Free Republic

Seagrams heiress Clare Bronfman is [paying] for lawyers representing her five co-defendants, accused fellow Nxivm cult members, in federal court. [Vanguard] Keith Raniere, who allegedly ran the upstate New York sex sect...Raniere’s attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Paul DerOhannesian are being paid by an irrevocable trust fund set up by Clare Bronfman. At a hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said he would be “hard pressed” to recall another case in which a legal defense fund of its kind existed. Bronfman has set up a second trust for Raniere’s infant son, court documents revealed. Charges against...

My one rule of politics is that the future is never a straight line projection of the present. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's unexpected decision to switch parties and run for re-election in 2010 as a Democrat proves the rule. Mr. Specter often votes for liberal Democratic initiatives and infuriates conservative Republicans. Still, his surprise defection was a crushing setback for the GOP, instantly reducing what limited power Republicans have in the Senate. The GOP's ability to stop liberal legislation is now weakened if not eliminated in some instances. CorbisMr. Specter's jump across the aisle significantly adds to the heavy Republican...

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he will do everything he can to help ailing Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) overcome Democratic filibusters of President Bush’s judicial nominees, including use of the so-called nuclear option to allow an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. Hatch’s reemergence as the top Republican on the committee — at least temporarily — places him back on the hot seat at a crucial time. Conservative groups, which strongly criticized Hatch at times when he headed the committee, are pushing Senate Republicans to press the nuclear button. Still, Hatch said he will be a placeholder for...