Free Republic

Majority Democrats on a Senate committee on Thursday abandoned their work, which was targeting conservatives on the Supreme Court, when GOP members suggested subpoenas for the staff of leftist Justice Sonia Sotomayor... Senate Judiciary Committee “punted” on votes scheduled regarding the issuance of subpoenas for GOP donors Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow. Sen Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has accused the two of “stonewalling” an investigation into the high court “that seeks to determine whether two Republican-appointed justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, acted with any impropriety,” the report said. The confrontation was launched when ProPublica said they helped facilitate trips for...

In two particularly egregious cases, Schiff channeled millions in funding to Smiths Detection and Phasebridge, Inc., two defense companies within his district – with $6 million steered to Smiths Detection and $3 million to Phasebridge. Both moves would have been barred under reforms adopted in 2010. This financial maneuvering coincided with Schiff receiving $8,500 in contributions from PMA Group PAC and two family members of Paul Magliocchetti, founder and owner of the lobbying firm retained by both defense companies.

When the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg accepted a $1 million prize from a liberal billionaire’s foundation, she pledged to pass the money to a list of designated charities. Four years later, it is unclear where Ginsburg sent that money—an ambiguity that experts say raises conflict of interest concerns. The Berggruen Institute, a private foundation founded by billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen, awarded Ginsburg its annual $1 million Philosophy & Culture award during a swanky star-studded event in December 2019. At the time, ethics experts raised red flags over Ginsburg’s acceptance of the prize, noting that the bounty far...

Obama-nominated SCOTUS justice has seen net worth spike during tenure on high court.. Sonia Sotomayor's net worth has increased significantly since joining the nation's highest court, according to financial disclosure forms amid new revelations about the Supreme Court justice's efforts to promote her books. Sotomayor's net worth has skyrocketed, putting her among the ranks of the nation's millionaires. In 2021, her investments totaled somewhere between $1.5 million and $6.4 million, .... One reason for the sharp increase in Sotomayor's investments and overall wealth is the money she's made from writing books. .. her staff has often "prodded" public institutions that...

Allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reportedly launched a super PAC to support his likely run for the presidency. The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday that Christie's 2024 campaign kickoff is expected in the next two weeks. The political action committee, called Tell It Like It Is, will be led by Brian Jones, an aide who advised Sen. John McCain's presidential bid in 2008 and Mitt Romney's in 2012. In a statement to the Times, Jones said Christie "is willing to confront the hard truths that currently threaten the future of the Republican Party. Now...

Primaries in four states Tuesday — Minnesota, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Vermont — set up competitive governor’s, Senate and House races across the country this November. But even before then, these primaries identified some clear winners and losers that reinforced trends we’ve been seeing all year. Here they are: Winners Trump: At least in Republican primary politics, Tuesday once again proved he’s the king. Republican politicians on the ballot Tuesday who dissed him in 2016 raced to undo that, and those who didn’t do it convincingly enough lost their primaries. In Minnesota’s competitive governor’s race, Republican voters nominated a relative outsider,...

In a meeting with Democratic colleagues, Pelosi was reportedly confronted by a number of members of Congress for not reaching out to the party in regards to Omar’s comments on Israel. In the meeting, Pelosi was challenged for getting her talking points from MSNBC by freshman Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes, according to Politico. “Well if you’re not going to listen to me, I’m done talking,” Pelosi reportedly said, before putting down her microphone and walking out of the room. After the meeting Pelosi reportedly told a Politico reporter that she did not believe Omar’s comments were “intentionally anti Semitic”...

President Biden stumbled over Rep. Jahana Hayes’ (D-Conn.) name during remarks at the White House on Monday, instead calling her “Jonah.” The 80-year-old president’s latest gaffe happened as he celebrated the 2023 Teachers of the Year from each state, as well as the National Teacher of the Year, during a Rose Garden event. Hayes, who was first elected to the House in 2018, is herself a former National Teacher of the Year award winner. “Thank you for the members of Congress here today, including two outstanding educating congresswomen: Jonah,” Biden said, apparently referring to Hayes. “And by the way, Jonah...

(Interesting twist on the media driven 'racist' narrative and fake news) Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes (Conn.) pushed back on news stories with "exaggerated headlines," saying reports she said she's received racist threats since taking office are not true.Hayes hit reporters for “driving this narrative that I am using race as a dividing card,” in a statement Sunday, in response to two headlines she said are “clickbait journalism at its worst.” Hayes called out a headline in The Connecticut Mirror that said “Hayes has ‘heightened sense’ about security concerns," and a Republican American headline that said “U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes claims...

A fundraising group authorized by Democratic Connecticut Rep. Jahana Hayes has paid her family tens of thousands of dollars, using campaign contributions from donors to pay them since entering Congress, FEC records reviewed by the Daily Caller show. During Q4 2021, Hayes used her campaign fund, called “Friends of Jahana Hayes,” to pay her son $15,118.54 since entering Congress. In 2018, the Hartford Courant reported Hayes’ son David Crenshaw, age 24, joined Hayes to celebrate her Congressional victory. The FEC records, reviewed by the Daily Caller, show that Hayes paid over $15,000 in increments of $282.47 each to a person...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein became exasperated with staffers who tried to brief her on the upcoming stopgap funding bill she was to vote for on Thursday, telling them: 'I don't even know what that is.' Feinstein, 89, has served as a Democratic senator from California for 30 years, and has voted on dozens of continuing resolutions (CR) to fund the government. According to a private conversation overheard by Insider, Feinstein struggled to get her bearings as she headed into an elevator that brings lawmakers to the Senate floor to vote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill crafted to create a licensing and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency firms in the state, Under the bill, crypto companies wishing to serve California residents would be required to first receive a license to do so, and it would have also formally adopted new rules governing stablecoins. This includes a requirement that licensed companies only engage with bank-issued stablecoins, which must remain 100% backed by reserves.

Judge dismisses Trump’s Russia collusion lawsuit against Hillary Clinton with stinging rebuke The judge slammed the "audacity of plaintiff's legal theories and the manner in which they clearly contravene binding case law." A federal judge in Florida has dismissed former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit alleging Hillary Clinton, the FBI and others colluded to contrive Russia allegations against him during the 2016 campaign, offering a stinging rebuke to the lawsuit’s length and legal reasoning. "Plaintiff's Amended Complaint is neither short nor plain, and it certainly does not establish that Plaintiff is entitled to any relief," wrote U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks,...

President Joe Biden on Tuesday pardoned Abraham Bolden, the Chicago man who was the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a White House detail, who maintained charges against him that led to prison time were trumped up. Bolden “has steadfastly maintained his innocence, arguing that he was targeted for prosecution in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the U.S. Secret Service,” the White House said in announcing Biden’s clemency actions. Biden pardoned three people, including Bolden and commuted the sentences of 75 other people serving long sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, who under current guidelines would...

A top Democrat in the House of Representatives said in a Monday interview that saving 'democracy' was critical to fighting climate change, claiming 'alt-right' groups are distracting from the necessary work of saving the planet. 'We’ve got to save the democracy in order to save the climate and save our species,' he said during a joint sit-down with Reuters, NPR and The Guardian. 'We’re never going to be able to successfully deal with climate change if we’re spending all our time fighting the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and Ku Klux Klan, and the Aryan nations and all of...

Embattled Lieutenant Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned Tuesday evening just hours after he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan on a five corruption-related charges that alleged he attempted to trade a state grant for campaign contributions. “I have accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. SNIP Hochul — who picked Benjamin as her running mate last year — announced his departure after spending much of the day dodging questions about his arrest Tuesday morning.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, whose seven months in that role has been overshadowed by probes into a previous campaign, was arrested Tuesday in a federal corruption investigation. The U.S. Attorney's office said Benjamin was arrested on charges of bribery, honest services wire fraud, and falsification of records. Benjamin, formerly a state senator from Harlem, had joined the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., in September, chosen by her to fill her former job a couple of weeks after she stepped into the governorship following the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., over sexual harassment allegations.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin surrendered to authorities early Tuesday morning to face fraud-related charges in connection with a previous political campaign, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Beast. Benjamin, 45, was arrested on several charges, including bribery, in connection with his alleged participation in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for securing a state grant. The U.S. Southern District of New York is expected to hold a noon press conference about Benjamin’s arrest. He is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday afternoon. More to come..

Authorities raided the Michigan home of a top U.S. Homeland Security Investigations official and seized several items from the residence, a neighbor said Tuesday. The raid occurred last Friday at the Royal Oak, Michigan, house of Vance Callender, HSI special agent in charge at the agency’s Detroit office, who has worked in federal law enforcement for 26 years. Callender, 49, was appointed the top HSI agent in Michigan and Ohio in January 2020. HSI is a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. The agents supervised by Callender enforce immigration and customs...

On January 2, Biden called Zelensky at 16:00 Washington time (23:00 Kyiv time). Biden called Zelensky two days after talks with Putin, where Ukraine was the main topic. A symbolic element of the American president's genuine attitude to Zelensky. If such a call had taken place before the conversation with the Russian leader, then one would think that the Americans adhere to the principle "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine." And so these are empty words. Unfortunately, Ukraine remains an instrument in the confrontation between the great powers. Judging by the statements of Washington and Kyiv, the two presidents approve of...