Free Republic

A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump acted illegally when he seized control of California’s National Guard during ICE-related riots in Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer issued the decision Thursday, siding with Governor Gavin Newsom and ordering Trump to return control of the Guard to the state "forthwith." "His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution," Breyer wrote. "He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith." "Federalism is not optional," the...

*** Driving the news: In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel first obtained by Axios, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked that they "immediately clarify whether this allegation is true." The lawmakers asked for a timeline of the DOJ's declassification and publication of the Epstein files, an explanation for why they haven't turned over any new documents since February. And they requested a description of Trump's role in reviewing the files, a list of personnel involved in their release and an answer for why files previously released to Congress contained "significant...

Elon Musk on Thursday said that his company SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” because of threats by President Donald Trump to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses. Musk’s announcement, on his social media site X, came amid an escalating war of words with Trump that began after the Tesla CEO criticized the major tax bill being pushed by the Republican president. “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” Musk wrote. Dragon is the only U.S. option for delivering crew to and from the International...

Elon Musk went nuclear on President Trump Thursday, accusing him of withholding information from the public about Jeffrey Epstein because it would implicate him. “Time to drop the really big bomb,” Musk posted on X after a multi-hour tirade against the president. “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.” That is the real reason they have not been made public,” he claimed. “Have a nice day, DJT!” The disgraced financier’s association with Trump has been known for years as the two were videotaped and photographed together at parties in the 1990s.

President Donald Trump is lashing out on social media. Jerome Powell is on the receiving end of today's ire. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair who is slowly cutting back interest rates to minimize the risk of continued inflation, is caught in the President's crosshairs after a paltry jobs report. US private payrolls increased far less than expected in May, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Private payrolls increased by only 37,000 jobs last month, a far cry from analyst projections and the worst private job hiring slump since March 2023. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment...

President Trump rounded on Sen. Rand Paul Tuesday over the Republican lawmaker’s opposition to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act due to its impact on the debt. “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas,” Trump groused on Truth Social. “His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!” In an earlier post, Trump, 78, had complained that Paul “has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics,...

President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., he would be “playing right into the hands of the Democrats” if he votes against Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” “If Senator Rand Paul votes against our Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, he is voting for, along with the Radical Left Democrats, a 68% Tax Increase and, perhaps even more importantly, a first time ever default on US Debt,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. “Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him! The GROWTH we are experiencing,...

[Judge Allison Burroughs] has temporarily paused the Trump administration's move to cancel Harvard's student visa program. Harvard filed suit against the Trump administration over the policy, and a judge granted its request for a temporary restraining order to preserve status quo while the case plays out in court. Judge Allison Burroughs, a 2014 Obama appointee, set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Boston federal court. Harvard said the policy will affect more than 7,000 visa holders — nearly a quarter of the student body — and is a "blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause,...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday she declined President Trump’s offer for US troops to crack down on the fentanyl produced by cartels in her country. The world leaders spoke recently by phone when Trump broached the topic of making American military service members available for operations inside Mexico, where traffickers concoct the deadly synthetic opioid using precursor chemicals imported primarily from China. “I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,'” Sheinbaum revealed during an event. We will never accept the presence of the United States Army in...

Firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has issued a surprising statement critical of President Donald Trump. The Georgia congresswoman is known for her loyal support of the two-time president and her devout defense of his MAGA policy platform. Displaying her faithfulness, Greene likened Trump to Jesus Christ during the president's high-profile legal battles last year. *** On Friday, she issued a scathing statement putting distance in between her and the commander-in-chief. 'I represent the base and when I'm frustrated and upset over the direction of things, you better be clear, the base is not happy,' Greene, wrote on X alongside a...

Elon Musk has split with Donald Trump on tariffs in the latest sign the billionaire is distancing himself from the White House. The president's special adviser told a political rally he hopes to see a 'zero tariff situation' between the US and Europe to create a free trade zone. On Wednesday, Trump introduced a controversial 20 percent tariff for Europe along with even higher tariffs for other global trading partners as what he dubbed 'Liberation Day'. But while the president has been pushing US isolationism, Musk espoused a more collaborative approach. 'I hope that the United States and Europe can...

A Florida man ​has been arrested for making “violent” threats against President Trump, police said. Shannon Depararro Atkins​ allegedly made posts on social media targeting the ​Commander-in-Chief. Atkins, 46, was arrested just before 7:30 p.m. Friday during a traffic stop in West Palm Beach — where he was allegedly found with cocaine, cops said. Authorities arrested Atkins after a tip, and the West Palm Beach man allegedly admitted making the “violent posts,” authorities said. “America needs one good bullet to be saved,” Atkins allegedly wrote on Facebook on Jan. 19, a day before Trump was inaugurated for his second term....

A Georgia mayor who boasts being the country’s first Black Lives Matter organizer elected to office is facing scrutiny for using $20,000 of public funds for international travel and other questionable purchases, according to reports. South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau was accused this week of using a city-issued purchase card in December for unauthorized spending on a trip to Africa, food and other expenses that totaled around $26,000, a councilwoman reportedly said this week.Kamau, who has denied wrongdoing, documented an extended trip to Ghana last month on social media according to WSB-TV, showing him on videos at a party and...

A bearded neo-Nazi thrown behind bars in Germany for inciting hatred has legally changed his name and gender in an apparent bid to be transferred to a women’s prison — because he’s afraid of “discrimination.” Sven Liebich, 53, is serving an 18-month sentence in a men’s jail in Saxony after being convicted last year on a handful of hatred and defamation charges, local outlet Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported. But the right-wing extremist, who is in the process of appealing the sentence, recently opted to change identity and now goes by Marla-Svenja Liebich. “I am afraid of discrimination,” the convicted felon said...

Chaos erupted at Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press conference Thursday after an announced Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage deal, with State Department employees forcibly removing reporters who accused the cabinet official of allowing a “genocide” in Gaza. Grayzone News journalist Max Blumenthal exited the briefing after prompting by aides at the department, and independent journalist Sam Husseini was dragged out after both tore into Blinken for not reaching the cease-fire agreement sooner. “Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?” Blumenthal asked. “Why did you allow my friends’ homes in Gaza to be...

President-elect Donald Trump urged the US Supreme Court Wednesday to take the extraordinary step of halting his sentencing later this week in his Manhattan “hush money” case. Trump’s lawyers urged the nation’s highest court to step in after a New York appeals court refused to postpone the Friday hearing, at which he is set to face a no-punishment sentence.The attorneys argued that going ahead with the sentencing would unconstitutionally interfere with Trump preparing for his second term. This Court should enter an immediate stay of further proceedings in the New York trial court to prevent grave injustice and harm to...

“Extraordinary measures” will be needed to keep the US from defaulting on its obligations if the nation’s debt ceiling isn’t raised or suspended by mid-January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress Friday. Yellen, in a letter to House and Senate leaders, noted that the nation’s debt ceiling — the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow to pay for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare benefits — was suspended in June 2023 but will once again be in effect on Jan. 1. ***. “Treasury currently expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and...

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday trolled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by promising to cut Canucks’ taxes if they agree to become “our 51st state,’’ while urging them to draft NHL great Wayne Gretzky to lead the country. “I just left Wayne Gretzky, ‘The Great One’ as he is known in Ice Hockey circles,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I said, ‘Wayne, why don’t you run for Prime Minister of Canada, soon to be known as the Governor of Canada – You would win easily, you wouldn’t even have to campaign,’” the president-elect said Trump — who thinks Canada has...

A migrant from Guatemala has been arrested on allegations he lit a sleeping woman on fire inside a Coney Island F train on Sunday morning. Police sources say a civilian identified the suspected killer as he rode on a train at 34th Street in Manhattan. The witness waved down the cops, who later picked the suspect up and detained him. He has not been charged with a crime yet, sources added. The suspect entered the country and was detained by border patrol agents in Arizona in June 2018 Authorities were still working to confirm whether he is in the country...

“The View” host Whoopi Goldberg made a joke about Elon Musk and JD Vance killing Donald Trump on Thursday’s episode of the daytime talkshow, one which left her scrambling to clean up. Goldberg, 69, made the quip during a conversation about the way Musk, 53, has inserted himself into the debate about the bipartisan spending bill that lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hoping to pass and in turn avoid a government shutdown. “Who is in charge?” asked Goldberg, a vocal critic of President-elect Trump, 78. “Because I’ve been saying it for a while. I’ve been saying it – I think...