Free Republic

An adage learned early in the career of a trial attorney is, “if the law is not on your side, argue the facts, and if the facts are not on your side, argue the law, but if neither the facts nor the law are on your side, make sure you get your fee up front and in cash,” because you are almost certain to lose your case. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is paid by Big Apple taxpayers regardless of whether he wins or loses a case, but he deserves to lose the so-called “hush money” case against former President...

The special counsel’s report provides the summary Americans need to understand the breadth of the malfeasance.. Special Counsel John Durham released his long-awaited report on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation Monday. While the 306-page report includes some new details of the Russia-collusion hoax, the Clinton campaign’s role in the plot, and the FBI and intelligence agencies’ misconduct, much of the content merely rehashes what conservative media have reported for the last five years. Still, our country needed a public record of the events that represent one of the biggest political scandals in American history, and on that front Durham delivered. FBI’s...

For more than half-a-century, Uncle Sam has been giving banks the legal tools to snoop into the otherwise-private affairs of their customers. Now, they are monitoring the exercise of their Second Amendment rights. Thanks to a recent move by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, headquartered in Switzerland), U.S. banks are starting to build databases on their customers’ purchases of firearms and ammunition. And, of course, they are ready and quite willing to share that information with federal law enforcement in the name of providing a public service to identify “mass shooters.”This invasion of privacy began in earnest with enactment...

Former Attorney General Bill Barr accused former President Donald Trump Thursday of practicing “extortion” on the Republican Party by endorsing his own batch of candidates in “pursuit of a personal agenda” at a time when the GOP should be making huge electoral gains. “This pursuit of a personal agenda and personal power is weakening the Republican Party at a time when it could have a historic victory and make historic progress in ‘making America great again,'” Barr said in an interview published on Bari Weiss’ “Common Sense” Substack. “The tactic that Trump is using to exert this control over the...

All things considered, 2021 was a good year for Republicans. In 2022 will the GOP build on its 2021 successes, or allow itself to be dragged back to 2020? The answer is right in front of our eyes. This year has been a disaster for the Democrats largely because they refused to move forward, electing instead to remain mired in the past and fighting yesterday’s battles. If Republicans take the same course in 2022, they will likely reap the same disappointing harvest. The events of last January 6 at the U.S. Capitol will predictably be a focal point for Democrat...

Now that the House is set to impeach President Trump for what its Nadler-led Judiciary Committee decided were “impeachable offenses,” it is time to consider what will or, more important, should happen in a Senate trial. In my view, no matter the utter lack of substance in the articles of impeachment certain to be approved by the House this week, the president should prepare to mount a vigorous defense and Senate Republican leaders should assist, not impede him. As an Impeachment Manager in the 1999 trial of former President Clinton, I learned very early that an impeachment trial in...

In the not too distant past, most adults realized that not everything one saw on the internet or on social media was to be taken as true. Today, however, what used to be a sarcastic phrase – “I saw it on the internet so it must be true” – is taken quite literally, regardless of the online source for such information; especially if it confirms our existing opinions and beliefs. This reflects a deep-seated cultural problem far beyond the ken of the Congress to solve; yet, of course, they try. And, as is par for the congressional course, they are...

Full title: Gregg Jarrett: Trump did NOT commit an impeachable offense on call with Ukraine’s president – Here’s whyIn their delusive demands for the impeachment of President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats are substituting partisan politics for the commands and intent of the U.S. Constitution. This became self-evident when Pelosi announced her impeachment folly the day before she even set eyes on the alleged evidence, which turned out to be no evidence at all. The usual gaggle of misanthropes like Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Jerrold Nadler of New York have been searching for...

Live now. Disgusting spewage by Nadler, Jackson Lee, etc. Yet, it's a hilarious dog and pony show.

Join Freepers throughout the world to pray for PRESIDENT TRUMP and VICE-PRESIDENT PENCE and for AMERICA: All Levels of Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, Health Care Systems 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 Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Please join us in prayer for protection for our President and all believers in our nation.

With the Trump Administration it often is difficult to determine whether a bizarre public statement is a clever smokescreen, or if the proponent actually believes what he or she is saying. While Trump is a true master at manipulating his enemies, his advisors are not always as deft. Take, for example, the recent proclamation by Trump’s latest Legal Eagle, Rudy Giuliani, asserting the president possesses the power to self-pardon. Considering all that has been happening in Washington these days, one might conclude that such a statement serves as an intentionally crafted distraction by Trump’s attorneys, thrown to the media like...

If one were to pick an emblem of America’s global military might, the B-52 properly might top the list. The strategic bomber’s expansive 185-foot wingspan and 159-foot fuselage, make the “Stratofortress” a universally recognizable symbol of unrivaled aerial firepower. This is especially the case if you are unfortunate enough to be the target of its devastating payload – which can be munitions ranging from unguided or guided bombs, to cruise missiles or nuclear weapons. Reportedly, up to 500 Russian mercenaries fighting in Syria found this out the hard way in February, illustrating that when America wants to send a message, it...

“Make America Great Again.” The phrase became ubiquitous during the 2016 presidential election as both a branding tagline and rallying cry for Donald Trump’s campaign. It quickly came to symbolize an “America-first” attitude in solving the country’s problems; rebuffing the rampant “anti-exceptionalism” demonstrated by the previous administration. Now, “MAGA” (as it is often abbreviated) appears to guide Trump’s every domestic and foreign policy decision; even when its applicability may not be clear. Just last month, the Administration approved plans to sell sophisticated Javelin anti-tank missiles to the Ukraine, bolstering that government’s ongoing conflict against pro-Russian separatists. The move is a...

If one was expecting to have a reasoned, adult debate over “Net Neutrality” in the lead-up to the Federal Communications Commission’s vote last week to roll-back the Obama-era regulations, they were surely disappointed. Rather than a logical look at the current state of how the internet works today (much of the anti-FCC rhetoric was not based in such a reality), or even a practical discussion about how the internet has evolved freely and robustly absent of such regulations, most of the “discussion” was a digital shouting match of partisan and anti-capitalism rhetoric. That, and a massive amount of fraud. As...

Since state and local taxes can be deducted, the tax burden is shifted from those governments to the federal government, which in turn makes up for this lost revenue by keeping taxes higher on the rest of the country. In effect, taxpayers in low-tax states and cities, like those in the South, are forced to subsidize the lavish public spending of liberals in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California, who have little incentive to reduce the local taxes that fund their pet projects. It is much like making charitable donations online using someone else’s credit card. It does not...

When it comes to political violence such as we witnessed in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, there are no partisan “sides” to the issue. In an enlightened society, you either believe violence is an acceptable means to an end, or you do not. In this parity, there is no room for equivocation, where the perceived nobleness or virtue of one’s agenda can excuse it. Initiating force against any group or individual for the sake of achieving a political goal or simply making a political statement, is morally and legally wrong. Full stop. Last weekend was a national embarrassment in every sense...

While most Americans do not know the name of their local sheriff, they do know the name of Maricopa County, Arizona’s former sheriff – Joseph “Joe” Arpaio. He is known to millions across the country as “America’s toughest sheriff.” To be sure, “Sheriff Joe” is a controversial figure. In his 24 years as Sheriff, he implemented many unconventional, often punitive measures for making sure inmates knew they were serving “hard time.” For example, in 1993 he established a “Tent City” outside the prison to house inmates convicted of crimes, and would remind them when the hot Arizona sun bore down...

Listening to liberal college administrators waxing poetic from their ivory towers, one might conclude the greatest threat to higher education is not helicopter parents who turn students into helpless babes, or a chronic lack of civics education among incoming freshman, but rather “Diversity” -- the new Holy Grail of post-secondary education. Campus bureaucrats have dumped millions of taxpayerdollars into “diversity training” materials and mandated courses based on theories such as one that concludes it is racist to expect punctuality in others. In this higher education alt universe, it is taught also that gender can take on any shape, form, or...

A little publicized IRS decision should have conservatives who write about politics very alarmed. The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of a conservative political organization, the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty (PHCIL), due to a handful of articles that founder Gary Aldrich wrote in his personal capacity. His decade-old articles simply criticized Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, which the IRS claimed constituted electioneering. The articles were linked to as "alerts" from the PHCIL website. The American Spectator noted, “Although the literature demands that those like Clinton and Kerry be kept out of power, it never specifically says, ‘Don’t vote...

While the most arrogant President in modern American history pontificates that if only he had been permitted to run for a third term he would have been easily reelected, President-elect Donald Trump is methodically preparing to assume office as the first true reformer since Ronald Reagan. Media pundits love to speculate on what Trump’s “First 100 Days” will look like. However, the country’s 45th President-in-waiting likely will press an agenda that can accomplish more in his first month than most of his predecessors accomplished in their first year.After all, what is so magical about the “first 100 days”? It...