Free Republic

Attorney General William Barr’s decision to have the Department of Justice (DOJ) probe any "substantial allegations" of voter fraud has triggered a wave of backlash that he is seeking to breathe life into President Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election. Barr’s announcement Monday quickly sparked fallout at the agency, with the top official in charge of voting crimes investigations saying just hours later that he would step down from his role. In a carefully worded memo, the attorney general authorized federal prosecutors to take investigative steps on “specific instances” of abuse “prior to the certification of elections” in their...

FBI Director Christopher Wray described Antifa as "a real thing" during a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill, noting that the bureau has open cases against individuals who self-identify as anti-fascist activists. Wray, who was testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee as part of its Worldwide Threat hearing, was responded to questions about the level of threat the movement poses. "Antifa is a real thing. It’s not a fiction," Wray said of the far-left group. "We look at Antifa as more of an ideology or a movement than we do an organization. We do have quite a number of properly...

The whistleblower complaint at the center of the political firestorm involving President Trump's contacts with Ukraine's leader has been declassified, a member of the House Intelligence Committee announced late Wednesday. "BREAKING NEWS: The whistleblower complaint has been declassified. I encourage you all to read it," tweeted Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah). Another source familiar with the matter told The Hill shortly before Stewart's announcement that the declassification process was complete. The source said that while the declassification process is completed, details about the public release of the complaint remain unclear. The complaint is also expected to have some redactions, according to...

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) abruptly stepped aside on Thursday to allow his House Freedom Caucus ally, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), to run uncontested for the ranking member role on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee -- a position that he won. Jordan, who won the race with no other competitors to challenge him, is expected to be a fierce defender of President Trump when Democrats take control of the panel next Congress. They are expected to become involved in a series of investigations into the Trump administration. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and two GOP lawmakers on the...

House conservatives are fuming over the format of an upcoming interview with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, saying the closed-door setup will hinder transparency. Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), both key figures in the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, have criticized the logistics of Wednesday's planned sit-down with Rosenstein which will be limited to the top Republicans and Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees and a court reporter. “Why are we continuing to do hearings in private where we don’t have press or the American people to be the arbiter of what is fair...

A bipartisan pair of senators are calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether Russian intelligence services posed as an Islamic extremist hacker group that sought to harass U.S. military families. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday asking him to investigate whether a hacking group called the “Cyber Caliphate” launched an intimidation campaign against members of military families in 2015. “If substantiated, the claims about APT28 posing as the Cyber Caliphate could be the first public evidence that influence operations have specifically targeted American military families,” Wyden and...

Former FBI Director James Comey's public feud with President Trump is growing strikingly personal. {snip} The vindictive tone of Comey’s observations stunned Washington, raising concerns even among those who know and respect the former FBI director. “I’m troubled by it,” said Ron Hosko, a former FBI official who worked under Comey. “It seems very, very personal, vengeful … even if true.”{snip} Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) told reporters Friday his opinion of Comey has changed in light of the new excerpts, saying they reveal a “personal vendetta against the president.” “Comey’s saying all these things about the president. … To me...

Donald Jr. is right - journalism is dead. A pee break is now news. Olivia Beavers is with The Hill and formerly, you guessed it, CNN.