Free Republic

The largest undercover force the world has ever known is the one created by the Pentagon over the past decade. Some 60,000 people now belong to this secret army, many working under masked identities and in low profile, all part of a broad program called "signature reduction." The force, more than ten times the size of the clandestine elements of the CIA, carries out domestic and foreign assignments, both in military uniforms and under civilian cover, in real life and online, sometimes hiding in private businesses and consultancies, some of them household name companies.

A new Maine bill was passed by the state legislature on Wednesday that would tie Maine’s Electoral College votes for president to the country’s popular vote. The bill narrowly passed the state’s lower chamber in a 73-72 vote. It was then approved by the state Senate, and it now heads to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), who has not indicated whether she will sign the legislation. If she does, the state would join a national movement where each state in the agreement would assign their Electoral College votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. “The...

Far-left NY judge Juan Merchan Monday night expanded Trump’s gag order and barred the former president from criticizing his family members. Last week Judge Merchan hit Trump with a gag order. Merchan ordered Trump to refrain from making any public statements about witnesses and jurors in the Stormy Daniels case. Alvin Bragg accused Trump of violating the gag order when he criticized Merchan’s daughter even though she isn’t a witness or a juror. President Trump last Wednesday said the daughter of the far-left judge who just hit him with a gag order in the Stormy Daniels ‘hush payment’ case posted...

Prosecutors in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office said President Trump violated Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order when he criticized the judge’s daughter on social media. The far-left judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ trial hit President Trump with a gag order on Tuesday. Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to refrain from making any public statements about witnesses and jurors in the Stormy Daniels case. Trump criticized Merchan’s daughter and now Bragg’s office wants the judge to “clarify or confirm” the scope of his gag order. President Trump’s attorneys said the former president didn’t violate the gag order because Loren...

Finance expert John Williams has recently analyzed California's new tax policies, which include the introduction of a wealth tax targeting affluent residents and an exit tax for those relocating out of the state.

On March 8, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman decided against a federal ban on gun ownership for illegal immigrant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores. The case at hand centered on Carbajal-Flores, who was “charged with possession of a firearm while illegally or unlawfully in the United States.” He had a handgun in his possession “in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois,” on June 1, 2020. He was charged for being a non-citizen in possession for a firearm.

A Lubbock, Texas federal judge ruled Tuesday that lawmakers unconstitutionally passed the $1.7 trillion government funding bill in 2022 when they did so under a pandemic-era rule allowing members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the matter by proxy instead of in person. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, requested the courts to block a provision of the funding bill that gave pregnant workers stronger legal protections. U.S. District Judge Wesley Hendrix reviewed the request and gave a "limited" ruling on one of two provisions Paxton sought to have blocked. Hendrix, who was appointed by former...

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) certainly felt a sense of validation and victory on Tuesday when U.S. District Judge James Hendrix ruled that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 violated the Quorum Clause included in Article 1 Section 5 of the Constitution. The act was sent to President Joe Biden on December 28, 2022, and he signed it the next day. The state of Texas had brought the case against Attorney General Merrick Garland and others, with the trial taking place in January of this year. According to a press release from Roy's office, this was "the first time in American...

Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that six Republicans are on his shortlist for a potential running mate and vice president at a town hall on Monday. In his first hint at who could be his Vice President if he wins the election in November, Trump's list included two former opponents and an ex-Democrat. Trump, 77, confirmed Florida Governor and one-time foil Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina are all among the ex-rivals being considered. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Florida Republican Byron Donalds, and former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard are on his shortlist....

Former President Donald Trump must pay nearly half a billion dollars as a bond to New York State before he can appeal the ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron last week that he must pay $354 million in fines — over $450 million, with interest — for fraud. Critics have noted that Trump is the only person ever to be sued under an obscure New York fraud statute that does not require any harm be done, and that effectively criminalizes the everyday practice of real estate valuations in negotiations with banks. Though Attorney General Letitia James — who ran for office...

In an unusual session held on Super Bowl Sunday, the US Senate voted to move forward a substantial $95 billion aid package that will support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with no southern border security provisions. The package includes $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. The vote garnered support from RINOs, with a final tally of 67-27.According to The Hill, Schumer offered Republicans the chance to vote on amendments in exchange for expediting the legislative process.“By a vote of 67-27, The Senate invoked cloture on Murray substitute amendment 1388 to H.R.815, legislative vehicle for supplemental appropriations,” the Senate...

A trio of senators on Sunday released a bipartisan immigration agreement with the White House that would give the president far-reaching powers to clamp down on unlawful border crossings, including the authority to turn away migrants without allowing them to request asylum. The President always had the power. That’s the first lie. Saying the President pivoted is the next lie. It’s an appearance of a pivot to get funding for foreign nations while giving very little to the USA. It’s also throwing a lifeline to Joe Biden to help him get elected. CBS claims it restricts the asylum system. It...

In a stunning turn of events, the Federal Court has delivered a significant blow to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government by deeming the use of the Emergencies Act during the Freedom Convoy protests as unconstitutional. This ruling comes after two years of the Trudeau regime and media labeling the truckers as illegal, only to face a resounding judgment from the court. The saga began with Trudeau and the regime media consistently referring to the truckers as illegal over the past two years. However, the tables turned dramatically when the Federal Court declared Trudeau's violent response during the protests as...

It’s no joke. Humorous and quirky messages on electronic signs will soon disappear from highways and freeways across the country. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has given states two years to implement all the changes outlined in its new 1,100-page manual released last month, including rules that spells out how signs and other traffic control devices are regulated. Administration officials said overhead electronic signs with obscure meanings, references to pop culture or those intended to be funny will be banned in 2026 because they can be misunderstood or distracting to drivers. The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department...

Seriously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Post See new posts Conversation Greg Price @greg_price11 BREAKING: Ray Epps, the only January 6 protester who actually told people to go into the Capitol, has been officially sentenced to one year probation, $500 restitution, and 100 hours community service. While many J6 protesters are rotting in jail for non-violent crimes, Epps escapes a prison term entirely. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie Ray Epps, the man who directed people to go into the Capitol and privately claimed credit for orchestrating the Capitol breach, gets one year probation. Nothing to see here! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remember this? Ray Epps, the one guy...

The federal court set to hear Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Donald Trump has told the lawyers to be prepared to answer questions on the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment. Ed Meese, former attorney general under President Reagan, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case against Trump on Tuesday, arguing that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Smith — a private citizen — is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution "Not properly clothed in the authority of the federal government, Smith is a modern example of the naked emperor. Illegally appointed, he has no more...

Former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese has filed a Supreme Court brief arguing that Special Counsel Jack Smith has no legal authority to prosecute President Donald Trump. Meese, who served under President Ronald Reagan, argues that Smith’s appointment was illegal. According to Meese, Democrat President Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland was not authorized by law to appoint a private citizen, like Smith, with the sweeping prosecutorial power he has been given. As such, Smith’s current petition for the Supreme Court to fast-track Trump’s January 6 immunity claims should be ignored. The amicus brief from Meese runs over 30 pages...

Earlier this week, the Colorado State Supreme Court determined in a 4-3 ruling that Trump is ineligible under the 14th Amendment to appear on the ballot in the state. This nonsensical ruling essentially declares that even though Trump has never been convicted of, much less tried with sedition or participating in an insurrection, he is nevertheless guilty of such. The ruling is bound to be taken up by the Supreme Court, and experts on both sides of the aisle believe it will be promptly overturned. But that doesn't change the fact that four justices in the highest court in the...

As Smith was hired directly by current AG Merrick Garland, the correct constitutional process of appointment by the President, and confirmation by the full U.S. Senate never took place. . . . the various legal actions undertaken by Smith under color of law “can be taken only by persons properly appointed as federal officers to properly created federal offices. Neither Smith nor the position of Special Counsel under which he purportedly acts meets those criteria. But perhaps the most damning and dismissive statement of Smith’s unconstitutional appointment comes from the text of the brief itself stating that “Not clothed in...

The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to ban former President Trump from the state’s primary ballot undermines a “bedrock principle” of American democracy, one of the court’s Democrat-appointed justices wrote in a fiery dissent. Justices Carlos Samour, Maria Berkenkotter and Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright all dissented, but Samour was particularly critical of the 4-3 ruling. Samour and Boatright were each appointed by Democratic former Gov. John Hickenlooper, while Berkenkotter was appointed by current Gov. Jared Polis, also a Democrat. “The decision to bar former President Donald J. Trump — by all accounts the current leading Republican presidential candidate (and reportedly...