Free Republic

Of all the distortions and paranoia that Tucker Carlson promoted on his since-canceled Fox News program, one looms large: a conspiracy theory that an Arizona man working as a covert government agent incited the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol to sabotage and discredit former President Donald Trump and his political movement. What’s known about the man — a two-time Trump voter named Ray Epps — is that he took part in demonstrations in Washington that day and the night before. He was captured on camera urging a crowd to march with him and enter the Capitol. But at...

Former President Donald Trump recently told aides to hire Laura Loomer, a far-right, anti-Muslim activist with a history of expressing bigoted views, for a campaign role, according to four people familiar with the plans. Trump met with Loomer recently and directed advisers to give her a role in support of his candidacy, two of the people familiar with the move said. On Tuesday, after Trump’s arraignment in New York, Loomer attended the former president’s speech at Mar-a-Lago, his resort and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Some of Trump’s aides were said to have concerns that such a hire would cause...

WASHINGTON — As Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, prepared to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, House Republicans rallied to Trump’s side, vowing to use their power in Congress to haul in Bragg and force him to turn over documents and answer questions. The reality, they have privately acknowledged, is much more complicated. For weeks, top House Republicans and their lawyers have been grappling with how to move forward in their investigation of Bragg amid legal and institutional concerns about overreach and how to enforce a subpoena in court. The situation is a reminder for the new...

In some ways, it was the turn of events that Democratic voters had dreamed of and some of the party’s lawmakers had long demanded: After years of telling lies, shattering norms, inciting a riot at the Capitol and being impeached twice, Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former president to face criminal charges. But as the gravity of the moment sank in, Democratic voters, party officials and activists across the country absorbed the news of Trump’s extraordinary indictment with a more complex set of reactions. Their feelings ranged from jubilation and vindication to anxieties about the substance of the...

Creeping forward along a tree line late at night toward an entrenched Ukrainian position, the Russian soldier watched in horror as his comrades were mowed down by enemy fire. His squad of 10 ex-convicts advanced only a few dozen yards before being decimated. “We were hit by machine-gun fire,” said the soldier, a private named Sergei. One soldier was wounded and screamed, “Help me! Help me, please!,” the private said, although no help arrived. Eight soldiers were killed, one escaped back to Russian lines and Sergei was captured by Ukrainians.