Free Republic

State Department lawyers found President Trump and the White House Office of Management and Budget had no legal ground to block the department sending military aid to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. What's happening: The State Department "quietly authorized releasing $141 million" of the approximately $400 million withheld by the White House several days before Sept. 11 — the date Trump says he released the funds, per Bloomberg. The White House hold on funds "provoked consternation, if not panic, at the State and Defense Departments," Bloomberg reports — "because the law required them to spend the money by the end of the...

NBC on Friday set the lineups for the first round of the 2020 Democratic debates that will take place on June 26 and 27 in Miami. Details: A random drawing, which was closed to the press but attended by campaign officials, took place at NBC's 30 Rock offices in New York and looked to randomly divide the lineup for both debate nights between the candidates polling above and below 2%. June 26: Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, and Elizabeth Warren June 27: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden,...