Free Republic

A report in the Daily Mail says that Republicans in Congress are investigating more than ten banks “for colluding with the federal government to spy on Americans after the January 6 protests.” The alleged witch hunt was in search of “‘extremism’ indicators.” You won’t be surprised at all to learn what qualifies as an “extremism indicator.” Fox News reported on January 17: Federal investigators asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” as part of an investigation into Jan. 6, warning that purchases of “religious texts” could indicate “extremism,” the House Judiciary Committee...

Now We Are Supposed to Cheer Government Surveillance?They are wearing us down with shocking headlines and opinions. They come daily these days, with increasingly implausible claims that leave your jaw on the floor. The rest of the text is perfunctory. The headline is the takeaway, and the part designed to demoralize, deconstruct, and disorient. A few weeks ago, the New York Times told us that “As It Turns Out, the Deep State Is Pretty Awesome.” These are the same people who claim that Trump is trying to get rid of democracy. The Deep State is the opposite of democracy, unelected...

One has to wonder from the USSC arguments the other day. Legal experts said the Biden administration was "on the ropes" in Tuesday’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court in a case questioning whether a Jan. 6 rioter can be charged with a federal "obstruction" crime, which carries implications for former President Trump. On Tuesday, Jeffrey Green, lawyer for Joseph Fischer – who is one of more than 300 people charged by the Justice Department with "obstruction of an official proceeding" in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol – argued that the federal statute shouldn’t apply and that...

All hail King Deep State! That is essentially what we have now, is it not? An unelected, all-powerful, mercurial king — and certainly not a binding constitution limiting government’s authority and preserving Americans’ rights. Our First Amendment forbids Congress from restricting an individual’s free speech, but that hasn’t stopped King Deep State from conspiring with Big Tech to silence every voice deemed offensive to the realm. Our Fourth Amendment forbids nosy officials from poking around in Americans’ private records and communications without first securing particularized warrants establishing probable cause that a crime has been committed, but that hasn’t stopped King...

President Biden signed a bill Saturday extending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) warrantless surveillance program another two years. The Senate passed the reauthorization bill early Saturday, after hours of intense debate, narrowly avoiding a key national intelligence gathering capability going dark. Senators voted 60-34 to send the bill to Biden’s desk shortly after the midnight deadline. The program looked as if it was headed for a lapse until Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced a breakthrough on the Senate floor.

The 9th Circuit determined that forcibly mashing a suspect's thumb into his phone to unlock it was akin to fingerprinting him at the police station. JOE LANCASTER | 4.19.2024 12:50 PM As we keep more and more personal data on our phones, iPhone and Android devices now have some of the most advanced encryption technology in existence to keep that information safe from prying eyes. The easiest way around that, of course, is for someone to gain access to your phone. This week, a federal court decided that police officers can make you unlock your phone, even by physically forcing...

Two weeks ago, General Michael Flynn and The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft held a Twitter space for Jake Lang who was “celebrating” his fourth birthday in prison. Jake has not been tried yet in a DC Kangaroo Court for his actions that day. After the phone call Jake was removed from his cell in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center and placed in isolation. No one has heard from Jake Lang since then. On Monday afternoon Jake Lang left a horrifying message on Jim Hoft’s phone. Jake Lang is being tortured in the Brooklyn MDC

In 2020, Dr. Scott Atlas was an advisor to the president and a member of the White House COVID-19 Task Force. He was shocked to see how powerful figures in Washington, including Dr. Fauci, were incentivized to politicize and monetize the response to the pandemic. In this candid conversation with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit, Dr. Atlas reveals that many Americans may have died because of censorship, dishonesty, and the demonization of medical dissent. Will Americans allow this to happen again?

The Biden campaign didn't like a headline written by the staff at USA Today, so USA Today was happy to oblige and change it. John Iadarola and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna has called for a rare procedural move to delay the Senate’s consideration of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 extension, pushing for a new vote in the House of Representatives. This move comes in the wake of the House’s approval of a bill that further empowers the ‘Deep State’ by allowing it to surveil Americans without a warrant. On Friday, the House cast a vote of 273 to 147 in favor of extending Section 702 of FISA, a provision originally enacted in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. This legislation permits U.S. agencies to...

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office told Breitbart News exclusively that he intends to remain as Speaker of the House after he cast the deciding vote against ending the deep state’s warrantless surveillance of American citizens on Friday. Johnson, who is now rushing down to Mar-a-Lago to hope former President Donald Trump gives him a lifeline, is facing serious questions as to whether or not he can continue in the position after a string of major policy failures on his watch. Johnson intends to hold a press conference with Trump to unveil a messaging bill meant to stop illegal aliens from...

"I don't trust you."So said Rep Mike Garcia to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Garcia accused Wray of standing relatively silent and passive about "the biggest national security threat" to the U.S. – referring to the southern border — and refused to give "little credence" in the director’s ability to do his job or lead the "brave agents" below him. "I don’t trust you to protect us," Garcia said. "I think because of your inability to lead and also shape the policies and the DOJ and at the White House, we are now in a more precarious position than we were,...

BREAKING: Speaker Mike Johnson just inexcusably voted against the American people and his voters by casting the tie-breaking vote 212-212 to defeat a FISA 702 amendment requiring a warrant to spy on Americans. This is how the Constitution dies. Brought to you by the House GOP.

@BasedMikeLee Don’t fall for the hyperbole. The sky is not about to fall. We must not allow for a “clean”reauthorization of FISA 702. We must continue to fight until we can attach a warrant requirement to FISA 702. Get a warrant!

You might remember FISA warrants from the infamous and disgraceful Russia hoax saga. Well, they’re making headlines again as lawmakers debate bringing back the use of the 702 FISA warrantless searches that came about after 9/11 and during the Patriot Act frenzy and were used and abused against innocent Americans. ... Everyone’s favorite warrantless surveillance tool, FISA Section 702, returns to the US House of Representatives this week and is expected to go to a full House vote on Thursday. Or, it may all fall apart (again) in the House Rules Committee on Tuesday. This week’s congressional action follows an...

The integrity of the American judicial system, predicated on the principle of a fair trial by an impartial jury, faces a monumental test in the upcoming hush-money trial of former President Donald Trump. As Judge Juan Merchan lays out the jury selection questionnaire, probing potential jurors on their political affiliations, rally attendances, and views on Trump, the challenge of assembling an unbiased jury in Manhattan—or anywhere, for that matter—becomes glaringly evident. The questionnaire, as reported, delves into whether prospective jurors have participated in Trump’s rallies, are members of politically charged groups like the Proud Boys or Antifa, or have engaged...

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with other members of the U.S. intelligence community, are pushing for Congress to expand Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 in order to fight the ongoing fentanyl crisis.According to the Brennan Center of Justice, Section 702, “Authorizes the government to collect the communications of non-Americans located abroad without a warrant from a court. While this surveillance is supposed to target foreigners, it inevitably sweeps in Americans’ private phone calls, emails, and text messages too.” (snip) However, CIA officials believe in its current form, Section 702 limits the intelligence community from...

Concerns about public safety will eventually recede, but Big Brother will still be watching. Did somebody say something about never letting a crisis go to waste? That may well have been on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's mind when he announced the installation of hundreds of surveillance cameras in Oakland to address public concerns about crime. Whether or not robberies and assaults decline because of police monitoring, you can bet those cameras will remain in place long after everybody has forgotten the reason for their existence. Crime Fears Become an Excuse for Surveillance"Building on public safety investments in Oakland and the...

On Thursday, April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King III was sitting at home in Atlanta with his siblings, watching the news, when a news bulletin flashed across their TV screen: Their father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., had just been assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. It was this memory King shared as he and his wife issued an urgent call to action to protect democracy on the 56th anniversary of his father’s murder. “At that moment, obviously, our hearts started beating very fast and our lives would change forever,” King said Thursday. He and his wife,...

Paul Sperry @paulsperry_ BREAKING: Biden is mandating Americans reentering US give CDC contact tracing info or face "criminal penalties," even though CDC's COVID health emergency expired May 2023