Free Republic

A Chicago judge appointed a special prosecutor on Friday morning to lead the investigation into the handling of the Jussie Smollett case. Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to the position to investigate the way the case was handled — specifically, why the 16 criminal charges against Smollett were dropped and to potentially reinstate the charges or even add additional charges against Smollett. "Webb gained prominence for his lead role during the Operation Greylord investigations into judicial corruption in Cook County," Fox 32 reported. "He served as special counsel in the Iran-Contra affair and was...

He is demanding the records with the aim of pointing the finger at the school by showing it is influenced by donations In the June 21 filing, Zangrillo's lawyers demanded a trove of records relating to how the private university flags some applicants as 'VIP' or 'special interest', and the percentage of applicants admitted within a year of their families donating $50,000 or more. It also asks for records on the university president's involvement, a database of donors, and emails and text messages exchanged among university officials related to the admission of Zangrillo’s daughter. The records 'could demonstrate that my...

Several LGBTQ organizations wrote a letter to GLAAD's president urging the group to abandon a push to pass an amendment enshrining LGBTQ rights in the Constitution. HuffPost reported Friday that a letter signed by the Human Rights Campaign, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Center for Transgender Equality and others urges GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis to cease efforts to advance an amendment campaign and instead engage with local advocacy groups to support their efforts. “While we certainly believe that the challenges facing the LGBTQ community require bold action, we also believe that advancing an amendment campaign is a harmful approach...

Dr. John Lott, President of the Crime Prevention Research Center, talks about "The War on Guns" at the 2019 FreedomFest. See video within the attached link.

Even though this is one of those body language examination videos, I find this even more interesting for the outcome (apparent white-washing) and that Senator John Cornyn was overseeing the AG's briefing. Why was he, and staunch establishment, deep state, Cornyn even there to make sure Barr stayed on script? My confidence in Barr has faded. There will be no Obama/Clinton justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd-UV92rNPw

Five men have been charged for allegedly taking part in an international identity theft scheme aimed at stealing millions of dollars from military members and veterans, according to a 14-count federal indictment unsealed this week in Texas. Authorities said the five men coordinated to steal personal information from thousands of military members and veterans. The men were based in the Philippines and the U.S. as part of a scheme that dates back to 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said this week. The defendents — Robert Wayne Boling Jr., Fredrick Brown, Trorice Crawford, Allan Albert Kerr, and Jongmin Seok —...

* U.S. test follows withdrawal from Cold War missile pact * Putin orders threat analysis and reciprocal response * Concern that U.S. aims to deploy new missile around world (Adds quotes, context, details) MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a like-for-like response to a recent U.S. missile test, which he said showed that Washington aimed to deploy previously banned missiles around the world. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, its first such test since the...

The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

Former HPD officer Gerald Goines charged with murder in botched Harding Street raid Second former officer faces tampering charge By Aaron Barker - Senior Digital Editor Posted: 12:50 PM, August 23, 2019 Updated: 2:20 PM, August 23, 2019 HOUSTON - Charges have been filed against two former officers in connection with the deadly botched raid at a home on Harding Street earlier this year. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said former Houston police Sgt. Gerald Goines has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the Jan. 28 raid during which Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, who...

As every Democrat running for their party’s 2020 presidential nomination, every elected Democrat in Congress, Leftists in the “mainstream” media and Hollywood continue to push the claim that American excess is destroying the planet and we’ve only got, “like, 10 years left” before hell on earth, in AOC’s vernacular, Barack and Michelle Obama just proved without a doubt that the Left’s “climate change” agenda is, indeed, a hoax. You may have heard that the former president and first lady have been renting in a rather large mansion in Martha’s Vineyard of late, a haven of wealthy liberals who produce massive...

Something very strange and disturbing happened to me recently. If it was just relevant to me, it wouldn’t be that important (except perhaps to me), and I wouldn’t be writing this column. But it’s something that is likely more important and more ominous than we can even imagine.There are already common fraudulent schemes being perpetrated by both telephone and internet. One known as the “Grandparent Scam” is particularly reprehensible, first because it is perpetrated on elderly people who are, in general, more susceptible to tech-savvy criminals and second because it is based on the manipulation of familial love, trust and...

A West End musical about a Jewish family is at the centre of a row over cultural appropriation, with critics saying the lack of Jewish involvement in the production is typical of an industry that sidelines talent from the community. Falsettos, which is coming to London after a successful Broadway run, debuted in 1992 and follows a dysfunctional Jewish family as they come to terms with the Aids crisis. Both its composer and lyricist, William Finn, and the original director and co-writer, James Lapine, are Jewish. More than 20 Jewish actors and playwrights, including Miriam Margolyes and Maureen Lipman, signed...

Former FBI Director James Comey denied claims made by Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Byrne has claimed to multiple news outlets, including the Washington Examiner, that the FBI directed him to rekindle a romantic relationship with Maria Butina, the Russian gun rights activist who admitted in December to conspiring with a senior Russian official to infiltrate conservative American political circles. The orders came from then-FBI agent Peter Strzok and top officials in the Obama administration, including Comey, Byrne has alleged without providing evidence. Comey called the allegations “ridiculous.”...

But Booker said the framework to prevent mass shootings must include the experiences of communities that endure shootings regularly. “Mass shootings in this country are awakening an issue that has existed in my community for generations,” Booker said. He noted shootings occur frequently in his Newark neighborhood, including the March shooting of Shahad Smith, a man Booker shared a building with. “These communities are often left out of conversations or completely dissed.” Samantha Dorf of the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action agreed, telling participants that while mass shootings fill news headlines, “it’s the everyday gun violence that takes...

India’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led government realised a long-standing aspiration of its followers and ideological fellow travellers on August 5. By announcing it would abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution, thereby ending special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi moved to consolidate its control over this region. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-hand man and home minister, Amit Shah, had cashed in on the massive electoral mandate the party had won in general elections earlier this year. While the government’s move has won favour among both supporters and some opposition parties in India, it has...

An Iowa college professor has openly declared his support for the far-left Antifa movement after he faced backlash for social media posts that included his desire to bash President Donald Trump with a baseball bat.English professor Jeff Klinzman, who has taught for almost ten years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, made the comments after a local TV station asked him about his social media posts.“I affirm that I am Antifa,” Klinzman told local ABC affiliate KCRG-TV.

One of the more poignant moments of Barack Obama's presidency came at the very end, in January 2017, just days before he left the White House. He awarded Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama spoke at great length about their personal friendship and praised Biden's leadership. In response, Biden said he knew that, no matter what, Obama would always be there for him. Obama: "It was 8 1/2 years ago that I chose Joe to be my vice president. There has not been a single moment since that time that I have doubted the wisdom of...

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, underwent three weeks of radiation treatment for a “localized malignant tumor” found on her pancreas on July 31st. The US Supreme Court disclosed Friday that Ginsburg received treatment this summer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. And the left is in full panic mode because Trump may just get to choose his third SCOTUS seat soon. Ginsburg’s replacement is a huge deal because it would be the first liberal SCOTUS seat that would swing conservative. The left is melting down and hoping for a miracle.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo Stuns As Patrick Byrne Expose Plot FBI's Wanted Him to Sleep with Russian Spy The interview begins at about the 10 min mark: CNN’s Chris Cuomo Stuns As Patrick Byrne Expose Plot FBI's Wanted Him to Sleep with Russian Spy

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a document that became the "last prelude" before the outbreak of World War II. After 80 years, we’ll try again to look back into the past and remember how it all happened. At the end of June 1939, negotiations on the normalization of relations between the Soviet Union and Germany began. In July, there was the talk of a trade agreement and a plan to improve relations between countries, which included political rapprochement. During a meeting with the military on August 14, Adolf Hitler announced his intention to start a war with Poland, since "UK and...