Free Republic

NORFOLK The Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District in 2016 was indicted Wednesday on charges she lied to the state about feeding needy children. Businesswoman Shaun Brown, who has already announced plans to seek her party’s nomination next year for the same seat, faces two counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property. The federal indictment alleges the fraud is in excess of $439,000. Brown, 58, referred questions to her attorney, who said she plans to plead not guilty and defend against the allegations. “Shaun’s goal is that every child is fed,” attorney Jimmy Ellenson...

Two GOP lawmakers have joined a group of Never Trump Republicans urging the Republican National Committee to cut Donald Trump loose and focus instead on protecting Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Reps. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) have signed on to a letter with 121 other GOP operatives and former elected officials urging the RNC to divert resources away from the top of the ticket. ADVERTISEMENT “Given the catastrophic impact that Donald Trump’s losing presidential campaign will have on down-ballot Senate and House races, we urge you to immediately suspend all discretionary RNC support for Trump...

An Open Letter to Virginia Republicans: Trump Victory Catastrophic for our Republican Party Never before have I grabbed a word like catastrophic to make a political point. It's like pulling a fire alarm; if you do it, there had better be a fire. There is a fire and it's raging within our Republican party. I am convinced that if Donald Trump becomes our nominee, the harm done to our party would be nothing short of catastrophic. I reject Trump as our nominee based on his judgment, temperament and character, all of which point to a reckless, embarrassing and ultimately dangerous...

Twenty-five Republicans rebelled against John Boehner (R-Ohio), who won a third term as Speaker on Tuesday. The 25 Republicans, including three freshmen, didn't coalesce around a single alternative candidate. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), whose nomination for Speaker became public just minutes before the vote, attracted the most votes at 12. Meanwhile, the other two long-shot candidates, Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) only received three and two votes each. Additionally, freshman Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) voted "present" rather than voting for anyone. And two Republican lawmakers voted for people who aren't even members of the House: Rep. Gary...

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) is seeking the center as he runs for Iowa’s open Senate seat. Braley stressed the need for compromise and bipartisanship in an interview in his Capitol Hill office on Thursday, emphasizing his friendships with Republicans. “Our job is to work together, solve tough problems,” Braley said. “The vast majority of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives I believe share that [view] but we get locked into these positions that make it very difficult to maintain a conversation about how we can solve our differences. “I try to do that one member at a time...

Two Democratic members of the House voted with Republicans Friday to defund Obamacare and fund the government until the end of the year: Utah Rep. Jim Matheson and North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre. Matheson is the sole Democratic member of the Utah delegation, a state that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won with almost 73 percent of the vote. Matheson, on the other hand, eked out a win in 2012, beating former Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love in 2012 by fewer than 3,000 votes. Love has said she will challenge Matheson again in 2014. McIntyre’s race was even tighter: he...

Reports show the United States is ready to use military force against Syrian President Assad's regime at any moment, but Rep. Scott Rigell has written a letter to President Obama asking for a slow down in the process and to include Congress before taking action. "We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973," the letter states. "If you deem that military action in Syria is necessary, Congress can reconvene at...

A Republican lawmaker is rallying support to pressure President Barack Obama into seeking congressional authorization for military strikes against Syria. Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia is asking colleagues to sign a letter to Obama that urges him to reconvene Congress and seek approval for any military action. …

Warren Buffett has written his first check to the U.S. Treasury since announcing his pledge to match Republican donations to pay down the national debt a week ago. Carol Loomis, Fortune's senior editor-at-large and long-time friend of Buffett's, reports that the Omaha investor received a letter from Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia (pictured below). In it, Rigell details the $49,000 he had donated to Treasury in total in 2011 and 2012 and asks Buffett to match both (full letter is below). Buffett agreed (full letter below). Lest we raise your hopes that the national debt is over as an issue,...

Virginia’s Second Congressional District is home to one of our country’s most vital national defense centers and the state’s biggest city, and is one of our best opportunities to elect a Republican to Congress in November. This coastal district encompasses Virginia’s Eastern Shore along with all of Virginia Beach and parts of Hampton and Norfolk, where the largest naval base in the world is located. The historically Republican-leaning district, where George W. Bush won easily during both of his campaigns, went narrowly for Obama in the 2008 election, handing him 51% of the vote. However, in 2009, the citizens of...

Scott Rigell, running as the favorite of the GOP establishment in the Republican primary in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, donated $1,000 to Barack Obama, according to opensecrets.com, a research group that tracks money in politics. “Rigell was one of the highest Obama donors in the zip code,” Scott Taylor told HUMAN EVENTS. Taylor, a former Navy SEAL and local business owner, is also running in the Republican primary. Taylor, whose campaign slogan is “Send a SEAL not a RINO,” said, Rigell "didn’t even vote in the Republican primary, and then gave $1,000 to Barack Obama on March 10,” 2008. “In...