Free Republic

A key prosecutor on the classified documents case against President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional interview Wednesday, .... Jay Bratt had been subpoenaed to appear before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for a closed-door interview but did not answer substantive questions because of his Fifth Amendment constitutional right to remain silent. Bratt spent more than three decades at the Justice Department before retiring in January, just weeks before President Donald Trump took office. He was a key national security prosecutor on special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which in 2023 charged Trump with illegally...

Republicans lawmakers have uncovered “troubling allegations” that President Biden’s suspended special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, stored classified material on his personal email account and cellphone — which was later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor.” The top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committee on Monday asked the State Department to confirm the allegations against Malley, who was quietly placed on unpaid leave last June and had his security clearance suspended amid a State Department investigation reportedly centered on his potential mishandling of classified information. The State Department has refused to reveal the exact nature...

People living in Minnesota without legal immigration status can now begin the process of getting their driver's license by making an appointment for their written driver's test, state officials announced at a news conference Thursday. Around 81,000 people are expected to be eligible under the state’s new law — dubbed "Driver’s License for All." They can now make appointments to apply but won’t be able to actually get a license until the law goes into effect Oct. 1. "We’re incredibly proud to be a part of a handful of states that offer driver’s license for all," said Pong Xiong, Driver...

Federal authorities arrested a military veteran on Tuesday afternoon, who was wanted in connection with an attack on an ICE detention facility in Texas and remained on the run for nearly 11 days after the attack. The FBI Dallas Field Office said it apprehended 32-year-old Benjamin Song on Tuesday afternoon in Dallas. Song allegedly joined a group of 10 to 12 others in an organized attack on officers at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4. Ten assailants were apprehended at the time, though Song managed to evade capture, according to authorities. "The FBI has worked tirelessly...

A twelfth suspect has been charged and is being sought in the ambush on the night of July Fourth at the ICE Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas following the arrests of eleven other alleged Antifa members in the shooting attack that wounded an Alvarado police officer in the neck. The FBI announced on Wednesday up to a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of former Marine Reservist Benjamin Song, 32, who has been charged with six counts related to the attack. Several of the rifles found at the scene of the ambush are allegedly tied...

Lahaina – On Maui’s bustling west side, life has returned to normal. Traffic is dense between Lahaina and Kapalua, with people flocking to hotels and businesses. The parking lot of the renovated Lahaina Cannery, about a mile north of the ruined harbor, is jammed with cars. In the hills mauka of the highway that hugs Maui’s leeward coast, new homes are rising on empty pockets of land. But nothing is really normal here. Nearly two years after wildfires destroyed Lahaina’s central historic and commercial district and leveled neighborhoods stretching into the foothills of the West Maui Mountains, residents still struggle...

The trial of two Iranians and six others, who tried to smuggle 2.2 tons of cocaine to the island, exposed networks spanning the Middle East and Venezuela. JNS Staff. July 9, 2025 / JNS) An Irish court on July 4 sentenced two Iranian nationals in connection with a transnational drug trafficking operation involving more than 2.2 tons of cocaine, as authorities investigate suspected links to Hezbollah and the Iranian regime, Irish media reported. The men—Soheil Jelveh, 51, a former captain of the cargo vessel MV Matthew, and Saied Hassani, 39, a senior officer with significant maritime experience—received sentences of 17.5...

BREAKING: Jordan cancels summit between Biden, King Abdulla, President Sisi and president Abbas planned for tomorrow in Amman, Jordanian foreign minister says

The Biden administration has made a deal with Iran to release $6 billion in frozen funds in exchange for the release of five American prisoners. The agreement issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer sanctioned Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions includes the release of five Iranian citizens held in the U.S. The Iranian-Americans include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, along with environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the deal late last week, but Congress was not notified of the decision until Monday,...

Federal immigration authorities arrested an illegal immigrant wanted in Senegal for alleged terrorist activities, two weeks after he was released into the country after being encountered by agents at the southern border. In a press release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says a 29-year-old "unlawfully present Mauritanian or Senegalese citizen" was arrested on Oct. 17. ICE says he is wanted by Senegalese authorities for criminal conspiracy in relation to a terrorist organization; destruction, degradation and damages in relation to a terrorist organization; direct provocation of an armed crowd and acts (or preparatory acts) aimed at compromising public safety. But he...

Three explosions rocked the Swedish capital of Stockholm over just a four-day period as the country is coming off a record year for gang-related bombings. After a few months of relative calm, gang wars in the Nordic nation once again appear to be on the rise, as three explosions at residential buildings in Stockholm have been seen since Friday when a large blast went off at an apartment in Sundbyberg where a man with ties to a criminal gang lives. This was followed by an explosion on Saturday outside a hair salon in the industrial area of Vällingby. Finally, on...

A notorious Kurdish gangster has fled Turkey to avoid extradition on drug-trafficking charges, a Swedish prosecutor has told The National. Rawa Majid, 39, known as the Kurdish Fox, had been living in Turkey, where his citizenship protected him from being extradited to Sweden, and was widely accused of playing a major part in gang violence. Authorities had hoped Majid’s prosecution on forgery charges would result in his citizenship being revoked, allowing his return to Sweden. But Henrik Soderman, who submitted the first extradition request to Turkey, has now confirmed that Majid, who leads the Foxtrot Network of criminals, is no...

Liberal heads and their talking heads in the media are going to explode but how many President's go to a local bar and hang with the people?? This is fantastic!!!

Two nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) made their initial appearances in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and Houston, Texas, yesterday to face charges issued out of the Northern District of California for acting as agents of the Government of the PRC without prior notification to the Attorney General. The defendants, Yuance Chen, 38, a PRC national and legal permanent resident who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, a PRC national who traveled from the PRC to Houston, Texas, on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested Friday on a criminal complaint charging...

Sheriff Norris said the homeless suspect had attacked fire crews after they asked him to move his vehicle, which he had been living in. "There was an interaction with the firefighters," Norris said. "It has something to do with his vehicle being parked where it was." ... Norris said authorities believed the suspect used a high-powered rifle to fire rapidly at first responders, with officers initially unsure of the number of assailants involved. A shotgun has been recovered, and several bullets or fragments possibly from a rifle have been found. Officials say more guns may be hidden on the mountain....

A fatwa is an interpretation of Islamic law issued by a Marja--a title given to the highest level of twelver Shia religious cleric. ================================================================== Tehran: Iran's top Shiite cleric has issued a 'fatwa' or religious decree against US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling them "enemies of God". The decree from Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi called on Muslims across the world to unite and bring down the American and Israeli leaders for threatening the Islamic republic leadership. "Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (May God forbid) is considered a 'warlord' or...

The leak of high-classified U.S. intelligence documents to the Iranian regime last week has triggered a much-needed counter-intelligence investigation to identify the source -- either a mole who has betrayed their country, or a cyber-hack. The documents, which bore Top Secret/NOFORN and compartmented intelligence headers, described U.S. satellite spying on Israeli airfields as the IDF conducted exercises believed to foreshadow a massive airstrike on Iran. The NOFORN designation means that the document cannot be shared with foreign nationals other than members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing arrangement the United States has crafted with the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and...

Conservatives are conveying anger with northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie over his vote to oppose a resolution censuring California Rep. Adam Schiff, a favorite boogeyman of Republicans. Massie joined 19 other House Republicans in defecting from party leadership from condemning Schiff for championing the investigatory onslaught against former President Donald Trump. Combined with unanimous Democratic opposition, the measure failed, surprising even Schiff. The libertarian-leaning Massie claimed the resolution was unconstitutional for a clause that instructed Schiff should be fined $16 million if the House Ethics Committee found he “lied, made representations and abused sensitive information.” “Allowing a majority of Congress...

Russia has invited Palestinian groups to Moscow, which could bring together Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and other terrorist groups. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said over the weekend that Russia invited Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow at some point in late February, the latest Russian move to increase its influence in a post-October 7 world. Moscow hosted a Hamas delegation already in October, as Hamas sought to do outreach to Moscow. -snip- According to Russian state media TASS, Moscow invited up to 14 Palestinian groups to attend, including those belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organization, as well as...

Israel recently learned from its agents inside Iran — presumably native informants working with Mossad — that Iran’s nuclear scientists had successfully completed tests of their design of a nuclear weapon. This meant that Iran was potentially only weeks away from being able to produce such a weapon, and that intolerable threat had to be dealt with without delay. More on Israel’s discovery that prompted the attack, can be found here: “Israel found Iran carried out key tests for nuke design ahead of strikes — report,” Times of Israel, June 15, 2025: Israel recently learned from its agents inside Iran...