... what do you suppose he thinks about a free press?

I’ll let you answer that one yourself.

Because that’s the man standing in front of a federal judge…right now…telling the court that reporters should be locked out.

#HoldFast

Back soon.

-Jack

Jack Hopkins

P.S. Don’t take my word for it. Look up the Boston Globe’s September 2025 report. Then…look up who wrote the DOJ brief defending the press ban. Then…decide for yourself.