Free Republic

For a defendant to have a fair trial, there are loaded terms that should never be used in a courtroom. The Wisconsin judge in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is right about that. But the word "victim" is not one of them. And that's where the judge is very wrong. Frankly, "victim" is no more pejorative than the word "defendant.".... But here's the rub. Two of the men are deceased, and the other has never been charged with a crime for any behavior associated with his participation in the protest. At best, Rittenhouse, therefore, would be presenting evidence through...

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who worked for Donald Trump for more than five years, now says she fears another four years with Trump in the White House. "I am terrified of him running for president in 2024," said Grisham, who also served as East Wing chief of staff, in an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," a promotional appearance for her memoir, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," which is scheduled for release this week. "I don't think (Trump) is fit for the job." Grisham's take on the former President's fitness for the job came as she...

Swing state by swing state, former President Donald Trump is trying to get people who tried to overturn the 2020 election chosen to be in charge of the 2024 election. Trump's Monday endorsement of state Rep. Mark Finchem for Arizona secretary of state is the latest in a series of announcements that has alarmed independent elections experts. Trump has now backed Republicans who supported his lies about the 2020 election for the job of top elections official in three crucial battlegrounds -- Arizona, Michigan and Georgia -- where the current elections chiefs opposed his efforts to reverse his 2020 defeat....

Last month, 130 people died of Covid-19 in Maryland. None of them were vaccinated, according to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.In addition, unvaccinated people made up 95% of new Covid-19 cases in the state and 93% of new Covid-19 hospitalizations, Hogan said at a news conference Wednesday.The connection between vaccination status and Covid-19 is not specific to Maryland and is not limited to last month, medical experts have said.Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, said Maryland's data is a trend that will be seen in states across the country."No question...

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who served as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand under former President Donald Trump, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Capitol rioting on January 6 “diminished” Trump’s presidency. Anchor Dana Bash said, “Mitt Romney said former President Trump incited the Capitol insurrection. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump is practically and morally responsible for what happened. You’re a former senator and ambassador. do you agree with them that Trump bears responsibility for the insurrection?” Brown said, “Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he bears responsibility. I think his presidency was diminished as a...

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) called out a CNN reporter for misrepresenting his comment about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju stopped Massie to pepper him with questions about the riot, but Massie says his report did not document his comment correctly. "Do you agree with Trump that the election was rigged or stolen somehow?" asked Raju. "We didn't have hearings, there's no way to litigate that up here. If you're in the minority, the DOJ wouldn't investigate it," responded Massie. "There's no evidence of widespread fraud," replied Raju. "That's your opinion,"...