Free Republic

The FBI “cannot disclose the cause of death” of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, after The New York Times and other news outlets either retracted or updated reports claiming he was killed by being hit with a fire extinguisher during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6. FBI Director Christopher Wray responded to a question from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during a Senate hearing on Tuesday about whether the agency has determined Sicknick’s cause of death. Grassley noted “conflicting reports” about his cause of death and whether there is a homicide investigation. “There is an ongoing investigation into his death,”...

For decades, Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan dominated the state’s political system, corrupting it to his own ends. What should we make of his ouster? The Chicago machine turned out some of the most notorious names in American public corruption, including Anton Cermak, Richard J. Daley, and Ed Kelly. The machine also turned out Mike Madigan, who ruled over Illinois politics for 50 years, 36 of which he spent calling the shots as House speaker. Most people thought Madigan would only leave office in handcuffs or a casket. Most people were wrong. For the first time since 1970, “the Velvet...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's governor on Friday unveiled a proposal that would allow technology companies to establish jurisdictions with powers similar to those of county governments, arguing the state needed to be bold to diversify its economy and pushing back against those who have likened the idea to company towns. “This proposal is an exciting, unprecedented concept that has a potential to position Nevada as a global center of advanced technology and innovation, while helping to create immediate positive economic impact and shape the economy of the future,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said of his Innovation Zones idea. “As...

An American Airlines pilot was recorded on Sunday during a flight over New Mexico when he reported via radio an unidentified “long cylindrical object” flying over the airplane. The airline confirmed the transmission and pointed to the FBI, who says it’s “aware” of the incident. The pilot of the Phoenix-bound American Airlines flight 2292 first asked air traffic controllers, “Do you have any targets up here?” adding “We just had something go right over the top of us,” according to the radio transmission recorded by aviation blogger and radio interceptor Steve Douglass. “I hate to say this but it looked...

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reportedly used thousands in taxpayer funds to purchase groceries, liquor, and dry cleaning for her personal use. Grisham racked up a $13,500 tab during the last six months of 2020, according to financial disclosures reported on by the Sante Fe New Mexican. Her bill allegedly included $6,500 in luxurious groceries such as Wagyu beef and tuna steaks, as well as bottles of tequila, vodka, gin, wine, and beer. Grisham or one of her surrogates allegedly spent $200 on alcohol during one visit to Sam’s Club and also used tax dollars to pay for...

A retired FBI agent was indicted on murder charges Thursday for allegedly taking bribes from a mobster to supply him with inside information that led to four underworld slayings in Brooklyn. R. Lindley DeVecchio, 65, was arrested in a case of "confidential leaks, payoffs and death" dating back two decades, District Attorney Charles Hynes said. DeVecchio pleaded not guilty and was released on $1 million bail. He did not speak at his arraignment. One of the two alleged mob hitmen behind the slayings was jailed without bail. The other was in Florida, awaiting extradition.

All told, seven people died in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6. But only Ashli Babbitt’s death was directly caused by violence that day. She was a rioter killed by a Capitol Police officer, who fired the only shot by any person during the 4½-hour siege. Yet the story of who he is and why he opened fire remains shrouded in mystery. More than six weeks after Babbitt succumbed to a single gunshot wound to the upper chest, authorities are keeping secret the identity of the officer who fired the fatal round. They won’t release his name,...

This video was taken from the Tucker Carlson show. The FBI Was caught taking personal data from conservative reps.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected. His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences. My first encounter with the Governor came at a January 6, 2016, event at Madison Square Garden... After his speech, he stopped to talk to me. I was new on the job and surprised by how much...

Liberal dark money groups spent a record-breaking $145 million to get Joe Biden elected, and now they are cashing in. These groups are pushing President Biden to nominate dark money appointees and pass their extreme left-wing policies. From top to bottom, Mr. Biden’s staff is filled with people affiliated with dark money. His chief of staff, Ron Klain, was a board member of the dark money group CAP Action Fund before joining the Biden administration. Similarly, Gina McCarthy, the White House National Climate Adviser, led the Natural Resources Defense Council, a climate action dark money group that has received millions...

The unsuccessful candidate for the presidency has called on the Supreme Court to nullify the election result. He charged that the election was rigged. He was prevented from campaigning; he and his supporters were attacked; soldiers killed his bodyguard. The campaign was shortened by three months, making it more difficult for the opposition to mobilize its supporters. The military supervised the polling stations; opposition leaders were arrested; peaceful protests and opposition rallies were blocked. Journalists were detained. Opposition candidates were restricted from meeting with the media. A law of 2020 imposed a daily tax on social media and required users...

Even though the sensational and endlessly recycled media reports of pro-Trump rioters murdering people on Jan. 6 – in particular, killing Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick by bashing him in the head with a fire extinguisher – have turned out to be utterly false, the Biden administration’s bold new “war on terror,” supposedly inspired by the Capitol riot, is gearing up big-time. Unlike the “war on terror” of yesteryear, which pursued groups like al-Qaida and ISIS, Biden’s new war is aimed at homegrown “violent extremists” within the U.S. Yet Team Biden has no interest in known ultra-violent anarchist/Marxist revolutionary groups...

President Joe Biden’s push for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill took a step forward on Friday as a U.S. House of Representatives committee unveiled the legislation Democrats hope to pass by late next week. The 591-page bill, stitched together by the House Budget Committee, would carry out Biden’s proposals to provide additional money for COVID-19 vaccines and other medical equipment. ...House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she was aiming for a vote in the Democratic-controller chamber on passing the bill — a top priority of the new Democratic Biden administration — by the end of next [this] week. Earlier...

The lockdown has netted Bezos $70 billion since its start. If you are Bezos, a permanent lockdown is a goldmine. Bill Gates, meanwhile, has made $20 billion from the lockdown he previously war-gamed and then cheer-led. His strategy has included emasculating the independent media — the most likely sources of the sort of vigorous journalism that might otherwise scrutinize his self interest in the polices he helped successfully engineer for the rest of us.

The ABC, CBS and NBC evening news shows censored news on a White House-backed "dark money" group being formed to help sell President Joe Biden’s leftist agenda to the American people. A Wall Street Journal exclusive revealed that Biden’s allies were “preparing to create a new nonprofit advocacy organization, with the White House’s approval, that will be funded by donors and seek to build support for his policy agenda, senior administration officials said.” The Feb. 17 report noted that the new group, named “Building Back Together,” will “be a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which would allow it to operate without disclosing its...

The gist of the Congressional inquiry into the role NSA may have played in manipulating the U.S. civilian government technical standards development and approval process is not the first time the legislative branch of government has smelled a rat when it comes to NSA inserting “Trojan horses” into standards developed for civilian government and commercial use. In the case of Dual_EC_DRBG, NSA’s zeal in providing itself with a hidden back door to spy on targeted computers and networks relying on the NIST standard may have boomeranged. Back doors of any nature in information technology products is a hack waiting to...

You’ve probably never heard of Chicago’s U.S. attorney John Lausch. For the last two years, he has been going after some of the biggest, most powerful Democrats in the state of Illinois.His office indicted a Chicago alderman who had been serving since 1969. Edward Burke had been in the crosshairs of prosecutors for four decades but it wasn’t until Lausch came into office that he was indicted.Then there’s the case of the most powerful state politician in the United States, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. His aides and cronies have been indicted for various crimes of influence over the years...

This is what the left has wrought. – Speaking before the G-7 Summit on Friday, China Joe Biden declared “America is back,” and unilaterally surrendered American interests to Europe, China, and Russia. Because that’s what internationalists do. Calling an end to “America first” diplomacy, Biden signaled that the U.S. government would ensure that the interest of its citizens once again become subservient to other nations in a return to globalism.

Lawmakers from both parties have called for John Lausch to keep his job President Joe Biden is forcing Chicago's top federal prosecutor to resign amid ongoing criminal probes of powerful Illinois Democrats and their associates. U.S. attorney John Lausch is prosecuting close confidants of Democrat boss Mike Madigan, an ally of former president Barack Obama who resigned from the state legislature Thursday after a decades-long reign in Springfield. Lausch's office will also prosecute Chicago alderman Edward Burke (D.), an influential figure accused of strong-arming businesses into retaining his law firm. Lausch's abrupt removal has drawn bipartisan criticism from Illinois lawmakers...

Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff has appeared in her first designer fashion show, just three weeks after it was announced that she had signed with IMG Models. The 21-year-old — who is the daughter of Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, and his first wife, Kerstin — had turned the heads of fashion fans at President Joe Biden's inauguration on on January 20, where she wore an embellished Miu Miu coat. Now the Parsons School of Design fine art student has nabbed her first high-profile modeling gig, storming the runway for Proenza Schouler in three different stylish looks.