Free Republic

A former White House adviser to former President Obama pled guilty to wire fraud on Friday in connection to an alleged scheme to steal $218,000 from a school network that he helped create. “Seth Andrew, a former White House advisor, admitted today to devising a scheme to steal from the very same schools he helped create," Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Andrew now faces time in federal prison for abusing his position and robbing those he promised to help.”

A former White House staffer who served under President Obama was swarmed by six police officers while moving into his New York apartment after a neighbor reported a “burglary in progress.” Darren Martin, who works for the city’s Department of Social Services, tweeted the entire ordeal on Friday night, along with a video of his interaction with the officers. “Can’t go nowhere without the cops following me. You know how it is,” Martin says in the footage. At one point, a 911 dispatcher is heard over the radio saying that “Somebody was trying to break in the door” with a...

An autopsy for an Obama for America campaign staffer who died after collapsing in the Chicago headquarters was inconclusive Saturday. -snip- The autopsy requires further studies before a cause of death can be determined, according to the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy for an Obama for America campaign staffer who died after collapsing in the Chicago headquarters was inconclusive Saturday. Alex Okrent, 29, collapsed at the Obama headquarters in the Prudential Building on Friday, authorities said. Paramedics gave him emergency treatment before taking him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The autopsy requires further studies before a cause of death can be determined, according to the medical examiner’s office.

A huge story on July 13 was the death of Obama campaign staffer Alex Okrent. Apparently, he had been at Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago, fine one minute, dead the next. Witnesses say he collapsed, whereby paramedics were called, and the next thing everyone knows, he’s dead. Young, twenty-nine years old? Mysteriously dies? Nothing to see here, move on… Except… Per the Obama campaign, Okrent had been a staffer going all the way back to Obama’s 2004 U.S. senate campaign—being on staff for eight years. That’s a long time. The guy must have a lot of history. A lot of...

CNSNews.com) – Shaun Casey, the religious affairs adviser to presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008, said at a discussion on Tuesday about “God and Politics” that the demise of religious society in the United States is a good thing. “I, frankly, am glad American civil religion is dying,” said Casey, who is an associate professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Casey made the remarks at an event focusing on religion and the 2012 presidential election at the liberal Center for American Progress where he was a panelist along with Gabriel Salguero, president of the National...

Upon hearing of his son's new gig, the father of incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was quoted in the Israeli newspaper Ma'Ariv saying “Obviously he’ll influence the President to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to be mopping floors at the White House.” This has prompted a letter from American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee heads Kareem Shora and former Rep. Mary Rose Oakar, D-Ohio, to the junior Mr. Emanuel, congratulating him and President-elect Obama, saying they are "deeply disappointed by comments made by your father, Mr. Benjamin Emanuel."

Barack Obama's real thinking about Israel and the Middle East continues to be an enigma. The words he chose in an address to AIPAC create a different impression than the composition of his foreign policy advisory team. Several advisors have evidenced a history of suspicion and worse toward Israel. One of his advisors in particular, Robert Malley, clearly warrants attention, as does the reasoning that led him to being chosen by Barack Obama. A little family history may be in order to understand the genesis of Robert Malley's views. Normally, one should be reluctant in exploring a person's family background...