Free Republic

The conviction of Proud Boys leaders for "seditious conspiracy" on Jaunary 6 energized MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. She was ready to pounce—on Donald Trump. She was hoping to parlay that into a prosecution of Trump. It had everything but the "lock him up" chants. [snip] But then came Leonnig's blow to Nicolle's dreams: "I know, and I think many of the people on your panel know, that prosecutors do not have evidence in hand linking the effort of Enrique Tarrio, Stewart Rhodes, and other lieutenants of theirs, to Donald Trump. They do not have the smoking-gun evidence that shows that...

Appearing this morning on MSNBC's Velshi show, Leonnig said she felt compelled to call out Trump's "misinformation" in Trump's Truth Social post calling on supporters, in the context of his possibly imminent arrest, to "Protest. Take back our nation." LEONNIG: It's not a violent crime he's charged with. And that means that he would be given negotiated terms under which to voluntarily turn himself in. Nobody is coming for him with cuffs. You know, he has the opportunity to come in a back elevator, backstairs, no perp walk, if he chooses. And instead, Donald Trump is really choosing to use...

Some seized documents were so closely held, only the president, a Cabinet-level or near-Cabinet level official could authorize others to know A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property. Some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. Only the president,...

Former President Donald Trump only wanted buff Secret Service agents, a new book claims Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig's new book 'Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service,' says Trump didn't like agents who were fat or short 'I want these fat guys off my detail,' Trump once said. 'How are they going to protect me and my family if they can't run down the street?' The Secret Service demands agents to be physically fit, including running a mile and a half in under 11 minutes and 44 seconds Trump was known for putting people around him...

Secret Service agents and medical professionals were aghast Sunday night at President Donald Trump's Sunday evening trip outside the hospital where he is being treated for the coronavirus, saying the president endangered those inside his SUV for a publicity stunt.

Judge's Report Shows Cheney Aide Is Accused Of Broad Deception The special prosecutor in the CIA leak case alleged that Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff was engaged in a broader web of deception than was previously known and repeatedly lied to conceal that he had been a key source for reporters about undercover operative Valerie Plame, according to court records released yesterday. The records also show that by August 2004, early in his investigation of the disclosure of Plame's identity, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald had concluded that he did not have much of a case against I....

People close to Robert Mueller believe "something happened" to the former special counsel over the course of his two-year Russia investigation, according to a reporter. The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig, who is the co-author of the new book A Very Stable Genius about President Trump, described on Tuesday how difficult it was for some of Mueller's close family friends to watch his shaky testimony before Congress last summer.“Phil [Rucker] and I, my co-author, we are not medical professionals, but over and over again, John, we heard from people who are very close to Bob Mueller who found him a different...

There is no more sacred room for military officers than 2E924 of the Pentagon, a windowless and secure vault where the Joint Chiefs of Staff meet regularly to wrestle with classified matters. Its more common name is “the Tank.” The Tank resembles a small corporate boardroom, with a gleaming golden oak table, leather swivel armchairs and other mid-century stylings. Inside its walls, flag officers observe a reverence and decorum for the wrenching decisions that have been made there. Hanging prominently on one of the walls is The Peacemakers, a painting that depicts an 1865 Civil War strategy session with President...

Former national security adviser John Bolton is willing to defy the White House and testify in the House impeachment inquiry about his alarm at the Ukraine pressure campaign if a federal court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views. Bolton could be a powerful witness for Democrats: Top State Department and national security officials have already testified that he was deeply concerned about efforts by Trump and his allies to push Ukraine to open investigations into the president’s political rivals while the Trump administration held up military aid to that country. The former national security adviser, who...

A subpoena that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) issued to the Justice Department last week made a broad request for all documents about an individual who people close to the matter say is a sensitive, longtime intelligence source for the CIA and FBI. The Justice Department has refused to provide the documents. Intelligence officials say the material could jeopardize the source, a U.S. citizen who has aided the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign. The subpoena, which was reviewed by The Washington Post, demands “all documents referring or related to the individual referenced in...

Behind the shocking revelations of incompetence and unprofessionalism that rocked the Secret Service this week is a longtime reporter who has been diligently uncovering the agency's secrets for years. Carol Leonnig, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who has worked at The Washington Post for nearly 15 years, has broken almost every single story on the agency, a series of shocking reports that on Wednesday resulted in the abrupt resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson. (Pierson called the resignation “painful.”) In less than a week, Leonnig uncovered three scandals that pushed the agency’s first female leader out the door. First,...

Pincus: Woodward 'Asked Me to Keep Him Out' of Plame Reporting By Joe Strupp Published: November 16, 2005 12:45 PM ET NEW YORK Walter Pincus, the longtime Washington Post reporter and one of several journalists who testified in the Valerie Plame case, said he believed as far back as 2003 that Bob Woodward had some involvement in the case but he did not pursue the information because Woodward asked him not to. "He asked me to keep him out of the reporting and I agreed to do that," Pincus said today. His comments followed a Post story today about Woodward's...