Free Republic

House Speaker Mike Johnson has revealed that President Donald Trump was once an 'FBI informant' in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's illegal activities. Johnson made the stunning comments in the halls of Congress on Friday after being pressed by CNN's Manu Raju about Trump routinely calling the Epstein files controversy a Democrat-invented 'hoax'. 'What Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him,' Johnson said. 'I’ve talked to him about this many times, many times. He is horrified. It’s been misrepresented. He’s not saying that what Epstein did is a hoax. It’s a...

The ‘Deadpool’ franchise star was at the Toronto Film Festival for the world premiere of the documentary ‘John Candy: I Like Me,' which he produced.Hollywood actor and producer Ryan Reynolds nailed his Canadian roots to a mast on Friday when he talked about making it in the movie business during a time of cultural wars. “I’m not MAGA. I’m not extreme anything,” the Deadpool franchise star said while participating in an informal conversation at the Toronto Film Festival. Reynolds criticized what he called identity politics as divisive, too “binary, us vs them.” He added that his upbringing in Vancouver and...

In the early 1980s, AIDS was one of the most feared and misunderstood health crises in America. This News special report, originally broadcast when the epidemic was still new, takes a hard look at the growing menace that had been claiming lives since 1979. The program features the voices of people living with AIDS, giving viewers a rare glimpse into the human cost of the disease at a time when treatments were limited and misinformation was widespread. Some believed AIDS could be spread by casual contact — a reflection of the fear and stigma of the era. More show notes:...

Independence at the Federal Reserve? Only sometimes, it seems.was rocked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Then, the progressive lawmaker exposed her hypocrisy at a confirmation hearing involving Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve Board temporarily. While Warren shrieked in the upper chamber about central bank independence, she forgot to talk about her own list of demands to Fed Chair Jerome Powell.Elizabeth Warren Talks to Stephen MiranLast month, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler abruptly resigned from the Eccles Building, effectively vacating a seat at the powerful establishment. Days later, President Trump unveiled...

[Catholic Caucus] How would St. Pius X likely have reacted to “Catholic” Fr. James Martin if the pope were alive today?Given St. Pius X’s documented response to Modernism, he likely would have reacted with the same doctrinal clarity and pastoral firmness to the ideologies spread by the LGBTQ+ cult, including “Catholic” Fr. James Martin. For one, St. Pius X unequivocally singled homosexuality out as one of the “sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance,” likening it with voluntary homicide, oppression of the poor, as well as defrauding a laborer of his just wage.Every year, the Feast of St. Pius...

Democrats are facing looming decisions over how to advance their movement as President Donald Trump’s agenda at times appears to overlap with the party’s best interests. Gun control is one of the fronts on which the Democratic Party is finding itself in a dilemma. While such measures are typically in line with the party’s ethos, the White House is rumored to be pitting gun control policies against another favored Democratic priority: the LGBT movement. The ideological turmoil began with the recent shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, in which a transgender-identifying biological male killed two young girls, which some conservatives argued...

Watching, to the degree I could bear it, the Senate Finance Committee hearings with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was more like a “new edition of the Spanish Inquisition” (for Kennedy) than it was any kind of remotely enlightening experience. And this Inquisition failed miserably in its intention, if it was to discredit HHS secretary in some way..The junior league Torquemada’s—almost exclusively Democrats--display of uncontrolled anger was particularly a head scratcher since most Americans agree our healthcare system has serious problems that need fixing. That Kennedy—a former Democrat himself—is trying to do just that either eludes...

Montgomery County police are calling it a close call after arresting a man accused of impersonating a police officer. Alejandro Zunca, 67, of Maryland, is now facing a criminal charge. “We actually intercepted this individual before he could potentially pull somebody over,” said Cmdr. Jason Cokinos with Montgomery County police. Montgomery County police say it all started in Silver Spring on New Hampshire Avenue near East Shaw last Friday. An officer on patrol noticed a van with flashing lights driving down the road, and it didn’t take long to realize something was fishy. When the officer pulled that van over,...

When Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon executed an ill-conceived invasion of Iraq in 2003, was it really pursuing American defence? All but a handful of unreconstructed Iraq hawks would disagree. So it’s welcome news that President Trump has restored the Defense Department’s original name, the Department of War.Talk of renaming the DoD has roiled Republican circles for some time. During the 2024 GOP primary, Nikki Haley brainstormed about changing the name of the Department of Defense to the “Department of Offense”. That was an unmistakable throwback to circa 2003 neoconservative blowhardery, and a good reminder of why the Haleys of the world...

The central bank put its own independence at risk by straying from its narrow statutory mandate.As we saw during the Covid pandemic, lab-created experiments can wreak havoc when they escape their confines. Once released, they can’t easily be put back. The “extraordinary” monetary-policy tools unleashed after the 2008 financial crisis have similarly transformed the Federal Reserve’s policy regime, with unpredictable consequences. The Fed’s new operating model is effectively a gain-of-function monetary policy experiment. Overuse of nonstandard policies, mission creep and institutional bloat threaten the central bank’s independence. The Fed must change course. Its standard tool kit has become too complex...

Tesla boss Elon Musk will receive a pay package worth over $1tn (£740bn) if he hits a list of ambitious targets over the next decade, the board of the electric car firm has proposed.To get the package, Musk, who is already the world's richest person, would need to boost Tesla's value eightfold, sell a million artificial intelligence robots, sell another 12 million Tesla cars, and hit several other moonshot goals.Musk would not earn a salary or bonus but would instead be gradually awarded shares which would be worth $1tn if he achieves all the targets.The company's board urged investors to...

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore has signaled interest in redoing his state's maps, but has not called for a special session of the state legislature so far. Democratic members of Maryland's congressional delegation are expected to meet in the coming weeks to push for a new congressional map that they argue would offset potential Republican gains in Texas.Texas's GOP-controlled legislature last month passed its redistricting map last month that members expect will give them five more Republican seats in the next Congress. Democrat-led California and Republican-led Missouri have since launched efforts to redo their maps, while GOP-led Indiana is...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Bätzing says Pope Leo is ‘accompanying the Church in Germany with trust’ after meetingGerman Bp. Georg Bätzing, known for pushing female ordination and same-sex ‘blessings,’ commented that the Pope has ‘trust’ in the German church following talks.Bishop Georg Bätzing has said that Pope Leo XIV “accompanies the Church in Germany with trust” after his first private audience with the Roman Pontiff.On September 4, Leo received Bätzing, the head of the German bishops’ conference, in a private audience for the first time since becoming Pope.The Holy See did not comment on the meeting, but Bätzing released the following...

The second meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education took place Thursday, presented by the administration as a turning point for America’s public schools. First Lady Melania Trump presided over the session, created under President Trump’s April executive order on AI education.The gathering brought together senior administration officials and some of the most powerful figures in technology. Mrs. Trump introduced the participants as “visionaries” and “the brightest minds of our time.” At the table sat Sundar Pichai of Google and Arvind Krishna of IBM, alongside Education Secretary Linda McMahon and AI czar David Sacks. Task force...

The left’s perpetual belief that bullying campaigns against SCOTUS work can be attributed to Chief Justice John Roberts.It’s been widely reported for years that Chief Justice John Roberts has altered his jurisprudence in pivotal matters before the Supreme Court to preserve what he views as the “legitimacy” of the judiciary. So, it comes as no surprise that America’s leftist media have sought to exploit that weakness by trying to bully the Bush appointee into giving them the judicial outcomes they want. That appeared to be a major goal of an NBC News article published Thursday, which contained critical remarks from...

Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960s rock band the Turtles and singer known as “Flo” of Flo & Eddie, died in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday after a brief sudden illness. He was 78. Born in Los Angeles in 1947, Volman began playing music and performing at an early age. After graduating from Westchester High School in 1965, he founded the Turtles with Howard Kaylan alongside lead guitarist Al Nichol, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, bassist Chuck Portz and drummer Don Murray. They released pop hits such as “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “Elenore” and the No 1 Billboard Hot 100...

Something odd is going on with this. Catherine Herridge reports that she “exclusively” gained a copy of the FBI files on Michael Flynn from FBI Director Kash Patel [SEE HERE]. Herridge uploaded the documents while she began reporting on them via Twitter [SEE HERE] then, mysteriously deleted her upload [SEE HERE]. Fortunately, I kept the tab open, because there are two pages that really caught my eye. The pages are labeled the “Flynn Timeline” and were created by someone in the FBI. Check these pages closely, and you can find things quite remarkable.First, I have always suspected the greatest likelihood...

If a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine ever comes together, the United States could take the lead role in monitoring a large buffer zone inside Ukraine envisioned as a way to protect the country from Russia, according to four people familiar with a plan that military officials from Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, have been discussing. -snip- On the latter front, the United States is discussing with Ukraine a deal that could be worth around $100 billion, under which Kyiv would be able to buy American weapons, while in exchange the United States would get intellectual property rights...

Feeling nostalgic for a simpler time lately? You’re not alone. Here’s one thing everybody who was alive during the 1970s can agree on: The entire decade still feels like it only happened yesterday. Seriously, how can the ’70s be five decades in the past? It’s just not possible that the era ruled by bell-bottom jeans and 8-track cassettes was half a century ago. For those of us who lived through it—and survived that groovy yet perilous time—it will forever be a part of our souls. Here are 50 things you still remember from the decade that will fill you with...

Another update from your FBI on our efforts to defend the homeland and protect the American people. Today, State Department employee Michael Charles Schena was sentenced to 48 months in prison for attempting to sell out his country. He was paid to use a covert communication device to take pictures of CLASSIFIED documents containing national defense information and then send them to individuals he believed worked for the Chinese government. Schena’s actions directly undermined U.S. national security and put Americans at risk. No amount of money is worth betraying your country, and the FBI will do EVERYTHING in our power...