On May 1, both NPR and PBS lost funding thanks to an executive order signed by President Trump. Congress later codified that executive order in the One Big Beautiful Bill. The biased coverage of the networks has been evident for years, and NPR's handling of the terror attack that killed two Israeli embassy staffers, as well as the assassination of Charlie Kirk, should have erased all doubts.
But here's more proof that defunding NPR was the right move. The network has announced it will no longer use quotes from Professor Carl Tobias.
From the @semafor media newsletter: NPR says no more quotes from someone named Professor Carl Tobias pic.twitter.com/o0brCsLgrf
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) December 22, 2025
In the memo to NPR staff, standards chief Tony Calvin wrote, "If Tobias' name sounds familiar, it's because Professor Tobias's hobby seems to be getting himself quoted about anything and everything in news stories. Professor Tobias often emails reporters to offer his expert opinion on the day's stories. While I don't presume to judge his expertise in legal matters, the professor is certainly an expert at getting himself quoted."
Calvin notes that Tobias appeared 77 times on NPR's website, and that "in many of these quotes he's described as an 'expert' in whatever the story happens to be about."
"I propose that, as a collective New Year's resolution, we give the professor some (well-deserved) time off," Calvin added.
At first, this writer wondered if Tobias was even a real person, but it turns out he is. He's the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond. According to his bio on the University website, Tobias "writes in several areas, a particular emphasis on federal judicial selection," and has authored more than 120 law review articles.
So what kinds of stories was Tobias quoted in?
On December 17, Tobias was quoted in an NPR story about President Trump's lawsuit against the BBC.
"The facts benefit Trump, and defendants may be concerned about reputational harm," says Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond who specializes in free speech issues. "The BBC also has admitted it could have done better and essentially apologized."
In May, he was quoted in another interview about foreign students at Harvard. After a federal investigation found that Harvard violated civil rights law, Tobias was mentioned again on July 1, saying, "It seems that HHS is attempting to ramp up pressure ahead of a possible settlement with Harvard," he told the network.
The very next day, Tobias was quoted in an article about the $16 million Paramount settlement with President Trump, stemming from the deceptively edited 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. "Am I supposed to take that seriously?" Tobias asked. "I do not understand how suits that are arguably frivolous or meritless — that have very little substance and wouldn't amount to large judgment if you went to trial — are then settled for millions of dollars."
In 2021, Tobias was interviewed about the $2.5 billion Boeing settlement related to the 737 Max crashes.
In 2019, NPR said Tobias was "an expert on opioid litigation" in a story about Oklahoma winning a suit against Johnson & Johnson. "These states and localities could take heart that they may well be able to impose liability," Tobias said.
Tobias was also interviewed by NPR about gay marriage in 2014, and in 2007, he was interviewed about a pet food lawsuit.
In the full email, there are additional examples of Tobias being listed as an expert and interviewed on various topics.
The full email, which is pretty amusing pic.twitter.com/34mMCCD0Gw
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) December 22, 2025
This includes interviews with The New York Times on a story about a sheriff accused of corruption, a story about DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reducing the number of international students at Harvard (NYT described Tobias as "an expert on the federal courts" in that article), and a story about YouTube settling a lawsuit with President Trump over the suspension of his account.
Tobias was also featured in The Washington Post on stories about Maryland judges pushing back against the Trump administration, as well as writing many op-eds for The Washington Post on the Virginia Supreme Court and the Senate Judiciary Committee. In Politico, Tobias was described as a "frequent commentator on judicial confirmation fights." He's also been on NBC, ABC, and CBS, and quoted by the AP and Reuters. NPR member stations, including Houston Public Media, called Tobias "an expert on judicial selection."
That's quite the wide range of expertise, no?
We're glad NPR finally committed a flagrant act of journalism by demanding reporters stop going to Tobias for quotes and interviews.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
Help us continue to expose their left-wing bias by reading news you can trust. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code MERRY74 to get 74% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member