Free Republic

We have often heard Valerie Jarrett is the de-facto President. That might not be far from the truth. Our team has been exhaustively researching this woman,...again. We went back over notes, articles and saved links, as well digging deeper into new documents that we've gotten a hold of. Valerie Jarret is very powerful. I am hoping to keep our article brief, but there is an awful lot to share. As you may know, Valerie Jarrett is Obama,'s closest cabinet member. That is no coincidence. She is one who helped get him where he is. Sure, he knew all the street...

Daniel Klaidman of Newsweek has written a new book, Kill or Capture , about the Obama administration's anti-terror policies, containing much information that obviously came from insiders, some of which is now the subject of demands for a special prosecutor to investigate leaks. In a review of the book in the Wall Street Journal, Mark Moyar quotes a passage that is frighteningly illuminating about the management style of the man upon whom our national security depends: In one of his most telling passages, Mr. Klaidman depicts a passive commander in chief who often procrastinated in the hopes that problems would...

Call it a shakeup or call it a natural turnover halfway through the term, but the White House is preparing for significant change throughout its top ranks. Much of the movement, though, will involve new posts for longtime aides to President Barack Obama. Among the many moves afoot, Tina Tchen, who is responsible for working with outside groups, is preparing to move to the East Wing to serve as First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, according to two Democrats close to the White House.

Our latest interview with the White House Insider reveals a Democratic Party civil war, with growing opposition to the Obama White House. Author’s Note: This interview took place for nearly two hours over the weekend at the office of the White House Insider. We wish to extend our gratitude for their making time to meet with us despite an extremely demanding schedule. The information contained in this interview is among the most in depth and fascinating to date, and due to the extent of information, will come in two installments. Here is installment one:

A onetime top fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich who was already convicted of taking kickbacks from state contractors pleaded guilty Friday in a separate scheme involving the bogus sale of his pizza restaurants. After the plea by Antoin "Tony" Rezko, his lawyer touted his client as "ready and willing" to be a "formidable witness" at Blagojevich's retrial, though prosecutors didn't put him on the stand for the former governor's trial this summer. Rezko pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in connection with $10 million in fraudulent loans he arranged for business partners to buy a chain...

Chicago - Late Friday morning, White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett caused a stir when she walked into the Dirksen Federal Building on a day when judges were considering cases involving former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko. The White House said Jarrett was having lunch with her daughter, who is clerking in the building. (snip) Her appearance at the courthouse set off speculation that she could possibly be there to meet with the FBI and be interviewed again, possibly with more questions, or she could be a potential witness for the next Blagojevich trial, or that...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return for an appointment to the U.S. Senate, sources said the fund-raiser has told federal authorities. The allegation by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak counters public statements made as recently as last week by Jackson that he never authorized any deal to attempt to buy the Senate seat. » Click to enlarge image The allegation that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in...

A former president of a Chicago union local was charged today with violating federal labor law by demanding livestock feeders for his Maryland farm from a company that employed union workers. Bill Dugan, who retired in 2008 as president of Operating Engineers Local 150 amid allegations he misused union resources, was charged with a single misdemeanor count, federal prosecutors in Chicago said. Prosecutors said Dugan, 76, who has a buffalo farm in Maryland, demanded concrete "buffalo feeders" valued at more than $900 in 2005. *snip* "For 45 years, Mr. Dugan was committed to advancing the interests of working, middle-class families...

SNIP In a lengthy interview in his office on Wednesday, Mr. Axelrod was often defiant, saying he did not give a “flying” expletive “about what the peanut gallery thinks” and did not live for the approval “of the political community.” He denounced the “rampant lack of responsibility” of people in Washington who refuse to solve problems, and cited the difficulty of trying to communicate through what he calls “the dirty filter” of a city suffused with the “every day is Election Day sort of mentality.” SNIP Mr. Axelrod’s friends worry about the toll of his job — citing his diet...

Like father like son. Chicago Alderman Isaac “Ike” Carothers has pleaded guilty to corruption and faces 28 months in jail. His father, former Alderman William Carothers, was convicted of attempted extortion in 1983. Here’s how Chicago’s WGN TV News announced the 31st Chicago City Council Alderman since 1973 – but, hey, who’s counting – to be convicted of crimes that include paying a bribe, taking a bribe, extortion, attempted extortion, tax fraud, tax evasion, racketeering, and ghost-payrolling schemes. Ike was formally charged with fraud and bribery last May by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the legal beagle who has former...