Free Republic

Determined to hold around two dozen Senate seats in 2018, Democrats will use the coming series of confirmation hearings to try to distinguish themselves from President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire nominees and convince working-class voters who elected him that he’s not on their side. While Democrats have little leverage to stop the Republican’s picks in the Senate, they still plan a fight. To highlight what they say is the hypocrisy of Trump’s campaign promise to be a champion for the economically struggling little guy, they’ll focus on the nominees’ wealth, ties to Wall Street and willingness to privatize Medicare, among other...

Members of the House Judiciary Committee are set to question FBI officials next month about allegations of perjury involving Hillary Clinton's conflicting statements to Congress last year. Witnesses at the hearing could include FBI Director James Comey, according to USA Today, which first reported the panel's plans. A Judiciary Committee spokeswoman confirmed the hearing to the Washington Examiner and said lawmakers plan to approach the issue at an FBI oversight hearing the panel holds each year. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, joined Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight Committee, in a push to outline the case...

A former brigadier general revealed on Fox News Monday some new information about the White House's role in U.S. Central Command's skewing of intelligence to downplay the threats of ISIS and Al Qaeda. Last week, a House Republican task force concluded in a 15-page report that U.S. military leaders altered intelligence reports "to paint a rosier picture" of the U.S.-led fight against ISIS than intelligence analysts believed was warranted. The report blamed “structural and management changes” at the intelligence directorate for the distortions, but stopped short of explaining WHY the changes were made. According to Defense News, "the problems followed...

FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may not have been "sophisticated enough" to understand the classified markings on emails she sent and received, which explains why did didn't know she was breaking the letter of the law. Under intense questioning from Republicans, Mr. Comey said Mrs. Clinton’s public explanations of her behavior were not true. But he said his investigators couldn’t find evidence that Mrs. Clinton intended to break the law, which he said is the key to making a criminal case. [Snip] Democrats praised Mr. Comey for his findings, and blasted the...

Hillary Clinton Email Investigation FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the FBI’s investigation into Hillary…

Comey to testify in Congressional hearings.

FBI director Comey to get grilled by House Oversight panel tomorrow for letting Hillary off the hook – as Speaker Ryan calls to block Clinton's access to classified info House Speaker Paul Ryan promises hearings on 'unanswered questions' about FBI's decision not to recommend prosecution of Hillary ClintonGOP Judiciary chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa to demand answers from agency Comey announced Tuesday the bureau wouldn't recommend prosecution despite uncovering 110 emails with classified information Clinton's security clearance questioned Comey said Clinton was 'extremely careless' with highly classified information FBI director James Comey, who had Hillary Clinton's fate in his hands...

One of the weapons used in a deadly Mexican shootout last year was traced to the U.S. government's disastrous Fast and Furious operation. Three Mexican police officers were killed in the shootout. A Justice Department summary provided to two Republican congressional committee chairmen Tuesday found that a WASR-10 rifle, purchased six years before in the U.S., was one of three rifles fired in the July 27 assault in the town of Valle de Zaragoza. It was not immediately known which weapon caused the officers’ fatal wounds. Nevertheless, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives officials traced the WASR rifle to...

audio link to Grassley WHO radio interview at 4PM Central time on 3/16/2016

**SNIP** Talking to the government, or giving a "proffer," relinquishes the few advantages a defendant has: He gives up his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination, and more, he gives the government the defense's version of the case up front. While Pagliano is surely in an unenviable, nail-biting position, we can draw some inferences from recent events. Whether he had zero potential liability, or some liability, he's probably not a "target." Why? Because if he were, his attorney would probably not let him talk to the government, and the government would probably not give him immunity. Remember, the government is parsimonious with...

Just days after endorsing Donald Trump for President, New Jersey Governor and former presidential candidate Chris Christie is calling on Senate Republicans to give President Obama's Supreme Court nominee (who hasn't been named yet) hearings. Tweet from @ZekeJMiller: Christie says the GOP Senate should hold hearings on Obama's SCOTUS nominee As a former prosecutor, Christie knows the Senate has no constitutional obligation to give Obama's nominee hearings, nor does the Senate have any obligation to confirm a nominee. Further, the Senate Judiciary Committee has already confirmed hearings will not be held and sent the following letter to Senate Majority Leader...

The GOP primary has probably been the best thing to happen to Hillary Clinton in years. There was a period of time during the spring and early summer of last year when it seemed as if nobody could talk about anything except Hillary’s emails and the various investigations into the horrible events at Benghazi. You couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting some story about the former Secretary of State being corrupt, deceptive or just plain lying. (Ah… good times, my friends.) But then the Republican race heated up, our candidates began flinging monkey poo at each other, several parts...

Hillary Clinton stumbled at the Benghazi hearing today on Capitol Hill. As the hearing moved well past its tenth hour, Clinton had a serious coughing fit that prevented her momentarily from being able to speak.

The Clinton confidant under scrutiny on Capitol Hill over detailed Libya memos he sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers earlier this week he has been pulling in $200,000 a year from Clinton ally David Brock's media operation, congressional sources tell FoxNews.com. The figure is far higher than initially reported. While the payments to Sidney Blumenthal may not reflect any apparent conflict of interest, his work with Brock's liberal advocacy and media groups was a focus of his high-profile deposition on Tuesday before the House Benghazi committee. Republicans' rationale for the questioning was that his financial and political...

GEORGETOWN, Texas (CBS Houston) — It was a scene straight out of “The Naked Gun.” Rachael Jonrowe, mayor pro tem for Georgetown, Texas, was speaking during a council meeting about deadly infectious diseases when everyone in the room could hear someone going to the bathroom.

A fine idea. Democrats will whine that the new GOP is the same as the old GOP, obsessed as ever with revisiting old ObamaCare business, but that message can and will be countered by sending a few splashy bills to Obama’s desk, starting with Keystone. Good things happen for conservatives when the subject of O-Care comes up and Jon Gruber’s piehole is anywhere near a microphone. Let’s sit him down in front of one on Capitol Hill, with live coverage on the cable networks, and go over in detail just how stupid the architect of Obama’s giant health-care boondoggle thinks...

House Republicans have scheduled two more hearings on the U.S. response to Ebola, focusing on the health system's readiness for more cases and the development of cures and treatments. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittees on Health and Oversight and Investigations will host the events on Tuesday and Wednesday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden will appear at one to discuss training for U.S. health workers and other preventative measures against the virus's spread. "The threat of the Ebola outbreak is real and extends beyond its source in West Africa," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred...

CNSNews.com) - "I said I would provide all the emails. We are providing all the emails. The fact that three years ago, some of them -- not all of them, but some of them -- were not available, I never said I would provide you emails we didn't have," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told a Monday evening hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Frustrated Republicans and apologetic Democrats questioned Koskinen about Lois Lerner's vanished emails for several hours, beginning with Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who asked Koskinen if he knew those critical emails were missing when...

Democratic Congressman Goes Ballistic At IRS Hearing After Darrell Issa Cuts Off His Mic Brett LoGiuratoMar. 5, 2014, 10:26 AM Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Democratic ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, flipped out at Republican Chairman Darrell Issa during a hearing on the IRS' targeting of certain conservative groups Wednesday morning. Issa hauled former IRS official Lois Lerner back before the committee Wednesday morning as part of his ongoing investigation into the IRS' scrutiny of certain conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. Lerner, as expected, invoked her right to plead the Fifth Amendment in the investigation, as she...

There are emails between Issa and Lerner’s attorney and now she is asking for more time. She is coming Wed., but may testify at a later time as well. Why did Lerner do what what she did ? We have the evidence and it is save yourself or go down in flames.