Free Republic

In a bizarre episode, Sam Nunberg, a former aide to Donald Trump, vowed Monday not to cooperate with the special counsel investigating Russian political interference even as he suggested that the president "may have done something" improper during the campaign. But after speaking with several reporters and appearing on multiple cable television shows over the course of the day, Nunberg began to back down from his threats to ignore a subpoena to testify before a grand jury.

<p>On Wednesday, a nasty piece of character assassination summited YouTube's trending list. The video spread like a rash, and not just among those sympathetic to its wingnut paranoia. If the comments on YouTube and in the media were any indication, it also fascinated hate-watchers.</p>

Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has agreed to plead guilty to fraud-related charges and will testify against former colleague and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, according to the Los Angeles Times. Gates was going to plead not guilty after being indicted in October alongside Manafort but now reportedly has reached a deal to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller, the Times reported. Gates served as the deputy campaign manager for the Trump campaign. Both were indicted for hiding millions in Ukraine-based payments from U.S. authorities. The plea deal is the latest development surrounding the Mueller’s probe into Russian interference...

As Marvel's latest superhero movie, "Black Panther," draws praise and rakes in millions of dollars at the box office, Twitter trolls have emerged across the country attempting to stoke racial division by spreading false reports about the film's largely African American fans. Over the last few days, users have posted false claims that they were attacked by blacks while going to see "Black Panther," the first movie from Marvel Studios led by a predominantly black cast. "It's very unfortunate that a film that is poised to become a cultural icon is being marred by this fake news," said Darnell Hunt,...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) This past week saw the fake news media have what probably was its fakest week ever – which is saying an awful lot – and here a few of the highlights: The fake news media, lacking any other negative story on which to focus in order to avoid reporting on the massive, mushrooming scandal of corruption at DOJ and the FBI, spent the first several days of the week hammering the Rob Porter story. While Porter’s likely a wife-abusing turd who needed to be fired and needs to be punished, that hardly...

Journalist Carl Bernstein on Sunday expressed doubts that President Trump would sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, citing the president’s “compulsive, continual lying.” “I think many of us will believe it when we see him sit down with Mueller. Look, we have no reason to believe almost anything that DT says. What is so extraordinary about him and his presidency is the incessant, compulsive, continual lying,” Bernstein said on CNN. “We’ve never had a president who lies like this, certainly in the modern era. Even Nixon,” the Watergate reporter added.

ANALYSIS/OPINION: One of the more disconcerting revelations from the long-anticipated FISA memo released by the House Intelligence Committee Friday was that the FBI had barely begun a verification process of the Russian dossier when they used it to justify a FISA surveillance warrant on Carter Page. Meanwhile the media refused to publish the dossier allegations because they could not be verified. In short: The media had higher standards than the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The dossier, a compilation of political opposition research compiled at the behest of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign, was peddled to multiple media outlets in...

Paying union dues and baking a wedding cake may not seem like classic examples of free speech—except perhaps at the Supreme Court. This year, the high court is poised to announce its most significant expansion of the 1st Amendment since the Citizens United decision in 2010, which struck down laws that limited campaign spending by corporations, unions and the very wealthy.

From Chris Volkay Lifelong L.A. resident 2/7/2018 Hello Dr. Soon-Shiong, Congratulations on buying the Los Angeles Times. Okay, celebration is over. Now down to business. I do not know what your political orientation is, probably like just about everyone in print media, liberal/leftist, I would surmise. Not that you asked, but my suggestions would be these. First, cut the roles of these delusional, wishful-thinking, fantasy prone, self-righteous narcissistic lefties that now control the Times. They really are quite horrific. The Times is so far out of touch endeavoring to transmogrify reality it's laughable. They are supported mainly by their buddies...

The Rise of the #MeToo-Toos: It would be laughable if it were not so cunning in intent: the Journalist Protection Act to protect reporters from the “toxic environment” supposedly created by President Donald Trump, who truthfully accuses media outlets like CNN of reporting “fake news”. If California Democrat Eric Swalwell gets his way—and with Maxine Waters among 12 other Congressional Democrats on his side, who’s to say he won’t—it will now be a federal crime to “intimidate” or attack journalists.

The Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Times is expected to announce it is selling the newspaper, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, in a surprise move that probably spells the end of its long-troubled relationship with Southern California’s leading news outlet. [Snip] The past few months have been particularly chaotic at the Times, with rapid turnover in the paper’s top ranks and a major clash between management and journalists over a proposal to have more non-staffers contributing more news content. [Snip] The paper’s future has been clouded since Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy court protection in 2008....

Link to his post, which he has since deleted: https://twitter.com/jonathantasini/status/958765928602157056

Obama, Ayers, and PLO supporters toast Edward Said's successor, but the press doesn't think it's quite as newsworthy as Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Let’s try a thought experiment. Say John McCain attended a party at which known racists and terror mongers were in attendance. Say testimonials were given, including a glowing one by McCain for the benefit of the guest of honor … who happened to be a top apologist for terrorists. Say McCain not only gave a speech but stood by, in tacit approval and solidarity, while other racists and terror mongers gave speeches that reeked of hatred for an...

Many of the country’s top media outfits blamed the Democratic Party for allowing the government to shutdown instead of bridging a budget impasse with Republicans in the Senate.

Conservative Republicans are pushing to release a memo containing classified information about the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, sparking new controversy in a case that has already caused deep partisan rifts. The contents of the four-page memo, which was written by staff working with Rep. Devin Nunes have not been publicly revealed. But President Trump’s allies in Congress say that they are explosive. Democrats on the committee have dismissed the memo as a dishonest attempt to undermine the Russia investigation, and Rep. Jackie Speier called it a “pack of lies.” Rep. Matt Gaetz said the information...

The Los Angeles Times posted an article yesterday suggesting that Donald Trump's presidency and the future of the Republican Party is in danger...because of white college graduates. Their argument? This demographic, who once supported Trump, has had enough of the President's 'shenanigans.' Republican hopes for keeping control of the U.S. Senate next year will hinge on affluent, mainly white suburbs like Summerlin, Nev., where Trump’s unpopularity is weighing on GOP Sen. Dean Heller in his run for reelection. It’s an open question whether the Republican Party — encumbered by Trump’s often racially charged cultural appeals to blue-collar voters — has...

he chairman of the company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News has awarded himself $15 million in consulting contracts for the publishing conglomerate, according to an SEC filing.

<p>“I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who’ve been here for a quarter of a century … [and] separate them from their families and expel them,” Gingrich said during a discussion about illegal immigration and border security. “I do believe we should control the border. I do believe we should have very severe penalties.”</p>

s a youthful looking 42-year-old, Jeff Glor is the youngest anchor of “CBS Evening News” since Douglas Edwards first sat in the chair in 1948. It’s not all they have in common. Edwards was a veteran radio journalist who was asked to move over to television when it was still a young, emerging medium. Glor, who took over the broadcast on Monday, has a mandate to lead the flagship evening newscast into the digital future. The assignment comes as the evening news format is fighting to remain vital in an age when smartphones can provide headlines and video instantly. CBS...

Late last week, U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., tweeted that the NRA is increasingly becoming a domestic security threat. Her exact words: I'm just going to say it. #NRA & @DLoesch are quickly becoming domestic security threats under President Trump. We can't ignore that. Rice’s proclamation does two things: First, it makes her but the latest in a long line of liberal politicians who have decided to attack the NRA instead of dealing with examples of leftist-inspired violence uncovered by the NRA. Secondly, it insults the whole of NRA's membership, as the NRA is not an abstraction but a...