Free Republic

The long-anticipated report from Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released Monday criticized department attorney Bruce Ohr at length for failing to report repeated contacts with former British spy Christopher Steele. Steele, the author of the debunked Steele dossier that was used to justify a federal investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign, met with Ohr 12 times after Steele was terminated as a confidential human source by the bureau. As the report notes, Ohr failed to report the repeated interactions with Steele to his DOJ supervisors, depriving the department of the opportunity to request that Ohr halt communication with...

Pope Francis petitions UN for new annual secular celebration of ‘human fraternity’ ROME, December 9, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In the latest sign of the importance Pope Francis attributes to his contentious Abu Dhabi interreligious initiative, he has now united with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, Ahmed el-Tayeb, in petitioning the United Nations to declare February 4 the annual World Day of Human Fraternity, the Vatican has announced.  February 4 is the anniversary of Pope Francis’s controversial joint declaration with the Sunni Grand Imam, seen by its critics as promoting religious indifferentism. In a message delivered last week to...

Key Points: A Trump family member had a “personal” relationship with ex-British spy Christopher Steele years before he authored a controversial dossier about President Donald Trump and Russia, Steele has said. Steele told the Justice Department’s internal watchdog that he had been “favorably disposed” toward the Trump family — and not biased against Trump — because of his relationship with that family member. The watchdog’s report was released as ABC News reported that Steele met Trump’s daughter Ivanka at a dinner in 2007 and remained in touch for some time thereafter. SNIP

The pervy jogger who slapped a TV reporter’s behind during a 10K in Georgia has been identified by officials — and banned from future races. Race organizers had immediately vowed to find the handsy creep who left WSAV-TV anchor Alex Bozarjian feeling “violated, objectified, and embarrassed” while she reported on Saturday’s Savannah Bridge Run. “Yesterday afternoon we identified him and shared his information with the reporter and her station,” the Savannah Sports Council tweeted, without revealing his name publicly. “We will not tolerate behavior like this at a Savannah Sports Council event,” the council said in another post. “We have...

The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil is living her best life, or so she wants you to believe. She’s having a whirlwind romance, is getting the best sleep of her life, and is a thriving millionaire; not to mention she’s got the secret on how to achieve such earthly success, if you’re curious. Just have an abortion like she did, and be really, really, freakin’ proud about it. Jamil, the British model, NBC sitcom actress, and apparent expert on the life-giving benefits of taking an unborn life, further defended the abortion she had earlier in her career on Twitter after...

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, visited Montgomery, Alabama, last week to discuss a variety of topics with some local groups. During one of those stops, he discussed abortion laws in the state, as well as what he really thinks of pro-lifers, who make up half the country. In May, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law which would “make abortion and attempted abortion felony offenses except in cases where abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.” (In actuality, the intentional killing of a preborn...

A Planned Parenthood employee testified in court that she wanted to “move forward” and sell fetal livers for $750 each. Transcripts show that Tram Nguyen, who identifies herself as a healthcare administrator at Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast, said that she wanted to proceed with a deal to sell fetal livers for $750 each or combos of fetal livers and fetal thymi for $1,600. Nguyen testified in March 2019 as part of the trial of the Center for Medical Progress’ David Daleiden, who secretly recorded and released videos exposing Planned Parenthood employees discussing buying and selling fetal body parts....

Lausanne (AFP) - The World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday banned Russia for four years from major global sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over manipulated doping data, prompting an angry response from President Vladimir Putin. WADA's executive committee, meeting in Lausanne, handed Russia the "robust" four-year suspension after accusing Moscow of falsifying data from a doping testing laboratory that was handed over to investigators earlier this year. The toughest ever sanctions imposed on Russian state authorities will see government officials barred from attending any major events, while the country will lose the...

Walmart has apologized for going too far with an adult-only Christmas themed sweater that portrays jolly old Saint Nick with cocaine. The holiday sweater featured on the retailer’s Canada website showed Santa Clause gripping a straw, seated in front of a table with three lines of a white substance and below that it read, “Let It Snow,” per the New York Post in a piece published Monday. (RELATED: NRA Rips Walmart For Banning Some Ammunition Sales) “These sweaters, sold by a third-party seller on Walmart.ca, do not represent Walmart’s values and have no place on our website,” a spokesperson shared....

Metro said Monday afternoon that it was suspending train service between Metro Center and Foggy Bottom after a person was struck by a train at Farragut West. Metro Transit Police said the person died and that video of the incident indicated the person purposely entered the tracks as a train was coming. Further details about the incident were not immediately available. Metro said on its Twitter account shortly after 3:30 p.m. that it is no longer single-tracking between Foggy Bottom and McPherson Square, but to expect residual delays on the Blue and Orange lines. MORE AT LINK

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Healthcare; Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

This and $1.10 will buy you a small cup of McDonald’s coffee when it’s on sale. But, as someone who has expected Hillary Clinton to run again in 2020 from the night she lost in 2016, this is interesting. Valerie Richardson of the Washington Times reported today that the former New York Senator and Secretary of State narrowly eased out former VP Joe Biden in a Harvard-Harris poll of registered Democrats. When asked who they would support for the party’s presidential nominee, 21% said Clinton as compared to 20% for Biden. “Placing third in the hypothetical race was Vermont Sen....

Nearly two and a half centuries ago, American colonists broke free of a tyrannical monarchy and rose from the shadow of oppression, creating a new Republic predicated on liberty and the rule of law. Innate to the identity of this new Nation was a revolutionary commitment to the preservation of individual rights. The Framers drafted a Constitution that would ensure the God-given rights of the people. Nevertheless, some of them believed more was needed and insisted upon the enumeration of a set of rights that would be protected from government interference. As a result, the United States ratified 10 Amendments...

Border wall construction continues south of Mission despite temporary restraining orders granted in both state district and federal court. Last Thursday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order enjoining Fisher Industries, the organization We Build the Wall, and Neuhaus & Sons from continuing construction of a private stretch of border wall along the banks of the Rio Grande in an area near RGV–Bentsen State Park. And just days before, on Dec. 3, state District Judge Librado “Keno” Vasquez granted a TRO against the group after the National Butterfly Center filed a separate suit in his court... Just days after...

Three Victims Died, Including a Police Officer – Charges Include Possible Death Penalty Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney Jason R. Dunn for the District of Colorado announced today that a federal grand jury in Denver has returned a 68-count indictment charging Robert Lewis Dear Jr., 61, with crimes related to the Nov. 27, 2015, shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where three people died, including a police officer. Eight others were wounded, including four police officers. Dear was taken into federal custody early this morning at the State Mental Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado....

The Food and Drug Administration warned Monday that eliminating restrictions on abortion drugs, as 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg suggested, could cause “serious complications” for women. The South Bend mayor suggested ignoring the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) applied to the abortion drug mifepristone in a Nov. 25 survey conducted by The New York Times. REMS is an FDA drug safety program the agency requires “for certain medications with serious safety concerns.” “Steps we can take in the interim to improve access to abortion include expanding access to abortion via telehealth, eliminating the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy...

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to be steaming toward the parliamentary majority he desperately desires to pass his Brexit deal and end the gridlock in Westminster.Why it matters: Thursday’s vote is the culmination of three years of intense efforts to deliver Brexit, and to block it. The rocky road Johnson has plodded along since replacing Theresa May in July would become much smoother with a resounding electoral mandate. Driving the news: This has been a brutal campaign fought by two leaders who are disliked and distrusted by broad swaths of the public. Johnson has been accused of repeatedly misleading...

Global commerce will lose its ultimate umpire Tuesday, leaving countries unable to reach a final resolution of disputes at the World Trade Organization and instead facing what critics call “the law of the jungle.’’ The United States, under a president who favors a go-it-alone approach to economics and diplomacy, appears to prefer it that way. The terms of two of the last three judges on the WTO’s appellate body neared their end at midnight Tuesday. Their departure will deprive the de facto Supreme Court of world trade of its ability to issue rulings. Among the disputes left in limbo are...

Rudy Giuliani said he will transmit a "report" based on his recent visit to Ukraine to Attorney General William Barr and Republicans in Congress by the end of this week. "I should probably have it ready on Wednesday or Thursday," Giuliani said Monday morning while appearing on "War Room: Impeachment," a radio show hosted by Steve Bannon and Jason Miller. "I don't exactly know when it'll be made public, but it should be ready by then. I worked on it all weekend." Giuliani's report is likely to outline his alleged findings from his trip last week to Kyiv and Budapest,...

Democrats plan to announce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, a senior Democratic aide told NBC News on Monday night. The Washington Post, citing three officials, reported Monday night that the two articles were expected to allege abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. NBC News hasn't confirmed the report.