Free Republic

Attorney General William Barr's investigation into the Russia probe's origins is "entirely appropriate" and brings hope for finally getting to the bottom of a controversy that has dominated the country's attention for two years. Those were some of the main assertions Chris Swecker, former FBI assistant director, made during a Friday interview on "America's Newsroom." His comments came after a Fox News interview in which Barr said Americans should be concerned about whether "government officials abused their power." Noting how invasive FISA surveillance was, Swecker said it was "entirely appropriate" for the DOJ to look into the use of that...

WASHINGTON — Paramilitary enforcers for Mexican drug cartels are responsible for a wave of violence in Nuevo Laredo that poses a serious threat for residents on both sides of the Southwest border, U.S. law enforcement officials told a House committee Thursday. Assassinations, kidnappings and daylight shootouts between military-trained gangs place citizens at risk along the border where violence has soared past historical norms, officials said. "These paramilitary groups work for the cartels as enforcers and are a serious threat to public safety on both sides of the border," said Chris Swecker, the FBI assistant director for the criminal investigative division....

Rochester Republican Dan Swecker’s boycott of an inauguration ceremony last week for Democrat Christine Gregoire and the inaugural ball that followed had nothing to do with any disrespect by Swecker for the office of governor. Making such an erroneous claim or suggestion about Swecker misses the point of his protest, with which a majority of his constituents likely concur. The 20th District state senator, who represents Lewis County and parts of Thurston County, believes as do many others that the election for governor was so deeply flawed the result was illegitimate. Calling for a delay in legislative ratification of a...