Free Republic

CAIRO - In his first public speech addressing tens of thousands of mostly Islamist supporters, Egypt's president-elect Mohammed Morsi has vowed to free the blind sheik jailed in the U.S. for a plot to blow up New York City landmarks. Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist and civilian president-elect, promised Friday to work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of men convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He also promised to free detained Egyptian protesters facing military tribunals.

Last week a Department of State retiree and his wife were arrested and charged with spying for Cuba for thirty years. In this article I will sort out what we know, don't know and need to explore about this matter. Walter Kendall Myers, Jr .and his wife Gwendolyn Steingarber Myers

If there was any question which side of the ideological blogosphere a lot of the inside-the-beltway media establishment go to regularly, Politico may have just cleared that up. In an Oct. 11 Politico story headlined "Think Progress makes its mark," which was the top story on its Web site that evening, Daniel Libit paid reverence to the left-wing Center for American Progress' Think Progress blog. "Can a liberal blog launched in the midst of the Bush era - a blog that once obsessed over Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove and the outing of Valerie Plame - still make its...

Riggs Bank yesterday admitted it was criminally liable for failing to take adequate measures to prevent potential money laundering by former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and officials of Equatorial Guinea. Riggs pleaded guilty to one felony count of failing to file suspicious activity reports and agreed to a fine of $16 million. The fine, if approved by U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina on March 29, will bring to $41 million the total civil and criminal penalties paid by the 160-year-old bank to resolve anti-money-laundering deficiencies in its former embassy and international operations. (snip)

U.S. Regulators, Saudis Slammed for Riggs Thursday June 17, 2004 12:16 AM By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers on Wednesday criticized federal regulators and Saudi Arabia for their roles in the Riggs Bank affair as the government tried to balance diplomats' right to U.S. banking services with the need to block terrorism financing. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a Treasury Department agency, came under renewed criticism at a House subcommittee hearing over its handling of the Riggs situation. The comptroller, John Hawke, has accepted blame for failed oversight by his office that allowed...

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - An era may be ending for Riggs Bank, a Washington institution where Abraham Lincoln banked and where Harry Truman is reputed to have gone to play poker after hours. The 168-year-old bank, long synonymous with serving the capital's diplomatic community, may be courting a buyer after being fined by regulators over the handling of foreign accounts. Parent company Riggs National Corp. (RIGS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday confirmed that it has hired Lehman Brothers to assist in a review of "strategic alternatives," which might include a "business combination with a third party." Shares of Riggs...

<p>April 7 - Within weeks of the September 11 terror attacks, security officers at the Fleet National Bank in Boston had identified “suspicious” wire transfers from the Saudi Embassy in Washington that eventually led to the discovery of an active Al Qaeda “sleeper cell” that may have been planning follow-up attacks inside the United States, according to documents obtained by NEWSWEEK.</p>

<p>Law-enforcement officials follow the money trail among suspected terrorists straight to the doors of the Saudi Embassy.</p> <p>April 7 - Within weeks of the September 11 terror attacks, security officers at the Fleet National Bank in Boston had identified “suspicious” wire transfers from the Saudi Embassy in Washington that eventually led to the discovery of an active Al Qaeda “sleeper cell” that may have been planning follow-up attacks inside the United States, according to documents obtained by NEWSWEEK.</p>