Free Republic

Joe Biden has been illegally handing out plum diplomatic jobs to wealthy Democrat donors overseas, a new report has claimed. The analysis by the Campaign Legal Center slammed what it called the 'donor-to-ambassador pipeline' in violation of federal law. All postings have to be signed off by the U.S. Senate, the upper house of Congress, which is currently controlled by the Democrats.

Reports of the death of Myanmar's ambassador to China last Sunday in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming seemed all normal until reporters noted that he is the fourth ambassador to China to die within a year while in office. ... A statement by the Foreign Ministry in Myanmar announced the death of Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe without providing details on the cause of his death, despite media reports in China and Myanmar suggesting it was the result of a heart attack. Even though news of the ambassador's death did not cause major reactions in Myanmar, the country that...

Democrats are threatening hardball tactics as they try to break a blockade by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that has left dozens of President Biden’s State Department nominees in limbo. Democrats and the conservative firebrand are struggling to make progress toward an agreement that would trade votes on some of Biden’s ambassador nominees for a vote on sanctions related to the construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a longstanding goal for Cruz, who has ensnared nominations across the State Department, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID). Absent a deal, Democrats are warning that they...

The wife of a major Democratic donor who landed in hot water for contributing to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s controversial “pay-to-play” nonprofit is in line for a plum post as US ambassador to Portugal — after helping raise more than $100,000 for President Biden’s campaign last year. Randi Charno Levine’s nomination to be the top-ranking diplomat to the scenic Mediterranean country was sent to the US Senate for confirmation earlier this month following Biden’s announcement of her appointment on Oct. 29.... ...It’s unclear when the Senate will take up Randi Levine’s nomination, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has reportedly been...

(CNSNews.com) – The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction told lawmakers on Wednesday that his office has issued 11 reports and 600 audits since its creation in 2008, but that despite “all of the reports we’ve done, no one in the government has been held accountable.” “I always joke that the only person who’s ever going to get fired over Afghanistan is probably going to be me,” John Sopko told the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that deals with international development. “Nobody else,” he said. “Not the generals who came up [to the Hill] and spun and spun and spun, and...

Amid growing privacy concerns over the Biden administration's effort to promote Covid-19 jabs among unvaccinated Americans, a document has resurfaced outlining “helpful hints” for the so-called “health ambassadors.” The toolkit, dubbed ‘Door Knocking Project to Increase COVID Vaccine Acceptance’, and a training video for the so-called “health ambassadors” were released by the Lake County, Illinois authorities back in April, but only caught public attention this week after President Joe Biden announced a shift towards taking the pro-vaccination message “door-to-door.” The document offers a list of various tips, ranging from “Inform, don’t convince” to “Knock and then back up” and “Ignore...

President Joe Biden announced his first political ambassadorships Tuesday, tapping former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Biden also tapped Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman Tom Nides to be ambassador to Israel. For representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Biden selected C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, best known for landing a United Airlines flight on the Hudson River in 2009.... ...For the prestigious, ambassador-rank post of U.S. permanent representative to NATO, Biden has chosen Julianne Smith. A former deputy national security advisor to Biden when he was vice president, Smith also directed NATO policy at the Pentagon....

High-profile dismissals of U.S. diplomats who participated in the House impeachment inquiry are raising questions about what oversight authority Congress has to push back on the president's actions. American diplomats serve at the “pleasure of the president” but charges of political retribution, campaigns of disinformation and threats to personal safety are prompting some members of Congress to call for more concrete protections for the officials. “Choosing who serves on your team is one thing. Kicking someone out because they're not loyal to your personal political agenda is another,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations...

Months before a whistleblower complaint that would spark the Democrat effort for impeachment, a shadowy liberal group founded and staffed by Obama administration alums and former Democrat congressional staffers launched an outside investigation into whether President Trump’s allies were seeking “foreign interference” from Ukraine in the 2020 elections. The group, American Oversight, began investigating the issue in May — more than two months before the “whistleblower” filed a complaint alleging Trump was “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals.” The group’s purpose is to...

Former Vice President Joe Biden released a list of donors who have raised at least $25,000 for his 2020 presidential campaign, including eight former U.S. ambassadors that served either under the Obama or Clinton administration. The long list of donors includes former U.S. Ambassadors to Belgium Denise Bauer and Alan Blinken, former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Anthony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa Mark Gilbert, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Mark Gitenstein, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Kevin O’Malley, and former Ambassador to Spain and Andorra James...

Former United States ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified Friday about her dismay upon being fired by President Donald Trump, but it’s actually quite common for presidents to do so after taking office. The State Department issued a December 2008 notice to Bush-appointed ambassadors to submit their resignations, effective when President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to the Washington Post. A State Department official told Agence France Presse at the time that demanding all previously appointed ambassadors resign was routine.

Government watchdog group Judicial Watch last week filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department. The group believes prominent conservative journalists, public figures and those with ties to President Donald Trump were being monitored by the State Department in Ukraine under the direction of ousted U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who was appointed to her post by President Barack Obama. "Judicial Watch has obtained information indicating Yovanovitch may have violated laws and government regulations by ordering subordinates to target certain U.S. persons using State Department resources," the watchdog group said in a press release. "Yovanovitch reportedly ordered...

Democrats say the State Department watchdog used a closed-door briefing on Wednesday to give them "conspiracy theories" tied to Ukraine, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and former Vice President Joe Biden. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick leaves a meeting in a secure area at the Capitol where he met with Senate staff about the State Department and Ukraine, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) © Associated Press State Department Inspector General Steve Linick leaves a meeting in a secure area at the Capitol where he met with Senate staff about the State Department...

President Donald Trump did not exert pressure or offer any repayment when he asked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to probe the dealings of former vice president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, according to a transcript (pdf) of a call between the two leaders released by the White House on Sept. 25. During the call, Zelensky was the first to bring up Rudy Giuliani, the Trump attorney who had looked into the Ukrainian business dealings of Hunter Biden. In response, Trump noted that Giuliani is a “respected man” and told Zelensky that he would like to have Giuliani call...

These days, obstruction by the Democrats grabs the biggest headlines when they prevent solutions to the biggest issues – immigration, Supreme Court appointments, infrastructure, and so on – but their obstruction is actually the most egregious when it’s at its most petty. Confirming U.S. ambassadors should be one of the least political things the U.S. Senate does. For most of the country’s history, the process was a mere formality – a president would pick people to serve as America’s chief representatives to countries around the world, and those nominees would almost always be confirmed by voice votes, with little if...

President Trump is more than half-done with his first term, but in many countries, his foreign policy remains on the runway as Democrats force massive delays on ambassador confirmation votes. Now, Trump allies backed by veteran diplomats are urging a fight as key posts go unfilled. Data reviewed by the Washington Examiner show delays longer than in recent administrations, with some nominees waiting since 2017 for a vote. “They need to be there, in place, doing their jobs. Long delays in the appointments of ambassadors needlessly damage U.S. security,” said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the ranking member of the House...

A State Department official who was awaiting confirmation to be U.S. Ambassador to Albania communicated with the former British spy Christopher Steele and supplied information to a senior DOJ official after and before the 2016 presidential election. Former State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Kathleen Ann Kavalec’s nomination was withdrawn recently by President Trump, according to a Senior White House official who spoke to SaraACarter.com. Kavalec was awaiting to be confirmed as Ambassador to Albania, but information surfaced that she had personally met and was in communication with Steele before and after the 2016 presidential election. Kavalec, a long time State...

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., hinted Monday the coming release of documents that will "show" U.S. ambassadors conspired with the FBI and the Justice Department to harm President Trump. “It's additional information that is coming out that will show not only was there no collusion, but there was a coordinated effort to take this president down,” Meadows told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “We talk about the 'Deep State.' There are players now, even ambassadors, that are sitting ambassadors that were involved in part of this with the FBI-DOJ.” Meadows did not name any ambassadors. “As we look at this, it's time...

Two former Obama administration officials suggested in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday that European countries allied with the United States could expel American ambassadors in retaliation for President Donald Trump withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. "Europe Doesn't Have to Be Trump's Doormat," wrote Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson. Simon served as the National Security Council's senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, while Stevenson served as the regional director for political-military affairs. "After months of swaggering hesitation, President Trump finally announced the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, to which Britain, France,...

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan tried to tell them that Attorney General Jeff Sessions did nothing wrong in meeting with the Russian Ambassador. He said, “We meet with Ambassadors all the time.” It turns out the Democrats certainly did, and it does nor bother them to lie about it. Democrats portrayed meetings between Ambassador Kislyak and Jeff Sessions as a rarity for a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee as Sessions was at the time. Take the case of Dem Senator Claire McCaskill of Mo., who tweeted she had “been on the Armed Services Com. for 10 years....