Major Controversies Surrounding Mark Levin: A Detailed Timeline

Public opinion and media debates around Mark Levin—discover key moments of controversy.

Mark Levin is an American conservative political commentator, radio personality, author, and lawyer. He hosts "The Mark Levin Show" and "Life, Liberty & Levin." A former Reagan administration official and chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese, Levin also served as president of the Landmark Legal Foundation. He is the author of several books and a contributor to National Review Online. Known for his strong conservative views, he was editor-in-chief of Conservative Review.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

2000: Landmark Legal filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission

In 2000, under Mark Levin's presidency, Landmark Legal filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that the National Education Association did not disclose spending on political activity.

2002: Landmark Legal filed similar complaints with the United States Department of Labor

In 2002, Landmark Legal filed similar complaints with the United States Department of Labor regarding NEA and political activity.

May 2009: Levin Accuses Obama of Trying to Destroy Individual Freedom

In May 2009, according to Politico, Mark Levin "almost daily" pronounced that Obama "was a failure, a liar, and a 'statist' who is trying to destroy individual freedom."

2009: Levin Endorses Palin's "Death Panel" Claim About Obamacare

In 2009, Mark Levin described as "absolutely right" the statement by Sarah Palin that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) includes death panels to decide whether elderly people or sick children were worthy of medical care.

2011: Levin Agrees with Caller's False Claim About HHS and Medical Treatments

In 2011, a caller to Mark Levin's show, claiming to be a neurosurgeon, said that the Department of Health and Human Services had issued a document saying that people over age 70 would not be allowed to receive medical treatments. Levin said to the caller, "so Sarah Palin was right." The call was later revealed to be a hoax.

August 2012: Freedom of Information Act requests

In August 2012, Landmark Legal filed Freedom of Information Act requests for documents that would show if Environmental Protection Agency officials sought to delay regulations until after the 2012 presidential election.

October 2013: Senate Conservatives Fund Purchases Copies of Levin's 'Liberty or Tyranny'

In October 2013, The Senate Conservatives Fund paid Simon & Schuster at least $427,000 for copies of Mark Levin's "Liberty or Tyranny". During the same period, on his radio show and Facebook page, Levin frequently promoted the group, which has funded primary challengers of Senate Republicans. Levin did not disclose that the group had made $427,000 of purchases of his book.

Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto

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2013: Judge ruled EPA might have attempted to evade FOIA request

In 2013, Judge Lamberth ruled that the EPA might have attempted to evade Landmark's FOIA request.

2013: Levin Claims Muslim Brotherhood Infiltration of Government

In 2013, Mark Levin stated that "the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated our government" and described President Obama as a Muslim Brotherhood "sympathizer".

2013: Levin Draws Comparisons Between Affordable Care Act Supporters and Nazi Brownshirts

In late 2013, Mark Levin said there were similarities between a gathering of "hand-picked" supporters of the Affordable Care Act chosen by the Obama administration to Nazi Sturmabteilung or "Brownshirts" drawing comparisons of the propaganda techniques of the two groups.

July 2014: Levin Calls Jon Stewart "a knee-jerk idiot"

In July 2014, Mark Levin called Jon Stewart "a knee-jerk idiot", and suggested that Stewart was a self-hating Jew.

November 2014: Levin Speculates Obama Might Go "Full Mussolini"

In November 2014, Mark Levin speculated that, after the 2014 mid-term elections, Obama might go "full Mussolini".

2014: Levin Claims WMD Rationale for Iraq War Vindicated

In 2014, Mark Levin claimed that the Bush administration's original WMD rationale for the Iraq War had been vindicated by citing reports of U.S. soldiers in Iraq that were wounded by the decayed remnants of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons arsenal.

February 2015: Levin Claims Obama is Seeking to Destroy Israel

In February 2015, Mark Levin stated that President Obama was "seeking to destroy Israel" because "Obama has an affinity for Islam far more than Christianity or Judaism." He blamed Obama for the Ebola crisis.

2015: Federal judge ruled on FOIA request

In 2015, federal judge Royce Lamberth ruled that although Landmark Legal did not establish that the EPA acted in bad faith, the EPA either carelessly or intentionally neglected Landmark's FOIA request.

2016: Levin Alleges Obama Used "Police State" Tactics Against Trump Campaign

In 2016, Mark Levin alleged that the Obama administration had used "police state" surveillance tactics against the Donald Trump campaign.

2016: Levin Claims "Coup" Against Trump by Obama Loyalists

In 2016, Mark Levin claimed that there was a "coup" occurring against the first presidency of Donald Trump waged by Obama loyalists. Levin's coup claim was referring to investigations of the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and of alleged obstruction of justice by Trump.

2016: Study Finds Levin Highest on Measure of "Outrage"

In 2016, a study measuring incendiary discourse on talk radio and TV found that Mark Levin scored highest on its measure of "outrage," utilizing "outrage speech or behavior at a rate of more than one instance per minute." The study looked at prominent radio and television programs known for incendiary discourse on political matters and scored content based on factors like "emotional display", "misrepresentative exaggeration", and "insulting" language.

March 2017: Levin Alleges Obama Administration Used "Police State" Surveillance Against Trump Campaign

In March 2017, Mark Levin alleged that the Obama administration had used "police state" surveillance tactics against the Donald Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. The Associated Press said that Levin "voiced without evidence the idea that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower".

September 2017: Reports Emerge of FBI Wiretap on Paul Manafort

In September 2017, reports emerged of a court-ordered Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wiretap on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort; certain Trump supporters alleged that this surveillance vindicated Levin and Trump's unsupported assertions.

January 2019: Levin Calls Pelosi "America's First Fascist"

In January 2019, Mark Levin said that Nancy Pelosi was "America's first fascist. And that's a fact". Levin said the new Congressional Speaker had "hijacked" the federal government by deciding to block the financing of President Trump's border wall.

October 2019: Levin Claims No Hint of Scandal During Trump's Presidency

In October 2019, while Trump was the subject of the impeachment inquiry, Mark Levin said that on his Blaze TV show: "While he's been president there hasn't even been a hint of scandal. Not a hint!"

2020: Levin Claims Democrats Are Stealing the Election

Following the 2020 presidential election, as all significant media organizations reported Joe Biden had won, Mark Levin told his radio audience that the Democrats were "stealing the election". He insisted on Twitter to his 2.4 million followers: "there's lots of evidence of voter fraud and election screw-ups."

2020: Levin Praises Sidney Powell for Promoting Conspiracy Theories

In 2020, Mark Levin praised Sidney Powell, a member of Trump's legal team, for what he considered to be her patriotism after she promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and sought to overturn election results.

2020: Cumulus Media Instructs Presenters to Cease Election Theft Claims

In 2020, on the same day as the January 6th riot, Cumulus Media circulated a memo instructing its presenters, a roster which includes Mark Levin, to cease implying the 2020 presidential election was stolen or face the end of the right to broadcast via Cumulus.

January 5, 2021: Levin Insists Electoral College Vote Count is "Tyranny"

On January 5, 2021, Mark Levin insisted Congress's imminent counting of the Electoral College votes was an act of "tyranny" because of the supposed fraud. He told his listeners, "If we don't fight on Jan. 6 on the floor of the Senate and the House... then we are done."