Free Republic

Democrats are outraged, Republicans are carefully weighing their words, and the air is thick with analogies to Watergate, but here’s the thing about President Donald J. Trump’s stated reason for firing FBI director James Comey: it’s perfectly sensible. The case against Comey was laid out in a letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. And what Rosenstein says is the same thing Democrats and many former Department of Justice officials have been saying for the better part of a year: Comey badly mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server, undermining the integrity of the FBI and earning a pink...

If I were Hillary Clinton, I'd be afraid. I'd be very afraid. Something has happened that has drastically changed her position in the world and that is the advent of Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general, a name not well known by many until now, although he has had quite an illustrious career at the Department of Justice and elsewhere. Confirmed only April 25, 2017, Rosenstein wrote the well-crafted "Memorandum to the Attorney General" on the subject of "Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI." The contents of this memorandum are what many are assuming impelled Donald Trump to take an...

Vladimir Putin has warned his Russian army can 'repel any potential aggression' after 10,000 troops marched through Red Square with a terrifying arsenal of missiles in a military parade. The annual march in Moscow marks the defeat of Hitler in the Second World War, but the Russian president was using it today to showcase the Kremlin's modern military might. Putin was personally taking the salute at the parade involving 10,000 troops and 114 units of military equipment. The parade gave the first public showing of Tor and Pantsir mobile surface-to-air missile that have been adapted for use in Russia's Arctic...

Jeff Kwatinetz, founder of the Hollywood management company The Firm, has told the Hollywood Reporter that Stephen K Bannon — his former partner, the former Breitbart executive chairman, and now White House senior adviser — is “not a racist or anti-Semitic.” Kwatinetz, who supported socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2016 presidential elections, went further, calling Bannon “brilliant” and vouching for his “great character.” In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter’s Paul Bond, Kwatinetz explained that while he disagreed with Bannon’s views, he admired his ability to express them and respected his right to do so: Did you know...

Unexplainable things happened in the Tacoma house where serial killer Ted Bundy grew up. So many things, in fact, that a contractor hired to remodel the home penciled Bible scriptures on the walls and brought in two pastors to bless the house. “I’m not one to believe a lot of this stuff, but this house made me a believer,” said Casey Clopton, the contractor. A cry for help appeared on a window as crew members worked in the basement. Heavy furniture wedged into a wall toppled over. Doors and cabinets seemed to open themselves. It all started in September, when...

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning and criticized efforts to tear down monuments to historical figures who owned slaves. “When you start wiping out your history, sanitizing your history, to make you feel better, it’s a bad thing,” Rice said. Co-host Brian Kilmeade started the conversation about the sanitizing of history when discussing Rice’s new book, “Democracy.”

President Donald Trump and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon "personally intervened" to keep national security aide Sebastian Gorka at the White House, after others in the administration were trying to move him to another federal agency, according to senior administration sources. Last week, sources reported that Gorka was leaving his post as a national security adviser and part of the Strategic Initiatives group to work with a federal agency that examines the 'war of ideas' on countering radical Islamic terrorism. A day later, however, other sources insisted Gorka was not leaving after all. According to The Daily Beast on Saturday,...

The British-based betting firm Ladbrokes says Marine Le Pen is attracting 90 percent of the bets on the eve of the French presidential election, as people gamble that France is in line for an upset. The betting firm said Saturday despite the polls favoring her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron, gamblers are putting money on the idea that France may be in line for a political shock similar to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union or Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Tim Tebow is a big-league hit in the minor leagues. The Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback has minor league fans around the Single A South Atlantic League flocking to stadiums and jamming ticket lines to see the Columbia Fireflies outfielder and designated-hitter. The Hickory Crawdads sold out four games with the Fireflies, its total of 17,500 for the series surpassing the 15,900 they drew their first eight games. "We had 4,500 people in the stands," Crawdads season ticket holder Christopher Pack said, "and 4,300 were there to see Tim Tebow." People show up in Tebow's NFL jerseys, and...

Video Link.These were new to me (except for 1)...and pretty good.

Now that the Obamacare replacement bill has passed the House and is moving on to the more centrist Senate, the real debate begins. What is the true purpose of health insurance, and what is our government’s goal in ensuring we have it? I learn from my patients every day about the benefits, limitations and contradictions of their health insurance. One charming 60-year-old with severe seasonal allergies insists on seeing me every few weeks this time of year, even though I tell her she doesn’t need to — her antihistamines and nasal spray treatment rarely changes. But she worries that her...

For policy wonks, working in the Trump area has the feel of living in parallel universes. One such universe is what allies say about Trump’s North Korea policy; the other is what some in the U.S. media write. Exhibit A are editorials claiming that President Trump’s North Korea policy is the same as that of his predecessor. Private chats with Japanese or Chinese leaders would disabuse journalists ready to listen of the impression that this policy continues President Obama’s passivity. The former are happy that Obama’s “red line” on the use of WMD was finally enforced by President Trump, and...

The "Hindenburg Omen," an obscure indicator that pops up every few years and gets Wall Street traders chattering about a possible market crash, was triggered this week. To be sure, the Hindenburg has missed the mark more times than it's been correct, but some analysts are concerned that the omen, when paired with other indicators flashing sell right now, could portend that at least a pullback is ahead this time. Thursday's session saw the Hindenburg signal trigger at both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, marking just the 10th time that's ever happened, according to Roberto Friedlander, head...

In our Sanctuaries series, creative leaders and achievers reveal the special places where they go to think, relax and be inspired. Gwen Jorgensen didn’t grow up planning to be a triathlete. She swam and ran competitively in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but had never ridden a bike — so she was surprised to receive a recruiting call from USA Triathlon that convinced her to give it a try. Today, at 30, Jorgensen is a world champion triathlete and an Olympic gold medalist, traveling all over the world to race and train. She is the first United States triathlete...

When Iran attempted to launch a cruise missile from a “midget” submarine earlier this week, Pentagon officials saw more evidence of North Korean influence in the Islamic Republic – with intelligence reports saying the submarine was based on a Pyongyang design, the same type that sank a South Korean warship in 2010. According to U.S. defense officials, Iran was attempting to launch a Jask-2 cruise missile underwater for the first time, but the launch failed. Nonproliferation experts have long suspected North Korea and Iran are sharing expertise when it comes to their rogue missile programs. “The very first missiles we...

The Congressional Research Service reported that the regime launched test missiles last year in flights precisely designed to avoid interception by rocketing them into much higher altitudes. The result: The re-entry warhead will descend at a steeper angle and faster speed, “making it potentially more difficult to intercept with a missile defense system,” the CRS said. In another maneuver, the CRS said, “North Korea has also demonstrated an ability to launch a salvo attack with more than one missile launched in relatively short order.” “This is consistent with a possible goal of being able to conduct large ballistic missile attacks...

President Donald Trump is working to make the Secret Service more efficient in protecting himself and future commanders-in-chief, veteran investigative reporter Ronald Kessler told Newsmax TV. "Trump is transforming the Secret Service to make it an agency that properly protects the president and his family and the vice president – an agency that we can be proud of again," Kessler told host Bill Tucker on Wednesday's "America Talks Live." "It began with Trump's DHS Secretary John Kelly firing two Secret Service uniformed officers. "They were responsible for the fact an intruder was able to bum around the White House grounds...

<p>North Korean state media criticized China directly Wednesday, saying its “reckless remarks” on the North’s nuclear program was testing its patience and could trigger unspecified “grave” consequences.</p> <p>A commentary released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency said that "a string of absurd and reckless remarks are now heard from China everyday only to render the present bad situation tenser."</p>

China has sent a final warning to North Korea over its military provocations, according to unconfirmed rumors spreading widely on Chinese social media Tuesday. Chinese news outlets have previously said Beijing could turn its back on Pyongyang if the latter conducted a sixth nuclear test. But the rumor that China has given North Korea a final warning has drawn particular interest from Weibo users. The rumor cited the May issue of Hong Kong monthly news outlet Dong Xiang. It said a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs junior minister invited Park Myung-ho, an official of North Korea, for a meeting. China's...

In dealing with rising tensions with North Korea, President Trump is making all the right moves according to one Illinois congressman. House Foreign Affairs Committee member, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, noted the differences in the current commander-in-chief’s use of “carrot and stick” diplomacy in dealing with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un versus the actions, or non-actions, by former President Obama. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com “Now what you’re seeing is actually an aggressive administration, and you’re seeing the dance between military posturing and a credible military threat in order to use the diplomatic instrument of power to hopefully get to...