Free Republic

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Thursday that his office is exploring whether disinformation tactics deployed against Republican Roy Moore during last year's special election violated state campaign laws and said he was worried that the operation could have affected the closely fought Senate race. "The information is concerning," Marshall, a Republican, said in a phone interview. "The impact it had on the election is something that's significant for us to explore, and we'll go from there." Moore lost the election to his Democratic rival, Sen. Doug Jones. Marshall, who said he learned of the disinformation campaign called Project Birmingham...

Representatives of two counties in far Northern California petitioned state officials Thursday for the right to form a 51st state called Jefferson, formally asking state lawmakers to vote on their proposal. Modoc and Siskiyou counties, which share a border with Oregon and have a combined population of about 53,000, submitted petitions from their county governments to the secretaries of the state Assembly and Senate after filing a petition complaining about a lack of representation to the secretary of state. "

<p>On Friday a producer and former CBS reporter named Itay Hod put up a Facebook post intended to out Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock. The tabloid media, for years, has played a game with the young Republican—wink-wink stories about his photoshoot for a men's health magazine, the sexy celebrities he follows on Twitter, stuff like that.</p>

A Texas Court of Appeals in Austin has overturned the conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, attorney Brian Wice told KVUE sister station KHOU 11 News.

He just held a news conference. He could have appointed someone to serve until 2014. Instead, the election will be October 16, 2014. The primaries will be August 13. He would not comment on who he would appoint to serve until then. Video when available. I don’t understand all the nuances of NJ politics, so hopefully readers can add local color in the comments. Christie splits baby: D's get speedy special elex (could have waited 18 mo),GOP likely gets placeholder Sen & no Booker on ballot in Nov — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 4, 2013 Christie's decision is all about...

Hey, remember when Nancy Pelosi and a gaggle of Democratic women vowed to eradicate Washington's culture of corruption? Tee-hee. Instead of breaking up the Good Ol' Boys Club, Capitol Hill's leading liberal ladies have established their very own taxpayer-funded Sisterhood of the Plundering Hacks. This week, the names of two of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's gal pals surfaced in a mortifying, Animal House-style scandal. If the allegations of whistleblowers pan out, DHS may soon be known as DSH: The Department of Sexual Harassment. According to FoxNews.com's Judson Berger, DHS chief of staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Jurors considering the political money laundering case against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Tuesday delved deep into the evidence, but asked so many legal questions that the judge warned them that they were getting off track... DeLay had with him a copy of Empire of the Summer Moon, a recent nonfiction book about the Comanche people and their famed chief, Quanah Parker, and a TouchPoint Bible that allows readers to find Scripture relevant to their lives. "No demons, nor angels nor DAs can keep you separated from the love of Jesus Christ," DeLay said, playing off of...

Five years after former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay demanded a speedy trial on political money laundering charges, a Travis County jury is now determining his fate. The six-man, six-woman panel showed up at court Monday with a majority of the members dressed in black. They elected one of the women as foreman. And when they returned three times to the courtroom to ask the judge questions during their four hours of deliberation, they all looked away from DeLay. The jurors also were asking visiting Judge Pat Priest questions that indicated they were buying into DeLay's defense that no...

Testimony in Tom DeLay's money-laundering trial ended in Austin, Texas, without the former House majority leader testifying. Closing arguments are set for Monday, the Houston Chronicle reported. DeLay said after Thursday's court session he got to make his case when prosecutors played his 2005 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News. "The reason I didn't testify is there was no need to. … I can't believe the prosecution finished their case with my testimony," he said. In the interview, DeLay said he knew of a money swap between his Texans for a Republican Majority and the Republican National Committee, but...

On Thursday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski declaring victory in her write-in bid for reelection and portrayed her as a victim of the GOP: "[She's] in a very unique position, not beholden to the Republican leaders who turned their backs on her when she decided to run and not beholden to the tea party, which did everything it could to defeat her." In reality, it was Murkowski who turned her back on the Republican Party after losing the primary and continuing to run against GOP nominee Joe Miller. Cordes sympathetically declared: "This was...

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois might not become Sen. Mark Kirk as soon as he would like. State officials told Washington Wire that the five-term Republican, who defeated state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the contest for President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, can’t fill his new post until Nov. 23, a week after the Senate convenes for the lame-duck session. The reason for the gap: Illinois election officials need time to certify the vote.

CHICAGO (WLS) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the state of Illinois missed the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to members of the military and other overseas American voters as part of a new federal overseas voting law. Cris Cray, Director of Legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, says not all of Illinois' 110 jurisdictions were compliant with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE). The law requires every state to mail their absentee ballots 45 days prior to Election Day to overseas troops, government employees and other Americans who want to vote from...

Most voters think Congress’s ethics have gotten worse in the past two years, according to a new poll in key battleg

Many political observers were stunned by the new Gallup poll showing the Republican party with a 10-point advantage in the so-called "generic ballot" question. Now we have a better idea how that happened. According to new, more detailed Gallup numbers, Democratic advantages on issues like health care, the economy, and handling corruption in government have simply disappeared. Democratic leads that were enormous when the party took control of Congress in 2006 have dwindled to nothing or have now become Republican advantages. The most striking example is in health care. Back in October 2006, just before Democrats won control of Congress,...

Well, Palin did a nice pre-emption or diffusional ploy in her speech at the rally. She dared Obama to declare Iraq his victory, etc. In this case, I'd like to preempt, or at least predict what our conservative leaders should say to preempt Obama and his machine before they pull their October Surprise. So what is your prediction or predictions (let's say 3 or less ideas per person)...

Friend - With Congress's August recess now under way, Republican members of Congress are starting to show up at Tea Party events and campaign rallies all over the country. We saw last year during the fight for health reform that this is a time when the extremists run rampant. Remember "death panels?" This year, Republicans are looking to have it both ways, trying to appeal to independent voters while making promises to the Tea Party crowd to pursue an extreme right-wing agenda if they regain control of Congress. Who knows what's being said when the cameras aren't running? We don't...

AUSTIN — Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Monday put the 5-year-old federal investigation into his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff behind him and turned his attention to an impending trial on Texas ethics issues. DeLay said federal prosecutors told his attorneys last week that he had been "cleared" of any criminal violations in their investigation of Abramoff. The formerRepublican lawmaker, who represented Sugar Land from 1984 to 2006, also said he is ready for up to three days of pre-trial hearings slated to start Aug. 24 in Austin on a state money-laundering charge related to campaign...

For those who claim that vote fraud isn't a problem, Al Franken's election to the Senate demonstrates not only that vote fraud exists but also that it can alter elections and indeed the laws of the country. Murderers, rapists, and robbers may not be the people we want providing the crucial votes that determine what America's laws should be.

BOSTON — A family confidant says the sons of Edward Kennedy want the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee to replace their father in the U.S. Senate. A confidant, who demanded anonymity...says both Edward Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy have urged Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to pick Paul Kirk. Massachusetts lawmakers are expected Wednesday to give final approval to a change in the Senate succession law so the governor can temporarily fill Senate vacancies. The interim senator would serve until the seat is filled through a special election in January. The 71-year-old Kirk is a Boston attorney and...

"Recount observers watch as election judges Julia Nelson (L) and Marge Dolan (behind ballot) examine a marked ballot during the first day of vote recounting for the 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate race between former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken (DFL-MN) and incumbent Norm Coleman (R-MN) at an elections warehouse in Minneapolis.""Minneapolis elections officials Dani Connors-Smith (R) and Ginny Gelms (L) unpack ballots from the 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate race.""Election judges Lucy Karml and Diana Kittelson count ballots by hand over the watchful eyes of Geri Katz, a representative of Al Franken."