Free Republic

'Tell your boss I owe him another friggin' beer:' Hot mic catches NSA boss praising FBI chiefs for supportive testimony on surveillance programs The director of the National Security Agency was overheard offering a round of beer to the FBI's second-in-command following Tuesday's congressional hearing on the NSA's controversial surveillance programs. The three-hour hearing had just wrapped up around 1 p.m. when NSA Director Keith Alexander turned to FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and praised him for his testimony. 'Thank you, Sean,' Alexander said, according to a clip of the exchange that was first reported by Ben Doernberg. 'Tell your...

Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to meet with House Republicans as part of their probe into whether he misled Congress or acted inappropriately in the Justice Department’s investigation of two separate leaks to media outlets. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) made the announcement late Friday after exchanging several weeks worth of testy letters with the nation’s top cop. In agreeing to meet with the lawmakers, Holder staved off the threat of a subpoena from Goodlatte for a second time in as many weeks. Goodlatte is investigating whether Holder misled the committee last

“Hawaii duped Arizona” in its response to Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett’s request to verify Barack Obama’s eligibility for the 2012 election, charges the lead investigator of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse. “We have developed incontrovertible proof that the verification provided by the Hawaii Department of Health to Arizona’s secretary of state on May 22 really doesn’t verify anything of significance,” said Mike Zullo, who is in Hawaii to follow up on his team’s initial findings concerning Obama’s birth record.

Complete title: DOJ Memo: Solicitor General Kagan ‘Substantially Participated’ in Preparing Obamacare-Related Case for Supreme Court (CNSNews.com) - On Jan. 13, 2010, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan a series of written questions examining the issue of how she would handle recusing herself from cases she might have been involved in as solicitor general if she were confirmed to the Supreme Court. "Notably, we are concerned about the standard you would use to decide whether to recuse yourself from litigation you participated in as Solicitor General," the senators wrote. "In particular, we are concerned...

For the first time, documents appear to show Attorney General Eric Holder was made aware of the Operation Fast and Furious earlier than he claimed - up to NINE MONTHS EARLIER. The documents seem to contradict what Holder told a House Judiciary Committee on May 3, when he said he could not recall the exact date, but he'd "probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks." Other documents also show, contrary to earlier reports, the Justice Dept. was aware that ATF agents under the department's direction were involved in "gun walking." When agents...

(Sep. 29, 2011) — Supporting and defending the Constitution and upholding the rule of law are no longer items on the Republican agenda. According to Article II, Section I, Clause 5 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court binding precedent in Minor vs. Happersett (1874), Barack Hussein Obama has never been eligible to be President of the United States. To hide his ineligibility, Obama has produced a forged Certificate of Live Birth, uses a Social Security number not issued to him and condoned the distribution of a forged Selective Service registration. Despite being fully aware of the overwhelming evidence corroborating...

The cover-up of Fast and Furious is unraveling at breakneck speed. As a result of the ongoing investigation by Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, the LA Times and Townhall.com are both reporting Mexico has been kept in the dark about the deadly fallout of the botched operation. While information about the mounting carnage trickles out, a black cloud has descended over the White House, the DOJ and American-Mexican relations. From Townhall.com: "I would be remiss if I didn't mention, as the Attorney General in Mexico is so concerned, she's made the point that at least 200...

CBS News recently got their hands on secret recordings of conversations about Fast and Furious that took place between an ATF agent and a gun store owner, both of whom were located in the Phoenix area (and both of whom were thoroughly acquainted with Fast and Furious). The recordings captured agent Hope McAllister talking with Andre Howard, owner of Lone Wolf Trading Company, at a time when Howard was noticeably worried that Fast and Furious was going to become public knowledge or be put under the microscope of a congressional investigation. Howard especially feared that Senator Charles Grassley might push...

Solyndra Inc.'s chief executive officer and chief financial officer will invoke their 5th Amendment rights and not answer questions during a Friday hearing before a House investigative committee, their attorneys said. Attorneys for Solyndra Chief Executive Brian Harrison and W.G. "Bill" Stover, the company's chief financial officer, sent letters to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative subcommittee Tuesday saying the two executives would not answer any questions during the hearing. "I have advised Mr. Harrison that he should decline to answer questions put to him by this subcommittee based on his rights under the Fifth Amendment," Harrison's attorney, Walter...

The head of the U.S. Justice Department launched his strongest personal defense yet in the growing furor over Operation Fast and Furious, the controversial sting targeting Mexican drug cartels and American gunrunners. On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said for the first time that not only he but also other higher-ups at the Justice Department were not aware of the operation as it was being carried out. Holder also suggested politics could be a driving force behind Republican lawmakers' forceful inquiries into the matter. "The notion that somehow or other this thing reaches into the upper levels of the Justice...

There is no gray area. Either members of Congress are liars or they are too stupid to serve in government. Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA) says: “The facts have consistently shown that President Obama was born in the United States. As a natural-born American citizen, he is fully eligible to serve as President of our country.” Anwar al-Awlaki was born on April 22, 1971 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is an Islamic spiritual leader and an imam who has encouraged Islamic terrorism against the West. He is a senior talent recruiter and motivator, who has also become “operational” as...

Bryan Jennings: Mr. Mann, in the June 21 Elkhart forum, you said that you disagreed with Alan Jilka that the president was a citizen of the United States, and that, quote, "The president needs to prove his citizenship." Are you a birther? Tracey Mann: I think the president of the United States needs to come forth with his papers and show everyone that he's an American citizen and put this issue to bed once and for all. Jennings: So, the short certificate that was shown by the state of Hawaii and the secretary of state of that state is not...

On the first day of July, the House of Representatives passed a "budget enforcement resolution" that "deemed as passed" a $1.12 trillion budget. Thirty-eight House Democrats voted no, perhaps because they sense in this year of the Tea Party Movement it isn't good politics to engage in such a sham. But pass it did. More tricks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that hide nothing but actually bring great clarity to the next four months. House Democrats might have thought they were deeming as passed a budget, but what they were really doing is deeming their defeat in November. ~snip~ Pelosi's...

It is possible for two people at odds with each other on an issue to both be right. In the recent Tea Party convention, a widely reported encounter took place between editor of Worldnetdaily.com, Joseph Farah, and Andrew Breitbart over whether or not time Obama's citizenship is worthy of discussion. Farah, "Yes." Breitbart, "Not enough evidence to make it a winning strategy." I think both of these men are right and below I'd like to chart a way forward for the Tea Party, composed as it is of so many people who care about the Constitution and want to win...