Free Republic

Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes segment on Sunday started with a disclaimer, as if he knew the segment critical of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at curtailing frivolous political lawsuits was a more than a tad biased. “It was nearly impossible to get anyone on camera for this story, because of the fear now running through our system of justice,” Pelley explained. What he actually meant is likely that CBS leadership didn’t insist that he offer a balanced segment by finding credible sources on both sides of the topic. When Pelley introduced Democrat operative Marc Elias, the disclaimer made sense....

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge accused the Justice Department on Wednesday of attacking her character in an effort to undermine the integrity of the judicial system, forcefully pushing back against the Trump administration's criticism of the courts for rulings that blocked parts of the president's agenda. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s comments came in an order denying the Justice Department’s bid to remove her from a case over an executive order punishing a prominent law firm. The Trump administration had asked for the case to be moved to another judge in Washington’s federal court, accusing Howell of demonstrating “a...

The U.S. Capitol Police lieutenant who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was recommended for termination in 2001 for abandoning his post in the Speaker’s Office for a card game in a nearby cloakroom, then lying about it to Internal Affairs Division investigators, Blaze News has learned. The 2001 investigation of Michael L. Byrd, 56, was the first known disciplinary case brought against the lieutenant who crept from his blind near the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021, and shot Babbitt to death. The 2001 incident is the fourth such disciplinary case...

The Biden administration has gotten banks to let them 'spy' on the everyday purchases and money transfers of Americans, carrying out millions of searches without getting a warrant typically required for such snooping, a stunning new Congressional report charges. The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government just released its damning findings, which the panel found skews heavily toward surveillance of Americans inclined to support President-elect Donald Trump. 'The federal government is spying on your bank account,' the Republican-led panel posted in a video on X summarizing its 47-page report. ... Over 14,000 federal employees accessed...

Criminal law should be clear so that those covered by it can understand what is permitted and what is prohibited. It’s not the place for creative interpretations by the judiciary or partisan prosecutors. Jack Smith has now dropped his cases against president-elect Donald Trump on the grounds that a president cannot be criminally prosecuted, but there is much more that made these prosecutions untenable: They were never grounded in any fair reading of the law that Smith relied upon. The two cases involved Trump’s handling of classified material and his purported efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election....

Former national security adviser John Bolton ripped the nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general as the worst “in American history” — while ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is adamant that “everybody knows” Gaetz “won’t get confirmed.” “Well, it must be the worst nomination for a Cabinet position in American history,” Bolton, a key adviser to President-elect Donald Trump during his first term in office, told NBC’s “Meet The Press NOW” Wednesday. “Gaetz is not only totally incompetent for this job, he doesn’t have the character,” Bolton added. “He is a person of moral turpitude, and notwithstanding how difficult it...

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has no path to victory. He’s going to lose to Republican Dave McCormick. Everyone, including Democrats, knows Casey lost. Yet, Casey refuses to concede because attorney Marc Elias is trying to steal the election. Those aren’t my words—The Wall Street Journal editorial board said as much about this fiasco occurring in the Keystone State. “The Associated Press and most other media have called the Senate race in Pennsylvania for Republican Dave McCormick. But never fear, Democrats, lawyer Marc Elias is on the case trying to steal the seat for incumbent Democrat Bob Casey,” they wrote. “Did...

CNN anchor Jake Tapper could not contain his bewilderment after President-elect Donald Trump announced his shocking nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to serve as his attorney general. “Welcome to ‘The Lead,’ I’m Jake Tapper. And let me begin the show by uttering some words that I never contemplated using together before. And those words are ‘US Attorney General Matt Gaetz,’” the host opened his show on Wednesday night. “Because if you were wondering what Trump without the guardrails looks like, well, we’re getting an idea beyond the theoretical,” he added. *** The 42-year-old Republican firebrand, known for his fierce...

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appellate court on Wednesday to halt his appeal in President-elect Donald Trump’s classified documents case, citing the results of the 2024 election. “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, one of the defendants in this case, Donald J. Trump, is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025,” Smith wrote to the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. “The Government respectfully requests that the Court hold this appeal in abeyance — and stay the deadline for the Government’s reply brief,...

Cellular carriers have told Congress they possess intact phone usage data from the vicinity where two pipe bombs were planted during the Jan. 6 incident, directly disputing FBI testimony that agents couldn't identify a suspect because the phone data was corrupted, a key House chairman tells Just the News. The revelations from Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, adds new intrigue to a debate that has gripped Washington for nearly four years: Why can't the FBI with so much evidence and manpower identify the suspect who planted the explosive devices at the Democrat and...

The two patently political, unjust federal cases brought by Jack Smith against Trump, plus two New York and one Georgia cases will likely be dismissed. Trump’s election – God willing – ends that sad, perverse, abusive chapter in American history, election interference by prosecutors. Is that it? Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore | Flickr The question – Is that it? – suggests thinking about how laws, practiced fairly, judiciously, and thoughtfully – are supposed to work. For every wrong, there is meant to be a remedy. These cases may wither, but what of the wrong? The famous judicial philosopher Montesquieu noted,...

A top Federal Election Commission official has accused the Department of Justice of violating federal policies and targeting “perceived political opponents” for a letter it sent to Elon Musk. FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey argued that the agency’s actions amounted to efforts “to intimidate and chill private citizens and organizations from campaigning on behalf of President Trump” and tried to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election... “The underlying motivation behind this stunt is obvious,” Cooksey said after comparing the DOJ’s warning letter to the 1972 Watergate scandal. “Employees of President Biden’s Department of Justice wanted to stop an independent...

The election official overseeing voting in Arizona's most populous county told a friend last year that he was interested in pursuing a Senate run 'to make life hell for Kari [Lake]', according to court documents seen by DailyMail.com. As Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer is in charge of the ballots that could decide whether Lake triumphs in her tight run for the Senate. But the comments will raise questions from allies of the conservative firebrand about whether he can be trusted to run a fair election. The explosive words come from the transcript of a June 21 deposition that will...

I love The Washington Post, deep in my bones. Last month marked my 40th year of proud work for the institution, in the newsroom and in the Opinions section. I have never been more disappointed in the newspaper than I am today, with the tragically flawed decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential race.At a moment when The Post should have been stepping forward to sound the clarion call about the multiple dangers that Donald Trump poses to the nation and the world, it has chosen instead to pull back. That is the wrong choice at the worst...

The Atlantic is facing intense scrutiny over a report alleging former President Trump disparaged a slain Mexican-American Army private while he was in office, with some involved with the story declaring it "false" and a "hit piece." Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, began a lengthy report published Tuesday about Trump's interaction with the family of 20-year-old Vanessa Guillén, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who was murdered in April 2020 by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood. After her remains were discovered two months later, Trump consoled Guillén's family at the White House and offered to provide financial assistance to...

'Anti-Racism Fight Club' presentation given to students as young as pre-K; 'Fistbook' asks them to identify family members with 'racist beliefs' An "Anti-Racism Fight Club" presentation was given to students in grades pre-K through third grade in a Washington, D.C., public elementary school late last year, according to a letter from the school's principal. The Nov. 30, 2021, letter from Danielle Singh, principal of Janney Elementary School, added that "as part of this work, each student has a [Fistbook] to help continue the dialogue at school and home." What are the details? The "Anti-Racism Fight Club Fistbook for Kids" by...

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the Biden administration will not mandate vaccine passports, but it will encourage private businesses to use them as they see fit.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a trial judge to consider whether Scott Peterson’s convictions for murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son should be overturned. The state’s highest court already overturned Peterson’s death sentence on appeal this year. In a separate petition, Peterson’s lawyers cited an array of reasons the convictions should be overturned as well. The court agreed that one matter warranted attention: a juror who failed to disclose that she had once feared for her unborn child when being harassed by the ex-girlfriend of her boyfriend. Laci Peterson, 27, was due to give birth in...

There is an important granular aspect to the validity of the House impeachment process that few are paying attention to. If the HJC loses this case in the DC Appellate Court, it means there is no constitutional foundation recognized to the “impeachment inquiry.” Without the constitutional recognition of the judicial branch then: (a) Pelosi/Lawfare have to restart the process with a genuine House vote; or (b) the ongoing impeachment process will have no recognized constitutional standing; and (c) the Senate could ignore any House impeachment vote, cast without recognized constitutional standing. On October 25th DC Judge Beryl Howell granted the...

Inside of newsrooms, broadcast studios, and Twitter, impeachment is going according to plan. Outside of those bubbles, it's not. Impeachment is going so poorly for the media and other Democrats that “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd was forced to broadcast false information to support it. A graphic was posted on Sunday’s show that purported to identify how many people in the president’s party voted in support of an impeachment inquiry in the cases of Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. It accurately noted that 31 Democrats voted in favor of impeachment proceedings for Clinton. But it inaccurately claimed that...