What's happening: A liberal dark money group is hosting a concert Thursday evening ahead of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a truly sickening affair during which journalists dress up and go to fancy parties to mingle with celebs and congratulate themselves for saving democracy.
This particular event—sponsored by Power to the Patients, a health care nonprofit funded by mysterious donors—will feature hip-hop performances by four violent (alleged, at the very least) criminals: Busta Rhymes, French Montana, Rick Ross, and Fat Joe, the group's celebrity spokesman. Mr. Joe is in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and with Biden administration officials at the White House.
Rap sheets: All of the headline performers at Thursday's WHCA kickoff event have a long history of legal challenges.
• Fat Joe—Charged with assault and robbery in 1998 for allegedly beating a man with a baseball bat and stealing his gold chain; charged with assault in 2002 after members of his entourage fractured a man's jaw; credibly accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside his Cadillac limo after a concert in 2011; named as a witness in two murder trials; sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 2012; bragged that he used to "stick people up" and endorsed violent theft in a 2022 interview.
• Busta Rhymes—Charged with assault in 2006 for beating a pedestrian; charged with assault in 2007 for beating up his former driver; busted for DUI and driving with a suspended license; ordered to pay $75,000 to a fan he allegedly assaulted at a concert; arrested in 2015 for assaulting a gym employee while spouting racist and homophobic slurs; refused to pay his fair share in taxes.
• French Montana—Credibly accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in 2018, resulting in an undisclosed settlement; credibly accused of sexually assaulting another woman in a Las Vegas hotel room that same year; credibly accused of raping a teenaged model in 2021; sued for negligence earlier this year after 10 people were injured in a shooting while filming a music video; refused to pay his fair share in taxes.
• Rick Ross—Sentenced to five years probation in 2017 after pleading no contest to kidnapping and assault charges; widely denounced that same year for saying he would never hire a female artist because "I would end up f—ing her and f—ing the business up;" arrested for gun possession in 2008; sued that same year for orchestrating a "brutal attack" on a rival artist; refused to pay his fair share in taxes.
Why it matters: Assaulting people is wrong.
Bottom line: A hip-hop cocktail party hosted by a left-wing dark money group, headlined by violent criminals and tax cheats, intended to kick off several days of ceremonial self-congratulation among political journalists. It is a rather fitting reflection of the Democratic Party in 2023.