Free Republic

Retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in an interview that too many politicians in Washington “don’t care” about the country, only about their “political ambitions.” In an interview with The Associated Press published Wednesday, Leahy said when he first joined the Senate in 1975, senators found ways to get things done regardless of differing views. Leahy, 82, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, has spent the last 48 years in the Senate and serves as the chamber’s president pro tempore and is third in line to the presidency. “I think then, most of [the senators] knew there were basic things the...

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Friday formally declassified an image then-US President Donald Trump tweeted in 2019 of a highly classified satellite photograph depicting the site of a failed Iranian rocket launch. NPR reported that the NGA declassified the image after a “grueling Pentagon-wide review to determine whether the briefing slide it came from could be shared with the public” in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the radio network. Many details on the original image remain redacted – a clear sign that Trump was sharing some of the US government's most prized intelligence on social media,...

US Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont was hospitalized Thursday after he felt unwell at his McLean, Virginia, home, his office said. As a precaution, the 82-year-old Democrat was taken to a Washington-area hospital for tests. At the recommendation of his doctors, he was expected to remain in the hospital overnight for observation. Leahy, the longest-serving sitting senator, is not seeking re-election in November. By the time his term expires in January 2023, Leahy will have served for 48 years in the Senate. In June, he fell and broke his hip. At the time, his staff said he was expected to...

An exiled Nicaraguan journalist says she fears a growing presence of Russsian troops in her homeland as the country grows increasingly isolated on the world stage. Berta Valle — wife of imprisoned Nicaraguan opposition leader and presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga — told The Post on Monday that Nicaraguans are “terrified” of dictator Daniel Ortega’s decision to welcome Russian soldiers to the Central American country after seeing what they’ve done in Ukraine. “Ortega invited the Russian military into Nicaragua. Publicly, he says Russia is supporting the military training of the Nicaraguan military. But we are terrified, because our country is hosting...

In less than two weeks, one of the world's biggest democracies will hold what many are describing as its most important presidential election in years. The US has been watching this vote in Brazil closely. Why? There aren't many issues that staunch opponents in Washington ever agree on. But they are united on this. "This is going to be one of the most intense and dramatic elections in the 21st Century," former Trump aide Steve Bannon tells the BBC. "The fate of Brazil's democracy and of US relations with Brazil will be decided in the upcoming election," says Senator Patrick...

Outgoing Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that former President Donald Trump “could end up being indicted” for the documents that were removed from his Florida estate by the FBI during a raid earlier this month. Mitchell said, “Talk about your reaction to The New York Times reporting that the former President Donald Trump had more than 300 documents stored at Mar-a-Lago over the months and months of trying to get cooperation.”

<p>MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont has broken a hip in a fall at his home and was to undergo surgery to repair it, his office said Thursday.</p><p>The 82-year-old Democrat fell Wednesday night in McLean, Virginia, the statement said. Doctors determined the best course of action would be to have surgery to repair the hip as soon as possible.</p>

“Remarking on the soaring tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla voiced support for Moscow and echoed his voice against NATO’s expansion eastward.” (This was way back on Feb. 20, by the way.) Most of us recall the Obama administration's lies and treachery regarding Benghazi. But how many of you know about the Obama administration's lies and treachery against the American families of the Americans ambushed and murdered on the orders of Raul Castro this week in 1996?....... Thought so...Well, please read on: You see, amigos: This week 26 years ago three U.S. citizens and...

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving member of the Senate, said Monday he will not seek reelection in 2022 to the seat he has held for eight terms. Leahy, 81, said he and his wife, Marcelle, have concluded that “it is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home.”

John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, is struggling with a crucial decision: Whether to ask South Dakota voters for six more years in office. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Senate Republican, says Iowa voters are increasingly urging him to run again, and he's now considering moving up his much-anticipated announcement about whether to extend his 40 years of service in the chamber. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont -- a Senate veteran of 46 years who is third in line of presidential succession -- says he'll make a decision "after I go snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing." GOP Sen. Ron Johnson,...

During the May 26, 2021, Senate Judiciary Confirmation hearings, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and ATF nominee David Chipman were in solidarity in push for “electronic traces” of firearms. Leahy jumped into the topic by complaining about laws that limit the tracing and tracking of firearms, saying, “Congress, at the behest of some in the gun lobby, prohibited the ATF from electronically searching gun sales records [even though] we have tens of millions of these records stored in metal containers in parking lots.”

During a Friday appearance on “CNN Newsroom,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) announced an independent September 11-style commission to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Leahy, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the group of rioters, said the commission “is a superb one.” He added the commission should “have subpoena power.”

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers turned the tables on House impeachment managers on Friday, trolling them with footage of Democrats over and over vowing to “fight” or “fight back” against Trump and Republicans to highlight their alleged “hypocrisy.” Impeachment managers used a series of CCTV videos of the Jan. 6 riot to show just how close pro-Trump marauders came to lawmakers and clips of Trump’s speeches to allege he had a history of encouraging violence. But the former president’s counsel came right back at them during their first day of arguments on Friday, accusing them of selectively quoting...

As the Senate launches its second impeachment trial of Donald Trump next week, its members must confront the deep unfairness of the proceedings. The Senate rashly claimed jurisdiction over a former president, fumbled on the selection of a presiding judge, and ignored the constitutional — not political — standards that should prevail. Further, it has given Trump’s depleted legal team little time or means to present a full defense — the only guarantee that the American people will accept the verdict as fair. Trump’s lawyers will have to accept these unfair conditions, though might conceivably be able to appeal directly...

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who is presiding over former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, returned home on Tuesday night after an unexpected trip to the hospital earlier in the day, a spokesman said.“After getting test results back, and after a thorough examination, Senator Leahy now is home. He looks forward to getting back to work. Patrick and Marcelle deeply appreciate the well wishes they have received tonight,” spokesman David Carle said in a statement.The update on Leahy’s condition comes after an earlier report that the Vermont lawmaker had been admitted to the hospital just hours after presiding over the...

Leahy, 80, is president pro tempore of the Senate, and on Monday was sworn in to preside over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. In a statement, David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy, said the senator did not feel well on Tuesday evening, and went to George Washington University Hospital "out of an abundance of caution." Carle said Leahy was admitted for observation, and "after getting test results back, and after a thorough examination, Sen. Leahy is now home. He looks forward to getting back to work. Patrick and [his wife] Marcelle deeply appreciate the well wishes they...

Sen. Patrick Leahy has reportedly been taken to the hospital for a sudden illness on the day senators were sworn in for the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump."This evening, Sen. Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well," spokesman David Carle wrote in a statement, per reports. "He was examined in the Capitol by the Attending Physician. ... The swearing in and Leahy's illness come one night after being assigned to preside over the trial.

Leahy, who is third in the line of succession as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was just sworn-in to preside over the impeachment trial."This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. He was examined in the Capitol by the Attending Physician. Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated," David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy said. Leahy, 80, who is third in the line of succession as the President Pro...

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is set to preside over the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, was taken to a Washington hospital on Tuesday afternoon after “not feeling well,” his spokesman said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will not preside over former President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, which is scheduled to begin in earnest on Feb. 8. Instead, Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the most senior member of the Senate Democratic Conference, will preside over the trial. Leahy on Monday confirmed he would wield the gavel and promised to administer “impartial justice.” Republicans say Roberts’s absence undermines the legitimacy of the trial. “The Constitution requires that the chief justice preside over the impeachment trial of a president but that’s not what we’re doing. To me that’s indicative of the...