Free Republic

Confidence in Minnesota's social safety net has been shaken by fraudsters who authorities say have stolen more than $1 billion in public funds from programs meant to feed children, assist the homeless and provide autism therapy. Over the last five years, people mostly within Somali communities have gotten rich by running companies that bill the state for millions of dollars in social services that were never actually rendered, The New York Times reported. Federal prosecutors say of the 86 people that have been charged, 59 have been convicted so far in what they describe as three separate fraud schemes. One...

"Squad" member and congresswoman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has reportedly tied a turkey giveaway to political campaign donations, according to a report from the New York Post. The outlet reported that an email was sent out by Ocasio-Cortez that stated, “Thanksgiving is two weeks away. Will you chip in $5 or anything you can today to help us bring the joy of the holiday season into homes around NYC this year?” However, clicking on the contribution link sends those who read the email to a campaign fundraising page on the Democrat donations platform, ActBlue. Those submitting donations were prompted to...

@yashar BREAKING The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement admonishing the Trump administration’s immigration actions. The last time they issued such a statement was in 2013 in response to contraception mandates. The vote to approve the statement was very close to unanimous: 216 votes in favor, 5 votes against, and 3 abstentions

A nonprofit group linked to anti-Semitic activist Linda Sarsour, an ally of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D.), received $4.1 million in city and state funds over a period of seven years, public records show. The Arab American Association of New York (AAANY), which Sarsour led from 2005 to 2017, received more than $3.3 million from New York City and $854,000 from New York state between Sarsour's last year atop the organization and 2024. The state-level funding came primarily from the New York State Department of State, with $20,000 disbursed from the Office of Children and Family Services. Its...

Less than 24 hours after declaring victory, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani asked his supporters to begin contributing to his transition team in a social media post. “Thank you, New York City. Together we made history. Now, let’s get to work,” Mamdani wrote Wednesday, introducing a snappy campaign-style video that listed the many people he plans to employ to rework the Big Apple before concluding with a call for financial support.

Embattled BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors and her wife have dissolved their consulting business and sold their joint LA home, while she’s dropped her spouse’s name, The Post can reveal. Details about the personal moves surfaced as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation that Cullors helped found is reportedly in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice for possibly defrauding its donors out of tens of millions of dollars during the country’s 2020 racial-justice protests. It isn’t yet clear who the feds are eyeing in the probe, but subpoenas and at least one search warrant were issued in recent weeks,...

Nearly half a dozen foreign charities have dumped more than a billion dollars into numerous U.S.-based leftist organizations and causes in recent years, according to a new investigative report. Released on Friday, the new analysis by Americans for Public Trust (APT) shows how five overseas charities have collectively funneled almost $2 billion into left-wing groups, policy fights, and more “to advance their extreme, foreign, activist agenda” in America. These causes, according to the report, range from funding climate alarmist demonstrations and campaigns to environmental-related litigation. “It is extremely alarming that five foreign charities have quietly poured almost two billion dollars...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago was scrambling to close a $369 million deficit in 2013. The inception of ObamaCare offered an enticing target for cost shaving: retiree health coverage. The city expected to spend $194 million that year subsidizing health insurance for its retirees, many of whom were too young to qualify for Medicare. Such costs were projected to increase to $540 million by 2023 at the same time as pension payments were ballooning. While courts in Illinois and other states have held that public employee pensions are legally protected, governments have more latitude to make changes to medical benefits....

MI SOS Jocelyn Benson ================================================================== [ALL REFERENCED CHARTS AT LINK.............] Guest post by investigative reporter Bob Cushman, Founder of Freedom Press LLC Recently, the Detroit Free Press published an article discussing the Secretary of State/Candidate for Michigan Governor’s campaign fundraising. It stated: “In the early days of Michigan’s 2026 governor’s race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has amassed the largest campaign war chest so far. “This historic haul shows that Michiganders are ready for Jocelyn Benson to be the next governor,” said Benson’s campaign manager Nikki Goldschein. Benson has brought in over $4.7 million for her campaign since launching it,...

C3 @C_3C_3 Well well well… Judge McConnell donated $700K to Democrats. He runs nonprofit Crossroads Rhode Island that has received $128 million in government funding. McConnell is now demanding POTUS Trump illegally fund SNAP. After he tried to block DOGE cuts. He’s a Dem activist.

Federal officials have charged a Chicago woman with laundering large volumes of suspected narcotics proceeds after a months-long investigation linked her to cash exchanges tied to Mexican drug cartels and Chinese cryptocurrency networks, according to a recently unsealed federal complaint. Homeland Security Investigations arrested Xiao Mei of Canaryville on allegations that she coordinated a series of large cash exchanges in Chinatown and River North between February and July 2024. Prosecutors said Mei, described as a Chicago-based broker for a Chinese money-laundering network, regularly used WeChat to arrange pickups of bulk U.S. currency from associates of drug traffickers and transferred equivalent...

Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing pressure on multiple fronts this week. His campaign refunded $120,000 to two PACs tied to city vendors — part of a larger pattern of nearly $290,000 in refunds and over $120,000 spent on compliance since taking office. At the same time, Johnson signed an executive order creating “ICE-free zones” across Chicago, blocking federal immigration agents from using city-owned properties such as schools, parks, and libraries for civil enforcement operations. And now, his budget plan touts a record $1 billion surplus from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts — even as the city faces a projected $1.15...

The Justice Department is probing whether Black Lives Matter (BLM) defrauded donors who sent the organization millions of dollars during the racial justice protests in 2020, the Associated Press is reporting. Federal law enforcement authorities have issued subpoenas and served a search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. that helped ignite protests in U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, anonymous sources told the wire service. Protests in some locations resulted in deaths, rioting, looting, fires, and extensive property destruction. According to AP: It was...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has launched an investigation into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Ford Foundation over reports the organizations funneled millions of dollars to the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliates. Grassley sent letters to each foundation asking whether the reports are accurate and how any such payments comply with federal tax laws governing 501(c)(3) charitable status. “According to recent reports, [your organizations], through grants and direct payments, have funded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its allies,” Grassley wrote. “To maintain tax exempt status, an organization’s activities must be...

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) has spent millions of dollars in 2025 supporting an array of anti-Israel groups, several of which have ties to terrorism abroad and extremist activists in the United States, a Washington Free Beacon review of the organization’s grantees shows. The RBF in April of this year awarded a $135,000 grant to 7amleh, the "Arab Center for Social Media Advancement," under the umbrella of "Peacebuilding." The organization describes itself as an advocate "for Palestinian digital rights," creating a "safe, fair and free digital space for Palestinians." Its leadership, rather than a list of notable peace activists, consists...

“Follow the money trail” was a comment made on an October 12, 2025 article describing Chicago politics as a gangster movie rerun. Well, both Jesse Watters of Fox News and the Chicago Sun-Times decided to “follow the money trail” for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, now that he is standing in the way of arresting criminals and blocking President Trump’s heroic attempt to shut down crime in Chicago. Jesse Watters reported that Pritzker made over a million dollars playing blackjack in 2024 while staying in Sin City Las Vegas. Senior National Correspondent Kevin Corke stated Pritzker made “$1.425 million bucks in...

Florida GOP Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who previously was the state's chief financial officer, is raising concerns about nonprofits potentially exploiting tax loopholes to turn such groups into profitable ventures for their leaders or owners. “I'm done with this stuff,” Petronis said recently on Just the News: No Noise. “I get at the end of the day, it may not affect … how much I pay for my cup of coffee, but it's unethical and immoral.” Patronis questioned how non-profit organizations can afford some luxuries. When host John Solomon asked where Patronis would start in the process of eliminating non-profit benefits,...

Finally! After a decade of corruption, Stacey Abrams’ nonprofit, ‘New Georgia Project’ announced it is shutting down. “We are proud of the milestones we have achieved, the communities we have engaged and the countless individuals whose lives have been strengthened by our work,” the Board of Directors wrote in a statement. Earlier this year, the Georgia Senate launched an investigation into Stacey Abrams and her nonprofit, The New Georgia Project, for illegal fundraising activity. “Abrams and the New Georgia Project, from which she is no longer affiliated, are being investigated by the same Senate panel that has been examining Fulton...

One of President Trump’s biggest political adversaries stunned the political world after revealing that he won an unusual amount of money gambling in Las Vegas last year. As The New York Times reported, Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker released his 2024 tax returns on Wednesday as rumors circulate about him as a 2028 presidential candidate.The returns revealed that Pritzker and his wife reported $10.7 million in adjusted gross income. But the biggest shock was the fact that he won $1.4 million playing blackjack in Las Vegas in just one trip. Such an amount is surprising, especially considering Pritzker is not...

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Oct. 15 that the agency is cracking down on espionage by foreign adversaries, with an increase in arrests as high as 50 percent. “We have gone after espionage activities against our main counterparts in China, Russia, and Iran,” he said at a press conference. “In China alone, we’ve had over a 50 percent increase in espionage arrests alone, and prosecutions,” Patel said. “In Iran, we have had a 50 percent increase, again, in espionage cases. And in Russia, we had a 33 percent increase in espionage cases alone.” State Department employee Ashley Tellis, arrested...