Free Republic

Almost two years after a Democrat-elected prosecutor secured a conviction against then-candidate Donald Trump, a New York appeals court could decide soon on the appeal of the Manhattan felony conviction. “There is no upside for the courts to string this along. So, we could see a ruling soon,” said Dan Backer, counsel for the watchdog group Coolidge Reagan Foundation, who co-wrote an amicus brief filed Monday and first shared with The Daily Signal. The brief, filed in the First Department Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, calls for reversal of Trump’s conviction. ... Bragg’s team argued that Trump’s...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is investigating whether Colorado providers helped nearly 3,000 people swindle taxpayer money from Uncle Sam, The Post has learned. The investigation comes after an internal HUD audit found that benefits were granted to 221 dead people, while another 87 were otherwise ineligible. The department also said that another 2,519 beneficiaries will need to undergo additional verification. “From deceased tenants to individuals receiving HUD housing benefits who were never supposed to, the Department has questions for HUD-supported housing providers in Colorado, and we expect prompt answers and enforcement action,” a HUD spokesperson told...

We’ve been here before: congressional Democrats and Republicans sparring over the future of the Affordable Care Act. But this time there’s an extra complication. Though it’s the middle of open enrollment, lawmakers are still debating whether to extend the subsidies that have given consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums in recent years. The circumstances have led to deep consumer concerns about higher costs and fears of political fallout among some Republican lawmakers.

A Missouri woman on Thursday receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds complained about only being able to buy "real food" with the program, according to St. Louis TV station KMOV. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced Wednesday the approval of a waiver request from Missouri and five other states to restrict the purchase of candy, sugar-sweetened drinks and other items after Oct. 1, 2026. Hannah Moore complained to KMOV reporter John Kipper in a story that the restrictions were "not even cool."

(The Center Square) – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will appear before a Georgia Senate committee on Wednesday to talk about her case against President Donald Trump and others, the Senate said Monday. The Senate Special Committee on Investigation has been battling Willis over a subpoena first issued in 2024. The Supreme Court of Georgia heard oral arguments over Willis' challenge to the subpoena last week. Willis' attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, said she would be appearing at a future meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Capitol and will be livestreamed, according to the...

Folks, this is 45 minutes worth your time. I concur with Mr. Gardner this is the most important story in the last 100 years of our Republic. I am still digesting it. I think it is worth a permanent thread by itself. You may want to prepare your favorite beverage. The bottom line is the title. Here are the bullets, in no particular order: President Trump knows the extent of Venezuelan involvement in rigged elections, not only in the United States, but also other countries. The cabal includes Russia, China, Iran, the cartels, among others. Illegal immigration, drugs, and bribery...

Former Rep. Katie Hill, the California Democrat who resigned following her très bizarre multi-layered sex scandal with a younger female congressional staffer, who then presented herself as the victim of harassment, bullying, and revenge porn in a New York Times op-ed, is back. She’s not back in Congress, but back to her pre-Congress homeless nonprofit grift. Allegations and photos emerged of Rep. Katie Hill and her husband involved in a “throuple” threesome relationship with a young congressional staffer in 2019. Hill also had allegedly been involved in a sexual relationship for a year with her finance director, RedState reported. She...

Let me just say it straight. Marjorie Taylor Greene did not walk away from Congress because she is tired of Washington. She walked away because Washington finally caught up to her. Every politician who sells themselves as a warrior for the people should be held to the same standard. So when I see somebody who claims to be America First, claims to be a Christian, claims to be fighting the deep state, and then somehow turns a $700,000 net worth into twenty five million dollars after a few short years in office, I am going to call you out. I...

A whistleblower claims that the Somali migrant community in Ohio is also involved in the same sort of massive social services funding fraud being uncovered day-by-day in Minnesota. Ohio attorney Mehek Cooke says that the same sort of theft of public funding seen in Minnesota has been occurring in the Buckeye State for more than a decade, Fox News reports. Cooke also accuses Ohio doctors of “rubber stamping” the fraud by failing to do any due diligence on those who are filing for aid. “They’re just rubberstamping a lot of these. And then that same individual, a week later, that’s...

One of my consistent themes is that in the post-Christian West, sexual pleasure and hedonism have been elevated to the highest human good. Human beings are driven to ask, "What is the meaning of life," and when God exits stage left, what usually replaces Him is "pleasure." That's natural, of course, since pleasure by its nature is self-reinforcing. "If it feels good, do it" is hardly revolutionary, despite what the hippies said. Without religion, human beings struggle to come up with reasons to deny our darkest desires without appealing to moral standards that are generally rooted in religion, or at...

The 'Progressive' Stance on Venezuela's Economy Proves Leftists Are Very Much Idiots

Maddy Olcott plans to start a career once she graduates from college. But the junior at the State University of New York-Purchase College is so far not planning to start a family — even with the Trump administration dangling inducements like thousand-dollar “baby bonuses” or cheaper infertility drugs. Partner logo This story also ran on CNN. It can be republished for free. “Our country wants us to be birthing machines, but they’re cutting what resources there already are,” said Olcott, 20. “And a $1,000 baby bonus? It’s low-key like, what, bro? That wouldn’t even cover my month’s rent.”

The recent federal indictment of Dana Williamson — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff — should come as no surprise: It’s the latest example of a thoroughly corrupt Sacramento political culture that afflicts both parties. But as bad as you may think the corruption is, I can tell you first-hand that it is much worse. For Democrats, supermajority status has resulted in a “might makes right” attitude of abusing their power to impose their will — and to help themselves. Worse, because Democrats control almost all the levers of state and local law enforcement (including the state attorney...

Video. In an interview on "The Katie Miller Pod," Elon Musk said DOGE, the Department of Governmental Efficiency, was a "somewhat successful" venture, but he wouldn't do it again. KATIE MILLER: You are in the Roosevelt Room, if you remember this, getting sworn in, and they hand you a computer and a phone. I want to go back to what happened next. I think the story of DOGE, from your perspective, has never been told. What was your first thought on how DOGE was going to proceed? ELON MUSK: Well, I guess I couldn't believe I was there, for the...

When the chairman of AI chip startup Rivos wanted Intel to bid for the company, he had no need to phone the chip giant. That’s because the chairman of Rivos was also Intel’s CEO: Lip-Bu Tan. Reuters was unable to determine how much the Intel CEO profited personally as a Rivos shareholder because the financials are not public. But in a blog post on its website, Tan’s venture-capital firm, Walden Catalyst, touted how he had delivered a “successful outcome” for its investors and congratulated the Rivos team for their “remarkable achievement.” The events show one of at least three instances...

I’ve spent my life covering Chicago politics and Chicago political corruption. So, I guess you could say that I’ve seen some things: Many years ago, when I was first starting out in the newspapering business, the vaunted Chicago press corps—the corporate legacy media–was bowing and sniveling before a black “reform” mayor (not named Johnson) for fear of being branded as racists. This was just as the mayor’s top aide wearing a bad wig, collected rent in a city limousine from impoverished women living in his slum buildings full of rats. Or later, when Chicago politicians were terrified into silence when...

In 2003, former McDonnell Douglas executive Harry Stonecipher became the CEO of Boeing and described the company as "run like a business rather than a great engineering firm." Stonecipher made the fateful decision to reject proposals to design a clean-sheet airplane to replace the aging Boeing 727, 737, and 757. By 2011, Boeing's aging 737 was losing to rival Airbus's A320neo, but instead of a new aircraft, the decision was made to upgrade the 737 NG to the 737 MAX. This would allow it to stay within the FAA's original type certification and operate with the same flying characteristics. It...

The ABA’s left-wing bias targets Catholic law schools, exposing the need for reform in America’s politicized legal education system. Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uttmeier made public a letter to the American Bar Association (“ABA”) accusing it of violating the First Amendment right to religious freedom when it said a Catholic law school did not meet one of its equal opportunity accreditation standards. The school is Florida’s St. Thomas University College of Law, and the standard is number 205, titled “Non-discrimination and Equal Opportunity.” The ABA’s finding did not specify how St. Thomas fell short. Standard 205 is distinct...

11 Los Angeles County employees charged in over $700,000 pandemic unemployment fraud scheme Eleven more Los Angeles County employees have been charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing unemployment benefits while working full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The new charges, announced by the office, follow an earlier round of filings in October against 13 county employees accused of similar conduct. In total, prosecutors say 24 employees fraudulently collected a combined $741,518 in unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2023. District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said his office intends to pursue the...

A former Cook County judge who stole large sums of money from an elderly friend who served as a Tuskegee Airman received a probationary sentence on Friday. Patricia Martin, 66, received four years of probation after pleading guilty to theft of $100,000 to $500,000, according to court records. The judge also ordered her to pay $122,763.73 in restitution and comply with standard probation conditions that include random drug testing. Martin once served as presiding judge of the Child Protection Division and retired in 2020. Prosecutors initially accused her of stealing nearly $250,000 from then-95-year-old Oscar Wilkerson, a longtime friend whose...