Free Republic

During a White House press conference yesterday, spokesman Josh Earnest struggled to answer questions about how more gun control legislation would have prevented any of the mass shootings in recent years. VIDEO Wall Street Journal reporter Byron Tau referenced presidential candidate Marco Rubio's claim that gun legislation would not have preventing recent mass-shootings. “If not a single recent mass shooting would have been stopped by the kind of gun control measures you champion, are those the right approach to this problem?” Tau asked. Responded Earnest, “Well, Byron, I think we’ve been pretty direct and upfront about the fact that there...

Federal officials are planning to roll out a new terror threat system in coming days, on the heels of new warnings about home-grown attacks. The new system would be the third major federal warning system in the years since Sept. 11, 2001, beginning with the original color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System, which was abandoned in 2011. The current National Terrorism Advisory System is meant to notify the public about an "imminent" or "elevated" threat to the country. However, it has never been used, in part because the bar for triggering an alert is too high, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson...

The White House on Tuesday said Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's call for the United States to ban Muslims from entering the country disqualified him from becoming president and called on Republicans to reject him immediately. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Trump's campaign had a dustbin of history quality to it and said his comments were offensive and toxic.

"Even reading from his trusty teleprompter, President Barack Obama made a huge error in his Sunday night address to the nation on terror. The White House had to send a "corrected" transcript. Actually, it doesn't correct the record to indicate what the Teleprompter in Chief actually said. It corrects the record to indicate what he should have said. He indicated that Tashfeen Malik, the wife of her co-terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, came to this country under a visa waiver. Actually she arrived under a K-1 fiancee visa. As a Pakistani citizen, she wasn't eligible for a 90-day visa waiver."

Sources indicate heated tension between President Obama and FBI Director James Comey about the nature of the San Bernardino mass shooting, which left 14 civilians dead. Although the FBI believed that it was an act of terrorism from the beginning, immense political pressure was brought down on investigators to avoid using the term “terrorism,” with Obama stating, “It is possible that this is terrorist related, but we don’t know…It is also possible that this was workplace related.” A SOFREP source confirmed that after the shooting, Obama held a meeting in the Oval Office with his National Security Council, the attorney...

In addressing the nation Sunday evening, President Obama turned to a venue he doesn’t like to discuss a subject he would rather avoid. His decision to speak on the terrorist threat from the Oval Office, just days after the deadly attack in San Bernardino, Calif., reflects a broad concern in the White House that the American people, distracted by the overheated cacophony of the campaign season, are not listening to him. Or at least they are not hearing what he has to say.

Summary: Watch live at 8pm ET on Sunday, December 6, when President Obama will deliver an address on his top priority: keeping Americans safe. . On Sunday, December 6, at 8:00 pm ET, President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office about the steps our government is taking to fulfill his highest priority: keeping the American people safe. He will provide an update on the ongoing investigation into the tragic attack in San Bernardino. He will also discuss the broader threat of terrorism -- including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will...

**SNIP** "This is by far the most aggressive assault on the inspector general concept since the beginning," said Light, and Peace Corps inspector general Kathy Buller said it "runs against transparency." The new rules come from a dispute within the Justice Department after its former inspector general, Glenn Fine, gave a series of reports on FBI abuses. After that, FBI attorneys said that he could no longer have access to their confidential records. A Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion, though, said a law passed in 1978 did not mean the inspector general did not have all access in...

The Obama administration reacted to yesterday’s shooting in San Bernardino – likely carried out by a Muslim terrorist – by insisting that “common sense” gun laws will deter jihadists who are planning attacks. Reporter Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest: “Does the President really think that common sense gun laws would deter terrorists now that he has admitted that these two may have been terrorists?”

The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 04, 2015 . Statement by the President This morning we learned that our businesses have added 13.7 million jobs over 69 months, extending the longest streak on record. Last night, Democrats and Republicans came together to pass a transportation bill that will help us build on America's progress by growing our economy and creating more good jobs for our middle class. This bill is not perfect, but it is a commonsense compromise, and an important first step in the right direction. I look forward to signing this bill...

Summary: Today’s data on national health expenditures show that 2014 was another year of slow health care cost growth.. Today’s data on national health expenditures show that 2014 was another year of slow health care cost growth, as per-enrollee health care spending growth remained low in both the public and private sectors. The slow growth in the per-enrollee spending seen in recent years is thanks in part to reforms in the Affordable Care Act and is generating major fiscal and economic benefits. Alongside continued slow growth in per-enrollee spending, today’s release corroborates earlier data showing that aggregate health care spending...

Contact the White House Submit Your Comments and Questions Online President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history. To send questions, comments, concerns, or well-wishes to the President or his staff, please use the form below. [....]

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that President Obama thinks that gun control would help deter terrorists. Earnest made the comments today at the White House's daily press briefing. White House: Obama Thinks Gun Control Will Deter Terrorists Peter Doocy: "President Obama yesterday jumped to say that this mass shooting means it's time for commonsense gun laws. Does the President really think that common sense gun laws would deter terrorists now that he has admitted that these two may have been terrorists?" White House press secretary Josh Earnest: "Yes. The president believes that passing common sense gun laws that makes...

Summary: President Obama speaks about today's shooting in San Bernardino, California. A horrific shooting in San Bernardino, California has claimed the lives of at least 14 people. Details are still emerging, and federal and local law enforcement are on the ground to secure the area. In an interview with CBS, President Obama spoke about the ongoing situation in California and the unacceptable pattern of mass shootings the U.S. is facing. Watch it: [Video] Here is a transcript of the President's comments: "It's still an active situation. FBI is on the ground offering assistance to local officials as they need it....

WASHINGTON — Justice Department watchdogs ran into an unexpected roadblock last year when they began examining the role of federal drug agents in the fatal shootings of unarmed civilians during raids in Honduras. From Our Advertisers The Drug Enforcement Administration balked at turning over emails from senior officials tied to the raids, according to the department’s inspector general. It took nearly a year of wrangling before the D.E.A. was willing to turn over all its records in a case that the inspector general said raised “serious questions” about agents’ use of deadly force. The continuing Honduran inquiry is one of...

When it was finally served, dinner at the Big White consisted of the standard fare: Turkey, ham, prime rib, 10 sides and 6 pies (apple, banana cream, cherry, coconut, pecan and pumpkin). Doesn’t everybody go a bit overboard for Thanksgiving? Where’s the %#@! banana cream! Unfortunately the feast was held up as another nut job scaled the fence and forced a 3 hour lockdown. If I were a Syrian refugee, could I do this? Whew! That was a close call; have you ever seen Lady M when her blood sugar drops to dangerously low levels? Trust me, not a pretty sight.Fortunately...

A man draped in an American flag climbed over the fence at the White House on Thursday, prompting a lockdown as the first family celebrated Thanksgiving. The man was immediately apprehended and taken into custody pending criminal charges, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident took place about 2:45 p.m. EST. An image of a man atop a section of fence in front of the North Lawn was posted on the website of television station WJLA. Another image showed the man standing on the lawn with his arms raised in victory. ...

The Obama's Thanksgiving celebrations had to be cut short after a man draped in the American flag jumped the fence of the White House. President Obama and his family were tucking into their turkey dinner when they were put on lockdown so the Secret Service could conduct a sweep of the grounds following the security breach. CNN reports that Joseph Caputo - who was wearing a baseball shirt, gloves and the flag as a cape when he hopped the fence - was immediately taken into custody.

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) during President Obama's tenure, went on the Kelly File last night to talk about the possible manipulation of ISIS intelligence. He said the investigation should "start at the top. Where intelligence starts and stops is at the White House." "[M]any of them have been deployed for many years in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere... so I think that the focus of really this investigation, they'll find whoever they're going to find and some of the tactical issues at central command, but the focus of this investigation ought to...

Speaking from the White House Monday after more than a week of being overseas, Press Secretary Josh Earnest tried to reassure reporters that President Obama is taking the threat from ISIS seriously and is gathering as much intelligence on the terror army as he possibly can. "The intelligence reports that he's received about ISIL and the impact they've had on Syria and Iraq in particular, have been troubling and that is part of what has prompted the kind of aggressive and sustained commitment to degrading and ultimately destroying that organization that you've seen put forward by the president," Earnest said....