Free Republic

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) may have publicly berated Norfolk Southern Railroad after the East Palestine Disaster, but privately he lavishly directed federal funds their way only days after accepting a campaign donation from their high-powered lobbyist. The donation and grant announcement occurred after the February 23, 2023, rail disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, which sits on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. A Norfolk Southern train more than a mile long derailed, scattering dozens of train cars and toxic chemicals which spewed columns of black smoke for days.

Last week House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed former New York County Special District Attorney Mark Pomerantz. Pomerantz left the office not long after Bragg took over, allegedly because he was upset that Bragg wouldn’t prosecute Trump. The subpoena from Jordan was ostensibly for oversight of Bragg’s behavior. Here’s a bit of the letter to Pomerantz from Rep. Jordan.…if state or local prosecutors are able to engage in politically motivated prosecutions of Presidents of the United States (current or former) for personal acts, this could have a profound impact on how Presidents choose to exercise their powers while in office....

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed he used federal funds in his investigation into Trump’s so-called ‘hush payment’ to porn star Stormy Daniels.House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil last week launched an investigation into DA Alvin Bragg, accusing him of abusing his power.Last Monday the three House GOP lawmakers sent Bragg a letter demanding testimony and documents related to his investigation into the ‘hush payment’ after Trump said his arrest was imminent. Bragg fired off a nasty reply letter earlier this week – and the House Republicans...

Amid the Manhattan district attorney's reported planning to arrest former President Trump next week under a novel legal interpretation of a state law against falsifying business records, Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) issued a blunt warning Monday to hyperpolitical big city district attorneys: Any federal funding their offices receive may be at risk if they are abusing their prosecutorial power to settle politcal scores rather than fight violent crime. "Often the federal government is funding and providing resources to prosecutors across the United States," Steil told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "The purpose...

A non-profit organization called “Feeding our Future (FOF)” was stopped in its tracks this week by the FBI after using millions of federal dollars meant for child nutrition to instead buy “numerous vehicles” and 14 properties, according to the Bureau. FBI Special Agent Travis Wilmer wrote in an affidavit this week: “The companies and their owners received tens of millions of dollars in federal funds for use in providing nutritious meals to underprivileged children and adults. Almost none of this money was used to feed children. Instead, the participants in the scheme misappropriated the money and used it to purchase...

The feud between Trump and liberal cities which encourage protests which seeking to defund the police escalated sharply on Wednesday, when the President ordered the federal government to begin the process of defunding New York City, Portland, Seattle and Washington, cities where officials allowed “lawless” protests and cut police budgets amid rising violent crime. In a five-page memo sent to federal agencies on Wednesday whose subject is “Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients of Federal Funds That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities” and signed by Trump, the president orders them to report to the...

In 2017, as part of efforts to crack down on uncontrolled illegal immigration, Trump’s Justice Department announced that it would withhold federal monies from so-called sanctuary cities and states that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from having access to illegal aliens within those “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Within the ambit of the Second Circuit appellate court, New York City, Connecticut, New York State, Washington, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island raced to a Manhattan federal court claiming that it was unconstitutional. Although an activist lower court agreed, the Second Circuit has now reversed that ruling. When seven states and NYC...

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 6, 2020 CRA/LA agreed to pay $3.1 million to resolve allegations that its predecessor violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to comply with federal accessibility laws when it financed and assisted in the development of affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles supported by federal funds, the Department of Justice announced.  CRA/LA is the successor of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, a local redevelopment agency that financed and assisted in the development of multifamily affordable housing using local tax...

Full title:Feds can’t withhold public safety grants for Oregon, city of Portland based on sanctuary law, judge rules A judge has barred the Trump administration from withholding public safety grants from the state and the city of Portland over Oregon’s sanctuary law that directs police not to help federal agents enforce immigration policies. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane also said the federal government can’t impose immigration-related conditions on the grant awards. McShane, who is seated in Eugene, issued his 44-page decision late Wednesday in a case brought in November by Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday ruled in favor of the Trump administration's efforts to prioritize federal dollars for local policing to towns and cities that complied with certain immigration policies. The ruling, a split 2-1 decision, ruled that the Justice Department was within its rights to withhold Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants from sanctuary cities and states over their refusal to work with federal immigration enforcement authorities and instead prioritize agencies that focused on unauthorized immigration and agreed to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to jail records and immigrants in custody. The city of Los...

The Justice Department said Wednesday it has begun distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money that had been tied up in a major court battle over sanctuary cities. Byrne Justice Assistance Grants are used by localities and police departments across the nation to pay for equipment, training, personnel or other pressing needs. The Trump administration last year said it would condition the money on localities’ willingness to cooperate in holding illegal immigrants for pickup by federal deportation officers. Chicago sued, saying the conditions weren’t part of federal law.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's rules requiring so-called sanctuary cities to help enforce federal immigration laws in order to receive funding. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced new rules governing DOJ law enforcement grants, The Chicago Tribune reports. The city of Chicago sued the Trump administration last month over the DOJ’s threat to withhold those grants from so-called sanctuary cities, which refuse to help federal authorities enforce immigration laws. Leinenweber said in his 41-page ruling that Chicago had shown...

Grant: Alcohol is 'integral component of bars and clubs'! The National Institutes of Health is spending over $400,000 studying whether gender norms of masculinity and femininity lead LGBTQ individuals to drink too much. Trying to find the "meanings of intoxication" of sexual and gender minorities is the central question of a study that was awarded in late July. The project will "examine the extent to which gendered norms shape risky drinking practices for sexual and gender minority (SGM) young adults," according to the grant for the study. The grant states that alcohol is an "integral component of bars and clubs."...

The Justice Department issued a new warning to sanctuary cities Tuesday, saying they must prove they fully cooperate with immigration agents in order to claim federal law enforcement grant money. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said jurisdictions that don’t allow federal agents into their prisons and jails, and that refuse to give at least 48 hours’ notice before releasing illegal immigrants, will lose money.

Court Rules Veteran Bob Rosebrock Not Guilty of Federal Crime for Displaying American Flags above Veterans Administration Fence Judicial Watch Sues the IRS to Preserve Its Emails Documents Reveal Early Security Concerns about Healthcare.gov Judicial Watch Sues for Records about Government Funding of George Soros’ Political Foundation Court Rules Veteran Bob Rosebrock Not Guilty of Federal Crime for Displaying American Flags above Veterans Administration Fence In a tremendous victory for Judicial Watch and our supporters, a U.S. District Court in California has declared 75-year-old veteran Robert Rosebrock not guilty of violating federal law for allegedly displaying two four-by-six inch...

When asked whether President Donald Trump would still cut off law enforcement funds to the city of Chicago because it’s a sanctuary city even though it could hamper police from fighting violent crime, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said sanctuary cities can’t have it both ways — refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officials and still expecting to get law enforcement grants to handle a situation they created. “You can’t be a sanctuary city and at the same time seem to pretend or express concern about law enforcement or ask for more money when probably a number of the...

Several towns, cities and counties around the nation are caving to President Trump's threat to pull funding, and abandoning their "sanctuary" pledges to shield illegal immigrants from federal authorities. Dayton, Ohio, dropped a policy that restricted the city’s cooperation with immigration officials pursuing illegal immigrants arrested for misdemeanors or felony property crimes, according to the Dayton Daily News. Police Chief Richard Biehl said federal authorities will no longer be impeded by the city when pursuing illegal immigrants being held by his department. Other communities that have dropped policies of shielding illegal immigrant suspects from Immigration and Customs Enforcement include Miami-Dade...

It is difficult not to cackle with irony at the possibility of President Trump -- he of the monosyllabic vocabulary, odd sentence structures, and Joe Six-pack mentality -- forcing Ivory Tower elitists to raise their sights above their current postmodern descent. Instead of fiddling while Berkeley burned, Trump quickly responded to the anarchy that prevented Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking after an invitation by the campus Republican Club. Upon witnessing scenes from the spectacle, which included thousands of protestors, numerous fires, smashed windows, and at least one vicious beating, the President tweeted: If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and...

Travis County could lose close to $2 million in state and federal funding due to a proposed policy change. Budget Director Travis Gatlin sent out a memo warning of a possible loss of grant money if the county doesn't fully cooperate with federal immigration holds.

Colleges and universities are forever feeling shortchanged by taxpayers. They needn't worry. For one thing, they are far richer than those of us who actually pay federal levies. For another, academia has succeeded in securing millions for what look like panel discussions at the Modern Language Association. "The National Institutes of Health has spent more on exercise programs for refugees, anti-tobacco video games, weight-loss programs for truckers, and studies on gay hook up apps than it has to fight the Zika virus," Elizabeth Harrington reported in the Washington Free Beacon on August 8, 2016. And a good chunk of that...