Free Republic

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, 75, sparked raised eyebrows over his whereabouts when he was absent during oral arguments on Monday, and the Court provided no explanation why. Addressing Thomas' lack of presence, Chief Justice John Roberts said simply that Thomas "is not on the bench today" but would "participate fully" in the two cases being argued based on the briefs and transcripts, according to NBC News' Lawrence Hurley. "Context that may or may not be helpful: In the recent past, Justice Thomas phoned into oral arguments when he couldn't attend in person, allowing him to ask questions remotely. He...

Atlantic City Mayor in New Jersey, Marty Small, Sr., and his wife, La’Quetta Small, a school superintendent, have been charged with child abuse involving their teenage daughter. The couple was charged on Monday with allegations of physical and emotional abuse that reportedly occurred over several months. Marty Small, Sr., a 50-year-old Democrat, faces charges of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, third-degree Terroristic Threats, third-degree Aggravated Assault, and disorderly persons Simple Assault. His wife, La’Quetta Small, a 47-year-old public schools superintendent, is charged with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and three counts of disorderly persons Simple...

The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Idaho can enforce its ban on sex changes for children. Healthcare professionals can face up to 10 years in prison for mutilating children or providing puberty blockers to them. In December Judge Lynn Winmill, a Clinton appointee, ruled that Idaho could not enforce the transgender ban while the lawsuit by two plaintiffs made its way through the courts. The US Supreme Court 6-3 granted an emergency request filed by Idaho’s Attorney General. Idaho previously enacted the Vulnerable Child Protection Act which protected children from dangerous puberty blockers and procedures that remove body...

Today was the first day of the ‘hush money’ trial in New York, and President Trump has already made an interesting, calculated move. In an unusual maneuver, Trump is requesting to personally join sidebar discussions. Typically, these are private, off-the record conversations between the judge and attorneys. They often contain sensitive or intimate information that they don’t want the jury or public to hear. CNN had this to say about sidebars during the hush money trial: The historic trial of former President Donald Trump is expected to include a lot of objections and sidebars, sources told CNN chief legal affairs...

I find this, (https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/us-news/trumps-hush-money-nyc-trial-live-updates-reactions-photos-analysis/) from this morning’s proceedings in Trump’s “hush money” trial, inexplicable: Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass looked for a backdoor way of introducing Donald Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” interview into the hush money trial Monday morning, where he recited, word for word, Trump’s “grab ’em by the p—y” speech. Justice Juan M. Merchan had previously ruled that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office could not play Trump’s interview to a jury because it could be prejudicial. He doubled down on playing the tape — but said prosecutors could introduce the exact words that Trump said, meaning so long as jurors...

President Trump on Monday afternoon spoke to the press after the first day of the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ trial in Manhattan. Jury selection was underway on Monday morning for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s lawfare case against Trump related to ‘hush payments’ made to porn star Stormy Daniels. After refusing to recuse himself, Judge Juan Merchan on Monday threatened to put President Trump in jail if he doesn’t show up for trial. Merchan read Trump his right to be in court during the trial. The judge told Trump a warrant would be issued for his arrest if he failed to...

President Trump, refusing to be silenced by a leftwing judge and Soros-funded prosecutor, is facing scrutiny for sharing a video of his allies exposing the conflicts of interest in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case. Jury selection is still underway for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s lawfare case against Trump. Last April, Trump was hit with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy. The far-left judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels trial trampled all over Trump’s First Amendment rights with a strict gag order. Juan Merchan earlier this month expanded Trump’s gag order to bar Trump from making factual statements...

A large crowd of angry Christians gathered outside the Assyrian Church in Sydney, Australia, where police are holding the man who stabbed four people during a church service. People are in a near-riot outside the church, seemingly wanting to lynch the knifeman, who is now in police custody. Restrained by parishioners, the apparent Islamist terrorist who attacked Assyrian Orthodox Bishop Mar Mari reportedly said in Arabic: ‘if He wasn’t criticizing my Prophet (Muhammad) and my religion (Islam), I wouldn’t have come or attacked’. Following the attack on Assyrian Bishop H.G Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney, a crowd of hundreds of...

A transgender athlete, Aayden Gallagher, from McDaniel High School, smoked female competitors at the Sherwood Need For Speed Invitational on Saturday. Gallagher, who is in the 10th grade and identifies as transgender woman, competed in the girls’ track and field events, participating in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 4×100-meter relay races. In the 200-meter race, Gallagher secured a first-place finish in the heat with a time of 25.49 seconds, smoking the nearest competitor by more than five seconds. This performance earned Gallagher a second-place finish overall in the girls’ 200-meter event, with the top spot going to Aster Jones from Roosevelt...

President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister that nothing of “value” was hit in Iran’s airborne attack Saturday and asserted American forces will not be participating in any offensive against Iran, according to a report. The president called Israel’s defense during the attacks a win — telling Netanyahu Israel’s ability to intercept nearly all of the hundreds of missiles and drones showed its military superiority, a US official told CNN. Biden also made it very clear that the US would not be engaging in any military offensive against the Islamic Republic, the senior official told the channel Israeli Defense Forces said...

There have been multiple polls in recent months that show Trump leading Joe Biden in the swing states and those polls are making Democrats very nervous, but another new poll has some Democrats much more worried. This poll has to do with voter identification. Democrats have had a strong advantage on this for years but that has changed. The split between Americans who identify as Democrat vs. Republican is now almost perfectly even. Nick Arama reports at RedState: Fascinating Poll Shows Another Major Voter Shift That Brings Good News for GOP Since the 90s, when Republicans last had a lead...

The 2024 Steal is About Phantom Votes, Produced and Directed by the DOJ Recently, Obiden’s AG, Merrick Garland, scurried to Selma AL to make a speech. In a church, of course. Followers of Lucifer only go to houses of worship to make a point - or score points. It was pretty much as you might expect, but even more bold. They’re desperate. Garland openly stated that the DOJ was going to interfere with states’ rights in the 2024 voting. He is getting the DOJ involved in those "discriminatory, unnecessary and burdensome restrictions to the ballot.” that exist in the states....

Michigan legislators claim that the state government infringed on their constitutional rights when it used ballot initiatives to change election laws. Eleven Michigan Legislators have vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering, a Biden-appointed judge, dismissed their federal lawsuit on April 11, citing a lack of standing. The lawmakers’ claim, filed Sept. 28, 2023, argues the 2018 and 2022 state constitutional amendments regulating time, place, and manner of federal elections are legally null and void because they usurped the legislators’ constitutionally protected rights. Plaintiffs include Republican Senators Jonathan Lindsey and Jim Runestad;...

New Jersey residents will pay the most in lifetime taxes, and people in West Virginia will pay the least, according to a Self Financial study. Earlier this week WalletHub released a study that shows which states’ residents have the highest and lowest tax burden, measured as the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes. Another study released this week, from credit-building platform Self Financial, analyzed the lifetime cost of tax in the U.S. The study looks at how much tax the average person is estimated to pay in each state throughout their lifetime. According...

In a bizarre incident, 26 barges broke loose in Pittsburgh and drifted uncontrollably down the Ohio River on Friday night. Shortly after the barges broke free, Pittsburgh authorities closed the McKees Rocks Bridge and the West End Bridge “out of an abundance of caution.” Authorities reported that eleven barges were stopped by running into a river bank by Brunot Island, and now tugboats are on the scene pulling the barges out. Nine were found stopped at the Emsworth Lock and Dam. #UPDATE: Footage shows approximately 6-7 barges jammed up against the Emsworth Dam, with more expected on the way. Multiple...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), alongside former President Donald Trump, announced the introduction of legislation aimed at tightening the requirements for voter registration in federal elections. Speaker Johnson traveled to Florida on Friday for a crucial meeting with the one individual capable of saving his leadership position, former President Donald Trump. The meeting comes after he approved of warrantless spying on American citizens, jeopardizing the Fourth Amendment right. Laura Loomer wrote earlier, “President Trump needs to cancel his meeting at Mar a Lago with Speaker Johnson. He just broke a tied vote and voted in favor of not requiring a...

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser were both warned about the security situation prior to January 6th and both of them turned down National Guard troops at the US Capitol that day. Pelosi and Mayor Muriel Bowser turned down thousands of National Guard troops at the Capitol on January 6 for political reasons. Chris Wray’s FBI also refused to notify the Trump administration and his cabinet secretaries that they believed there could be violence like the mass protests at the Capitol that took place that day. Nancy Pelosi also refused...

Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the public release of the FBI’s interview of Trump’s valet driver Walt Nauta. Walt Nauta is a former White House employee and Navy veteran who worked valet for Trump and served as a personal staffer at Mar-a-Lago. According to the transcript of the May 2022 interview, the FBI interrogated Trump’s aide Walt Nauta – without Trump’s knowledge. The FBI agents approached Walt Nauta and asked for a voluntary interview under the guise of national security interest (similar to the General Flynn ambush). “On May 26, 2022, NAUTA participated in a voluntary interview with the FBI. During...

Politics, diplomacy, and bombing Third World nations like Libya are all so yesterday. Hillary Clinton has entered the world of showbiz, and it looks like she’s here to stay. A while back, Hillary teamed up with her daughter Chelsea Clinton to host the insufferable Netflix miniseries Gutsy, where the duo invited female (and transgender) Democrats, among them rapper Megan Thee Stallion and sports “journalist” Jemele Hill, to describe their day-to-day patriarchy-smashing endeavors. Now, Hillary has set her eyes on live performance. She, along with Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, earned honorary Producer titles for the new Broadway musical, Suffs. Suffs, short...

Video footage on Tuesday emerged showing the moment when plainclothes Chicago police officers unloaded nearly 100 gunshots during a traffic stop last month, killing a man and subsequently leading to negative anti-cop coverage. However, the narrative of police killing an innocent man runs counter to the facts. As the New York Post reported, 26-year-old Dexter Reed was killed during a March 21 traffic stop in Humboldt Park on West Ferdinand Street after officers in an unmarked cop car pulled him over for failing to wear a seatbelt. The wild footage opens with a female officer and four others approaching Reed’s...