Free Republic

Former National Security Council official and Russia expert Fiona Hill on Thursday testified that she heard Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2011 conference describe American fracking as a "great threat" to Russia, a position he has emphasized ever since. The recollection came out at a point in the impeachment hearing when Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas was asking Hill about Putin's propaganda efforts in the United States, at the center of which is the television channel RT, which pushes anti-fracking messaging. Hill agreed that Russia saw the growth of U.S. fracking as a threat given that it undermines Russia's...

Texas Representative Mike Conaway upbraided Intel Committee Chair Adam Schiff over his position on keeping the whistleblower's identity anonymous.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOLWgrxMr48  

A growing chorus of Congressional Republicans are now calling for the resignation of Adam Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee; sending the embattled Congressman a scathing letter as he continues to peddle “collusion” conspiracy theories. “Your actions both past and present are incompatible with your duty as Chairman of this Committee,” the letter stated. “We have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your Constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as Chairman of this Committee.”

The House Intelligence Committee has released findings from its upcoming report on the Trump-Russia affair — and its main conclusion is that it has discovered no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. "We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians," the committee said in a one-page summary of its findings released Monday afternoon. In addition, the committee took issue with the intelligence community assessment of Russian motivations in the 2016 election. The committee agrees with the assessment that the Russians did, in...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House intelligence committee have completed a draft report concluding there was no collusion or coordination between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia.</p> <p>The finding is sure to please the White House and enrage panel Democrats who have not yet seen the document.</p>

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are considering using an obscure committee rule to bypass the executive branch's declassification process to release the classified memo on alleged surveillance abuses spearheaded by Chairman Devin Nunes. Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican leading the committee's Russia investigation, said Friday evening that the committee would consider using the rule — which he believed had never been invoked in the committee's 40-year history — in order to publicly release the memo that Republicans say details FBI abuses of a surveillance law known as FISA. And if the committee votes in favor of making the...

This week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz joined an amicus brief on behalf of 22 members of the Texas congressional delegation in support of private landowners along the Red River. The Bureau of Land Management has recently made waves by claiming thousands of acres of privately owned Texas land along the Red River. It has done so by utilizing — in apparent violation of a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent and tradition — an arbitrary and bizarre gradient boundary survey method that has adversely impacted private landowners. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) joined Cruz in the brief...

Four Russian strategic bombers triggered U.S. air defense systems while conducting practice bombing runs near Alaska this week, with two of the Tu-95 Bear H aircraft coming within 50 miles of the California coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) confirmed Wednesday.  “The last time we saw anything similar was two years ago on the Fourth of July,” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Norad spokesman, told the Free Beacon. Davis said the latest Bear H incursions began Monday around 4:30 p.m. Pacific time when radar detected the four turbo-prop powered bombers approaching the U.S. air defense zone near the far...

All of the congressional Republicans with viable 2016 presidential ambitions voted against the bill enacted overnight to reopen the government and increase federal borrowing. So did two members of the Senate GOP leadership and three members of the party’s House leadership. The opponents also included a majority of the Republicans who are chairmen of House committees and most of the members of the House GOP caucus who aspire to election to the Senate next year. While the Democrats were unified in their support for the legislation, a review of Wednesday night’s back-to-back roll calls in Congress reveals just how divided...

Farm Bureau political arm backs Neugebauer BY CORY CHANDLER AVALANCHE-JOURNAL The Texas Farm Bureau's political action arm endorsed U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, on Thursday in a move that may be indicative of the tough situation facing local producers due to congressional redistricting. This is the first time the TFB's Friends of Agriculture Fund has not endorsed Neugebauer's opponent, U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm, D-Abilene, in a congressional race, said TFB and AGFUND President Kenneth Dierschke. Dierschke described the decision as "very difficult." "These are two friendly incumbents for us. We didn't want to be put in that situation, but we...

LUBBOCK, Texas - A land developer defeated an accountant who used to be President Bush's business partner in a tight Republican runoff Tuesday to succeed retired Rep. Larry Combest . With all but one of the West Texas congressional district's 207 precincts reporting unofficial returns, Randy Neugebauer had 28,530 votes to Mike Conaway's 27,858 votes. The one unreported precinct was in a county where Neugebauer led by a 2-to-1 margin. Neugebauer and Conaway, both Republicans, emerged from a field of 17 candidates in a special election last month. They were in a runoff to see who will replace Combest, who...

LUBBOCK, Texas - A land developer defeated an accountant who used to be President Bush 's business partner in a tight Republican runoff Tuesday to succeed retired Rep. Larry Combest. With all but one of the West Texas congressional district's 207 precincts reporting unofficial returns, Randy Neugebauer had 28,530 votes to Mike Conaway's 27,858 votes. The one unreported precinct was in a county where Neugebauer led by a 2-to-1 margin. Neugebauer and Conaway, both Republicans, emerged from a field of 17 candidates in a special election last month. They were in a runoff to see who will replace Combest, who...