Free Republic

I have emailed my Congresswoman, written and called. Before my number was blocked, I spoke with an intern at my Congresswoman's office who did not know who Ray Epps is, and provided no information. My question was, "why was Ray Epps not arrested when he was video recorded instigating illegal acts during the January 6 riots?".

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) has tested positive for COVID-19, she said Tuesday in a statement. Lee, who is fully vaccinated and had also gotten a booster shot, said she received her positive test result this week. “Fortunately, I have only mild cold-like symptoms, but I know it could have been much worse had I not been vaccinated and boosted,” she said. “I am isolating and will follow all of the required health protocols to keep my loved ones, my staff, and my community safe.” Lee is at least the fifth member of Congress this week to announce having tested positive...

It’s hard to think of anything more symbolic of America’s gilded and decadent ruling class than elected officials owning pieces of the very economy they’re officially charged with managing. All told, it’s difficult to imagine something more darkly symbolic of a decadent ruling class than a multimillionaire member of Congress mounting a transparently self-interested defense of political insider trading. Nonetheless, that’s exactly what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did this week when asked about a proposed ban on members and their spouses holding and trading stocks while in office. “This is a free market, and people — we are a free...

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rejection of a ban on members of Congress from trading and holding individual stock while in office. In a series of tweets on Friday evening, Ocasio-Cortez reiterated her prior opposition to members trading individual stock while in office, writing that the practice is inappropriate when members "write major policy and have access to sensitive information."

I love listening to Fed talking heads (or Fear The Talking Fed). They mostly seem to acknowledge that inflation is a problem and that the excessive monetary stimulus should be reduced. But then I see the chart of The Fed’s balance sheet and The Fed’s reverse repo operations. Then we have Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller saying that Th Fed could start raising interest rates as early as its March 15-16 meeting, after deciding to end asset purchases sooner than planned. My question is … why wait until the March meeting? Is it fear of the Omincron Variant (which sounds...

Dozens of federal lawmakers and at least 182 top staffers have violated a conflict-of-interest law. Numerous members of Congress personally invest in industries they oversee. Few face serious consequences, legally or otherwise. The nation is unabashedly polarized. Republicans and Democrats enjoy little goodwill and less commonality. But in Washington, DC, a bipartisan phenomenon is thriving. Numerous members of Congress, both liberal and conservative, are united in their demonstrated indifference toward a law designed to quash corruption and curb conflicts-of-interest. Insider's new investigative reporting project, "Conflicted Congress," chronicles the myriad ways members of the US House and Senate have eviscerated their...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said members of Congress and their spouses should not be barred from trading individual stocks as part of the STOCK Act, citing a “free market economy.” During a press briefing on Wednesday, in response to a report from Insider showing that 49 members of Congress (Democrats and Republicans) have failed to disclose their transactions in accordance with Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, Pelosi was asked if members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from trading individual stocks, thereby preventing insider trading, “We’re a free-market economy,” Pelosi explained. “They should be...

"“Speaker Pelosi failed to appoint members consistent with the authorizing resolution of the Select Committee… Thus, the Select Committee as it currently stands—and stood at the time it issued the subpoenas in question—has no authority to conduct business because it is not a duly constituted Select Committee. Chairman Thompson’s subpoenas are invalid and unenforceable.” The “Select Committee” of Democrats and two “Republicans” to investigate the January 6 riot is an abuse of power but typical for how efficient Democrats are at weaponizing their congressional power. Mark Meadows, former Trump Chief of Staff, has been held in contempt by the Democrat-controlled...

At a weekly press conference, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended stock market investment by members of Congress after an investigation by Insider alleged that 49 members of Congress have violated laws against insider trading.U.S. law forbids people with insider information, including members of Congress, from buying stocks on the basis of that information, and those who break these laws can be subject to criminal prosecution.Laws against congressional insider trading were strengthened in 2012 amid a wave of insider trading in Congress; the STOCK Act, or Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, placed limitations and new...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Wednesday she believed members of Congress should be allowed to trade stocks despite ethical questions, citing the “free market.” Pelosi, who routinely makes headlines with her husband for their prophetic ability to making winning trades, made the comment in response to a reporter who asked about a Business Insider story based on a five-month review that found a large number of lawmakers and their staffers had been late filing financial disclosures detailing their trades. “Should members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?” the reporter asked....

House Democrats overwhelmingly voted to block consideration for H.R. 2729, also known as the Finish the Wall Act, on Tuesday. The bill, introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), would have required the Department of Homeland Security to resume construction of border wall projects halted by the Biden administration and would prohibit the administration from canceling wall contracts entered into before Jan 20, 2021."This bill requires the secretary of Homeland Security to resume construction of the border wall within 24 hours of enactment using funds Congress has already appropriated to building the wall. The wall is more than just a fence,"...

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney on Monday argued that allowing Congress to subpoena his client’s financial records and revealing them "to the whole world" would give the Upper Chamber too much power over the president. "The committee says it needs a detailed understanding and full accounting of President Trump's finances in order to legislate," attorney Cameron Norris said on Monday... "No prior Congress has demanded this kind of information, but every future Congress will if this Court upholds the subpoena. There's no principled way to limit the fallout to President Trump."....

Atlantic magazine contributing writer Quinta Jurecic did not use the f-word but used the phrase "weirdly static" as a stand-in for "flopped" when writing about the failure of the congressional January 6 Committee investigation. Of course, one problem is that none of the supposed insurrectionists has actually been charged with insurrection. Jurecic explained how the January 6 Committee investigation flopped on Saturday in "Why the January 6 Investigation Is Weirdly Static."

Washington (CNN)The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol has issued a resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump's chief of staff, in contempt of Congress. The resolution comes after the panel informed Meadows last week that it has "no choice".... ...Meadows alleges that the subpoenas are "overly broad and unduly burdensome," while claiming that the committee "lacks lawful authority to seek and to obtain" the information requested....

Mehmet Oz, the host of "The Dr. Oz Show" who is now running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview that he believes Anthony Fauci should lose his job as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."Dr. Anthony Fauci has lost the faith and confidence of the American people," Oz told the New York Post. "It’s time for a new face talking to the American people, one that is more trusted.""I believe Anthony Fauci should be held accountable for misleading, whether willfully or unintentionally, the American public and the United States Congress," he continued.Oz...

Call it “The Letter That Phil Swagel Wrote.” The letter from Phil Swagel, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, sent a letter to Congress stating that “The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation project that a version of the bill modified as you have specified would increase the deficit by $3.0 trillion over the 2022–2031 period.” In short, members of Congress asked the CBO “What would happen if the programs in the bill would be made permanent (which they almost always are made permanent). The result? The Letter That Phil Swagel Wrote: Federal Deficits...

Twenty chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading retailers are calling on Congress to pass legislation to curb the sale of stolen goods online in the wake of “organized retail crime” across the United States. The Retail Industry Leaders Association sent a letter to Congressional leadership on Thursday, which was signed by CEOs of Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, Nordstrom, and executives of many more retail titans.

Thursday on Fox Business Network’s “The Evening Edit,” Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) equated Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted of five counts of felony disorderly conduct for faking a hate crime in Chicago. Bishop said because Schiff has been constantly pushing the narrative that Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election, that he was “the Jussie Smollett of Congress.”

Republicans & Democrats have united to punish China. They've passed a bill to ban all goods that are made through forced labour of Uighur Muslims. Which brands could this bill spell trouble for? Versachi, Vuitton, etc.

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers promulgated by President Joe Biden’s administration is being opposed by over 150 Republicans in Congress, who say the administration hasn’t taken into account the mandate’s potential effect on already short-staffed hospitals.“We are concerned that if the Biden administration moves forward with their vaccine mandate for medical personnel, the resulting staff shortages could actually cost lives instead of saving them,” Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) said in a statement.The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last month announced every facility that receives federal funding must force workers to get a vaccine or terminate them.The...