Free Republic

The FBI agent who was fired from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation team for sending anti-Donald Trump text messages conducted the interviews with two Hillary Clinton aides accused of giving false statements about what they knew of the former secretary of state’s private email server. Neither of the Clinton associates, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, faced legal consequences for their misleading statements, which they made in interviews last year with former FBI section chief Peter Strzok.

Several women told Vox about their experiences with the star reporter, and the Times has suspended him pending an investigation.

FBI and Justice Department officials have told congressional investigators in recent days that they have not been able to verify or corroborate the substantive allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign outlined in the Trump dossier. ... According to sources familiar with the matter, neither the FBI nor the Justice Department has provided documents in response to that part of the committee's subpoena. But in face-to-face briefings with congressional staff, according to those sources, FBI and DOJ officials have said they cannot verify the dossier's charges of a conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. The...

The White House on Friday announced the addition of five new names to President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees. ... Two of the latest candidates, Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Kevin C. Newsom, were both nominated to their current positions by Trump in May, according to the White House. Barret serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and Newsom serves on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the statement said. The White House announced both nominations in May. Also on the list are Justice Britt C. Grant of the Supreme Court...

For all of his success as a prosecutor, state legislator and congressman, it might have been his experience with a Black kid from Inglewood that has shaped Schiff most. In his mid-20s, fresh out of law school, he volunteered to become a “big brother” through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. He was paired with David McMillan, a child of a single mother who needed a male role model for her son. The two hit it off immediately, bonding over “The Big Lebowski,” Billy Joel and the beach. Three decades later, they are still part of each other’s...

The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 campaign while promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton offered President Trump's eldest son opposition research created by Fusion GPS — the firm behind the unverified Trump/Russia dossier, according to Reuters. ... Glenn Simpson, one of the firm's founders, met with Veselnitskaya before and after her 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner, according to the report. But Simpson was unaware that the meeting had taken place, according to a source familiar with his testimony to the special counsel probe.

BREAKING: CNN reporting National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has Resigned ...

Fwd: Sanders criticism From:re47@hillaryclinton.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com Date: 2015-05-26 12:04 Subject: Fwd: Sanders criticism This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him? Begin forwarded message: *From:* Christina Reynolds *Date:* May 26, 2015 at 9:22:07 AM EDT *To:* Robby Mook , Kristina Schake < kschake@hillaryclinton.com>, Jennifer Palmieri < jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com>, Tony Carrk , John Podesta , Oren Shur , Brian Fallon *Subject:* *FW: Sanders criticism* Following up on our call on Friday, just wanted to...

Attorney General Loretta Lynch is declining to comply with an investigation by leading members of Congress about the Obama administration’s secret efforts to send Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year, prompting accusations that Lynch has “pleaded the Fifth” Amendment to avoid incriminating herself over these payments, according to lawmakers and communications exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Brooke Stephanie Wells, 11, pictured here at Legoland in August, 2013, is now classified as a Missing Person after her mother, Sandi Wells, allegedly abducted the child aka "Kanani" who'd just begun 6th grade at La Costa Heights elementary school in Carlsbad, CA. Sandi Wells suffers from terminal Amyloidosis, a rare degenerative bone marrow disease, and survived a stem cell transplant and other procedures over three years ago in 2010. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children # 1223139 Name: Brooke Stephanie Wells aka "Kanani" Age: 11 Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue Height: 141 cm (4' 7.5") Weight: 36.741 kg...

During Obama's congressional race in 2000, he told an assembled audience that he is against prayer in school. The quote is from the Hyde Park Herald in February of 2000. Obama says the following: "I’m strongly opposed to school prayer, but not prayer. Public schools are not the appropriate place. … It goes beyond separation of church and state and goes to the heart of what we believe in.”

COOPER: Let's check in Michael Ware, who is in Baghdad. Michael, U.S. troops, how are they reacting? How are folks in Iraq, Iraqis, reacting, not only to the election, but also to Donald Rumsfeld's resignation? MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's too early to tell, Anderson. I mean, news of Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation broke here at about 8:00 p.m. local time, just on the eve of the nightly 9:00 p.m. curfew. There's been no official comment so far from the prime minister's office, nor from the national security adviser. And, obviously, the military here is -- is closing ranks and...

California news radio reports that Jessica's Law, just passed overnight by the voters, was already been ruled unconstitutional pending appeal. It was unclear from the report which court made the ruling (I believe the ACLU promptly filed suit after last night's election) and the court reportedly ruled that the law is unconstitutional because it unfairly seeks to punish people.

In one case -- after I did Abu Ghraib, I got a bunch of digital pictures emailed me, and – was a lot of work on it, and I decided, well, we can talk about it later. You never know why you do things. You have some general rules, but in this case, a bunch of kids were going along in three vehicles. One of them got blown up. The other two units -- soldiers ran out, saw some people running, opened up fire. It was a bunch of boys playing soccer. And in the digital videos you see everybody...

Hillary Clinton, today: "What Sen. Kerry said was inappropriate” brought to mind her one of her prior damage control efforts:For six months after the allegations about the affair surfaced, Mrs Clinton says she believed her husband's protestations of innocence.He had told her that he had befriended Monica Lewinsky after she asked for help in job-hunting, had talked to her "a few times" and that the relationship had been horribly misconstrued. Then, on the morning of 15 August 1998 - two days before he was due to testify to a grand jury - he woke her up to tell her the...

With the confirmation of Judge Alito a near-certainty, the Nans, Kates, and Ralphs are bellowing "Here There Be Monsters" as they issue dire warning after dire warning of the direction the remade SCOTUS will take. But they know, as do all the senators and most serious Court watchers, that there is no imminent threat to Casey/Roe, even if Chief Justice Roberts and soon-to-be-Justice Alito join in a bloc with Justices Scalia and Thomas. Even if Justice Kennedy was to change his view and join in ending the Roe Era and consigning it to the same bin of history as the...

State of NM Governor Bill Richardson and First Lady Barbara Richardson ride at front of float in buckboard. ... State of NM Governor Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena From TheNew Mexican: "A worthy investment" Richardson, an oft-discussed potential 2008 presidential candidate, said he did not initially want to ride on the float, but was persuaded by Cerletti and his Tourism Department Deputy Secretary John Hendry. With his background as both a diplomat and cabinet secretary in the Clinton administration, Richardson is one of the state's most recognizable personalities. Richardson said his participation in the parade was not an attempt...

CARLSBAD – A surfer was pronounced dead after he was pulled from the water by three fellow surfers who found him floating unconscious just after noon today, state lifeguards said. State lifeguards were called for help by three males surfing near Tamarack Avenue and Carlsbad Boulevard. The group was riding 6-to-8-foot waves in heavy fog and limited visibility, said Karl Tallman, a state lifeguard supervisor. They pulled the unconscious surfer, who was face down and still leashed to his surfboard, onto their boards in attempts to pull him into safety. But they kept getting slammed by breaking waves and needed...

The grand jury's term expires on Friday, and the panel adjourned for the day without announcing any charges or other action. The administrative assistant to Thomas Hogan, the chief judge of U.S. District Court in the nation's capital, confirmed Hogan's meeting with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. The assistant, Sheldon Snook, declined to comment on what was discussed. CBS News chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports that Fitzgerald was not asking for a grand jury extension during his meeting with the federal judge, leaving people to wonder whether he was seeking sealed indictments, or something else. No witnesses were seen...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Monday as investors' focus shifted from positive earnings to a report that President Bush has picked his top economic adviser Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Falling crude oil prices lifted energy shares like Exxon Mobil Corp. , which helped boost both the blue-chip Dow average and the broad Standard & Poor's 500. Exxon Mobil was up 1.6 percent at $56.26 on the New York Stock Exchange. According to a knowledgeable source, Bush was likely to pick Bernanke, 51, a Fed governor who became a top White House adviser last...