Free Republic

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a full-blown federal investigation into Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and to scrutinize New York Attorney General Letitia James’ complicity in a billion-dollar terrorist financing scandal. House Republican Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s urgent letter to Bondi comes on the heels of a bombshell Gateway Pundit report into the Standard Chartered Bank sanctions evasion case, now before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. That case uncovered at least $9.6 billion in illegal payments by the bank to Iranian and Hezbollah entities—payments that directly violate U.S....

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order called Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, aimed at improving oversight of federal grantmaking, reshaping how grants are awarded by the U.S. government. Despite the U.S. government's saying that it will prevent waste and ensure tax money is used properly, it will have a profound impact on international research collaboration, particularly for African researchers, institutions, and communities, writes Juanita Williams for allAfrica.

The Saudi Al-Hadath news channel reports: "Iran sent messages to Hezbollah last night, stating that it will start channeling additional funds to the organization through various countries around the world, as well as transferring weapons and means of warfare to Lebanon – with the aim of effectively taking control of all parts of the country and establishing a new coalition in Lebanon where Hezbollah is the sovereign."

A Texas judge ruled Friday against Beto O’Rourke and his nonprofit in a case brought by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused them of illegally raising funds to support Democratic lawmakers fleeing the state to block GOP redistricting legislation. Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey handed down a temporary restraining order Friday evening against O'Rourke, a former congressman and Democratic presidential candidate, and his group, Powered by People, over alleged "unlawful fundraising practices" tied to efforts to support Texas Democrats who fled the state — including funding air travel, lodging, logistics and daily fines. "Defendants have and will continue...

President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a move, called a “pocket rescission,” that would effectively rescind federal funding and potentially bypass congressional approval, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said on July 27.The strategy occurs when a president submits a rescission proposal under the Impoundment Control Act—requesting Congress to cancel previously appropriated funds—within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. The funds are withheld during the 45-day congressional review period, and if Congress doesn’t act before the fiscal year ends, the funds expire.When a rescission request is made outside of the fiscal year-end window,...

A federal judge on Monday expanded a preliminary injunction and blocked Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Provision barring funding for Planned Parenthood nationwide. Earlier this month Judge Talwani, an Obama appointee, issued a TRO and temporarily blocked the reconciliation bill’s provision barring funding for Planned Parenthood. Last Monday, the judge granted a preliminary injunction in part extending a block on barring funding for Planned Parenthood. Today, Judge Talwani expanded her injunction nationwide. The judge’s ruling comes after the US Supreme Court largely restricted lower courts from issuing nationwide injunctions. CNN reported: A federal judge in Boston has widened her block on...

It's striking how similar NPR's situation is to that of Planned Parenthood. Both organizations have an affiliate model and both just had a lot of federal money cut from their budgets. That means both are now hoping to find new sources of funding to keep the doors open. The NY Times reports there has been an increase in donations to PBS and NPR but so far the amount isn't nearly enough to offset the cuts.Over the last three months, as the prospect of the cuts intensified, roughly 120,000 new donors have contributed an estimated $20 million in annual value, said...

The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion in funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday. The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last. Some Republicans who indicated they were uncomfortable with the cuts,yet supported them anyway. “The money that we're clawing back in this rescissions package is the people's money. We ought not to forget that,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Rules Committee....

Ken Burns has made more than 30 documentaries and won multiple Emmys.But without funding from public television, his educational programming such as "The Civil War" and "Baseball" might never have existed, he told "PBS News Hour" in an interview Thursday.Even today, the acclaimed filmmaker whose works — including his upcoming project "The American Revolution" — are broadcast on PBS, said his films get around 20% of their budgets from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, the body Congress recently voted to defund.

"This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns."

NPR is warning that without federal money, some stations might even close down. Even from the point of a person who liked NPR, why would that be a bad thing? The three states of Southern New England have a combined area of about 14,000 square miles, considerably smaller than several counties, like San Bernadino, California. Back in the days of VHF and UHF TV, you could cover the area with a single TV station, but the networks would put two TV stations in the region. If you wanted to splurge on radio stations, you could make the case for as...

PBS and NPR stations are on the verge of losing the federal funding that has helped keep them on the air for decades. The Senate is preparing to vote on a rare measure called a “rescission,” which would claw back money that was already budgeted by Congress, including nearly $1.1 billion in funding for public media. Here’s what will happen if lawmakers zero out the funding for PBS and NPR. What will viewers and listeners notice? Over time, some local stations may be forced off the air, while other stations may have fewer shows to broadcast. Stations may have fewer...

When violent riots erupted across Los Angeles in defiance of President Trump’s efforts to enforce federal immigration law, the uprising was not as spontaneous as open-borders politicians would have you believe. Far-left non-governmental organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), helped provide transportation and services to those going to the protests in support of illegal immigration, many of which quickly devolved into brutal attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As it turns out, CHIRLA received nearly $34 million in California state grants from June 2022 to June 2023. From October 2021 to September 2024, under the Biden-Harris administration,...

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 20 states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more.Some of the withheld money funds after-school and summer programming at Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA or public schools, attended by 1.4 million children and teenagers nationwide. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families. But Trump’s administration recently froze the funding, saying it wants to ensure recipients’ programs align with the Republican president’s priorities.Led by California, the...

Well, it certainly hasn't taken long for leftist judges to ignore the stern scolding from the United States Supreme Court and get back to the important business of standing in the way of everything President Donald Trump does, as a federal judge just blocked the defunding of Planned Parenthood in the "Big, Beautiful Bill." It was less than two weeks ago that SCOTUS handed down a ruling that said federal judges handing down nationwide injunctions "likely" constituted an overreach of their authority. That apparently didn't matter to a district court judge in Massachusetts, who, as reported by Just the News,...

In a historic victory for pro-life Americans, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Thursday, a sweeping reconciliation measure that includes provisions to defund Planned Parenthood, Once President Trump signs the bill into law it will be the first time that the radical Planned Parenthood abortion business has been defunded. The vote was 218-214 with Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a fiscal hawk, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a centrist, joining all Democrats in voting against it. The new law will redirect hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to community-based, pro-life healthcare providers and away...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states can ban Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs, reversing an earlier appeals court ruling against South Carolina's bid to defund the nation's largest abortion provider. The high court released its opinion in the case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood on Thursday morning, ruling 6-3 that federal law does not stop the Palmetto State from banning abortion providers from Medicaid. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, being joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. "To prove that a statute secures an...

Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer Here’s the screenshot from the FARA documents filled out this year that prove Qatar paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for an interview between TuckerCarlson and the Prime Minister of Qatar (the same Qatar which funds HAMAS) regarding the “war with Iran”. This was a paid propaganda piece in which over $200,000 was paid by the Embassy of the State of Qatar for Tucker to interview a Qatari official all while knowing HAMAS is an Iranian proxy and funded by Qatar. Qatar funds Islamic terror all around the world and they think they can just pay everyone...

“Just … follow the money.” – Deep Throat, All the President’s MenThat used to be the watchword for investigative journalists. If you want to uncover corruption, find out where the money is coming from and where it is going. At least it used to be.Today? Not so much. At least not when doing so could implicate Democrats or upset the left’s agenda.Case in point is the Los Angeles riots. There’s plenty of reason to believe that the riots are being organized and financed by unsavory characters whose mission is to foment division and violence in the United States.Some of the...

Texas Is Funding Its Own Demise $13 Million in State and Federal Money Handed to Islamic Mosques and Community Groups - Some Recipients Praise Hamas, Pledge Allegiance to Iran, and Are Not in Your State to Assimilate, but to Dominate. Many of these mosques are openly aligned with terrorist groups and regimes - including the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Jamaat-e-Islami, and even the Iranian regime. While Texans struggle to preserve their culture, security, and values, the state government is quietly bankrolling the very forces determined to dismantle them. These are not fringe groups. They operate in the heart of Texas cities....