Free Republic

HARRY REID PRESSURED DHS TO EXPEDITE $115 MILLION FOREIGN INVESTORS EB-5 VISA DEAL CRITICAL TO SON’S CASINO CLIENT Details in this week’s Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s report reveal only part of the story behind Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) abuse of his political office in 2012 and 2013. Through a brazen intervention, Reid ultimately forced the Department of Homeland Security to bend to his will in a way that benefited his political allies and family. The report concluded that Reid pressured a compliant DHS official to override normal departmental procedures and rush through 230 EB-5 foreign visa...

The Senate’s top Democrat was more deeply involved than previously known in an effort to secure U.S. visas for Chinese investors in a Las Vegas casino despite the concerns of career federal officials, according to an inspector general report released on Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and his staff received weekly updates from top officials at U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding the status of visas for investors in the SLS Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, the report reveals. Executives at the casino’s parent company, a client of Reid’s son Rory, donated thousands of dollars to...

The No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department improperly intervened on behalf of foreign investors in three cases involving the U.S. government soliciting investments in exchange for American visas, the agency's inspector general said Tuesday. Investigators said he helped secure the visas, and created the appearance of favoritism and special access. The investigation could not suggest a motive for the official's involvement.

The No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department meddled in three high-profile immigration cases, giving special treatment to applications from wealthy and well-connected immigrants after calls from major Democrats despite the objections of career employees, the department’s inspector general concluded in a report Tuesday. Alejandro Mayorkas, who was elevated from head of the department’s legal immigration agency to be deputy secretary while the investigation was ongoing, also angered many of his colleagues by getting involved in the cases, and “created an appearance of favoritism and special access” for the wealthy immigrants, the inspector general concluded. Inspector General John Roth...

Sen. David Vitter gave a speech on the Senate floor calling on Congress to end the practice of birthright citizenship, arguingthat "no sane country" would allow it for the children of illegal immigrants. Vitter ended the remarks Thursday by saying he was actually quoting an old speech by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who now opposes ending birthright citizenship. Reid had slammed Vitter over the issue the previous day. "This is not my statement. Let me clarify: This is Sen. Harry Reid's statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate," said the Louisiana Republican, who is sponsoring an anti-birthright...

Corporate donors to a green energy nonprofit operated by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D., Nev.) former staffers and a current campaign operative have received billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees and grant money as a result of Reid’s advocacy. Fulcrum Bioenergy began contributing to the Clean Energy Project (CEP) in 2013. One year later, the Nevada Democrat steered tens of millions of dollars in federal grant money to the California biofuel company. Fulcrum is one of at least nine corporate donors to the Clean Energy Project (CEP) that have secured federal financing for themselves or a client due...

Corporate donors to a green energy nonprofit operated by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D., Nev.) former staffers and a current campaign operative have received billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees and grant money as a result of Reid’s advocacy. Fulcrum Bioenergy began contributing to the Clean Energy Project (CEP) in 2013. One year later, the Nevada Democrat steered tens of millions of dollars in federal grant money to the California biofuel company.

Mark Cuban and Ann Coulter have joined the growing list of guest stars for the third TV movie in the phenomenon, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Harry Reid swaps shades for frosted lenses as Nancy Pelosi dons dark sunglasses in solidarity with her bruised colleague Comedy on Capitol Hill - the intentional kind, anyway - is pretty rare. But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi got chuckles Thursday when she started a news conference by donning dark glasses, a teasingly sympathetic gesture to the man standing next to her, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. 'I brought my glasses to be like Harry, but he switched on me,' Pelosi said, removing her shades.

Senate leaders from both parties will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, D.C., next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will meet with Netanyahu on Tuesday afternoon, after his address to a joint session of Congress on the Iranian nuclear threat. On Wednesday, Netanyahu declined an invitation to meet only with Senate Democrats, fearing it would “compound the misperception of partisanship” surrounding his visit. The bipartisan invite comes amid rising tension between the Obama administration and Netanyahu. National security adviser Susan Rice on Wednesday called Netanyahu’s visit...

A homeowner shot an intruder in North Carolina on Monday, February 23, 2015.  An accomplice escaped.   The pair broke in through a basement window, then broke down a door to gain access to the house.  The homeowner called 911.  He armed himself with a 12 gauge shotgun.  When the intruders kicked open the basement door and approached him in a hallway, the homeowner shot one once in the chest.  The intruder died at the scene.  The Sheriff, Coy Reid, had some advice for people who would consider breaking into homes.   From hickoryrecord.com: “The only thing I could advise these...

The 73-year-old brother of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has been arrested after allegedly driving drunk and fighting with police officers. Larry Reid was arrested after being found in a parked Lexus SUV in the dirt median of a state highway in southern Nevada, the state his brother represents. He faces misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence, battery on an officer and possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. He was also cited for not wearing a seat belt. He was released after spending the night in Clark Country Jail. Reid and his car were on...

Sen. Harry Reid’s brother, Larry Reid, ... has been arrested for drunk driving, battery of a police officer, and possession of a gun while under the influence.

Yucca Mountain, located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nev. (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) (CNSNews.com) – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has released the final two volumes of a five-volume safety report that concludes that Nevada’s Yucca Mountain meets all of its technical and safety requirements for the disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste. “With reasonable assurance, subject to proposed conditions, DOE’s [Department of Energy] application meets the NRC’s regulatory requirements” for the disposal of “high-level nuclear waste,” the regulatory agency announced Thursday. However, “completion of the safety evaluation report does not represent an agency decision on whether to...

In the midst of his recovery from a serious accident at his home in Nevada, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has gotten some more bad news: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the felony conviction of Harvey Whittemore, a big financial supporter of the senator. According to the Ninth Circuit’s opinion, which was released on Jan. 26, Whittemore is “a prominent attorney, developer and lobbyist who has long been active in Nevada politics and political fundraising.” In 2007, he was the chairman of “a holding company with significant interests in golf courses, land development, oil and gas properties, and...

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) acknowledged that injuries to his eye sustained in an exercise apparatus mishap last month prevent him from reading. Rather than being an impediment to his legislative performance, though, Reid insists that it will be an asset. “The premise that a lawmaker needs to read the words he is enacting into law is erroneous,” Reid asserted. “Attempting to read the 1000 page bills we are asked to act upon is time consuming and, ultimately, unnecessary. Even when I could read I couldn’t bring myself to wade through the 2000 pages of the Affordable Care Act....

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the conviction of a former Nevada lobbyist accused of making illegal campaign contributions to Sen. Harry Reid's 2010 reelection campaign. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected F. Harvey Whittemore's contention that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to convict him. Prosecutors say Whittemore promised to raise money for Reid in 2007 and distributed $145,000 to 17 relatives and employees, each of whom then made the maximum contribution of $4,600 to Reid's campaign and kept $400.

I put off reading Steven Brill’s new book, America's Bitter Pill, for much the same reason I procrastinate when it’s time to clean the gutters on my house. I was sure it would be a boring chore that would leave me yearning for a shower. A previous encounter with this writer’s work in a 2013 edition of Time suggested that this tome would contain a catalogue of canards about U.S. health care, a tendentious account of the tawdry political process that produced Obamacare, and some hare-brained theory on how to fix our medical delivery system once and for all. My...

The theme of Obama’s last campaign was “Forward.” Having thoroughly alienated Republicans in Congress, he is boldly moving forward on his final mission of also alienating the Democrats. It’s no secret that Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader, now loathes Obama. But the conflict between Senate Democrats and Obama is approaching explosive temperatures. Senator Menendez accused Obama of parroting talking points out of Tehran as the Senate approaches a sanctions vote. Obama has threatened to veto bills on Iran and Keystone, along with others, leading to a showdown in which Democrats will have to choose between Obama and electability....

Charles Koch on Saturday signaled to hundreds of donors, operatives and conservative leaders gathered in the California desert that the political operation he and his brother David created was just getting started. “Americans have taken an important step in slowing down the march toward collectivism,” Charles Koch said in his speech, seemingly in reference to the Republican takeover of the Senate during the 2014 midterm elections. “But as many of you know, we don’t rest on our laurels. We are already back at work and hard at it! In fact, the work never really ends. Because the struggle for freedom...