Free Republic

President Trump has commuted the sentence of Roger Stone. The timing, late on Friday, suggests internal embarrassment over the move, and we wish there were more. The commutation is a move fully within the president’s powers and in keeping with the long-established pattern of presidents’ pardoning or commuting the sentences of associates caught up in special-counsel probes, although usually the associates aren’t as sleazy as Stone. We’re a long way from George H. W. Bush’s pardoning Cap Weinberger, the great Reagan-era defense official, who had been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice in the Lawrence Walsh investigation. [cut] It...

A new super PAC formed by hundreds of former campaign, administration, and political staffers from George W. Bush’s administration will work to get former Vice President Joe Biden elected, saying they are “dismayed and disappointed” by the Trump presidency. The new group, 43 Alumni for Biden, announced their formation on Wednesday, saying their purpose is to “unite and mobilize a community of historically Republican voters who are dismayed and disappointed by the damage done to our nation.”

Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush are set to endorse Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee - 43 Alumni for Biden - to support the former vice president in his Nov. 3 race, three organizers of the group told Reuters. Bush was the country's 43rd president.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dozens of Republican former U.S. national security officials are forming a group that will back Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, people familiar with the effort said, in a further sign that President Donald Trump has alienated some members of his own party. The group will publicly endorse Biden in the coming weeks and its members plan to campaign for the former vice president who is challenging Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the sources said. It includes at least two dozen officials who served under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, with...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) considers himself "a straight shooter" who "calls them as I see them." That's why he says he's leading an investigation into former Obama officials for allegedly unfairly targeting President Trump and his associates during the presidential transition period in 2016, as well as a probe into Hunter Biden's time on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, which faces corruption allegations. -------------- Romney, who sits on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs which Johnson leads, did vote for his fellow senator's subpoena authorizations targeting former Obama officials. But he declined to say if...

“Romney didn’t win, did he?” That was former Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid’s response to whether he regretted lying about then-GOP presidential nominee — and now Utah senator — Mitt Romney. Mr. Reid accused Mr. Romney on the Senate floor in 2012, when he was running for president, of not having paid any taxes in four years. It was absolutely untrue and was discredited by Washington Post fact-checkers and others at the time. But that didn’t stop the onslaught of unfair and inaccurate accusations and innuendos. The Mitt Romney who ran for president in 2012 went on to vote...

Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell says he's "OK" with renaming military bases that are named after Confederate Army officers, declining to side with President Donald Trump and other Republicans opposed to the move. The Kentucky senator said he'll live with whatever lawmakers decide as they debate an annual defence policy bill for the military in the coming weeks. Trump has blasted the calls to rename the military bases. "Hopefully our great Republican Senators won't fall for this!" he said in a tweet last week.

GOP divided in fight over renaming bases BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 06/16/20 06:00 AM EDT GOP divided in fight over renaming bases A legislative fight over whether to rename military installations named after Confederate generals is quickly dividing Senate Republicans and creating campaign headaches. GOP strategists warn that a misstep could prove costly, giving GOP senators heartburn in a year when they have to defend 23 seats, compared to just 12 for Democrats, who are growing increasingly confident of their chances to win back the majority in November. The hot-button issue took shape last week when a group of Republicans...

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN Sunday morning that he plans to endorse Democrat Joe Biden for president instead of fellow Republican President Donald Trump.

Former officials from the George W. Bush administration have formed a super PAC to support former Vice President Joe Biden’s White House campaign. The super PAC, dubbed 43 Alumni For Biden, referring to the 43rd president, was formed Monday, according to a Tuesday filing with the Federal Election Commission. Karen Kirksey, a former Treasury Department official from the Bush administration, is listed as the group’s treasurer and custodian of records.

Protestors in Michigan planning to rally at the state Capitol on Thursday are being warned that if they bring firearms to the event they will be arrested. The warnings come after several members of the groups planning on attending the rally called for the assassination of Governor Gretchen Whitmer which saw one man writing: “Can we please just take up a collection for an assassin to put that woman from Michigan down.” On Monday, Whitmer said she respected people’s rights to protest but was becoming “increasingly concerned about the violent nature of the comments being made” and the “extreme rhetoric...

President Donald Trump's decision to block Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, from appearing before the House of Representatives is ludicrous. [cut] If he wants to be a good leader in this time, Trump should promote free and open access to data about the virus and welcome input on how the U.S. can improve its response to the pandemic. Regardless of the political climate, the president should permit Congress to continue with its role in managing this crisis, which means that access to scientific testimony must come before politics. In the same way, Democrats and Republicans in...

Former President George W. Bush called on all Americans to recognize their common humanity and help one another during the current coronavirus pandemic. "Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat," the former president said in a video posted Saturday. "In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants -- we are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together and we are determined to rise. God bless you all." Released by the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the video included Bush's audio against...

Sen. Mitt Romney is among a bipartisan group of lawmakers demanding that President Donald Trump explain why he fired the intelligence community inspector general. The eight senators, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, say the explanation Trump gave for removing Michael Atkinson was insufficient and does not comply with the law. The president cited a lack of confidence in the intelligence community’s top watchdog. “Congressional intent is clear that an expression of lost confidence, without further explanation, is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the statute,” the senators wrote in a letter Thursday. “This is in large part because...

Does this sound like Lindsey Graham is going to investigate the Bidens as he has repeatedly said he would? https://t.co/TpNGVTqqSb— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 1, 2020 ------------ Congratulations to Joe and Jill Biden, and the entire Biden team, on the well deserved big win in the #SCDemocraticPrimary. Best of luck in the future.#Socialism goes down hard tonight in South Carolina.— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 1, 2020

Lawmakers from both parties told Pentagon leaders on Wednesday that the Defense Department is undermining its own efforts to get military money by diverting billions of dollars for the construction of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the committee’s top Republican warned Defense Secretary Mark Esper that overturning congressional funding decisions to shift money for the wall is an enormous problem that will have consequences. The plan to shift money has triggered rare Republican opposition to one of Trump’s priorities. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said the result may be that Congress...

A good read https://t.co/twNiOHZzM9— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) February 13, 2020 Opinion | No matter how this race ends, I’m proud of Joe Biden Whether his campaign can survive the body blows delivered by Iowa and New Hampshire remains to be seen, but theformer vice president has endured worse. washingtonpost.com

Jeb leads the GOP pack, according to brand-new national NBC/WSJ poll… Who makes that first debate, per the poll? And who gets left off?… Full NBC/WSJ poll comes out at 6:30 pm ET… What dynasty issue?… GOP candidates divided over South Carolina’s Confederate flag… And Rick Perry on how NOT to talk about the Charleston shooting. First Poll: Jeb Bush 22% Scott Walker 17% Marco Rubio 14% Ben Carson 11% Mike Huckabee 9% Rand Paul 7% Rick Perry 5% Ted Cruz 4% Chris Christie 4% Carly Fiorina 2% Donald Trump 1% Lindsey Graham 1% John Kasich 1% Bobby Jindal 0%...

Governors of both major political parties are warning that a little-noticed regulation proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration could lead to big cuts in Medicaid, reducing access to health care for low-income Americans. The arcane fiscal accountability rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, would tighten federal oversight and approval over complex financing strategies states have long used to help pay for their share of the $600 billion program. Also targeted are certain payments to hospitals that treat many low-income patients. Public comments closed last week amid a chorus of criticism from hospitals, nursing homes,...

It may be difficult to believe in this enlightened age but there was a time not so long ago when the National Review was the intellectual heart of America's conservative movement. Its writers were sharp, gifted and irreverent. Their appearances on Fox News and other TV outlets made them rock stars. All that ended on January 22, 2016, when the magazine posted online its "Against Trump" issue. Once again, the editors proudly chose to stand athwart history rather than make it. They chose to lose with what they consider honor rather than win. 22 writers signed on, each penning...