Free Republic

(TNS) -- As California hurries to reopen stores, offices, restaurants and more this week, another rush is on behind-the-scenes. State health officials have launched an unprecedented effort to train thousands of front-line, county-level workers to act as a firewall to stop the coronavirus from roaring back this fall. Gov. Gavin Newsom calls them his “army of disease detectives.” Commonly known in the public health world as communicable-disease “contact tracers,” this ad hoc group will serve as community strike teams in each county, working on tight deadlines to stop individual infections from turning into major outbreaks. When someone tests positive for...

Barry, if you’re going to offer a comment, be sure you know what the hell you’re talking about. Yeah, former President Barack Obama decided to open his mouth again about the Department of Justice filing a motion to dismiss the charges against ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after it was uncovered that his DOJ goons targeted the former general on bogus evidence. Actually, there was no reason for the FBI to go after Flynn. The new documents show a slew of evidence pointing to the malicious prosecution of Flynn. Even the agents who interviewed Flynn said they felt he didn’t...

Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper dismissed the hubbub over revelations that the intelligence community spied on the Trump campaign by asserting "Trump wasn't singled out as some sort of personal vendetta. Spying on Americans is routine. I estimate that more than 100,000 different American citizens were spied on during my tenure at DNI." "We live in a dangerous world," Clapper reminded. "Enemies abound—both foreign and domestic. Those of us entrusted with defending the government from these enemies must be ever vigilant. Tapping phone lines, bugging residences, secretly video taping people in their homes and work places, blackmail,...

As facts about the Obama administration's spying and leaking are spilling out, media have a brief window of opportunity to salvage some credibility. As new details emerge about the Obama administration’s broad spying-and-leaking campaign against the incoming Trump administration, reporters have a choice to make about whether to cover this story honestly, at long last. There is a brief window of time afforded the media to get the story right. They should take advantage of it.Journalist Lee Smith already noted the seriousness of the problem facing legacy media after the implosion of the Russia collusion conspiracy theory they peddled. “Americans...

Zoom Is Now Worth More Than The 7 Biggest Airlines Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have transitioned to working—and socializing—from home. If these trends become the new normal, certain companies may be in for a big payoff.Popular video conferencing company, Zoom Communications, is a prime example of an organization benefiting from this transition. Today’s graphic, inspired by Lennart Dobravsky at Lufthansa Innovation Hub, is a dramatic look at how much Zoom’s valuation has shot up during this unusual period in history.The Zoom Boom, in Perspective As of May 15, 2020, Zoom’s market capitalization has skyrocketed to $48.8 billion, despite...

There is strong evidence that President Barack Obama’s administration improperly weaponized U.S. intelligence agencies in multiple and shocking ways against Donald Trump and other political enemies. It appears the Obama administration did this in a number of ways, including: fraudulently obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants to spy on American citizens; promoting the Democratic National Committee-funded dossier assembled by former British spy Christopher Steele that was filled with lies about Trump; politicizing intelligence analysis; leaking intelligence; and spying on political opponents and journalists. In the period when he was a presidential candidate and president-elect, Trump and his aides seemed to...

This past week, Luke Rosiak reported for the Daily Caller News Foundation on a concern expressed by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) about a 2012 motion before the FISA court to expand the sharing of intelligence collected under FISA authority. Gohmert’s concern is certainly an arresting one. He seems to hint, as quoted by Rosiak, that the motion’s real objective was somewhat buried by being inserted toward the end. And that probably isn’t an unfair reading. But the motion, in hindsight, has plenty of sizzle to it simply on its face. It has the potential to explain a lot, and to...

BERMAN: Asking for names [to be unmasked], nothing wrong with that. Unmasking in itself, nothing wrong with that. Leaking classified information — and by definition these phone calls were classified — that’s a problem, correct? CLAPPER: Absolutely, it is. BERMAN: And if anyone did leak the contents of these conversations with or without the name, that would be a problem, yes? CLAPPER: [connection ends] BERMAN: We’ve lost the shot. I wonder if we can at least get him on the phone to finish this. Let’s try to get Director Clapper back. All right, we’re gonna work on getting that shot...

Restaurants in Washington state will be required to keep a log of each dine-in customer to facilitate contact tracing during phase two of the state's coronavirus reopening plans. As part of the requirements, the log must be maintained for 30 days and must include each customer's telephone number and email address, and what time they came in to eat, according to officials.

Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper said Thursday it is “routine” to “unmask” American citizens who have been caught up in surveillance of foreign individuals as Republicans spark an uproar over allegations that officials spied on former national security adviser Michael Flynn. “Over the six and a half almost seven years when I served as DNI I would say perhaps once or twice a week perhaps,” Clapper said on CNN when asked how frequently he would request an American’s identity to be revealed. “It’s a routine thing. It’s appropriate and legitimate when you have a valid foreign intelligence...

The U.S. Constitution makes clear that the judiciary has no business second-guessing prosecutorial decisions. That’s what Michael Flynn judge Emmet Sullivan decided to do. On May 13, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a blatantly biased and unconstitutional order in the long-lasting Michael Flynn criminal case. To preserve the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers, the Department of Justice has no choice now but to seek a writ of mandamus from the D.C. Circuit Court ordering the criminal charge against Flynn dismissed and reassigning the case to another judge. On Tuesday, Judge Sullivan shocked court watchers when he entered...

FNC's Bill Hemmer repeatedly asked DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa why Joe Biden's name appears on a recently declassified list of Obama administration officials who asked to "unmask" the name of then-incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. (snip) XOCHITL HINOJOSA, DNC: First of all, this is a distraction. All you are having Republicans do right now is distract from the fact that they continue to politicize the Justice Department. I'm someone who worked there and I understand the dependence of the justice Department and yet you have thousands of justice Department employees that reacted to the Michael Flynn news and...

A former White House physician lashed out at former President Barack Obama, claiming he “weaponized the highest levels” of government to “spy” on his successor. Ronny Jackson, who is running for Congress in Texas, made the accusation after Obama weighed in on the Justice Department’s dismissal of charges against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, . . . “Every Deep State traitor deserves to be brought to justice for their heinous actions,” Jackson tweeted Tuesday. . . . Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for Obama, was shocked by Jackson’s comment. “Ronny Jackson was friends with Obama and his entire staff. I never...

Former Vice President Joe Biden and other top Obama officials received information in response to "unmasking" requests targeting retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in the final weeks of the previous administration, according to a memo declassified by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell. The list, obtained by the Washington Examiner on Wednesday, shows Biden received information at least once in response to such an unmasking request on Jan. 12, 2017

SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017

And the media know it. When former president Barack Obama told supporters last week that the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case against former White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn is a “threat to the rule of law,” he was relying wholly on the fiction, willingly propagated for years by a pliant media, that the Russia-Trump collusion probe launched by his administration was lawful and legitimate.But of course it wasn’t. A string of recently released documents have confirmed that the entire Russia-Trump investigation, which eventually entrapped Flynn and forced then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself, was an...

There’s no reason to ignore the mounting evidence that Obama administration officials were corrupt in their handling of the Trump–Russia investigation. Those sharing #Obamagate hashtags on Twitter would do best to avoid the hysterics we saw from Russian-collusion believers, but they have no reason to ignore the mounting evidence that suggests the Obama administration engaged in serious corruption. Democrats and their allies, who like to pretend that President Obama’s only scandalous act was wearing a tan suit, are going spend the next few months gaslighting the public by focusing on the most feverish accusations against Obama. But the fact is...

The FBI arrested an Arkansas professor who failed to disclose ties to the Chinese government and Chinese companies before securing funding for a NASA research project, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 63, was arrested Friday and charged with wire fraud. The Justice Department alleges that the electrical engineering professor and researcher at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville (UA) has committed fraud against NASA and the university since 1988 "by failing to disclose that he held other positions at a Chinese university and Chinese companies.” Ang faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His ties came to...

Last Friday an engineering professor at the University of Arkansas was arrested for concealing his connections with China even as he was receiving grant money from NASA. Dr. Simon Ang was part of a Chinese effort to pay American academics to share their research in China known as the Thousand Talents program. Dr. Ang is at least the fifth professor who has been arrested in connection with the Thousand Talents program in the past year: Simon Ang of the University of Arkansas, was arrested on Friday and charged on Monday with wire fraud. He worked for and received funding...

Ooooooh brother. Massive surveillance…that’s what’s been found. “MASSIVE” is the way it was sent to me. — Adam Housley (@adamhousley) May 12, 2020 Former Fox News reporter Adam Housley who originally broke the unmasking story in 2017… There will be multiple releases I’m told and as I reported and it’s now been confirmed…they started gathering intel on Flynn in 2014. — Adam Housley (@adamhousley) May 12, 2020