Free Republic

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) decision to appear this week at former President Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan is sparking new blowback from some House Republicans, who are questioning why he would inject himself so prominently in a case involving an alleged affair with a porn star. These Republicans, who requested to speak anonymously to discuss the sensitive topic, are accusing Johnson — a devout Southern Baptist who built a career around the fight for Christian values and moral conservatism — of undermining the party’s family values image simply to ingratiate himself with Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

"Republican National Committee (RNC) co-Chair Lara Trump said Wednesday evening, without evidence, that debates are always “rigged so heavily” in President Biden’s favor."

Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) surprise appearance at a Manhattan courthouse to support former President Trump, and his qualified answer about supporting the results of the 2024 election, show he’s challenging Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as the Senate front-runner to be Trump’s running mate in the fall. GOP senators and strategists say it’s hard to predict whom Trump will choose, but they say Scott and Vance are viewed as the two most likely choices within the Senate GOP conference. Vance and Scott are stepping up their efforts to grab Trump’s attention by staying close to his orbit and showing off their...

Has the U.S. government secretly retrieved exotic craft of “non-human” origin? Newly declassified documents, along with extraordinary legislation, illustrate how two successive Democratic Senate majority leaders appear to have believed so. Notably, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were not alone in their focus on UFOs. The Democratic heavyweights received critical support and encouragement from a bipartisan group of high-profile senators over the years, including former fighter pilot and famed astronaut John Glenn (D-Ohio); Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who observed a UFO as a World War II pilot; Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), then-chairman of the Senate Appropriations...

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has been under the microscope this week for an anecdote about killing her dog, defended her actions Wednesday, saying she shot the “dangerous” pup in order to protect her children. “It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive.” “We were her second chance. And she was — the day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors,” she continued. “She attacked me....

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted Sunday that the Supreme Court will send former President Trump’s immunity case back to the lower courts. “Well, I think the court’s gonna find that presidential immunity exists for President Trump like every other president, but you got to be within the scope of being president. I think they’ll send it back to the lower courts to find out exactly what actions fall within presidential immunity and what are considered personal. I think that’s the way this will end — there will be some immunity for some of the actions,” Graham said on CNN’s “State...

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday argued the rights of those participating in peaceful pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses should be protected, pointing to the country’s history of multi-day demonstrations. Asked on “Fox News Sunday” about the GOP calls for the Biden administration to be more forceful in quelling the protests, Murphy said, “We should… all speak out, right? When [a] protest crosses a line, when it becomes violent or when there’s hate speech.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) blasted conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on Tuesday for playing a leading role in demonizing the idea of sending military aid to Ukraine, saying the former Fox News host wound up “where he should have been all along” when he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a megaphone during a fawning interview earlier this year. “I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should have been all along, which was interviewing Vladimir Putin,” McConnell said, referring to Carlson’s two-hour interview with Putin in February, which drew...

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” in a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza and said he should resign. In an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland, Pelosi spoke about the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu’s deadly counteroffensive that has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials. “We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu,” she said. “Terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?” “He should...

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he voted against additional aid to Israel to oppose a “blank check” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Khanna was one of the 37 Democrats who voted against sending more funding to Israel on Saturday amid its ongoing war in Gaza. The House approved a long-awaited foreign aid package on Saturday that includes more funding for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

The New York judge overseeing former President Trump’s hush money trial said Monday that Trump cannot attend arguments on presidential immunity at the Supreme Court next week. ... The decision to not allow Trump to be in Washington, D.C., on April 25, when the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on a presidential immunity claim Trump is making in his federal criminal case, came just before the New York trial adjourned Monday. “Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there, but a trial in...

President Biden is facing deepening political trouble as criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza grows more widespread and a possible invasion of Rafah looms. Discontent with Biden’s substantive support for Israel has spread across the Democratic Party, even as the president has toughened his rhetoric criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At the same time, Republicans are upping their attacks on Biden as insufficiently supportive of Israel in its war with Hamas and amid rising tensions with Iran.

Unless you are deeply immersed in politics, you likely missed a major development over the last three weeks: Since his State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden has seen a marked reversal of his fortunes. Indeed, since Biden addressed the nation in early March, polling shows that Biden is gaining ground, as former President Donald Trump now leads Biden by only one percentage point according to the RealClearPolitics polling average — Trump’s smallest lead since January. In the Quinnipiac poll released last week, Biden led by three points, 48 percent to 45 percent, bringing the total to 12 national...

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) had choice words for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Saturday comments, calling him a “maniac” who “needs” to be removed from office. The progressive Democrat initially discussed the Biden administration transferring 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs, 500 MK82 500-pound bombs and 25 F-35A fighter jets to Israel without notifying lawmakers, an arms package reported exclusively by the Washington Post on Friday.

There is nothing remotely normal or conventional about this presidential election. Alice in Wonderland would feel right at home bouncing about between the fantastical issues plaguing the Biden and Trump campaigns. For the current president, voters worry about Biden’s age, perceived cognitive issues, his son Hunter’s legal and perception problems, growing policy failures, and a country and world going more sideways by the day. For the previous president, it’s hard for some voters to unsee the FBI raid on Trump’s home in Florida, his mug shot, multiple indictments by Democratic prosecutors and district attorneys, trial dates and the greater “lawfare”...

When I received my acceptance letter almost a decade ago to the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C., my imagination raced with the intense, life-or-death scenarios I would be confronted with on a regular basis in order to protect and serve the citizens of our nation’s capital. But even while contemplating such scenarios, I never imagined what I experienced on Jan. 6, 2021, or that I would be one of a few dozen officers standing in between former President Donald Trump’s fascist dreams and American democracy. The attack on the Capitol, perpetuated by a mob commanded by Trump, was and...

Adult film star Stormy Daniels, in a new documentary, said she accepted hush money from former President Trump because she was “terrified” for her life. Daniels, in the film streaming on Peacock, said she was “very relieved” when her former manager Gina Rodriguez reached out and offered her “the chance to keep it quiet.” “I was f—ing terrified!” Daniels said, highlighted by Mediaite. “I mean, people have been suspiciously killed for political reasons.” The actress said her friend told her that she may be in trouble because she was “the whole Republican Party’s problem” amid Trump’s first bid for the...

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) threatened possible contempt proceedings against Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) over a subpoena requesting information about her use of federal funds. Willis’s office has already sent information in response to the February subpoena, but the GOP leader complains she failed to turn over documents related to allegations from a now-terminated employee who flagged another former employee’s desire to misuse federal grant money. “We appreciate that you have produced a narrow set of documents in response to the subpoena, but your compliance with the subpoena to date is deficient,” Jordan wrote...

Former President Trump signaled his opposition Thursday to legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. despite his previous support for banning the social media app. In a post on Truth Social, the former president claimed a TikTok ban would benefit Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who serves as CEO of its parent company, Meta. “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!” Facebook banned Trump in January 2021 in the wake...

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) suggested Sunday that President Biden “do something bold” and call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as support from his base appears to be wavering. CBS News “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan presented polling showing nearly twice as many Democrats rate Biden’s presidency as fair or poor compared with Republicans who say the same about former President Trump and claimed the president is “having a problem with his base.” “And that’s why I think he needs to do something bold … this is a problem,” Khanna said Sunday. “But if he can turn it...