Free Republic

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “MTP Daily” that former President Donald Trump publicly calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release any dirt he might have on Hunter Biden in an interview with “Just the News” was “both despicable and pathetic.” Warner said, “I think it is both despicable and pathetic that Donald Trump is out appealing to a war criminal, Vladimir Putin when he is a war criminal against not only the people of Ukraine but against democracies around the world.”

Unable to pass their welfare-state expansion with a simple majority, Democrats have reportedly shelved Build Back Better for the year. Now prepare for the entire left-wing infrastructure -- politicians as well as the establishment press -- to pivot hard from the fake "social safety net" bill to the fake "voting rights" bill, which will quickly become the most vital piece of legislation in the history of the republic. Just earlier today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, who not long ago heralded the mere framework of Build Back Better as "by far the most significant piece of legislation ever passed...

Five Democratic senators have told the White House they won't support Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, effectively killing her nomination for the powerful bank-regulator position.Why it matters: The defiant opposition from a broad coalition of senators reflects the real policy concerns they had with Omarova, a Cornell University law professor who's attracted controversy for her academic writings about hemming in big banks.Their opposition also hints at a willingness of some Democratic senators to buck the White House on an important nomination, even if it hands Republicans a political — and symbolic — victory.Republicans...

FBI agents are at the home of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, the agency confirmed Tuesday. The agents are conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at Deripaska’s home in Washington, D.C., an FBI spokeswoman told CNBC. The spokeswoman did not provide additional details about the FBI presence. Multiple agents were seen restricting access to the property, NBC News reported.

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a bipartisan infrastructure deal with moderate senate Republicans and Democrats after meeting with them briefly at the White House. “We had a really good meeting and to answer your direct question, we have a deal,” Biden announced, standing with the group of senators Biden met briefly with the group to seal his support for the deal after the White House announced a framework deal for a bipartisan agreement Wednesday evening. The president celebrated the bipartisan nature of the deal, even though he said it was not all of the proposed spending that he asked...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his optimism on a bipartisan infrastructure bill was “short-lived” following President Joe Biden’s remarks that he would consider vetoing the bill if it doesn’t include a sweeping reconciliation package. His comments came shortly after Biden endorsed the bipartisan deal to spend $1.2 trillion over eight years before stating that “If only one comes to me, this is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it“ McConnell accused Biden of “caving” to the far left following the bipartisan breakthrough and offering mixed messaging on the matter.

Republican and Democratic (Senate) leaders said that incidents similar to the suspected “directed” radio frequency attacks on U.S. diplomats in recent years appear to be increasing. Sens. ( Mark Warner (D-Va.)) and Marco (R-Fla.) said they’ve been aware for nearly five years about mysterious attacks targeting U.S. government (officials in Havana Cuba) and elsewhere. Some have speculated that it may be a type of “sonic weapon,” and victims are said to develop illnesses known as “Havana syndrome.”“This pattern of attacking our fellow citizens serving our government appears to be increasing. The Senate Intelligence Committee intends to get to the bottom...

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) was one of five Senate Democrats withholding support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act—until yesterday.While participating in this virtual event, Senator Manchin announced he’s now signing on as a co-sponsor, saying, "I look forward to working with my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to move this bill through a legislative process.”What an act of betrayal. Unsurprisingly, another holdout— Senator Angus King (I-ME)—also threw freelancers under the bus last week.Business groups immediately rebuked him. "It is very disappointing that Senator Manchin has chosen to side with union bosses over West Virginia’s workers...

In this 2013 image, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner, left, and Tim Kaine talk to each other on their way to Senate Recording Studio aboard a small subway at U.S. Capitol in Washington. On the eve of the anniversary of the worst mass shooting in Virginia history, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, are asking Congress to follow the state’s lead in enacting restrictions on the purchase and use of firearms. Kaine, who was governor when a lone gunman killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech in 2007, joined with Warner, his predecessor as governor, to introduce...

The man accused of trying to extort $25 million from Rep. Matt Gaetz’s family admitted Monday that he asked the congressman’s dad for cash — but denied that it was a shakedown. Bob Kent, an ex-Air Force intelligence officer, confirmed to Sirius Radio host Michael Smerconish that he approached the Florida Republican’s dad, Don Gaetz, for money last month. The funds, Kent said, were to pay for an effort to free Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007, and is believed to be dead. Kent claimed he has video evidence that Levinson is still alive...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help now-U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign, a Senate intelligence panel report said on Tuesday. WikiLeaks played a key role in Russia’s effort to assist Republican Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton and likely knew it was helping Russian intelligence, said the report, which is likely to be the most definitive public account of the 2016 election controversy. The report found President Vladimir Putin personally directed the Russian efforts to hack computer networks and accounts affiliated with...

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) is about to become the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and regardless of his current disposition the deepest part of the deep state will have full blackmail control over every aspect of his activity. To understand just how severely compromised Senator Warner is it becomes necessary to review why, when and how his corrupt legislative engagements with the intelligence apparatus took place. Keep in mind all dates connect. All dates are important. “You’ve got Bill Priestap on Feb. 15th, 2018, with four other people from the FBI briefing this Senate Intel Committee,...

Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo has filed a defamation suit against GOP U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Gade, asserting that during an Oct. 3 debate at Norfolk State University Gade falsely accused him of being "a known segregationist" and a "racist judge." The suit asserts: "Gade also stated that Cavedo had written that 'Black people are parasites' who would suck billions of dollars out of our economy.' None of these statements are true." Cavedo, citing damage to his personal and professional reputation, seeks $2 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. Gade's campaign has said his assertions...

I sent this comment to Sen's Warner and Kaine. Despite the interesting theories of Sen. Coons and others, Judge Barrett is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. Her appointment was constitutionally correct and in accordance with precedent. She should be confirmed in the same spirit of comity and bipartisanship as Justices Kagan and Sotamayor. I received the following unasked for response from Warner: Sen. Mark Warner [donotreply@warner.senate.gov] Thank you for contacting me regarding the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding...

Former CIA Director John Brennan personally edited a crucial section of the intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and assigned a political ally to take a lead role in writing it after career analysts disputed Brennan's take that Russian leader Vladimir Putin intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump clinch the White House, according to two senior U.S. intelligence officials who have seen classified materials detailing Brennan’s role in drafting the document. The explosive conclusion Brennan inserted into the report was used to help justify continuing the Trump-Russia “collusion” investigation, which had been launched by...

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Sunday called on President Trump to disavow the far-right conspiracy movement QAnon – just days after the president said supporters of movement “love our country.”

On Tuesday August 18th, I had the opportunity to talk to, be interviewed by and brief, the person described as the “main guy”, the “central investigator”, “the guy who coordinates all investigative aspects” behind the John Durham investigation. His name is William Aldenberg, and before getting to the substance of the conversation some background context is needed. On June 7, 2018, an indictment against Senate Intelligence Committee Security Director James Wolfe was unsealed. Approximately six weeks later, July 21, 2018, the DOJ mysteriously declassified and publicly released the Carter Page FISA application. That’s when I noticed the first two documents...

In January of 2017 California Senator Dianne Feinstein abdicated her position as Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Upon the initiation of a new congress, and two weeks before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Virginia Senator Mark Warner took the SSCI Vice-Chair seat…. and that’s how things get started. Amid a concerted effort to resist the incoming administration the Russia Collusion Conspiracy was launched. Politicians, the U.S. intelligence apparatus and DC beltway media united in common purpose to push a Trump-Russia narrative. Within the early days of that effort, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence initiated...

In January of 2017 California Senator Dianne Feinstein abdicated her position as Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Upon the initiation of a new congress, and two weeks before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Virginia Senator Mark Warner took the SSCI Vice-Chair seat…. and that’s how things get started. Amid a concerted effort to resist the incoming administration the Russia Collusion Conspiracy was launched. Politicians, the U.S. intelligence apparatus and DC beltway media united in common purpose to push a Trump-Russia narrative. Within the early days of that effort, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence initiated...

The sweeping hack of verified Twitter accounts Wednesday night was one of the largest security lapses in the platform’s history and led to thousands of users being partially locked out for hours. But the social media giant, and its users, may have gotten off easy. Now lawmakers and top officials are mulling how to ensure Twitter is not hacked by groups with more malicious intentions and how to protect other potential cyber targets from the same fate. The conversation has taken on a particular urgency as geopolitical tensions increase during the COVID-19 pandemic with only months left until a presidential...