Free Republic

Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga declared the results of the election “null and void” and promised to challenge them in court, ignoring calls for him to concede to declared winner William Ruto. Ruto was named the winner of last week’s election by Wafula Chebukati, chair of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), on Monday — an announcement marred with allegations of vote-rigging and dissent among commission members over the close-fought race. His statement raises the specter of violence between his supporters and the winner’s, which has marred past elections. So far, aside from scattered protests, Kenya has been quiet...

A convicted felon accused by the US government of supporting “the cause of violent jihad” — and promoting 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden — donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and a host of progressive Democrats following his release from prison, records show. Emadeddin Muntasser, 57, and two of his associates were convicted in January 2008 on counts of conspiring to defraud the United States government, lying to the FBI and engaging in a scheme to conceal evidence. The charges stemmed from their operation of an Islamic charity that acted as a front to finance Islamic jihad abroad and lying...

Republican Sen. Rand Paul blocking codification of Obama-era military deal with Israel. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is blocking U.S. military aid to Israel. Paul, who has previously called to cut defense assistance to Israel, recently put a hold on the U.S.-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, which codifies into law the $38 billion defense aid package for Israel over 10 years that was negotiated in the final days of the Obama administration. A hold is a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to prevent a motion from reaching a floor vote. The Senate passed the act in early...

In remarks made before New York City’s Temple Emanu-El on Jan. 24, 2018, former President Barack Obama defended his administration’s decision not to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 2334, which asserted that Israeli settlements have “no legal validity,” violate “international law” and are a “major obstacle” to achieving a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama told the audience that he allowed UNSC 2334 to pass because “the pace of [Israeli] settlement construction skyrocketed making it almost impossible to make any kind of Palestinian state.”To be “a true friend of Israel, it is important to be honest about it, and the politics...