Free Republic

Several unions have contributed to President Obama’s inauguration. At least nine unions are listed as donors to the inauguration, according to the latest update on the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s website. The committee has been releasing donors’ names to the inauguration every Friday for the past several weeks. The unions that have donated to Obama’s second inauguration include the American Federation of Government Employees; the American Postal Workers Union; the International Association of Fire Fighters; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Laborers International Union of North America; and the United Food & Commercial Workers. Labor was a key ally of...

And the probe doesn’t involve some bit players in an obscure program, either.  The 1603 Program was one of the centerpieces of Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus, designed to subsidize a transition from hydrocarbon-based energy to renewables in the residential market, and federal government sunk $13 billion into the effort.  Now the Inspector General of Treasury has opened a probe of the three largest providers of solar panel installations, who gained the most from the 1603 Program, and who may have fraudulently calculated their bills in order to claim more taxpayer cash: Three of the country’s most prolific installers of...

Sufyan Ben Qumu was classified as a 'medium to high' national security risk before his release from American custody Qumu reportedly was Osama bin Laden's driver and worked for the al-Qaeda founder's company in Sudan Libyans promised to keep him behind bars, but he was released in 2010 Qumu was a former Libyan army tank driver and became a leader of the rebels during the uprising A former al-Qaeda terrorist released from Guantanamo Bay is believed to be the leader of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the US Ambassador, it was...

The Free Beacon has a brief profile of Kareem Ahmed from TPM, one of the few million dollar donors to Obama’s SuperPACs. You’d be forgiven if you don’t recognize Ahmed’s name. Before this year, his political giving was limited to a few four-figure checks to California candidates. Several veteran California politics watchers contacted for this story had no idea who Ahmed was, either. But here’s the thing: so far in 2012, Ahmed’s contributions to Obama, Democrats, and the outside spending groups that support them have totaled more than $1.1 million. Ahmed’s wife, Tayyaba Farhat, has contributed another $75,000. At...

President Barack Obama’s campaign raised more than $150 million in September, which was a record haul for the 2012 cycle, but the campaign may be actively trying to block a story in the works about a “blockbuster donor scandal” that could put its fundraising numbers under intense scrutiny.

President Obama reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story. Sources told Secrets that the Obama campaign has been trying to block the story. But a key source said it plans to publish the story Friday or, more likely, Monday.

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

Will the real Obama stand up???As Islamic bigot's dirty money contaminates Barack Obama - Is Obama leaning towards the "ideology" of Khalidi's OK of 'Islamic States Apartheid' and lying about Israel's true free & equal for all democracy smearing its will to survive against Arab racist terror with The poisonous myth of 'Israeli apartheid'? Follow the Money: Obama contributor Talat M. Othman 23 Feb 2008 by to be announced Khalidi, a "virulent critic of Israel", has "denounced Israel as an 'apartheid' state." Pipes wrote that Othman is "president of the founding committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater...

President Barack Obama publicly thanked a man the New York Post called a “gay-porn kingpin” at an Oregon fundraiser on Tuesday, according to the Weekly Standard. While speaking at a Portland campaign fundraiser, Obama thanked Terry Bean for organizing the event. … The (New York) Post said (in 2008), "Bean, the first gay on Sen. Obama's National Finance Committee, is the sole trustee of the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, which owned Falcon Studios, Jock Studios, and Mustang Studios, the producers of about $10 million worth of all-male pornography a year." …

Even as Newt Gingrich’s campaign teetered on the edge of collapse in March, the wife of a casino mogul gave a pro-Gingrich super PAC another $5 million. The contribution brought the Adelson family’s pro-Gingrich tally to $20 million — a figure Sheldon Adelson himself was floating in December, POLITICO reported. The Adelsons almost single-handedly funded Winning Our Future’s operations since its inception in December, but in recent days, Adelson has signaled he will put his wealth behind establishment Republican candidates. The super PAC, Winning Our Future, ended last month with $5.76 million in its account, having raised $5.05 million while...

White House Opens Door to Big Donors, and Lobbyists Slip In MIKE McINTIRE and MICHAEL LUO April 14, 2012 Last May, as a battle was heating up between Internet companies and Hollywood over how to stop online piracy, a top entertainment industry lobbyist landed a meeting at the White House with one of President Obama’s technology advisers. Dwight and Antoinette C. Bush in 2010. Ms. Bush visits the White House frequently. The lobbyist did not get there by himself. He was accompanied by Antoinette C. Bush, a well-connected Washington lawyer who has represented companies like Viacom, Sony and News Corporation...

A major contributor to President Barack Obama's re-election effort is accused of defrauding a businessman and impersonating a bank official. Donor Abake Assongba gave more than $50,000 to Obama this election season. But her past legal troubles, which include unpaid debts, are creating a new headache for Obama's campaign. The allegations were first reported Sunday by The Washington Post. ..

President Obama raised several hundred million dollars during the 2008 election, more than twice what Republican rival John McCain raised and a far cry more than any other U.S. President before him. The result? Obama’s fundraising achievements have ushered in a degree of crony capitalism Americans have quite possibly never witnessed before. The voluminous scale of political favoritism, and in some cases downright corruption, in the current administration has undermined taxpayers and trampled on the U.S. Constitution, as corporate bailouts, legislative kickbacks, and shady government appointments have become commonplace in the Obama White House. Crony capitalism, also referred to as...

General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn't pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.

On the eve of his appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the Solyndra bankruptcy, the Energy Department has provided reporters with advance excerpts from Secretary Chu’s prepared statement. The remarks indicate that Chu will continue to defend the green energy loan guarantee program that gave the now-bankrupt solar panel company more than $527 million in taxpayer dollars.

(Reuters) - Contributors to President Barack Obama's campaign did not influence the decisions on government aid to the now-bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told National Public Radio. Chu defended decisions made by the Energy Department on the $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra in his first major interview on what has become a nagging political issue for the Obama administration. The interview, on Tuesday night, comes just ahead of his testimony to the House Energy and Commerce committee on Thursday, where Republicans probing the loan are expected to grill him on the taxpayer-funded aid to Solyndra....

The National Lawyers Guild says it has obtained a court that allows Occupy Wall St. protesters to return with tents to a New York City park. The guild says the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city knew about the court order but has not seen it. He says the city plans to go court immediately.

While the professional Left trashes Wall Street, they might want to consider how their current President got elected.  The Sunlight Foundation reports that Barack Obama didn’t just win the Wall Street sweepstakes in 2008 over John McCain — he’s done better at getting Wall Street cash than any other President in the last 20 years: Despite his rhetorical attacks on Wall Street, a study by the Sunlight Foundation’s Influence Project shows that President Barack Obama has received more money from Wall Street than any other politician over the past 20 years, including former President George W. Bush.In 2008, Wall Street’s largesse accounted for...

Bloomberg reports that the FBI is investigating Solyndra for accounting fraud, according to a source close to the solar panel company. The report confirms assumptions that the Department of Justice has been looking into whether Solyndra misrepresented the company's financial situation in order to obtain — and then refinance — a $534 million loan from the federal government. We've previously written that Solyndra executives assured the administration that the company's future was bright, even as the company's internal audits showed its finances deteriorating. The company declared bankruptcy earlier this month, prompting the FBI probe, as well as two Congressional investigations.

The Energy Department continued to hurry up approvals for green energy loans before the program ends Sept. 30. Late Thursday, the DOE approved a $132 million loan guarantee for Abengoa Bioenergy Project, a Kansas-based cellulosic ethanol plant. The project would create 65 permanent jobs — or just over $2 million per position. That’s actually a big improvement from Wednesday’s DOE approvals of more than $1 billion in loans to two green projects promising 52-55 permanent jobs.