Free Republic

The top deputy to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft refused two years ago to approve important parts of the secret program that allows domestic eavesdropping without warrants, prompting two leading White House aides to try to win the needed approval from Mr. Ashcroft himself while he was hospitalized after a gall bladder operation, according to officials knowledgeable about the episode. With Mr. Ashcroft recuperating from gall bladder surgery in March 2004, his deputy, James B. Comey, who was then acting as attorney general, was unwilling to give his certification to crucial aspects of the classified program, as required under the procedures...

Former House Speaker John Boehner and former Rep. Joe Crowley are joining forces in a bipartisan effort to combat a looming pension crisis affecting nearly 1.3 million American retirees Opens a New Window. Boehner, the Ohio Republican who retired in 2015, is part of the Retirement Security Coalition, a leading force that is raising awareness to the underfunded multiemployer benefit plans. “The job Joe and I have taken on is to try to elevate the seriousness of this problem," he told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto Opens a New Window. on Thursday. "And Congress really does in fact need to act."...

Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) demurred on whether he would support former Vice President Joe Biden in a 2020 election match against President Trump in an interview with CNN Thursday. “There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ there,” Boehner, who retired in 2015, told CNN’s Ana Cabrera in a joint interview with former Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.). “If ‘ands’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas.”

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) does not think it is a good idea for Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) to launch a primary challenge against President Donald Trump. “No, I wouldn’t — I wouldn’t bother if I were him,” Boehner replied when asked about a possible challenge in a Wednesday interview on NBC host Chuck Todd’s podcast Chuck Toddcast, according to Politico Playbook. The former House Speaker noted the president still remains popular nationwide going into the 2020 election, putting him in prime position to fight off any potential primary challenger. “There’s this 38 percent of America that’s very big supporters...

As China’s wealth has grown, so has its sophistication at currying favor in Washington and among the American elite. Both the Chinese government and Chinese companies, often with close state ties, have retained lobbying and public-relations firms in the Beltway, in some cases hiring former U.S. officials as personal lobbyists.

Thursday in Michigan at the Mackinac Policy Conference, former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said there was “no Republican Party” in the era of President Donald Trump. Boehner said, “There is no Republican Party. There’s a Trump party. Republican Party is kinda taking a nap somewhere.” He continued, “Well, you know, Donald Trump, who I know well, was one of my supporters, when I was speaker if I was having a rough week, Trump would call me, pat me on the back, cheer me up, played a lot of golf together. But president? Really? I never quite saw this.”

“Heart of Nuba” is a critically acclaimed film documenting in microcosm the horrific – but largely unremarked – outrage of our time: the brutal persecution of an estimated 215 million Christians around the world. The film reveals the plight of the people of the Nuba Mountains in Sudan and American Dr. Tom Catena who has, for over a decade, been heroically caring for these latest victims of genocidal attacks by the Sharia-supremacist Sudanese government of Omar al-Bashir. There’s a screening of Heart of Nuba in Washington, D.C. tonight. It would be good if former House Speaker John Boehner would attend....

Former House Speaker John Boehner announced Wednesday that he is joining Acreage Holdings, which cultivates, processes, and dispenses legal marijuana in the U.S. Why it matters: In 2011, Boehner came out against marijuana legalization, and today's announcement indicates a normalizing of the marijuana industry, despite attacks led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The pot industry panicked when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended the government’s hands-off policy on weed. Today, it can breathe a bit easier as former Republican House Speaker John Boehner joins the advisory board of U.S. cannabis producer Acreage Holdings. ~SNIP~ The announcement that Boehner and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld will advise Acreage, a private company, “should send shockwaves throughout the industry and act as a positive catalyst for the sector as a whole,” Ajamian said. Boehner’s move marks a fundamental shift for a man who said nine years ago he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization, and indicates...

“It wasn’t [Obama]!” Boehner said. “It was modern-day media, and social media, that kept pushing people further right and further left. People started to figure out … they could choose where to get their news. And so what do people do? They choose places they agree with, reinforcing the divide,” added Boehner, who resigned in September 2015 after facing several GOP protests. He then raised his accusing finger at Levin and said: “I always liked Rush [Limbaugh]. When I went to Palm Beach I would always meet with Rush and we’d go play golf. But you know, who was that...

Mark Levin 1 hr · John Bonehead had one too many Scotches before burping his guts to a lib reporter. Hey John, what's with your lowlife language? Talk about the dark side ... Boehner: Mark Levin dragged Rush, Hannity 'to the dark side' Former House Speaker, John Boehner, blames the media, not politicians for dividing the nation

Former House Speaker John Boehner shed some light on former President Barack Obama's smoking habit and his relationship with his wife Michelle in a new interview. Boehner told Politico about his encounters with Obama in a major interview detailing his 25 years at the top of the Republican party in Washington. Boehner summarized the differences between himself and Obama with an anecdote from a 2011 meeting between the two when it came to their vices. “I’m smoking a cigarette, and they bring me a glass of merlot. And we’re sitting there a little while, and here’s the president drinking iced...

House Speaker Paul Ryan and John Boehner, the former speaker, are teaming up for a fundraiser in Wisconsin on Sept. 24, according to an invitation. Ryan will join Boehner in Green Bay for the fundraiser at a National Football League game, pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Politico's Playbook.

Former House Speaker John Boehner said at an event in Las Vegas last week that he used to “sneak into” the White House to see President Barack Obama to avoid scrutiny from the “right-wing press”.... ...Boehner also lamented the fact that Americans now have too many choices of where to go for news and information. “What’s making everything even worse today is because we have so much news, people get to choose where they get their news,” Boehner said, according to the Post. “It used to be we had three big TV networks, five big newspapers, and five big radio...

Former House Speaker, John Boehner said the GOP won't be able to repeal and replace Obamacare at a closed-door tradeshow in Las Vegas, NV Friday.John Boehner told a private crowd that Obamacare will never be repealed or replaced by the GOP because Americans and state officials are used to it in a video obtained by The Washington Post.Boehner also warned that Republicans will get annihilated in 2018 midterm elections if they fail to pass healthcare and tax legislation."Here we are, seven months into this year, and yet they've not passed this bill. Now, they're never...they're not going to repeal and...

Former House speaker John A. Boehner, who has mostly avoided public commentary since leaving Congress two years ago, told a business gathering last week that Republicans are "not going to repeal and replace Obamacare" because "the American people have gotten accustomed to it." "Here we are, seven months into this year, and yet they've not passed this bill. Now, they’re never — they're not going to repeal and replace Obamacare," Boehner told a private crowd in Las Vegas, according to video footage obtained by The Washington Post. "It's been around too long. And the American people have gotten accustomed to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Speaker John Boehner says that aside from international affairs and foreign policy, President Donald Trump's time in office has so far been a "complete disaster." Speaking at an energy conference Thursday in Houston, Boehner praised Trump for his approach abroad and his aggressiveness in fighting Islamic State militants, according to the energy publication Rigzone. "Everything else he's done (in office) has been a complete disaster," the Ohio Republican said, according to the publication. "He's still learning how to be president." Boehner said he's been friends with Trump for 15 years, but still has a hard...

Former House Speaker John Boehner said earlier this week that Donald Trump’s presidency has been “a complete disaster” thus far and that the billionaire-turned-commander-in-chief is still learning on the job. “Everything else he’s done [in office] has been a complete disaster,” Boehner said during a question-and-answer session at a conference in Houston on Wednesday. “He’s still learning how to be president.” ~snip~ He seemed content with his life as a retired politician and was quick to shoot down any talk of a future presidential bid. “I wake up every day, drink my morning coffee and say hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,” Boehner...

Former House Speaker John Boehner predicted on Thursday that a full repeal and replace of Obamacare is “not going to happen.” Boehner, who resigned in 2015 amid unrest among conservatives, said at an Orlando health care conference that the idea that a repeal-and-replace plan would blitz through Congress is just “happy talk.” Instead, he said changes to former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement would likely be relatively modest. “[Congressional Republicans are] going to fix Obamacare – I shouldn’t call it repeal-and-replace, because it’s not going to happen,” he said. Boehner’s comments come as Republican lawmakers across the country are...

Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner sees President-elect Donald Trump as a modern-day Teddy Roosevelt, a populist who wants to do “big things.” The Ohio Republican told WCPO.com in Cincinnati that Trump is similar to Roosevelt, the 26th president, because he’s “another guy who saw himself larger than life.” He said Trump doesn’t want to just “trim around the edges” as president. “If you look at what Teddy Roosevelt did, he came in to do big things,” Boehner said. “I think Donald Trump wants to do big things.” …