Free Republic

The new trove of documents released Wednesday provide details about the CIA’s intervention in the Hunter Biden investigation. From how high up did the orders come? Anew cache of documents from the IRS whistleblowers released Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee show how the Central Intelligence Agency directly intervened to prevent the IRS investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden lawyer and benefactor Kevin Morris. The CIA’s involvement in the case was first suggested in earlier this year when the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees wrote a letter to Director William Burns that revealed impeachment investigators had at least one...

An open letter signed by “46 foreign policy experts” calling for more arms shipments to Ukraine published in POLITICO failed to mention ties of nearly half of the signatories to the defence industry, allegedly glossing over conflicts of interest, the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft claimed.

God help us if the Biden administration follows Vindman's advice. Among the most fervent war hawks in America today is Alexander Vindman, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a former member of the NSC, who now works at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Foreign Policy Institute. His previous claim to fame was as a witness who testified about former president Donald Trump's call to Ukrainian officials in the second impeachment trial of Trump. He became an instant hero to the crowd at MSNBC and other anti-Trump major media (is there any other kind?). Vindman...

That question by itself is a mouthful considering the political climate in 2022. Given the secretive nature of a “military spec op” and the degree of difficulty investigating the kind of action where all traces need to point away from the actors, I need to disclose how I got to the place where this question became the only obvious one I can ask. The following will show circumstantially and logically why this wrinkle in the J6 investigation deserves qualified eyes on it to further and finish or put it to bed once and for all.If you’ve followed the J6 investigation...

Sytnyk has headed NABU since its inception I met with Artem Sytnyk in 2015 as the new head of the Ukrainian ‘National Anti-Corruption Bureau’ (NABU) in Kyiv. At the time I was a national security columnist for The Washington Times. Sytnyk gave me a song and dance about fighting corruption in Ukraine. Sometime later, the New York Times published the infamous ‘black ledger’ allegedly showing ‘off-the-books’ payments to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. I called NABU the next morning and asked about the origin of the ‘black ledger’, that was reportedly released by NABU to the press. I was told...

Six years ago, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, the Ukrainians bet that a Hillary Clinton presidency would offer better protection from Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though he had invaded Crimea during the Obama-Biden administration, whose Russian policies Clinton vowed to continue. Ukraine worked with Hillary Clinton and the Democrats against Donald Trump as protection against President Vladimir Putin of Russia, but Ukraine's bet backfired both when Trump won in 2016 -- and when Russia invaded after the Democrats regained power under Joe Biden. Working with both the Obama administration and the Clinton campaign, Ukrainian government officials intervened...

Republican senators are unmoved by Tucker Carlson’s relentless warpath against support for Ukraine — even as it widens an existing rift in their party. The Fox News prime time host and others on the far-right have excused and even rationalized Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and downplayed its relevance to U.S. national security. And while GOP senators are shrugging off his name-and-shame campaign, Carlson’s views are permeating the GOP base in a way that could undermine Republicans’ efforts to emphasize cross-party unity as they seek to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

DEMOCRATS IN THE House of Representatives are planning to expedite a massive bill that would dramatically increase U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and lay the groundwork for substantial new sanctions on Russia — hastening a war-friendly posture without opportunity for dissent as concerns over a military invasion abound. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told members on a caucus call Tuesday that she’s looking to skip marking up the bill and move it straight to the House floor, setting up the possibility of a vote as soon as early next week, two congressional sources told The Intercept. The sources spoke on...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the White House "is moving in the right direction" in considering a deployment of troops to Eastern Europe amid concerns Russia is on the cusp of invading Ukraine. "They're preparing to take steps before an incursion and not afterwards," McConnell told reporters back in Kentucky, per a video from WYMT-TV. "It appears to me that the administration is moving in the right direction." McConnell added that he has pressed the White House from the beginning to get Ukraine access to surface-to-air Stinger missiles and anti-tank weapons immediately; the US began sending...

The comments, which the president and White House sought to clarify amid backlash, served as a signal to Russia that it was okay to “take some” of Ukraine, McConnell said on Thursday. “I hope Vladimir Putin doesn’t misunderstand the message: No incursion into Ukraine is acceptable,” McConnell said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report.”

Senators to meet with Ukraine president to reaffirm US support A bipartisan group of senators is traveling to Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials amid escalating tensions between Kyiv and Moscow. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced the trip on Monday. They said they are traveling to Ukraine and holding discussions “to reaffirm the U.S.’ commitment to Ukraine, which continues to face an increasingly belligerent Russia.” Meetings with Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials were slated...

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury is investigating a prominent Democratic lobbyist and a former GOP congressman from Minnesota for their involvement in an influence campaign on behalf of Ukrainian interests tied to Paul Manafort, according to a person with direct knowledge of the investigation. At the center of the widening probe are Tony Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, and Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from southwestern Minnesota and leader of his own high-powered lobbying firm, Mercury LLC. The two men were hired as part of a multimillion-dollar lobbying effort directed by Manafort and longtime associate Rick...