Free Republic

The U.S. Justice Department is telling the Supreme Court that killing a human embryo by preventing the embryo from implanting in his or her mother’s uterus is not an “abortion” and, thus, drugs that kill embryos this way are not “abortion-inducing” drugs. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby. The crux of the administration’s argument in this case is that when Christians form a corporation they give up the right to freely exercise their religion—n.b. live according to their Christian beliefs—in the way they run their business. It is in...

President Barack Obama's policies “have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilization,” Cardinal Raymond Burke,head of the highest court at the Vatican, said in a recent interview. Cardinal Burke added that Obama wants to restrict religious freedom and force the individuals, outside of his or her place of worship,“to act against his rightly-formed conscience,even in the most serious of moral questions.”… “It is true that the policies of the president of the United States of America have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilization. He appears to be a totally secularized man who aggressively promotes anti-life and anti-family policies.” “Now...

I know you’ll be shocked to hear that Attorney General Eric Holder has rejected Senator Ted Cruz’s call for an independent prosecutor to probe the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups. I wrote about the senator’s demand when he made it two months ago (see here; see also the WSJ op-ed by Congressman Jim Jordan (R., OH), on the same topic, focusing on Lois Lerner’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment).Senator Cruz has released a statement in response: It is the height of hypocrisy for the Obama Administration to claim that the investigator leading the investigation into the IRS’s illegal program...

Over the past two years, investigations conducted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel have uncovered a whole slew of shady tactics being used in operations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. During their research, The Journal reporters found ATF agents prey on mentally ill teenagers (including ATF agents pressuring at least one young man to get a squid tattooed on his neck) to "help" with gun stings and found agents lost a fully automatic rifle on the streets of Milwaukee after it was stolen out of an unsupervised government vehicle. Careless actions from agents also resulted in thousands of...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Known nationally as a fiery fiscal conservative, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz channeled his pastor father and displayed his religious side Tuesday, telling an influential group of Iowa home school advocates that America was founded on Christian values Washington can’t deny. The Tea Party darling’s declaration of his beliefs came during his fourth trip to Iowa in barely eight months — and though he has refused to comment on a possible 2016 White House run, Cruz logging so much face time in the state that kicks off presidential voting hasn’t gone unnoticed. “There is no liberty...

“A fool’s errand” is what Bill Tucker, chair of the political-action committee of the NAACP’s Tallahassee branch, called Florida Governor Rick Scott’s renewed efforts to purge the state’s voter rolls of non-citizens. Tucker claimed the purge would “cast another dark shadow on Florida” because it would “disproportionately affect Florida’s most vulnerable groups,” that of course being minorities. What a remarkable coincidence that Tucker should believe, just as Attorney General Eric Holder, that a crime is not NEARLY as important as the race of those who commit it. (1) And as for the “fool’s errand,” comment, Tucker might just be right....

Corruption: While the Justice Department was busy compiling a case against Obama critic Dinesh D'Souza for minor campaign-law violations, it was blocking a more troubling probe involving the Senate's top Democrat. On Thursday, ABC News and the Washington Times reported that local Utah prosecutors had found evidence pointing to possible illegal campaign contributions and other questionable financial deals involving both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Utah's junior Republican senator, Mike Lee. But despite working with the FBI, they've been blocked from moving that case forward by a Justice Department that has sat on it for months, refusing...

The FBI and Utah state prosecutors working on a corruption investigation say they have uncovered accusations of financial wrongdoing by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP Sen. Mike Lee, but the Justice Department has so far declined to act on their recommendation for a full federal investigation. Two district attorneys, one Democrat and one Republican, told The Washington Times, ABC News, and The Salt Lake Tribune this week that they have found evidence of possible financial wrongdoing by the lawmakers relating to suspect campaign contributions and other financial transactions. "There are allegations, but they are very serious allegations and...

Agents quietly working with Utah prosecutors to make case in DOJ absenceFBI agents working alongside Utah state prosecutors in a wide-ranging corruption investigation have uncovered accusations of wrongdoing by two of the U.S. Senate’s most prominent figures — Majority Leader Harry Reid and rising Republican Sen. Mike Lee — but the Justice Department has thwarted their bid to launch a full federal investigation. The probe, conducted by one Republican and one Democratic state prosecutor in Utah, has received accusations from an indicted businessman and political donor, interviewed other witnesses and gathered preliminary evidence such as financial records, Congressional Record statements...

While the Obama Justice Department mounts a legal challenge against Florida for purging ineligible voters from its rolls, a television news station broadcasts an unbelievable segment that proves non U.S. citizens living in the Sunshine State vote regularly in elections. The investigative piece was aired this week by an NBC affiliate in southwest Florida that actually tracked down and interviewed non U.S. citizens who are registered to vote and have cast ballots in numerous elections. The segment focused on Lee County, which has a population of about 620,000 and Collier County with a population of around 322,000. The reporter spent...

What is the reaction inside DOJ to the Senate’s defeat of the Debo Adegbile nomination to head the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice? According to an email sent by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels, the “sacred mission” will continue. Samuels, in an email late this afternoon to Division staff obtained by PJ Media, said: I anticipate that last week’s developments will prompt a period of reflection and discussion about civil rights in this country and how we can best achieve our sacred mission. This is healthy, and I am confident that our work will emerge the...

Lois Lerner has answered questions for the DOJ investigation into the IRS targeting scandal, but continues to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights before the congressional committee. It's an interesting decision, albeit not without precedent. Either Lerner feels that the committee is doing nothing but setting "perjury traps" for her, or else she's assured that the DOJ "investigation" is little more than an exercise in making the scandal disappear, and thus is helping the department craft a narrative designed to do just that. Or both. There are, of course, a number of good reasons for objective observers to suspect that Lerner's...

A former Internal Revenue Service official who declined to answer questions at a congressional hearing, citing the Fifth Amendment, gave a full interview to the Justice Department, her lawyer said. That’s raising questions among Republican lawmakers, who wonder whether her choice to talk to Justice reflects a lack of concern about the DOJ probe. They also question the propriety of letting her avoid questions by lawmakers when she is answering DOJ’s. The comments by Lois Lerner‘s attorney “cast further doubt on the seriousness of the Justice Department’s so-called investigation of IRS targeting, as well as the legal basis of Ms....

House Republicans on Thursday slammed the former IRS official at the center of the agency’s targeting controversy for answering questions from the Justice Department after invoking the Fifth Amendment in a congressional hearing. Republicans on the Oversight Committee said that Lois Lerner’s decision to sit down with federal investigators made them wonder how seriously the Justice Department was taking the investigation into the IRS’s treatment of Tea Party groups. “Think about it: Actually, the people who can put her in jail — she’ll talk to them,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told The Hill. “But she won’t talk to a bunch...

This week, the Senate, by a slim margin assured by opportunist Democrats up for re-election, rejected the nomination of Debo Adegbile, another radical Obama nominee, to head the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. The feckless Democratic senators who broke ranks with his royalness are probably responding to the latest polling data showing that Obama has reached his all-time low for job performance approval. The Fox News poll found that just 38 percent approve of the president's job performance and that 54 percent disapprove. Prior to this poll, his worst rating was 40/55 percent in November 2013. I happen...

The Senate has voted 52 to 47 to block the confirmation of Debo Adegbile, President Obama's nominee to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. All Republicans and Democrats Coons, Heitkamp, Manchin, Pryor, Donnelly, Casey and Walsh voted against the nomination. Adegbile came under heavy fire for his voluntary advocacy of convicted and unrepentant cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, who murdered Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Major law enforcement orgazations, inlcuding the National Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Police Organizations, were opposed to the nomination. Philadelphia Democratic Prosecutor Seth Williams was also...

Wisconsin Republican seeks to restore racial categories, empower Holder DOJ Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R., Wisc.) told constituents at Wisconsin town halls that voting-rights legislation he is sponsoring does not exclude white voters from the protection of the Voting Rights Act. Sensenbrenner also says he is proud to work with the ACLU and far-left groups to pass the legislation that would resurrect Attorney General Eric Holder’s powers to block state election laws such as voter ID or citizenship verification. In a video from Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, Sensenbrenner also accused Texas and Georgia Republicans of trying to stop minorities from...

President Barack Obama's choice to head the Justice Department's civil rights division has failed a Senate test vote and his confirmation is in jeopardy. The vote was 47-52, short of the needed majority. Eight Democrats joined Republicans to block the nominee, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who voted "no" so he would be able to bring up the nomination again in the future. The controversy over Debo Adegbile stems from legal representation of a man who is currently imprisoned for the murder of a Philadelphia policeman decades ago. It was unclear what the next step will be for...

President Obama on Wednesday called it a “travesty” that the Senate had failed to confirm Debo Adegbile, his nominee to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “The Senate’s failure to confirm Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant,” said Obama in a written statement. “Mr. Adegbile’s qualifications are impeccable,” he continued. “He represents the best of the legal profession, with wide-ranging experience,

The Senate voted 47-52 Wednesday to reject controversial nominee Debo Adegbile as an assistant attorney general. Seven Democrats voted against moving forward with President Obama’s nomination of Adegbile, which the Fraternal Order of Police and other groups opposed because of his involvement in the defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) then switched his vote from yes to no in a move that allows him to bring the nomination up again for a future vote. Every Republican also voted against the nomination, sending it to defeat....