Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury is investigating a prominent Democratic lobbyist and a former GOP congressman 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 GOP congressman 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 Gates.

When the State and Treasury departments manage to cooperate with each other to halt terrorist financing, they should consider putting Hizb ut Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party) and its splinter organization, Al-Mujahiroun, on the U.S.-designated terrorist list and freeze their assets. Hizb ut Tahrir (HT) and Al-Mujahiroun, like al Qaeda and Hizbollah, describe the USA, the United Kingdom and Israel as “the work of the devil,” and European democracy as "a farce". The group’s goal is to establish a global caliphate and force all non-Muslim states to pay a tax or face military attacks. Its graduates join al-Qaeda, according to the...