Free Republic

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, September 16, 2019 Current and Former Precious Metals Traders Charged with Multi-Year Market Manipulation Racketeering Conspiracy Two current precious metals traders and one former trader in the New York offices of a U.S. bank (Bank A) were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged participation in a racketeering conspiracy and other federal crimes in connection with the manipulation of the markets for precious metals futures contracts, which spanned over eight years and involved thousands of unlawful trading sequences.Charged in the indictment are: Gregg Smith, 55, of...

Radical Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has accused her "fellow Americans" of treating her like a "suspect" following the 9/11 attacks.During an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Democratic "Squad" member Omar refused to apologize for her offensive remarks about the September 11 terrorist attacks, arguing that she is a victim.Speaking to host Margaret Brennan, Omar complained that, as a Muslim, the suffering felt across America left her feeling victimized by Islamophobia.

There’s no better place to celebrate a birthday than at the ballpark. Even more so when it’s your first visit. That’s what CP Crawford, of Lansing, Ill., did on his birthday Thursday. It was his 112th birthday, and Crawford, a lifelong White Sox fan, had never been to a game. Andrew Holmes, who is the executive director of Club 100, a nonprofit that focuses on people who are 100 years old or older, learned of Crawford’s fandom and the fact he’d never seen his team play, and decided to help make that happen. Crawford took a limo from his nursing...

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" has decided not to hire Shane Gillis after offensive remarks from the comedian resurfaced. "After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," a spokesperson on behalf of SNL creator Lorne Michaels told BuzzFeed News on Monday "We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL." "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days," the spokesperson added....

Remarks by President Trump at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera Issued on: September 16, 2019 East Room 2:20 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, everybody.  “The Sandman.”  My wife asked me, “Why ‘The Sandman’?  Just tell me.”  (Laughter.)  Our First Lady.  I said, “Because he put the batter to sleep, right?”  (Laughter.)  “The Sandman.”  A lot of people don’t know that, but the Yankee fans know that.  We’ve watched it for a long time. Thank you all for coming.  The First Lady and I are delighted to welcome you to the White House.  Today,...

Putin offers to sell Saudi Arabia its missile defense systems in the wake of the attack on its oil facilities. “We are ready to help Saudi Arabia so that she can protect her territory,” he says. “She can do so in the same way that Iran has already done in buying the S-300 Russian missile system and the same way that Turkey has already done in buying the S-400 Russian missile system,” Putin adds at a press conference in Ankara, alongside the Turkish and Iranian leaders. The US has blamed Iran for the attack on the Saudi oil facilities.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice seeking all records of communications, including FBI 302 interview reports and offer agreements between former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office and Felix Sater, a former Trump organization official who was recently confirmed to be an informant for the FBI and CIA. Sater reportedly pushed a Russian real estate deal in 2016 while working at the Trump organization. Sater reportedly “began working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1998, after he was caught in a stock-fraud scheme.” It was...

The beginning of Willie Taggart's Florida State career hasn't gone according to anybody's plan. The Seminoles missed a bowl game for the first time in 36 years following a 2018 season that included blowout losses at the hands of Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida, and his second season hasn't been much better thus far. Now, even the kids are upset with Taggart. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Clayton Grant, a 4-year-old Florida State fan who lives in Tallahassee, set up a "Free Willie" lemonade stand in front of his grandmother's house. He charged $20 per cup and...

Lori Loughlin may have second thoughts about pleading not guilty in the college admissions scandal following Felicity Huffman's 14-day sentence. A source close to Loughlin told People that the former "Fuller House" star was "aware of Felicity’s sentence and is processing what that means for her." The insider added of Huffman's sentencing date Friday, "This has been a rough day. Lori is going to move forward as best as she can, but now she has a little more clarity about what will happen next."

State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed President Trump’s accounting firm to demand eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. The subpoena opens a new front in a wide-ranging effort to obtain copies of the president’s tax returns, which Mr. Trump initially said he would make public during the 2016 campaign but has since refused to disclose. The subpoena was issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office late last month, soon after it opened a criminal investigation into the role that the president and his family business played in hush-money...

[Catholic Caucus] Marx says German 'synod' will proceed despite Vatican objections Munich, Germany, Sep 16, 2019 / 11:45 am (CNA).- The head of the German bishops’ conference told Vatican officials last week that addressing controversial theological topics during the German bishops’ proposed “binding synodal path” will be a service to the universal Church. “We hope that the results of forming an opinion [on these matters] in our country will also be helpful for the guidance of the Universal Church and for other episcopal conferences on a case-by-case basis. In any case, I cannot see why questions about which the Magisterium...

"It just didn't make any sense," lifelong friend Leland Keyser told New York Times reporters about Ford's allegations, adding "I don't have any confidence in the story." Buried at the end of their new book “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation,” reporters Robin Pogebrin and Kate Kelly quietly admit that Christine Blasey Ford’s lifelong friend Leland Keyser did not believe her friend’s tale of a sexual assault at a party they both supposedly attended. Keyser was named by Ford as a witness, one of four who denied any knowledge of the event in question. The book offers no evidence...

"Elizabeth Warren is a hypocrite" These are the words of Ed Rendell, former Philly mayor, Pennsylvania governor and chair of the Democratic National Committee. At this moment, ahead of the Democratic Presidential's Primary Debate on Thursday, he is coming after Elizabeth Warren. His op-ed on Washington Post centers on the lead Democratic presidential hopeful, titled "I like Elizabeth Warren. Too bad she's a hypocrite." One of the reasons why Rendell believes Warren is...

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. -- An investigation is underway after multiple reports that fans from San Clemente High School racially taunted Lincoln High cheerleaders at a football game Friday night in Orange County. "During the game, multiple spectators heckled the Lincoln players and cheer squad, repeatedly using racial slurs, including the 'n-word,'" said Clovis Honoré, president of the San Diego branch of the NAACP. "Furthermore, cheer squad members were racially harassed in restrooms, again including the 'n-word.' This harassment came not only from high-school-age youth but also from adult fans." According to state education data, Lincoln High’s enrollment in the 2018-2019...

Ilhan Omar praised corrupt California for moving ahead with a bill to ban private prisons. The new legislation would come into effect after the 2020 presidential election “on or after January 1, 2020” and would prohibit California’s government from “entering into or renewing a contract with a private, for-profit prison to incarcerate state inmates.” Where will they put these people? They don’t care as long as it’s not in prison. The attack on private prisons is an attack on ICE detention. This is an important step. No one should profit from putting human beings in cages — especially in a...

The ban on eating dogs and cats was recently blocked in the UK. It might offend Asian migrants.

A North Carolina high school punished several of its cheerleaders because the girls dared to be seen supporting President Donald Trump. At the end of August, two girls from North Stanly High School in New London, N.C., posted a pre-game photo of themselves holding a Donald Trump 2020 banner that read, “Trump 2020 Make America Great Again.” According to the Stanly News & Press the girls were celebrating the school’s “American Night” at the football game where students were encouraged to wear red, white, and blue colors to show their patriotism. Trending: Ex-NFL Player Arrested for Vandalizing His Own Business...

Three months ago, Brandon Straka was a New York City hairstylist and aspiring actor with a small social media following. Now, he's a frequent Fox News contributor with nearly 70,000 Twitter followers, whose posts have been shared by Donald Trump Jr. and Sarah Palin. His ascent to conservative-media darling began on May 26, when Straka posted a now-viral video describing why he fled the Democratic party. “Once upon a time, I was a liberal,” Straka says in the six-minute video, looking directly toward the camera. “For years now, I have watched as the left has devolved into intolerant, inflexible, illogical,...

A high school teacher in Union County, North Carolina is in hot water after allegedly telling a class that Vice President Mike Pence should “be shot in the head.” Information about the Cuthbertson High School teacher’s remarks has been referred to the Secret Service, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said. According to FOX-46, the comments reportedly were made in reference to the veep’s trip to the state in support of recently elected US Representative Dan Bishop. Cuthbertson parent Firas Obeid, who’s “not necessarily” a Pence supporter, said it was “ridiculous” to make such a statement about the second-highest ranking official...

(Reuters) - A federal judge in Florida said on Monday that a group of women who claimed that Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused them are not entitled to money damages over a lenient 2008 plea agreement for the late financier.U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach said the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act did not entitle the women to damages from the United States.Marra also refused to rescind provisions of Epstein’s plea agreement that barred his prosecution and the prosecution of his alleged accomplices.