Free Republic

The Senate and lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Saturday reached a deal to avoid witness depositions in his impeachment trial — averting a potentially weeks-long drama sparked by an 11th-hour request by Democrats to depose a Republican congresswoman. The deal allowed for a statement by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) to be read into the record without the congresswoman or anyone else being deposed as a formal witness. The compromise allows for the trial potentially to end on Saturday as was initially expected. Trump is expected to be acquitted of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in a...

An “expletive-laced” call between Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made during the Capitol riot shows the former president refused to call off rioters after McCarthy begged him to intervene.This is a very dramatic news story reported by dozens of media outlets. But is it true?What’s being reported is that Trump and McCarthy talked while the riot was in full swing and McCarthy begged the president to put an end to it. Trump is reported to have said to McCarthy, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”The call was confirmed...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill that would allow Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to change his mind and call off the Nov. 8 special election stalled Wednesday in the Senate as Republicans refused to vote for it. The measure by Assemblyman Johan Klehs, D-San Leandro, fell four votes short of passing on an initial roll call, but the Senate delayed announcing the final vote as the house worked into the evening on other legislation. Democrats said the approximately $50 million that would be spent to hold the election could be better used to aid Gulf Coast hurricane victims or repair California's own...