Free Republic

President Obama’s health care adviser Jonathan Gruber said that the Affordable Care Act would definitely not be affordable while he was writing the bill with the White House.As Gruber continues to withhold documents while he awaits a call-back for more testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the new year, more shocking information is coming to light detailing the deceptions that went into the writing of the health-care law. Gruber said that Obamacare had no cost controls in it and would not be affordable in an October 2009 policy brief, presented here exclusively by TheDC. At the...

Six months after the military began an investigation into the disappearance of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his capture by the Taliban, which held him for five years, the results remain under wraps as senior Army officials determine what to do next. Bergdahl was recovered in Afghanistan by U.S. troops in a controversial swap for five Taliban officials on May 31. He had disappeared from his small patrol base on June 30, 2009, under a cloud of suspicion and fear as it became clear he been captured by militants. The Army in June launched a new investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance...

After passing the Senate by unanimous consent on Monday, it seemed as if the FOIA Improvement Act would become law—a nearly identical version passed the House earlier this year. Today, however, it was up to Speaker of the House John Boehner to allow a vote on the bill’s final passage before the House adjourned this week. Instead, it was “held at the desk,” meaning Boehner may have just killed FOIA reform. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law, signed in 1966, that gives U.S. citizens the right to access information from the federal government. Through FOIA, journalists and...

Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in United States v. June, a case that has received little attention, but will have far-reaching implications. The case boils down to this: Can the federal government actively conceal material evidence in order to escape liability? Common sense says no. The Obama administration says yes. June involves the Federal Torts Claims Act (FTCA) and a doctrine called “equitable tolling.” Prior to 1946, the doctrine of sovereign immunity prohibited citizens from filing suit against the government. That all changed in 1946, when a military plane crashed into the Empire State Building, killing and...

It’s all about true love – not only for the Obamas, but also for the media. “The White House legend that is Barack and Michelle Obama’s romance is heading to the screen,” reported Deadline’s Jen Yamato on Dec. 5. The drama, “Southside With You,” will detail the Obama couple’s “epic first date” the summer of 1989 – consisting of the Art Institute, a long walk, and Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing.” In July 2015, the filming will begin where their romance blossomed: Chicago. “Get On Up” actress Tika Sumpter will star as Michelle Obama – but the real question...

A House bill has been introduced that would allow local governments to post legal notices on the Internet instead of in hard-copy newspapers by Jan. 1, 2025. The bill is believed to have a good chance of moving in the December lame-duck legislative session. Under House Bill 5560, local governments would phase-in specified protocols for posting notices online over the next 10 years. These protocols would be more stringent for some kinds of notices than for others. Newspapers, which are already struggling to compete against Internet sites for advertising dollars, have a great deal at stake concerning the legal notice...

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department is scooping up data from thousands of cellphones through fake communications towers deployed on airplanes, a high-tech hunt for criminal suspects that is snagging a large number of innocent Americans, according to people familiar with the operations. The U.S. Marshals Service program, which became fully functional around 2007, operates Cessna aircraft from at least five metropolitan-area airports, with a flying range covering most of the U.S. population, according to people familiar with the program. Planes are equipped with devices—some known as “dirtboxes” to law-enforcement officials because of the initials of the Boeing Co. unit that produces them—which...

Comments about voter stupidity made by an ally of the Obama administration are turning into conservatives’ newest weapon against the president’s healthcare law. A series of unearthed videos of ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber insulting U.S. voters while saying a “lack of transparency” helped Congress pass the healthcare law are attracting serious attention on the right just as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate. The newly discovered remarks — revealed so far in three videos circulated by conservative media — add fuel to the GOP’s claim that Democrats were deliberately obscuring pieces of the law to assure its passage....

Recently, a very disturbing video emerged that contains the metaphorical smoking gun concerning President Obama’s many lies about Obamacare. This should remove any lingering doubt that we’re dealing with a fascist-type administration. Of course, there should be no need for a smoking gun, because it is now undeniable that Obama lied on his major selling points about the Affordable Care Act. Unlike many Democrats in falsely accusing President George W. Bush of lying about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, I don’t use the term “lie” lightly. I don’t mean that Obama made good-faith statements about his bill that he honestly...

Has anyone stood up in a Presidential Press Conference and simply asked: "Mr. President, why have you sequestered virtual every document from your past?" And if it hasn't been asked, why not?

Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was principally involved in a plot with Lois Lerner and President Barack Obama’s political appointee at the IRS to lead a program of harassment against conservative nonprofit groups during the 2012 election, according to letters exclusively obtained by The Daily Caller. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not want to publicly release 2012 correspondences exchanged between the IRS and Jeanne Shaheen at her personal Washington office: the agency delayed releasing the information to a major conservative super PAC multiple times, even threatening to see the super PAC in court, according to emails. (RELATED: Lois...

Scandal: Documents obtained by a government watchdog group list emails between the attorney general and his wife regarding a White House statement on the "gun walking" scandal the White House wants kept secret. The release of the government's Vaughn Index of documents that the administration withheld from the House Oversight Committee's investigation of Fast and Furious may not be the October surprise that the Obama administration hoped for. It raises more questions than it answers and shows the absurd extent of the administration's cover-up. On July 18, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates ordered the Justice Department to produce, in...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo took office four years ago promising the most transparent administration in history, but journalists and advocacy groups say his office tightly controls requests for public records on anything controversial and routinely delays or denies their release. For decades, responding to requests under New York’s Freedom of Information Law was the responsibility of individual state agencies. Current and former state officials say that began to change a year into Cuomo’s administration, and now such requests are often routed through the governor’s legal counsel. …

Obama Sees an Iran Deal That Could Avoid Congress By DAVID E. SANGER OCT. 19, 2014 WASHINGTON — No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it. Even while negotiators argue over the number of...

911 emergency dispatchers in New York have been instructed not to use the work 'Ebola' over the radio. According to the New York Post, officials made the decision in an effort to minimize fear and panic since the radio channels are often monitored by civilians and the media. The Post reports that dispatchers have been instructed to use the code ‘F/T' when discussing callers that have a fever and have a history of travel to West Africa.

When President Barack Obama takes Air Force One on a fundraising swing, he is required under the law to reimburse taxpayers for certain travel expenses. But as Mark Knoller of CBS News reports, the White House has made it a practice of not publicly releasing specific reimbursement figures, making it impossible for the public to see exactly how much they pay every time the president goes on a political trip. Knoller says it’s not about national security reasons, but rather about saving face. “Very simply, the White House doesn’t want to disclose the material because it might be embarrassing and...

The Army has no plans to release the results of an investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's disappearance and capture by the Taliban in 2009, a spokesman said Friday. "We recognize the importance of the media and the public understanding of our investigative process, and look forward to future discussions on this issue. However, the Army's priority is ensuring that our process is thorough, factually accurate, impartial, and legally correct," Army spokesman Wayne Hall said in a statement.

The Army has no plans to release the results of an investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's disappearance and capture by the Taliban in 2009, a spokesman said Friday. "We recognize the importance of the media and the public understanding of our investigative process, and look forward to future discussions on this issue. However, the Army's priority is ensuring that our process is thorough, factually accurate, impartial, and legally correct," Army spokesman Wayne Hall said in a statement. The Army is looking into whether Bergdahl deserted his post or was absent without leave, both of which would punishable under military law...

A measure aimed at assuring that government entities can’t use artificially inflated costs to stifle the public’s ability to obtain information is buried in a Senate committee. It is believed that if House Bill 4001 were to be voted on by the full Senate, it would stand a good chance of passing, but with only a few session days remaining in 2014, time is running out. HB4001 would prohibit public bodies from charging excessive fees for Freedom of Information Act request materials. After being passed by the House with an overwhelming 102-8 vote on March 20, the bill was assigned...

Health officials are refusing to answer growing questions about their response to the first Ebola case in the United States. Under intense questioning from reporters, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas health department and the City of Dallas repeatedly declined Thursday to provide details about the steps being taken to prevent an outbreak. Texas Health Commissioner David Lakey, who participated in one press call Thursday, would not identify or describe the four individuals who have been quarantined due to possible exposure to Ebola. They were later referred to as "family members" at a separate...