Free Republic

After failing to criminally prosecute any of the financial firms responsible for the market collapse in 2008, former Attorney General Eric Holder is returning to Covington & Burling, a corporate law firm known for serving Wall Street clients. The move completes one of the more troubling trips through the revolving door for a cabinet secretary. Holder worked at Covington from 2001 right up to being sworn in as attorney general in Feburary 2009. And Covington literally kept an office empty for him, awaiting his return. The Covington & Burling client list has included four of the largest banks, including Bank...

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said today that a “possibility exists” for the Justice Department to cut a deal with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that would allow him to return to the United States from Moscow. In an interview with Yahoo News, Holder said “we are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures” and that “his actions spurred a necessary debate” that prompted President Obama and Congress to change policies on the bulk collection of phone records of American citizens.

The Obama-tied leftist group that helped a gunman commit an act of terrorism against a conservative organization has assembled a starter kit for Islamists to attack American women who refuse to comply with Sharia law, the authoritarian doctrine that inspires Islamists and their jihadism. It’s the summer special from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an extremist nonprofit that lists conservative organizations that disagree with it on social issues on a catalogue of “hate groups.” A few years ago a gunman received a 25-year prison sentence for carrying out the politically-motivated shooting of the Family Research Council (FRC) headquarters after...

Baltimore is now paying the price for irresponsible words and actions, not only by young thugs in the streets, but also by its mayor and the state prosecutor, both of whom threw the police to the wolves, in order to curry favor with local voters. Now murders in Baltimore in May have been more than double what they were in May last year, and higher than in any May in the past 15 years. Meanwhile, the number of arrests is down by more than 50 percent. Various other communities across the country are experiencing very similar explosions of crime and...

Anarchy in Baltimore: Residents claim police have deserted them in wake of Freddie Gray riots as murder rate soars to highest in 15 years Jennifer Jeffrey, 31, and son Kester 'Tony' Browne, 8, were killed Thursday They became the city's 37th and 38th homicide victims this month Residents have barricaded their doors in fear of ongoing violence Some have compared parts of the city to the Wild West Others have said virtually no police have been on the streets since riots Arrests are down almost 50 per cent on the same time last year Police claim they are being met...

In November 2010, former president Bill Clinton and then- Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. traveled to Zurich to lobby soccer’s world governing body in support of the U.S. bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Soccer’s popularity was rising in the United States, and a successful bid would bring the most watched sporting event in the world back to the country for the first time in nearly three decades. The Americans were not successful. Instead, Qatar — a small, wealthy emirate on the Persian Gulf — became the first Arab country to be awarded the event. Almost immediately, the...

Baltimore Cop: No Proactive Policing 5.27.2015 News Sarah Fisher Whilee Baltimore faces record levels of violence, an anonymous police officer told Sean Hannity last night that police will no longer be "proactive." This month there were 35 murders, and 32 reported shootings this past Memorial Day weekend alone. A current Baltimore police officer who chose to hide his identity reacted on "Hannity" tonight, saying that the surge in violence is a "direct result" from the six officers who were indicted by a grand jury in the death of Freddie Gray. "After the protests, it seems like the citizens would appreciate...

Hours after Baltimore's mayor huddled with police officials to discuss the recent spike in violence, two more people were killed Monday — making May the city's deadliest month since 1999.The two homicides increased this month's total to 35. There have been 108 homicides across the city this year."It's deplorable," said City Councilman William "Pete" Welch. "The shootings and killings are all over the city. I don't think any part of the city is immune to this. I've never seen anything like it."Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is "disheartened and frustrated by this continuing violence, particularly when you think about the progress that...

Watch: Michelle’s Race-Baiting Shredded By Black Guy Who Gives Her A Must-See History Lesson VIDEO B. Christopher Agee May 18, 2015 at 2:32pm In a recent installment of Zonation, host Alfonzo Rachel reacted to Michelle Obama’s recent commencement address at Tuskegee University. As Western Journalism reported, the first lady used the forum to spread a message of victimhood among black graduates. “I’m disappointed that the students at Tuskegee University didn’t get up and walk out on Michelle Obama’s speech,” Rachel said. “It’s like the graduates spent all that time at the college and didn’t learn anything worth a hard donut.”

I didn't envy Ismael Ozanne in the least when he took the podium for his news conference this last Tuesday. The Dane County district attorney looked visibly nervous, dabbing sweat from his face several times over the course of the long, detailed speech that led to his eventual rationale for and decision not to press criminal charges against Madison police officer Matt Kenny in the shooting death of biracial teenager Tony Robinson. Ozanne is himself biracial, his mother a black woman who was involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Ozanne become the first...

Percentage of African-Americans in U.S. Police Departments Remains Flat Since 2007 But police hiring of other minorities has increased, report shows By Ben Kesling and Cameron McWhirter May 14, 2015 2:43 p.m. ET 28 COMMENTS The percentage of African-Americans in U.S. police departments has remained flat since before the recession, even as police hiring of other minorities has increased, according to a U.S. Department of Justice survey released Thursday. A lack of black officers, especially in communities with large African-American populations, has been cited frequently in the wake of police-involved deaths of black residents that sparked riots in cities from...

Police Officers: Morale Is Low In Departments Across The Country Kerry Picket Reporter 10:05 PM 05/12/2015 Law enforcement officers at Washington, D.C.’s annual Police Week tell The Daily Caller that the anti-police climate is taking its toll on the men and women in uniform and that morale is low in departments across the country. One source told The DC Monday night that officers have stepped back from engaging in proactive policing, because they often see the same violent criminals they arrest immediately released on to the streets. President of the Fraternal Order of Police Chuck Canterbury told TheDC that he...

BREAKING:Charges will not be filed against MPD Officer Matt Kenny in the shooting death of Tony Robinson Updated: Tue 3:17 PM, May 12, 2015 MADISON, Wis.---BREAKING: DA Ozanne: Charges will not be filed against MPD Officer Matt Kenny in the shooting death of Tony Robinson. UPDATED: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 ---3:17 p.m. MADISON, Wis.---BREAKING: DA Ozanne: Charges will not be filed against MPD Officer Matt Kenny in the shooting death of Tony Robinson. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the number of shootings and homicides has surged in Baltimore, some police officers say they feel hesitant on the job under intense public scrutiny and in the wake of criminal charges against six officers in the Freddie Gray case.State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's decision last week to charge the officers has stoked strong opinions across the country — including praise from those who want accountability and derision from some legal experts. But perhaps the most jarring effect has been on the Baltimore Police Department. "In 29 years, I've gone through some bad times, but I've never seen it this...

Law And Order: Just two months ago, President Obama held up the Baltimore police force as a model of unbiased community policing. Now he's investigating it for civil-rights violations. What's changed? In a March White House report on police reforms, Obama and his Task Force on 21st Century Policing praised Baltimore's force and its black chief for "implementing national best practices for policies and training," including "use of force" reforms. His task force even quoted Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, who said he changed "outdated procedures" that "put officers at odds with the community."

As our first African-American president, Barack Obama had the opportunity to personify the final triumph of civil rights, and in the process, become a celebrated and historic figure. Instead, his ironic legacy on race is one of abject failure, as the rioting and looting in Baltimore underscore. The tragic reality is that Obama passed on the opportunity to the “post-racial” president he promised to be when he first ran in 2008. Instead, he farmed out leadership on racial issues to Al Sharpton, for whom grievance is like oxygen. The prejudgment of George Zimmerman, and related fury, set the stage...

Now that the six Baltimore police officers have been charged with murder [by a prosecutor with numerous questions about her objectivity], the crowds are reacting with jubilation. People being interviewed on the street are saying that if these cops are not convicted in a trial that has not even been scheduled, it will be “just like Rodney King all over again.” [To review, the 1992 Los Angeles riots included looting and arson (resulting in over $1 billion in damages) as well as racially motivated assaults and murders (resulting in 53 deaths and untold numbers of maimings and injuries).] ` This...

Thousands March in Baltimore Cheering Arrest of Police Officers 'No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police' Chants in Baltimore Saturday, 02 May 2015 06:31 PM Chants of "no justice, no peace, no racist police" echoed through the streets of Baltimore Saturday during a march that organizers billed as a "victory rally" a day after a prosecutor charged six officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in police custody. State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Friday charged the six with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the death of Freddie Gray. He died from spinal injuries a week...

State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said Friday she has probable cause to file criminal charges in the much publicized death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who died while in police custody. Six officers, including a lieutenant and a sergeant, have been suspended after the incident. Gray suffered a spinal injury and died after riding in a police transport van that made several stops. On Thursday, Baltimore’s police officials said they turned over their initial report to prosecutors — a day earlier than expected.

Rawlings-Blake says she's thinking 'long and hard' about whether to run for U.S. Senate By Yvonne Wenger The Baltimore Sun As she weighs a decision to run for U.S. Senate, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday she’s considering whether she can serve Baltimore better in her current job or in Congress. Rawlings-Blake, who is in her first full term, declined to say how soon she would decide whether to run for the seat that will be vacated by longtime Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. Mikulski announced this week that she will retire at the end of her term after nearly half a...