Free Republic

Talk about your all-time backfires. Instead of landing a major hit on the president’s son, a German-backed publication has drawn massive federal attention onto its foreign ownership structure and lobbying activities before the federal government. This broader “German Influence Operation” has grabbed the attention of the White House and senior administration officials and even entangles a key Washington lobbyist who has reportedly had an on-again-off-again lukewarm relationship with the president. It all comes, too, as worldwide pressure builds on German government officials over their censorship regime against political opponents and the efforts of a central European nation with a dark...

An FBI informant involved in the controversial Uranium One deal has told congressional committees that Moscow paid millions to a U.S. lobbying firm in a bid to influence then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by helping former President Bill Clinton’s charities during the Obama administration. The Hill first reported late Wednesday that informant Douglas Campbell gave a 10-page statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, House Intelligence Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and was interviewed for several hours behind closed doors by committee staff. In the statement, obtained by Fox News, Campbell said Russian executives told him that Moscow...

For a novice candidate who ran for office as an outsider, Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) seemed to fit right in at a lavish party thrown in his honor by a Washington lobbying firm Wednesday night. Cabinet members, TV news personalities, White House officials and lawmakers gathered on a roof terrace just blocks from the Capitol, but largely ignored the extraordinary view. Instead, they waited eagerly for their chance to chat with the movie star-turned-politician who worked the crowd with a big grin and talked about everything from agricultural policy to bodybuilding to wildfires. Away from the formality of the Capitol...