Free Republic

16 Republican AGs seek answers from Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf... ... debanking ... Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen... As attorney general, it's my job to protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices. I will continue to investigate and fight against any illegal actions that could impact Montana businesses and consumers." ... Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Bradon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation...

The efforts by government, captured institutions and radical activists to manipulate and menace can feel like an endless loop. But is it possible we’ve turned a corner, or at least nearing one that we can take? Recent events suggest so. The flagship institution of higher education in the red state of Florida is shutting down its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office. The University of Florida is ridding itself of the malign chief diversity officer position, sacking the program’s useless staff, and is also “halting any contracts involving the subject,” the Associated Press reports. What a welcome development, thanks to...

“We’re excited to be co-chairing the president’s new Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, which builds on the FTC’s far-reaching work to promote competition and tackle unlawful business practices that are inflating costs for Americans,” FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a call Monday.

Two weeks ago, on February 16, in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court issued his decision ordering Donald Trump to pay some $355 million of “disgorgement” penalties. The stated basis for imposing these extraordinary penalties was Trump’s supposed “fraud” of exaggerating the value of some of his properties on financial statements submitted to a bank. No one had been damaged by Trump’s conduct, and the bank in question had neither complained nor sought any relief; however, the Attorney General asserted, and the judge agreed, that a...

The numbers: Orders for durable or long-lasting goods sank 6.1% in January, but the decline was exaggerated by a brief lull in orders for Boeing passenger planes. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 5% decline. New orders fell by a mild 0.3% last month if planes and cars are stripped out. Orders minus transportation give a more accurate view of how well businesses are performing.

New York Creates Precedent That Could Threaten Every Big Business In New York, and Send Them Fleeing, With Their Money, to Safer Climes; Kathy Hochul Reassures Them By Admitting This Law Will be Applied to Trump Only and No One ElseJonathan Turley on the huge, and unconstitutional, penalty the open partisan hack judge levied on Trump -- and his demands that Trump put up the money for his exorbitant fine before Trump is allowed to challenge the fine as excessive.n the wake of the massive judgment against Donald Trump, many in New York are celebrating the prospect that the former...

The Biden Administration has admitted to surveilling the private financial transactions of Americans for words including 'MAGA', 'Trump' and 'Kamala' following the January 6 riots. Federal investigators in the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) instructed banks to comb through records to look for 'extremists'. A letter from the Treasury Department, seen by Fox News, was sent to Senator Tim Scott on Friday which states 'Exchange events' began 'shortly after January 6 under the prior Administration'. It said it 'included terms such as "antifa," "MAGA," "Trump," "Biden," "Kamala," "Schumer," and "Pelosi."' The federal government was specifically 'watching' Trump supporters and...

In an election year, candidates from both sides will generally declare that we need more domestic manufacturing, and they promise to make it happen. Different sides will propose different ways to accomplish it. Republicans will call for lower tax rates and lighter regulations; Democrats will call for open borders and higher punitive tariffs. Each side hates the other’s methods; nothing gets done. Does this really matter? There are economists, investment advisors, even politicians out there, who will say it doesn’t matter. They will say we need business, of course; but as long as there are transactions happening, that’s economic growth....

The US arm of AP Moller-Maersk is suspending voyages through the Red Sea after two of its container ships came under missile attack while being escorted by the US Navy. The 6,200-teu Maersk Detroit and 2,474-teu Maersk Chesapeake (both built 2008) turned around in the Red Sea and were escorted back to the Gulf of Aden, said the company. The master of an unidentified ship reported an explosion 100 metres from its starboard side, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said earlier. US Central Command, which coordinates the country’s military operations in the region, said three anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired...

Washington State Democrats are defining the 2024 legislative session as an all-out war on gun rights. They are not only trying to impose licenses on gun ownership and a per-bullet tax. Now, far-left lawmakers are trying to put gun shops out of business with insurmountable, frivolous costs under the lie that it’s about public safety. What they’re asking for is not possible, and that’s the point. Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) shops are subject to intense regulation, requiring significant investments in security under penalty of loss of license, business-ending financial punishments, and jail time. HB 2118 would completely upend the high...

According to a new bombshell report from Fox News, just shopping at popular sporting goods stores or buying a “MAGA” hat is now enough to get you on a government watch list. On January 17, Fox reported that, following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, “Federal investigators asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump.’” In addition, the Treasury Department’s Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, told financial institutions that purchasing “religious texts” – like the Bible – could be an...

Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan says, "We now know the federal government flagged terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP,” to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms. "What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop." https://x.com/Jim_Jordan/status/1747718053365010737?s=20 https://x.com/Jim_Jordan/status/1747718064374730900?s=20

Isn’t it interesting how Sweden’s doing a bit of a U-turn? I mean, who would’ve thought the right-wing government there would be all for keeping physical cash alive and kicking? So, get this – they’re not just talking about it; they’re considering making shops accept cash, going against the whole global trend of going cashless. It’s like they’re saying, “Hold on, we still want the option to use good old-fashioned bills and coins, thank you very much.”

As a result of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order, gas-powered vehicles will be banned by 2035. This refers to new vehicles and existing gas-powered cars and trucks that will be allowed on California roads for the moment.Other states are following California. But with electric vehicles (EVs) comes an investment. What are the economic ramifications of banning gas-powered vehicles? Can California afford it? Can America afford it?(Shutterstock)California Banns New Gas-Powered Vehicles 2035Gov. Newsom’s executive order was announced in 2020 and was followed by the California Air Resources Board’s approval in August 2022. Automakers and car dealers will be restricted to...

A growing majority of Americans know the 2020 election was fraudulent. Many analysts who have been studying election integrity have concluded that there had to be a two-way connection between local election electronics (electronic poll pads, tabulators, election management systems, voter databases, etc.) and a centralized data collection system responsible for monitoring and manipulating the election. Fingers have rightly been pointed at all-inclusive election management software, the Albert Sensor system, Scytl and Edison, and the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC). This incestuous collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security, the Election Assistance Commission, leftist/globalist funding, foreign companies,...

Over three years have passed since January 6, 2021, and the truth of what really happened that day has never been more relevant. For the regime, the stakes involved in selling the official narrative of January 6 as a uniquely horrific domestic terror event are higher than ever. Such are the stakes that Biden’s crypt-keepers presumably injected him with the strongest stuff they had to keep the President conscious and standing upright for the duration of his hour and a half-long speech marking the anniversary of the day “we almost lost America.” And it makes sense. The ludicrous notion of...

I Bought A Bible, Slingshot, And Sports Gear. So I’m Probably On A ‘Domestic Terrorist’ WatchlistAll-American consumerism by a completely peaceful and law-abiding citizen somehow threatens the people running my own country into the ground.Americans who shopped at sporting goods stores and bought religious books “like a Bible” were flagged through their banks as potential domestic terrorists, Rep. Jim Jordan revealed Jan. 17. The federal government also flagged as potential criminals any transactions that involved the terms “MAGA” or “Trump,” the House Judiciary Committee chairman said. These Americans were tagged as possible “violent extremists” with zero due process or even...

“You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization—including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain—without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.” —Thomas Sowell“...Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent...” —Adam SmithI’ve remained silent for a while now, not knowing what to say or how to sort the many threads. Perhaps I’m slow, but I finally had at least a minor “aha” moment. I know it’s all fundamentally about money and power. Isn’t it always? But the salient question...

Federal investigators asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like "MAGA" and "Trump" as part of an investigation into Jan. 6, warning that purchases of "religious texts" could indicate "extremism," the House Judiciary Committee revealed Wednesday. Fox News Digital has learned the committee also obtained documents that indicate officials suggested that banks query transactions with keywords like Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and more. The House Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have been conducting oversight of federal law enforcement’s "receipt of information about American citizens without legal...

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is requesting a transcribed interview with a former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) official for allegedly flagging consumer transactions that had the phrases “TRUMP” or “MAGA” in them. On behalf of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, Jordan sent a letter requesting testimony to Noah Bishoff, the former director of an office in the Strategic Operations Division of FinCEN, which is part of the Treasury Department. Jordan said the committee had obtained documents showing that FinCEN outlined “typologies” of persons of interest in materials distributed to financial institutions. He said these...