Free Republic

Elder Patriot – Attorney General Jeff Sessions has finally announced an investigation into the use of federal money to fund radical leftwing advocacy groups. In making the announcement Sessions cited that at least six billion dollars was funneled into what was essentially a slush fund for Obama’s army of street activists. It’s almost a certainty that that amount is going grow significantly. The groups receiving the money included La Raza (now UnidosUS), NeighborWorks America, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Operation Hope, Black Lives Matter, and a spin-off of Acorn The Mutual Housing Association of New York, among numerous other extremist groups....

The House Committee on Ethics released a series of reports on Friday and ordered Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D., Ill.) to repay the government after allegations he misused federal funds. Gutiérrez has been told to repay $9,700 to the Treasury as a result of what was called "inadvertent" use of funds provided to his office for its operation, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Illinois Democrat had hired former chief of staff Doug Scofield to advise his office, resulting in questions as to whether Scofield was acting as official staff. "The OCE Board recommends that the Committee on Ethics further review the...

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who sparked national outrage when she undermined a federal immigration raid last month, worked with illegal-immigration activists before she warned the public about the raid-- a move that ICE said led to hundreds of illegals evading detention. Schaaf took to Twitter to warn the public about the raid, and has stood by her decision despite a number of hardened criminals being caught -- and ICE officials warning that potentially hundreds of other criminals escaped as a consequence of the tipoff. "It is Oakland’s legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any...

Multiple suspected Anaheim gang members face drug charges after being arrested by local and federal officials during a large sweep last week, and nine were still being sought Monday. The Wednesday morning arrests wrapped up a 2 1/2-year investigation into two Anaheim street gangs, said Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim Police Department. Federal indictments were returned on five suspects: Delia Partida, 38; Antonio Partida, 32; Augustina Ortuno, 52; Juan Casillas, 30; and Uriel Castaneda, 37, all of Anaheim, on suspicion of distribution of methamphetamine. Delia and Antonio Partida also face conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. They are being held by...

The California Democratic Party will not endorse Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s re-election bid this year, with delegates at the party’s annual convention giving the majority of votes to her top primary challenger, progressive State Sen. Kevin de Leon. De Leon got 54 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for the more moderate Feinstein, according to results released Sunday. But neither Democrat will receive the state party endorsement because they failed to reach the 60 percent threshold. The vote totals were not a surprise, considering the state party’s liberal leaning. And Feinstein leads de Leon by 29 percentage points in...

The California Democratic Party decided not to endorse in the U.S. Senate contest on Saturday, an embarrassing rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century, is facing an insurgent bid by a fellow Democrat, state Senate leader Kevin de León. He earned nearly 500 more votes than the senator, who was first elected in 1992. De León has cultivated relationships with the party’s delegates. He still faces a significant challenge in trying to topple Feinstein, who trounces De León in all public polling and fund-raising. The party also did not endorse...

On the heels of its horrific failures to repeal Obamacare, the troublesome Senate has finally gotten its act together enough to pass a $1.6 trillion tax cut. If it passes as expected, Americans can finally get the tax cut for Christmas that they elected a Republican Congress for, following years of Obama-era tax harvestings and stagnation. But it was a close call. One name stands out as a stinker here, and it still stands out as a stinker even though he's now voting yes: Senator Marco Rubio. The supposed conservative from Florida was willing to derail the whole thing for...

Democratic sources said Monday evening that veteran Congressman Luis Gutierrez will announce his retirement. He has been one of the more high-profile Latino politicians in the country, advocating forcefully for immigrant rights, since he became a U.S. representative 25 years ago.

NBC 5 has learned Congressman Luis Gutierrez will announce Tuesday he is not running for re-election after 24 years on Capitol Hill, sources say. Guitterez telephoned key democratic leaders late this afternoon to let them know of his plans. Calls to Guitterez tonight have not been returned. Already printing petitions Monday night-- to begin the process of getting signatures before next Monday's deadline -- is Cook County Commissioner Jesus Chuy Garcia. Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa is considering a congressional race. This will also leave an opening on the county board should Garcia opt for Guitterez's seat.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro hopes his latest critically-acclaimed film can help repair what he calls a broken political system following President Donald Trump’s election. The director, whose Cold War fairy-tale drama The Shape of Water just won the coveted Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival, told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival this week that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan was a callback to a time in 1960s America in which if you were “white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, it was a great time to be alive,” but not if you were “anything else.” “It’s...

An explosive confrontation erupted at San Diego’s Chicano Park Sunday afternoon as an angry mob of several hundred protested a pro-Donald Trump group’s decision to hold a ‘Patriot Picnic’ in the symbolic public space. According to the San Diego Union Tribune: The tense exchange happened as fewer than a dozen activists gathered for an event they called the Patriot Picnic. The group planned to eat lunch at the Barrio Logan park before taking a tour of the murals, said Roger Ogden, one of the organizers. Ogden…said an email campaign has been started to get the artwork removed from the public...

Julian Castro—the former San Antonio mayor who was President Barack Obama’s Housing and Urban Development secretary—may no longer be interested in running for office in Texas because he is eyeing a White House run in 2020, according to the Abilene Reporter-News. The paper reported on Saturday that though Castro is one of “the few bright lights among Texas Democrats, he is “signaling that he might be giving up on ever running for office in his native state.” Earlier this month, Castro created his “Opportunity First” political action committee, which, as the paper notes, led many to believe he is “positioning...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is investigating up to $6 billion in legal settlement money that the Obama administration steered toward progressive causes and allies in left-wing advocacy groups. A memo sent to US attorneys on July 28, published Friday by Breitbart news, ordered a review of a decade’s worth of payouts that Congressional Republicans have called a political slush fund. Former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch regularly arranged for major corporations to make large “donations” to left-leaning groups like UnidosUS — formerly the National Council of La Raza — and NeighborWorks America during settlement negotiations to end banking,...

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., thinks a new bill implementing a merit-based point system for foreigners seeking legal permanent status will never pass the Senate, even though it has President Trump's backing. "That bill's not going to pass," told CBS 4 in an interview Sunday. "I think the White House knows that you don't have 60 votes for that in the Senate."

The National Council of La Raza announced that it will change its name to UnidosUs, AP reports. President Janet Murguia described “La Raza” as an outdated term that did not resonate with its members. AP exclusively translates “Raza” as “the people” in its report. However, the term can also be interpreted as “the race,” which carries a suggestion of zero-sum ethnic conflict. According to the AP: The National Council of La Rafa announced that it will change its name to UnidosUs, AP reports. President Janet Murguia described “La Raza” as an outdated term that did not resonate with its members....

Man who sold gun used to shoot 2 cops released on $4,500 bond: sources Chicago 07/06/2017 Sam Charles @samjcharles | email A man who sources say sold an assault rifle to gang members — which was then used to shoot two Chicago Police officers last May — was released from federal custody on a $4,500 bond on Wednesday. Charles Williams was arrested and charged in federal court last week with possession of a firearm by a felon. On Wednesday, Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim ordered him released on $4,500, court records show. A law enforcement source told the Chicago Sun-Times...

A virtual “slush fund” of taxpayer money the Obama administration deployed to support private groups that advanced his agenda has been shut down by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions issued a memorandum June 7 to all U.S. attorneys and Justice Department leaders that put an end to the policy of requiring the department’s settlements with defendants, particularly corporations, to include donations to non-governmental organizations, Breitbart News reported. Among the recipients of the funds under Obama, was the radical National Council of La Raza, or “The Race,” which supports mass illegal immigration. In 2015, WND published a four-part series exposing the...

Trump ends Obama’s “slush fund” policy of illegally diverting settlement money from actual victims to Obama’s favorite left wing groups that had no legal claim to the money While working as a “community organizer,” Barack Obama filed lawsuits which forced banks to give mortgages to people with bad credit and low incomes. As a result, many of these people ended up defaulting on their mortgages. As their attorney, Obama collected $23,000 in legal fees for himself. Then in April 2013, during Obama’s second term as President, the Washington Post reported that President Obama was still pressuring banks “to make home...

An illegal immigrant student at the University of California, Berkeley, suggested “beating the s*** out of white people” Thursday. Juan Prieto, an English student at UC Berkeley, made the remark on Twitter two days after receiving Berkeley’s Robert J. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Recognition Award for Service to Undocumented Students.

A federal lawsuit brought by a so-called "Dreamer" deported to Mexico has been assigned to District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel — the jurist famously attacked by then-candidate Donald Trump over his "Mexican heritage" in a separate case involving Trump University. Judge Gonzalo Curiel US District Court Southern District of California Juan Manuel Montes, 23, filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that the government did not provide any documentation explaining the legality of sending him back to Mexico. The suit seeks documents related to his case. The case was assigned at...