Free Republic

YouTube and Instagram face ban in Russia unless they remove videos of oligarch Oleg Deripaska and deputy prime minister ‘relaxing on a yacht with an escort and discussing 'bad relations with America' Billionaire Oleg Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko were reportedly filmed by an escort on Deripaska's private yacht in 2016, which the Russian opposition, led by Alexei Navalny, claim is evidence of corruption and bribery. In one video, the two men can be heard referring to 'bad relations with America' and 'Nuland', referring to Victoria Nuland, the then Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs...

Conservative actor Adam Baldwin pushed back Wednesday as many on the left—from Hollywood celebrities to political leaders—called for gun control in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.“[Nancy] Pelosi again demanding gun control. Again, the shooter was stopped by people with firearms,” the actor tweeted. “Schools need armed security and volunteer staff members with CCW,” he added.  Pelosi again demanding gun control.— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) February 14, 2018 Again, the shooter was stopped by people with firearms. Schools need armed security and volunteer staff members with CCW.— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) February 14, 2018 House...

The family of a community volunteer killed by a gun stolen from a San Francisco officer filed a legal claim with the city Wednesday, alleging the police department failed to provide proper training on gun storage. Abel Esquivel, 22, was killed during a robbery Aug. 15 as he walked to his mother’s house after working a late shift at a grocery store. He volunteered at the Central American Resource Center, which provides legal help to low-income Latino clients and other social services. Three men were arrested and charged with murder, including an 18-year-old facing deportation who was wearing a monitoring...

The anti-Trump opposition to President Donald Trump has gotten so loony that even Never Trumper David Frum is now worried that their crazed rantings will undermine the case against Trump. The senior editor of The Atlantic expressed his concerns in that periodical today with The Anti-Trump Recoil Goes Too Far:

In an unusual development casting further shadows on the motives and dealings of the Obama Administration, Sen. Chuck Grassley released a partially redacted email written by President Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and sent to herself, documenting a meeting with Obama where he allegedly stressed “his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect” of the investigation regarding Russian hacking during the 2016 Presidential election is handled “by the book.” This is a revealing letter in many respects, and suggests the question of whether to depose or not depose President Trump is the wrong one. Unquestionably, the planks on the...

CNN launched yet another “Facts First” promo, this time reminding President Donald Trump about the collective power of apples. “This is an apple,” CNN’s latest promo begins. “And, this is an apple.” “And this is an apple.” “And when you put them all together, you’ve got a case.” CNN’s latest promo – the network seems to be picking up the pace — comes as news outlets report special counsel Robert Mueller appears to be building a case that President Donald Trump’s interference with the investigation into Russian election meddling constitutes obstruction of justice. One day earlier, CNN, among many other...

A top White House national security adviser and key proponent of the Obama administration's diplomacy with Iran is the focus of a congressional inquiry following disclosures the FBI may have denied him top-level security clearances, according to communications exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser who led the administration's efforts to mislead Congress about the terms of the Iran nuclear agreement, is under scrutiny in the wake of disclosures he was declined interim clearance status by the FBI in 2008, when the administration was moving into the White House. Since that...

Tom Steyer, the liberal billionaire pushing for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, is almost singlehandedly bankrolling a political action committee that was launched to turn out Latino voters and push back against Trump and Republicans, Federal Election Commission records show. The Immigrant Voters Win PAC was launched in early 2016 as part of a campaign between three progressive organizations to register and turn out Latino voters after complaints that Democratic donors, including those in the Democracy Alliance, a secretive dark money liberal donor network, were not doing enough for Latino-based groups. Liberal billionaire George Soros, cofounder of the Democracy...

Why did Susan Rice send herself an email purporting to document this part of the meeting? Because she was C’ing her own A. Rice was nervous about the fact that, at the president’s direction, she had failed to “share information fully as it relates to Russia” with President Trump’s incoming national security team. This violated longstanding American tradition. Outgoing administrations have always cooperated in the transition to a new administration, whether of the same or the opposing party, especially on matters relating to national security. Susan Rice is far from the brightest bulb on the tree, but she was well...

President Trump on Wednesday called on lawmakers to oppose a series of bipartisan efforts to address immigration and resolve the fate of the so-called “Dreamers,” demanding fealty to his hard-line approach even as more moderate senators converged on a narrower approach. Senators in both parties are racing against a self-imposed, end-of-the-week deadline to write legislation that could win broad support by increasing border security while at the same time offering a path to citizenship for immigrants brought to the United States as children. Members of a bipartisan group calling itself the Common Sense Coalition said they have reached a deal...

BuzzFeed News sued the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Tuesday to force the release of information that the news outlet hopes will help it defend against a lawsuit related to the Steele dossier. BuzzFeed is seeking digital information that could shed light on the cyber attacks against the DNC during the presidential campaign. The news outlet faces three separate lawsuits related to its publication of the dossier, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele and financed by the Clinton campaign and DNC. The suit against the DNC seeks information that could help defend against a defamation lawsuit filed by...

His family says he was so petrified of being deported that a minor traffic accident sent him to suicide. We may never know for certain. Now they are mourning his loss and getting out the message of what they say living in fear can do to a person. His friends called him 'Trippy', his name was Luis Castenada, a 40-year-old father of two originally from Guatemala. The story is he came, one of eight kids, as an undocumented immigrant to this country as a young boy. His story ended this past Friday night in the San Fernando Valley when he...

California’s war on the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution took a dramatic new step on Tuesday, as the city of Berkeley declared itself a “sanctuary city” for marijuana-related crimes. The San Francisco Chronicle reports: The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to become a sanctuary city for legal adult-use marijuana, prohibiting city agencies and employees from turning over information on legal cannabis activities and assisting in enforcing federal marijuana laws. “I believe we can balance public safety and resisting the Trump administration,” Mayor Jesse Arreguin. “Berkeley is a sanctuary for people in our community.” The measure doesn’t prevent the...

Proposal aimed at keeping up with population growth would limit cities’ power over housing, handing more control to state. The mayor of Berkeley, California, has called it “a declaration of war”. A neighborhood group in Los Angeles said it would be akin to forcing Native Americans from their land. Amid a desperate housing crisis, legislators in the Golden State have prompted an outcry with new proposals that threaten to take the rulebook that governs American city planning and throw it out the window. Their proposition: reducing cities’ power to decide what gets built and putting more control into state hands....

Rep. Jim Jordan said Wednesday that FBI Director Christopher A. Wray should release the actual warrant application submitted in order to conduct surveillance on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. “I called on him two months ago — show us the application. Show us the transcript,” Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, said CNN. Mr. Jordan has been among the most vocal Republicans on the issue of possible abuses in the FISA court system regarding surveillance. He said that from the evidence he has seen, the politically funded dossier was used to substantiate the warrant, and said that if that is not...

DALLAS - If you can’t win big, go small. That’s the strategy gaining momentum among criminal justice reformers in the age of Trump, as the federal government hardens its approach to law enforcement. Instead of pouring money and energy into squeezing change out of Washington, national civil rights organizations are teaming with local groups to push their agendas in county-level district attorney races, where a few thousand votes can determine who asserts the most influence over the local justice system. Picking their targets carefully, and crunching election data to influence pivotal voter blocs - and benefiting from the largesse of...

Trump has "raised concerns" about alleged corruption and political bias on the part of some current and former FBI leaders, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told FBI Director Christopher Wray at hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. "What is your reaction?" Collins asked Wray. Well, Senator, I would say that my experience, now six months in with the FBI, has validated all my prior experiences with the FBI, which is that it is the finest group of professionals and public servants I could hope to work for. And every day, many, many, many, many times a day, I am...

https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/864994472492453888?lang=en

A Republican lawmaker is set to unveil legislation that would make most bonuses given out as a result of President Trump's tax reform plan tax-free -- and took a jab at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the bill's name. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., has dubbed his bill the "Creating Relief and Useful Middle-Class Benefits and Savings" -- or "CRUMBS" Act. Pelosi, D-Calif., famously referred to the bonuses as "crumbs" in criticizing the tax plan last month. "Americans are receiving thousands of dollars in bonuses and more money in their paychecks thanks to President Trump's tax reform, but out-of-touch Democratic...

Congressman Todd Rokita, R-Ind., will introduce legislation that helps Americans keep more of the bonuses they receive by making them tax-free. The legislation, “Creating Relief and Useful Middle-Class Benefits and Savings”—known as the CRUMBS Act—also takes a swipe at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has repeatedly downplayed the significance of the bonuses some Americans are receiving thanks to the GOP tax plan by referring to them as “crumbs.”“In terms of the bonus that corporate America received versus the crumbs that they are giving to workers to kind of put the schmooze on — it’s so pathetic,” she told reporters last...