Free Republic

Mike Coffman, the conservative Republican mayor of Aurora, Colo., said he was at home on Tuesday night watching the presidential debate and bracing for the worst. And then there it was again, before tens of millions of viewers: former President Donald J. Trump, describing Mr. Coffman’s Aurora, a sprawling suburb just east of Denver, as a city under siege, terrorized by migrants. “They’re taking over buildings,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re going in violently.” Mr. Coffman was contrite on Thursday as he told that story. After all, he had helped create the tall tale now sullying his city’s reputation. Before Springfield,...

Charlie Savage, a reporter for The New York Times, violated the newspaper’s own code of ethics by printing a false story about the ongoing congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious on Tuesday evening. For the Times, Savage reported late on Tuesday that House Speaker John Boehner had “opened direct negotiations with the Department of Justice aimed at resolving a dispute over subpoenaed information related to the botched gun-trafficking investigation dubbed Operation Fast and Furious.” The story ran under the headline “Boehner in talks with Justice Dept. on gun-running inquiry,” implying that the speaker was directly participating in talks. Boehner...