Free Republic

Ross Ulbricht has been pardoned by President Donald Trump

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The sheriff of the nation’s fifth-largest county on Tuesday defied a new policy to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, setting up a showdown... Earlier Tuesday, San Diego County supervisors voted to prohibit its sheriff’s department from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the federal agency’s enforcement of civil immigration laws... Shortly after, Sheriff Kelly Martinez said the board does not set set policy for the sheriff, who, like the supervisors, is an elected official. She said she wouldn’t honor the new policy....

President-elect Donald Trump used a “forceful hand” to get his Drug Enforcement Agency pick to drop out on Tuesday after hearing “concerns” about the Floridian’s record, sources familiar told The Post — leading outgoing Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) to make a bid for the position. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued a lengthy statement indicating he was withdrawing his name for the DEA slot — but did not reveal the specific reason he was dropping out of the confirmation process after just three days. “Everyone knows President Trump calls the shots,” a well-placed source spilled. “The president heard the concerns...

Hillsborough County Sherrif Chad Chronister, a COVID-19 mandate enforcer, has withdrawn his name from nomination as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Chronister announces via Twitter:

Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation. Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.” “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote....

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has withdrawn his name from consideration for administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Chronister was nominated late last month by President-elect Donald Trump to serve in the post. In a statement Tuesday, Chronister said there remains work to be done as sheriff. "To serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime," he said. "Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration...

Donald Trump’s recent announcement of Sheriff Chad Chronister as his nominee for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator has sparked a fierce backlash among conservatives, who are raising serious concerns about Chronister’s record, particularly his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his perceived alignment with leftist policies. ... many conservative voices have condemned the pick, pointing to his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his alignment with liberal policies. Among the most controversial moments of Chronister’s career was the arrest of Tampa Bay Pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne in March 2020. The pastor was charged with violating public health orders after keeping...

Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Hillsborough, Florida, County Sheriff Chad Chronister as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. No one is quite sure how Sheriff Chronister popped on the radar. A lot of Florida alumni are showing up in Trump 2.0, and, of course, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi started her political career as the prosecutor in Hillsborough County. This is the announcement. 🚨BREAKING: Trump just nominated Sheriff Chad Chronister for Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). pic.twitter.com/2quKTs0apl — Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) November 30, 2024 In the cold light of the "morning after," many things are...

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he is tapping Republican Florida sheriff Chad Chronister to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said Chronister will work with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump's pick to lead the Department of Justice, "to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border." Bondi was chosen by Trump after his previous selection, former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, withdrew his nomination amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations against him of sexual misconduct. Chronister...

The Justice Department has ordered the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to suspend most searches of passengers at airports and other mass transit hubs after an independent investigation found DEA task forces weren't documenting searches and weren't properly trained, creating a significant risk of constitutional violations and lawsuits. The deputy attorney general directed the DEA on November 12 to halt what are known as "consensual encounter" searches at airports—unless they're part of an existing investigation into a criminal network—after seeing the draft of a Justice Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) memorandum that outlined a decade's worth of "significant concerns" about...

The DOD just announced that all civilian spec ops are to report directly to Chris Miller. My understanding is all the spec ops teams from CIA, FBI, DEA, DHS, etc now report directly to the DOD instead of using the traditional chain of command bypassing the corrupt bureaucrats. I am not sure, but this seems like a big deal.

At long last there is a chance that some kind of investigation will be held into the crimes committed by high level Democrats not just in the run up to the election, but also spreading further back to the “Russian Uranium” scandal. Judiciary Committee Republicans voted 16 to 13 to start gathering documents with a view to assigning a second Special Counsel. The focus of the investigation is to be Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch and James Comey, and there are a lot of questions that need answering. As Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), said “We have a lot more than a...

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it is creating a task force to take a fresh look at drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations linked to Hezbollah after an investigative report last month claimed that the Obama administration turned a blind eye to such activities to preserve the Iran nuclear deal. The task force, dubbed the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (HFNT), will begin its work by reviewing investigations stemming from Project Cassandra, a campaign led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) targeting the Lebanese terror group’s actions. According to a Politico report published last month, officials with the Obama Justice...

At airports across the U.S., Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents confront flyers as they are boarding flights and ask to search carry-on items. These interactions are supposed to be consensual. But flyers often get the impression that they have no choice but to submit to a search. IJ currently has a class action lawsuit against the DEA and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over their unconstitutional searches and seizures at U.S. airports. Learn more about IJ's work protecting America’s foundational rights—including the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures: https://ij.org/issues/ijs-project-on-...

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Drug cartels from Mexico are operating in Hawaii, making and pushing deadly drugs including methamphetamines and fentanyl. New tougher penalties akin to murder charges are aiming to take them down. Authorities told KHON2 that the big cartels are ramping up business not just south of the border but right here in our island state. The top federal law enforcement official in Hawaii warns of the dangers not just to drug users, but to drug pushers once caught. Authorities have seen a big shift in recent years to Hawaii’s most dangerous drugs methamphetamine and fentanyl especially coming mostly...

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump plans to announce at the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday that he intends to commute "Silk Road" website operator Ross Ulbricht's life in prison sentence, according to a source familiar with the matter. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in federal prison in 2015 for creating and operating a hidden website known as the "Silk Road" that people used to buy and sell drugs, among other illegal goods and services. Many libertarians have called for Ulbricht's release. At the convention on Saturday, the crowd was filled with "free Ross" signs and took up chants in...

A DEA agent accused of killing a cyclist in Salem while on duty had his case presented before a federal appeals court today in Seattle. At the center of today’s hearing was whether the agent could claim immunity from state prosecution because he was an on-duty federal agent. On March 28, 2023, Marganne Allen was riding her bike home from work in southeast Salem. Video from that day shows a black pickup truck running a stop sign moments before striking and killing the cyclist.

EXCLUSIVE — Newly released details about a controversial mass surveillance program shed light on the pitfalls of government data acquisition programs as Congress debates reauthorizing a crucial statute. The Drug Enforcement Administration collected massive amounts of telephone records for 20 years before the program was shuttered amid the Edward Snowden revelations in 2013. A heavily redacted inspector general’s report into the program was released six years later, a more forthcoming version of which has been obtained by the Washington Examiner. While the Office of the Inspector General exists to provide oversight of government agencies, among the new details of the...

Stephen Lara sued after the Nevada Highway Patrol took his life savings without charging him with any crime.. RENO, Nev.—On Thursday, the Second Judicial District Court for the State of Nevada denied the state’s motion to dismiss a Marine veteran’s lawsuit challenging the state’s civil forfeiture laws, after his life savings were taken through the controversial process nearly three years ago. Thursday’s decision means Stephen Lara, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), can continue his legal challenge to the state’s forfeiture scheme, which allows police to take people’s property without showing that they committed a crime. “The court’s ruling...

A federal narcotics agent accused of blowing through a stop sign and hitting and killing a bicyclist while on a surveillance mission in Salem has successfully moved the criminal case from state to federal court. In federal court, he can assert immunity from prosecution on the criminal charge of negligent homicide, a defense not available to him in state court. Lawyers for the state objected to removing the case from Marion County Circuit Court. They argued that the agent’s alleged “grossly negligent actions” were not a necessary part of his federal law enforcement work. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane...