Free Republic

According to court documents, federal prosecutors working on behalf of Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice misled U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman in the case against conservative filmmaker and author Dinesh D’Souza during their pursuit of 10-to-16 months of prison time for a federal felony charge. In a reply sentencing memo submitted to the Court on behalf of D'Souza last week, his counsel argues federal prosecutors excluded and misrepresented the facts of “similar” cases in the Government's sentencing proposal to Judge Berman, leaving out crucial facts key to fair and equal sentencing for D’Souza compared to...

In a decision likely to be framed by conservative media as a vindictive abuse of power, filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in a confinement center and five years probation after pleading in May that he was guilty of violating campaign finance laws. D'Souza's movies, America this year and two years earlier, 2016: Obama's America, are critical of the left — and in the case of the first one, President Barack Obama — and they are among the most successful political documentaries in history. D'Souza was indicted in January after he promised his then-fiancee and his former...

In a speech stressing the importance of protecting America's religious liberties and other inalienable rights that so-called "radical" Democratic policies are trying to limit, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reflected on his own family's path toward the Christian faith, which included his father abandoning him and his mother when he was three years old before returning to them after finding Jesus. Before Rev. Rafael Cruz became an evangelical Texas pastor and one of the nation's most notable and quotable congressional parents, he and his wife, with their toddler son, lived in Canada and worked in the oil and energy business....

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s speech to hundreds of conservative activists on Friday amounted to a dare to other potential Republican candidates in 2016: Just try to get to the right of me. Just try it.Mr. Cruz called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, getting rid of the Common Core educational standards and repealing the Affordable Care Act. He defined himself as staunchly anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage and pro-Israel.“There are people in Washington who say Republicans to win have to abandon our values,” he said, as members of the audience shouted “No way!” and “It’s a lie!”While polls last year showed that last...

Just this week, two seemingly unrelated events unfolded, but they actually reveal a new liberal tactic. The Hillary Clinton Front-Group, American Bridge, filed a bogus federal complaint against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and then a federal probe into New Jersey Governor Chris Christie found no evidence linking Christie to “Bridge-Gate.” Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted last month. Make no mistake, these events are related. Emerging is a new liberal tactic to gin up legal proceedings against conservatives and then use the media to amplify the investigations and make the officials look guilty. These attacks are part of a...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says he's not sorry he spoke out in favor of Israel and the Jewish people at a Sept. 10 conference where he was shouted down and forced to leave the stage, the Washington Free Beacon reported. He said he felt it important to honor his commitment to speak, especially about the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, even as he was met with boos as he went after Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al- Assad. “Look, I anticipated that there were one or two radical speakers who I didn’t expect would be happy with...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Thursday ripped U.S. Senate Democrats for blocking his bill that would revoke the U.S. citizenship of those who join the ISIS terrorist organization, noting that they are abandoning something Hillary Clinton supported when she was Secretary of State. The Democrats blocked Cruz’s bill on Thursday, a bill that would revoke citizenship from Americans who join ISIS. Cruz’s bill is very similar to one that then Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA)—who is now running in New Hampshire against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)—and then Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) offered a couple of years ago.“As then-Secretary of State Hillary...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)SEN. TED CRUZ: Now, the president has been advocating arming the so-called moderate Syrian rebels for some time. And throughout the course of the discussion, what I have endeavored to ask, repeatedly, both publicly and in classified situations, is how do you distinguish the good guys from the bad guys? Last summer, when the president was urging a unilateral attack on Syria, at the time in June of last summer, out of the 9 major rebel groups, 7 of them had significant alliances or connections to al Qaeda or al Nusra or to other radical Islamic groups like ISIS. Consistently...

No U.S. lawmaker has better learned the lessons of both the Obama and Bush failures. Reaganesque? America has been screwing up on the foreign policy front for a long time. George W. Bush's efforts to spread democracy were laudable — but quixotic and ill-fated. And Barack Obama's "leading from behind" and"don't do stupid stuff" strategies, which supposedly learned all the right lessons from Bush-era misadventures? These also did not work. So as we head toward a critical presidential election in 2016, what should we be looking for when it comes to foreign policy? The answer is Ted Cruz. Don't laugh...

The Texas border situation is extremely bad from a first-hand report from an individual assigned to that region. I do want to say that the national media is not coming even close to reporting the conflict between those with loyalties to the United States and those with loyalties to Mexico in that region. Local Hispanics are treating the individuals assigned by Perry to the area in an abusive manner. The individuals who have been assigned are being monitored by "scouts" with the cartels. This is the tip of the iceberg as to what is happening and the MSM is NOT...

An independent audit of the Texas Enterprise Fund has found that roughly $222 million doled out from the fund went to companies that submitted no applications or made no promises to create jobs. The fund has been highly touted over the years by Gov. Rick Perry, who has said it was an invaluable tool to bring jobs to Texas and to stem the flow of jobs that might otherwise have left the state.The audit, conducted by the Texas State Auditor's Office, was the first time the Texas Enterprise Fund's activities were reviewed by an outside agency. Among its findings, the...

As Democrats seek to turn Texas blue, it seems they are employing a little Bolivian white to assist them in this goal. In yet another disturbing example of Democrat Party malfeasance,  Texas Democratic Party power-broker Francisco Garcia was indicted for allegedly buying votes by providing cocaine to voters in an attempt to sway control of a local School Board. Garcia, a long-time San Antonio Democrat leader was campaign manager for four candidates in the Donna School Board race of 2012, and per the indictment, offered voters in the most lower-income, minority district the option of taking $10 cash or a small vial...

The number of drug tests administered to University of Texas football players has skyrocketed under first-year coach Charlie Strong, according to university data obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request. According to university records, an average of 104 tests were administered annually to football players from 2010 to 2013, the last four years under former coach Mack Brown. A total of 188 tests were administered the first eight months this year under Strong. At an annualized rate, that’s more than double the previous four years.

Sen. John Cornyn welcomed Attorney General Eric Holder’s planned resignation today, two years after calling for Holder to step down over a botched gun-trafficking sting. “Unfortunately the American people, myself included, lost confidence in the Attorney General’s ability to lead a long time ago because of his continued willingness to put politics before the law,” Cornyn said.

Map from usacarry.com It was only a couple of decades ago that crossing state lines left most law abiding people effectively disarmed.   That started changing as the "shall issue" concealed carry firearms reform swept through the country.  I particularly remember how criminals were targeting people with rental cars in Florida, because they could be fairly certain that the people were from out of state, and thus effectively disarmed. Florida responded by changing there law to allow for interstate reciprocity, and to allow non-residents to obtain Florida concealed carry permits.   Florida permits are now one of the most popular...

Oil and natural gas production in Eagle Ford Shale generated an estimated $87 billion in total economic output for Texas and supported nearly 155,000 full-time jobs in 2013. That’s according to a new study released Tuesday by the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development. The shale region, which encompasses a 21-county, and generated more than $4.4 billion in tax revenue to local and state governments in 2013. Based on these updated figures, UTSA projects that the shale region will support more than 196,000 jobs and generate $137 billion in total economic output for Texas by 2013.

HOUSTON, Texas -- A large new immigrant housing center will be opened in South Texas. The South Texas Family Residential Center will ultimately hold 2,400 individuals, primarily families, who were apprehended while crossing the Texas- Mexico border. During their stay at the center foreigners will be provided with taxpayer-funded "medical care, play rooms, social workers, educational services, and access to legal counsel," Breitbart Texas has learned. The facility will open in November in Dilley, Texas, which is located about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio. This is the fourth facility of its kind to be built in Texas, according to...

Despite nine counts of theft, county judge labels accused thieves ‘victims’ Police in South Texas captured two illegal alien teens who they say were part of a burglary ring which targeted ranch homes in secluded areas looking mainly for firearms. Strangely enough, pro-amnesty supporters did not assemble outside the Hidalgo County courthouse yesterday to plead for a path to citizenship for 17-year-old Julio Zapien Calderon or his 14-year-old accomplice.

A Texas high school football player secured his place in the post-game interview hall of fame after delivering a motivational speech that would make even the crustiest coach's heart swell and eyes water. Apollos Hester and the East View Patriots defeated the Vandegrift Vipers 42-41 on Friday and the senior’s infectious personality quickly showed during an interview with TWC News Austin. “Yeah, they had us the first half, I'm not gonna lie, they had us,” a wonderfully animated Hester said, his voice rising. “We weren't defeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude — that's...

George P. Bush, Jeb Bush's son and Republican candidate for Texas land commissioner, said that in-state tuition for illegal immigrants is just a "nominal" cost to taxpayers. Speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival on Friday evening, Bush said that until someone can present a "sensible alternative" to the Texas's version of DREAM Act, he would support the the law that Texas Governor Rick Perry signed in 2001. Bush said in-state tuition for illegal immigrants is just "a nominal cost from an economic perspective" for the state of Texas. Bush also suggested that in-state tuition for illegal immigrants should be indexed....