Free Republic

Lawmakers from both parties have called for John Lausch to keep his job President Joe Biden is forcing Chicago's top federal prosecutor to resign amid ongoing criminal probes of powerful Illinois Democrats and their associates. U.S. attorney John Lausch is prosecuting close confidants of Democrat boss Mike Madigan, an ally of former president Barack Obama who resigned from the state legislature Thursday after a decades-long reign in Springfield. Lausch's office will also prosecute Chicago alderman Edward Burke (D.), an influential figure accused of strong-arming businesses into retaining his law firm. Lausch's abrupt removal has drawn bipartisan criticism from Illinois lawmakers...

For decades, Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan dominated the state’s political system, corrupting it to his own ends. What should we make of his ouster? The Chicago machine turned out some of the most notorious names in American public corruption, including Anton Cermak, Richard J. Daley, and Ed Kelly. The machine also turned out Mike Madigan, who ruled over Illinois politics for 50 years, 36 of which he spent calling the shots as House speaker. Most people thought Madigan would only leave office in handcuffs or a casket. Most people were wrong. For the first time since 1970, “the Velvet...

In the swish hotel conference rooms and cafés of the Brussels EU quarter, the indignation was palpable: Why had poor Henrik been singled out? Henrik Hololei, a gregarious Estonian who had reached the heights of director-general in the EU’s civil service, had been caught accepting freebies from the government of Qatar while his department was negotiating a lucrative aviation deal ― with, ever so coincidentally, Qatar. It was fine, the European Commission said when the matter came to light in 2023: All his free flights had been signed off by a senior person in the department. Trouble was, the senior...

Maggie Gyllenhaal's daughter Ramona was arrested during violent anti-Israel protests at Columbia University this week, reports say. The star's daughter, who she shares with actor Peter Sarsgaard, is a student at the New York college, which has been hit with a wave of protests in recent months. After the most recent protest on Wednesday night, Ramona was reportedly slapped with a desk appearance ticket for criminal trespassing, sources told the New York Post. Ramona was reportedly among almost 100 demonstrators who stormed Columbia's Butler Library as their fellow students prepared for their final exams. The group declared that the library...

“They’re gonna push back because you’ve got Congressmen on both sides of the aisle. If they follow that paper trail, it's going to come back to them. You've got their wife and or girlfriend that works for some agency, quasi-agency or some business. This towns as crooked as a dogs leg” “I’ll get primaried for saying that but that’s the truth and we all know it” “Somebody’s gonna straight it out, it looks like it’s gonna be Elon Musk”

DeSantis, who is term limited from running in 2026, has spent weeks pitching his wife, Casey DeSantis, as a candidate to replace him.But Thursday, Trump endorsed Donalds, who has not declared himself a candidate, in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial race.“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER!” said Trump, adding “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”Addressing Trump’s endorsement of Donalds Monday, DeSantis criticized Donalds for not playing a role in DeSantis’s work in Florida.His comments did not seem to phase Donalds, who took the high road.“I am honored to have...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign manager and daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy is making a push to serve as deputy director at the CIA next year — and RFK Jr. is making calls on her behalf, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Fox Kennedy, an integral member of Kennedy's campaign, wrote a memoir detailing nearly a decade working at the CIA. The deputy director position does not require Senate confirmation. President-elect Trump, who has signaled plans to try to overhaul U.S. intelligence agencies during his second term, has already named former intelligence director John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA. The deputy...

A member of Nancy Pelosi’s family, Alexis Pelosi, could lose her high-paying job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after Elon Musk, who will be responsible for eliminating government waste under the incoming Trump administration, mocked her position on X. Alexis, who is married to the former speaker’s nephew, reportedly makes $181,648.00 annually as a climate advisor. After all, all great housing and urban development projects need a climate advisor! To complicate the family drama, Alexis’ father-in-law was once married to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s aunt. Musk, who will lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency...

Barack Obama understands why Malia Obama wanted a stage name. When debuting her film The Heart at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in February, the 26-year-old daughter of the former president and Michelle Obama opted to drop the last name Obama, instead using her middle name and going by Malia Ann. And according to Barack—who is also dad to Sasha Obama, 23—her choice didn't surprise him. "The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all," Barack confessed on the Oct. 29 episode of The Pivot Podcast. "I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff. They're very...

The son of Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal — leader of the House Ways and Means Committee — raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from his father’s campaign and pressure groups who were actively lobbying his dad on tax policy, according to Politico. Richard Neal’s son Brendan Neal launched a one-person public affairs firm offering “political advice, lobbying and strategic communications” in 2020, roughly one year after his father became the ranking member on Ways and Means — the sole congressional committee with jurisdiction to introduce federal tax legislation, Politico reported. Brendan Neal went on to...

(The Center Square) — New York City’s costly emergency shelter system is beset by nepotism, a lack of competitive bidding, and excessive salaries, which are driving up costs for the city’s taxpayers, according to a scathing new report. The report by the city’s Department of Investigation said a probe of the shelter system dating back to 2021 uncovered instances of nepotism in city contracts for shelters, a failure to follow competitive bidding rules when procuring goods and services with public money and poor controls over the use of taxpayer dollars for executive compensation, among other problems. ... Investigators found that...

The state court judge appointed to preside in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump once worked for Fani T. Willis, the current Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney who obtained the indictment.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis paid her alleged romantic partner, Nathan Wade, to work at a higher hourly rate on the case against former President Donald Trump than she contracted one of the state’s leading racketeering experts, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. John Floyd, who wrote a book on federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes and is considered Georgia’s top expert, entered into a contract with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office on March 10, 2021, at an hourly rate of $150 per hour, according to a contract obtained by...

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been accused of hiring a private lawyer she was in a 'romantic' relationship with to prosecute Donald Trump, according to a stunning filing by one of the former president's co-defendants. The bombshell allegations are included in a filing by Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official who is accused of taking part in the 'fake electors' scheme as one of 18 people charged in the state along with Trump. The public court filing, which seeks the dismissal of charges against him, alleges that Willis was in a personal relationship with private lawyer Nathan...

The FBI Headquarters should not be moved to a far away location, but should stay right where it is, in a new and spectacular building, in the best location in our now crime ridden and filthy dirty, graffiti scarred, Capital. They should be involved in bringing back D.C., not running away from it, especially the violent crime. An important part of my platform for President is to bring back, restore, and rebuild Washington, D.C., into the “crown jewel” of our Nation. We will make it crime free and GREAT AGAIN. The FBI should not be fleeing for safer, yet much...

In a historic ruling, The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Harvard and UNC race-based affirmative action programs are unconstitutional. Schools nationwide will no longer be able to discriminate against students on the basis of race. How outlandish were Harvard’s affirmative action policies? An African American student placed within the 40th percentile of their academic index is more likely to gain admission than an Asian student who ranks in the topmost, 100th percentile. Similarly, Black students who fall within the 50th percentile have greater chances of acceptance than White students who are at the pinnacle of their academic performance....

‘Despicable’: Slovene bishops condemn Jesuit artist’s abuseSlovenia’s Catholic bishops on Thursday condemned as “despicable” the emotional, sexual, and spiritual violence committed against women by a famous Slovenian priest at the heart of an abuse and cover-up scandal roiling the Vatican and the Jesuit order of Pope Francis.The Slovene bishops’ conference broke three weeks of silence with a statement in which the churchmen also voiced solidarity with the victims of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik and urged anyone harmed by him or any other priest who abused his authority to come forward.“It is never the victims’ fault! We are on their...

The judge handling the assault case of the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disclosed that she had previously worked with the couple's daughter in the 90s. David DePape, 42, was charged with attempted murder for striking Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer after he broke into the Pelosi's San Francisco house, calling out 'Where's Nancy' – the same phrase used by Capitol rioters on January 6. Judge Loretta Giorgi revealed in court that she was a colleague of Christine Pelosi when the pair worked at the San Francisco attorney's office but added that they hadn't spoken in several...

Top House Democrats Maxine Waters and James Clyburn have continued to shell out tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to their family members ahead of the November midterm elections. The re-election campaign for Waters, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee chairwoman, paid a total of $16,000 to the congresswoman's daughter in four separate payments in July and September of this year. Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother's re-election since 2003, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million from Waters’ campaign over the past nearly two decades. *** Waters,...

Schools Chancellor David Banks quietly promoted Mayor Adams’ girlfriend to a top job at the Department of Education, just months after Adams hired Banks’ girlfriend as a deputy mayor, The Post has learned. Banks named Tracey Collins — Adams’ longtime partner and NYC’s unofficial First Lady — the DOE’s “senior advisor to the deputy chancellor of school leadership,” Desmond Blackburn. She started the new job in July, and got a giant, 23% raise to $221,597 a year, records show. Hizzoner named Banks’ girlfriend, Sheena Wright, and four other women deputy mayors last Dec. 21. Deputy mayors made $251,982 in FY...