Free Republic

The D.C. District Court Judge is anything but impartial in the J6 cases coming before his court. Following an armed FBI raid with SWAT vehicles that terrorized his neighborhood and pregnant wife, Zachary Rehl was arrested in March 2021 for his involvement in the events of January 6. A Philadelphia judge ordered Rehl, a member of the Proud Boys, to be released from custody pending trial. But Joe Biden’s Justice Department immediately asked a D.C. federal judge to keep Rehl in jail indefinitely even though he was not accused of committing a violent crime. Claiming Rehl “abetted” the destruction of...

The Obama administration targeted sole proprietors and small businesses in the real estate industry after the crash of 2008, while letting the big banks off the hook with bailouts. One of most horrific cases involved Republican real estate broker Tony Viola, who served nine and a half years in prison as a juicy target of Ohio Democratic prosecutor Dan Kasaris. He was convicted of supposedly tricking banks into offering mortgages with no money down. But in reality, the banks were knowingly offering those loans — evidence the prosecution withheld from him. Viola only got out of prison due to an...

Washington, D.C.’s leading federal prosecutor did not rule out charging President Donald Trump following the assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president. In a Thursday press call, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin told reporters that the Department of Justice will consider lodging criminal charges targeting any individual for playing a role in Wednesday’s riot. At one point, one reporter asked if President Trump could face charges, to which Sherwin replied: “I don’t want to sound like broken record. We’re looking at all actors here.” “Anyone who had a role and where the evidence fits a crime,” he...

A veteran federal prosecutor was tabbed Monday to lead a grand jury investigation into the May 30 shooting death of a 22-year-old black man by a white bar owner in downtown Omaha. Frederick D. Franklin, a long-serving federal prosecutor, will lead the grand jury of 16 citizens and three alternates as they probe the death of James Scurlock. Presiding Douglas County District Judge Shelly Stratman appointed Franklin. The grand jury will investigate and either bring charges or no indictment against Jake Gardner, the 38-year-old former owner of The Hive and Gatsby bars downtown. Jurors also could choose to issue a...

Last-ditch attempts by a group of Republican delegates seeking to stop Donald Trump from becoming the GOP presidential nominee are quickly fading -- and now their fight is facing a federal legal challenge. At issue is whether delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland are bound to vote for the results of state caucuses and primaries. A group that claims the support of hundreds of convention delegates has been pushing to change Republican presidential nomination rules so that delegates can "vote their conscience" -- reviving a long-simmering debate led by GOP purists who believe that only convention delegates --...

Assistant US Attorney John Craft mocks Obama voters, too (Newser) – A federal prosecutor in Texas has posted his views about Trayvon Martin and President Obama on Facebook, and they're not pretty. Assistant US Attorney John Craft made his opinions known in answer to a status update supporting Stand Your Ground laws, the Beaumont Enterprise reports: "How are you fixed for Skittles and Arizona watermelon fruitcocktail (and maybe a bottle of Robitussin, too) in your neighborhood? I am fresh out of 'purple drank.' So, I may come by for a visit. In a rainstorm. In the middle of the...

The Justice Department's inspector general has agreed to investigate whether ACORN has applied for or received any DOJ grant money, in the wake of bipartisan criticism of the community activist group's operation. And seven other inspectors general are being asked by two congressional members to take a look at their funding mechanisms.

It now looks very much like there was a lot more truth to the criticisms about ACORN—the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now—than its leadership, its allies on Capitol Hill and its supporters in the media were willing to acknowledge.... This latest round of problems for ACORN may be the best documented, but they are not the first nor, for that matter, are they the most serious. A report issued last summer by the Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, according to Sunday's Washington Times, "presented evidence that ACORN had engaged in criminal misconduct." Among the...

San Antonio - The Express-News is now fully immersed in the ACORN story, or at least the pimp and prostitute part of it. The story went from a national brief on Sept. 11 to Page 14A last Tuesday, to 7A on Wednesday to 2A Thursday — and would have been on Page 1 had local TV icon Chris Marrou not picked the day before to announce his retirement from KENS-TV. The question is, does it deserve Page 1 status, as scores of you — many proudly identifying yourselves as members of the anti-big government San Antonio Tea Party — have...

The president has just stepped into another major controversy with this answer regarding ACORN to George Stephanopoulos. STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the funding for ACORN? OBAMA: You know, if -- frankly, it's not really something I've followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money. STEPHANOPOULOS: Both the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off. OBAMA: You know, what I know is, is that what I saw on that video was certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated. STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're not committing to -- to cut off the federal funding?...

Everything you needed to know about the unorthodox roll out of the now-notorious ACORN sting videos was hidden in plain sight in my Sept. 7 column, Katie Couric, Look in the Mirror. ACORN was not the only target of those videos; so were Katie, Brian, Charlie and every other mainstream media pooh-bah. They were not going to report this blockbuster unless they were forced to. And they were. What's more, it ain't over yet. Not every hint I dropped in that piece about what was to come has played itself out yet. Stay tuned....

Bertha Lewis, ACORN's chief organizer, appeared on Fox News Sunday yesterday, and even though Joe Wilson was nowhere to be found in the studio, you could hear his unspoken words as she misrepresented the fates of several of her employees. Lewis's performance during the interview with U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and host Chris Wallace was the finest in liberal arrogance and dishonesty. Throughout, she didn't bother to acknowledge Issa with eye contact and she often evaded their questions so she could continue to assert ACORN does so much good for poor, working class minorities.

An internal watchdog at the Justice Department said he was reviewing the agency’s involvement with the national community organizing group Acorn. Inspector General Glenn Fine wrote to Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, that his office would examine whether Acorn sought or received any Justice Department grant money, or conducted any reviews of the group’s use of such money. More than a dozen state and local authorities

Only one of the five television networks that interviewed President Obama for their Sunday shows bothered to ask him about Acorn, the left-wing community organizing group whose federal funding was cut off last week by an overwhelming vote in Congress. "Frankly, it's not something I've followed closely," Mr. Obama claimed, adding he wasn't even aware the group had been the recipient of significant federal funding. "This is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to," he said. snip Given his longstanding ties with Acorn, President Obama's protestations of ignorance or disinterest...

The controversy over ACORN workers who answered questions about starting a prostitution business while being secretly videotaped has moved to Echo Park. As art. Residents in Echo Park and surrounding communities have noticed spray painted signs on at least a few walls that state: "ACORN Funded Prostitution Zone" in black letters. They have been noticed by local photographers as well as Eastsider L.A. and Curbed L.A. Like the Obama/Joker street art of a few months ago, the artist is so far anonymous. And, of course, it's unclear whether it's political commentary or irony. Last week, ACORN officials took action against...

"The Justice Department's inspector general has agreed to investigate whether ACORN has applied for or received any DOJ grant money, in the wake of bipartisan criticism of the community activist group's operation. And seven other inspectors general are being asked by two congressional members to take a look at their funding mechanisms."

  From Pennsylvania Right-to-Work:Most readers are already aware of a growing scandal involving the pro-forced unionism Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in New York, Baltimore, Washington, and now, California. For those who missed it, ACORN representatives were caught on camera giving advice to undercover journalists on how to open an illegal brothel, launder its profits, and commit a host of other illegal activities.According to The Washington Examiner, teacher union officials have contributed over 1.3 million dollars (in mostly forced union dues) to ACORN since 2005.We decided to do a little digging into union financial disclosure forms on...

Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood is out today with new details on the National Endowment for the Arts scandal, including a full transcript and audio recording, as well as a CliffsNotes summary by John Nolte, of the notorious Aug. 10 conference call in which administration officials urged artists to help promote President Obama's legislative agenda. Formally, the call was led by Michael Skolnik, who is not a government employee. But Skolnik declares at the start of the call that he is acting on behalf of the administration:I have been asked by folks in the White House and folks in the NEA about...

A tangled web of ACORN affiliates amassed a real estate empire worth at least $50 million, owns or manages nearly 1,500 housing units and collects an estimated $5.7 million in rents, fees and profits from sales. The properties are controlled by an opaque collection of nonprofits, holding companies and development funds w/ generic names: 385 Palmetto Street Housing Development Fund or the Mutual Housing Association of NY, hiding ties to ACORN conglomerates.....the income supports at least 18 local ACORN affiliates largely based at 2-4 Nevins St, Brooklyn, an address ACORN shares with the left-of-center political entity--the Working Families Party. NY...

chicagotribune.com Independent prosecutor for ACORN By Charles Lipson September 20, 2009 ACORN is in very deep, very public trouble, and the U.S. attorney general should appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate. What we know so far is due entirely to two amateur reporters, James E. O'Keefe III, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, who managed to videotape a web of corrupt practices in ACORN offices. Dressed as a pimp and prostitute, O'Keefe and Giles walked into ACORN offices from New York to California and simply asked for business advice. ACORN officials were happy to provide it and were secretly recorded explaining...