Free Republic

The Obama administration targeted sole proprietors and small businesses in the real estate industry after the crash of 2008, while letting the big banks off the hook with bailouts. One of most horrific cases involved Republican real estate broker Tony Viola, who served nine and a half years in prison as a juicy target of Ohio Democratic prosecutor Dan Kasaris. He was convicted of supposedly tricking banks into offering mortgages with no money down. But in reality, the banks were knowingly offering those loans — evidence the prosecution withheld from him. Viola only got out of prison due to an...

Appeals court panel says interstate haulers are not exempt from AB 5 law. Interstate truckers could soon come under California’s highly restrictive independent contractor law because of a recent federal appeals court decision. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 that a federal law called the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) does not preclude application of the state’s AB 5 contractor law to trucking companies operating in interstate commerce. In early 2020, before the new law went into effect, a federal district court judge granted an injunction barring the state from enforcing it...

The subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 resulted in a lot of banks getting bailed out, instead of being held responsible. In place of the banks, the Obama administration, led by Attorney General Eric Holder and then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, looked for easy, juicy targets. Mortgage brokers and real estate agents fit the mold. They were generally small, didn’t have a lot of connections with the government or the courts, and the public was looking for someone to blame for the decreasing home prices and skyrocketing foreclosures.  “Operation Stolen Dreams” was set up in various large cities to go after them. In...

An appeals court has reinstated a California law requiring background checks for people buying ammunition, reversing a federal judge’s decision to stop the checks that he said violate the constitutional right to bear arms. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted the state attorney general’s request to stay the judge’s order. “This means that the same restrictions that have been previously in effect regarding ammunition in California are back for the time being,” the National Rifle Association, which hailed the judge’s injunction, said in a news release. The law, which took effect last July, requires Californians to pass...

Trump Nominee Judge Affirmed Despite Anti-Gun Past 23 Republican Senators voted for him. Posted July 13, 2018 in Legal Issues by Russ Chastain with No Comments A recent article the Washington Free Beacon is headlined, “Senate Confirms Trump Nominee with Questionable Gun Record Despite Majority of Republicans Voting No.” So, what about Mark Bennett’s record is “questionable,” and why did so many Republicans vote against his confirmation to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals? Questions about Bennett’s record were first raised during hearings in the Judiciary Committee. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) described the record of the former Republican attorney general...

ATTORNEY GENERAL MARK BENNETT’S OFFICE SAYS THEY HAVE “NO GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE PREPARATION OF THE PUBLIC STATEMENTS MADE BY DR. FUKINO” The Post & Email is in receipt of a letter signed by Jill T. Nagamine, Deputy Attorney General of the State of Hawaii, which affirms her email early last month to our Editor-in-Chief, Mr. John Charlton, stating that her office will not or cannot corroborate any of the Department of Health’s public statements regarding the alleged birth of Barack Hussein Obama in Hawaii. Ms. Nagamine’s March 19, 2010 formal letter was sent in response to the Hawaii...