Free Republic

A fundraiser for Scott Walker’s presidential campaign called Donald Trump “DumbDumb” in a fundraising invitation and said electing the New York developer would be “a total and complete disaster for the country.” “As you’ve seen Gov Walker is now well ahead of everyone not named DumbDumb (aka Trump) in the national polls,” wrote Walker fundraiser Gregory Slayton, a New Hampshire venture capitalist who served as consul general to Bermuda during the George W. Bush administration..... [SNIP] Mr. Slayton added: “To elect someone who alienates his friends, the guy would be a total and complete disaster for the country and I...

July 23, 2015 The Obama administration formally announced that inspectors general will have to get permission from their agency heads to gain access to grand jury, wiretap and fair credit information — an action that severely limits the watchdogs’ oversight capabilities, independence and power to uncover fraud. An opinion, issued by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, says the Inspector General Act of 1978 — which was written by Congress to create the government watchdogs in order to help maintain integrity within their agencies — does not have the authority to override nondisclosure provisions in other laws, most...

Hillary Clinton on Friday sought to downplay the latest twist in the long-running scandal over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, saying reports of a possible criminal probe are full of inaccuracies. News emerged on Thursday evening that at least one inspector general passed to the Justice Department evidence of potential mishandling of classified information, a referral that could lead to a criminal investigation. Clinton on Friday said people are getting worked up over not much. “Maybe the heat is getting to everybody,” she said, in remarks before a policy speech in New...

WASHINGTON — Two inspectors general have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into whether Hillary Rodham Clinton mishandled sensitive government information on a private email account she used as secretary of state, senior government officials said Thursday. The request follows an assessment in a June 29 memo by the inspectors general for the State Department and the intelligence agencies that Mrs. Clinton’s private account contained “hundreds of potentially classified emails.” The memo was written to Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management. It is not clear if any of the information in the emails...

How much pull does Hillary Clinton have with the press? Politico's Dylan Beyers noticed a subtile, but monumental change to an article in the New York Times this morning that altered the entire thrust of the piece. The State Department's inspector general is requesting a criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's outside email accounts because he suspects that hundreds of classified documents were stored on the server. Without explanation or notice, the Times changed the focus of the article. The New York Times made small but significant changes to an exclusive reportabout a potential criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's State Department...

(CNSNews.com) – Four out of a sample of just 40 emails that were on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s personal email server “included IC-derived classified information,” according to a memorandum that L. Charles McCullough, III, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, sent yesterday to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees and to DNI James Clapper. Additionally, McCullough said, “we were informed by State FOIA officials that there are potentially hundreds of classified emails within the approximately 30,000 provided by former Secretary Clinton” and that these 30,00 emails “are purported to have been...

This strategy isn’t entirely new. They started talking about targeting tea partiers in primaries in late 2013 and followed through in last year’s midterms... The difference last year was that they stuck to open seats rather than going after incumbents. Evidently they’ve decided now that “progress” towards the dream of renewing the Ex-Im bank and passing a gigantic amnesty ensuring all the cheap legal labor they could possibly want isn’t happening fast enough. It’s simply not sufficient to fill vacancies in the House with corporatist business-class Republicans. To move their agenda, they need to start replacing some of the people...

Friday at New York University, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addressed news reports today that two inspector generals requested the Department of Justice launch a criminal investigation into Clinton’s use of private email and server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

Donald Trump may be thousands of miles from Washington on the Texas-Mexico border, but on Capitol Hill he's center stage in the fight over illegal immigration. The bill, which is formally called the "Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act," would block states and cities from receiving federal law enforcement funding if they have so-called “sanctuary city” practices in place, blocking the enforcement of certain federal immigration laws. It passed today in the House with overwhelming Republican support in a 241-179 vote, with only six Democrats joining the majority. Democrats have pejoratively labeled the legislation “The Donald Trump Act,” tying...

RUSH: Today is Thursday. Last weekend was four days ago. Depending on which day of the weekend you go back to, it could be five days ago. And if you have wishful thinking about weekends it could be six days ago, all the way back to last Friday. What happened last weekend? Donald Trump supposedly took himself out of the presidential race with one sentence about John McCain. I mean, that's what the conventional wisdom told us. From the moment it was reported that Trump said he wasn't impressed with McCain because he's not impressed with people that get captured,...

RUSH: I can't tell you the number of people echoing my sentiment, my philosophy, my theory on Hillary. You'll hear it everywhere now. And it goes like this: The more Hillary speaks, the worse she does in the polls. The less she speaks, the less she's seen, the better she does. And the reason supposedly is, by the experts of smart analyzing polling data, "Well, you know, Hillary's always been seen in a supportive role, and that's where she shines, but when she's out front and she's taking the lead, that's when she has problems." Well, she's taking the lead,...

Hillary Clinton gave a speech warning that the new "sharing economy" of businesses such as the rideshare company Uber is "raising hard questions about workplace protections." Democrats hate what labor unions hate, and a taxi drivers' union hates Uber, too. Its NYC website proclaims, "Uber has the money. But we are the PEOPLE!" The taxi cartels, which provide inferior service and are micromanaged by government, don't like getting competition from efficient companies like Uber. Clinton didn't mention Uber by name, but we don't have to wonder which company she meant. The New York Times reports that Clinton contacted Uber and...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to have it his way with New York’s fast-food industry—and restaurant owners aren’t loving it. Franchise owners say they’re considering a lawsuit against Cuomo’s plan to raise the minimum wage in their eateries to $15 an hour, arguing that it is not fair or legal to be saddled with such a significant increase in labor costs that won’t apply to retail, landscaping, child care or other traditionally low-wage industries. “Singling out fast food restaurants while ignoring other industries that hire workers who are paid under $15 is unfair and discriminatory, harms New York workers, and puts...

Dunkin’ Donuts’ top executive says a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers is “absolutely outrageous.” On Thursday, New York state’s wage board recommended fast food workers make at least $15 per hour. The board said it should happen by the end of 2018 in New York City. Dunkin’ Brand CEO Nigel Travis says the plan will do more harm than good. Travis said he supports governments making “reasonable increases” to the minimum wage, but a hike to $15 per hour represents a 71% increase over the current state minimum. “It’s going to affect small businesses and franchises,” Travis said...

What would you do in this situation? Imagine you buy a car, not thinking about where it's been before, and then the police show up telling you they need to take your car because it may be evidence in an out-of-town murder. One man contacted News10NBC for help saying this actually happened to him. We're told the crime happened in Albany. So how did the car end up on a used car lot in Rochester? The connection to the murder case isn't completely clear, but it appears it went from an auction to the dealership and then to Josh Goetz...

Ted Cruz has a lot of “friends.”The Texas firebrand known for throwing Republican leadership under the bus on a regular basis dismissed the feud between Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump in a scrum with reporters Wednesday. That feud, of course, includes Graham’s charge of Trump being a “jackass” and Trump’s retaliation of giving out the phone number for Graham’s old-fashioned flip-phone.“Who cares?” Cruz said. “Let’s focus on the issues that matter for the American people.”Cruz had just presided over a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Supreme Court activism. The presidential hopeful was asked about his proposed Supreme Court reforms — he...

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo made it clear Wednesday why he has recently bypassed the Legislature on different issues like raising the minimum wage for fast-food workers. "I run the government," Cuomo said. "I am the executive and therefore I use executive power. And that’s why the executive is given the power," Cuomo said during an appearance on upstate public radio’s “The Capitol Pressroom.” Cuomo dismissed criticism that his actions represent a major power grab by going around the Legislature. In addition to creating a board that has recommended raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour for fast food workers,...

Byline (Cuomo Quote): "This is just the beginning. We will not stop until we reach true economic justice." Getta load of Andrew Cuomo, the governor of the once-great state of New York. For the first time ever, reports Business Insider, a U.S. state "may single out one industry for a big wage hike." Under a plan approved by New York's Fast Food Wage Board, a $15-per-hour minimum wage would be phased in over three years in New York City and six years across upstate New York, whose economy has long been the American equivalent of East Germany. The mandate would...

House Democratic leaders are slamming GOP legislation aimed at discouraging sanctuary cities, characterizing the proposal as "The Donald Trump Act" in a bid to embarrass the Republicans bringing the measure to the floor this week. The proposal, which would withhold federal law enforcement funds for state or local governments that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration agents, comes in response to this month's fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle along the San Francisco waterfront, allegedly by an illegal immigrant with a long criminal history. The House vote on the Republicans' sanctuary city bill is scheduled for Thursday, and it is expected...

NEW YORK (AP) — Fast-food workers in New York state would see a super-sized raise under a plan to phase in a $15 minimum wage — the first time a state has singled out a particular industry for such an increase. The hike, approved Wednesday by the state Wage Board, would increase gradually over three years in New York City and six years for the rest of the state. It would apply to employees at any fast-food restaurant with 30 or more locations, impacting an estimated 200,000 workers. "You cannot live and support a family on $18,000 a year in...