Free Republic

Top aides to Biden secretly hatched a plan this past fall to replace White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre by recruiting outside allies to nudge her out the door ... Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 by becoming the first black and first openly gay person to hold the position, had developed the exasperating habit of reading canned answers directly from a binder to reporters at her regular briefings — offering what her superiors viewed as a less-than-compelling pitch for the 81-year-old Biden as he readied his re-election campaign. De facto White House communications chief Anita Dunn, 66, the...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the US is sending Ukraine its largest aid package to date — worth $6 billion — that will include munitions for Patriot missile defense systems that Kyiv has said could change the course of the war, but not the systems themselves. The massive package comes just two days after a separate $1 billion tranche for Ukraine was announced upon President Biden signing a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental funding bill into law. “The announcements this week underscore America’s enduring commitment to Ukraine’s defense,” Austin said after a meeting of the Ukraine...

Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday afternoon said he will consider four new Trump gag order violations as he weighs whether to hold the former president in contempt. ..... Snip..... [Amee Vanderpool @girlsreallyrule · Merchan signed an Order to Show Cause compelling Trump to attend a hearing on three new alleged gag order violations. (Below 1 & 2) Merchan has yet to rule on the prosecution's earlier motion alleging ten violations and now there are new ones. (3 & 4) 8:19 AM · Apr 26, 2024]

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said the U.S. Supreme Court should be moved to the Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters, after some conservative justices suggested being open to arguments in favor of presidential immunity from prosecution for former President Trump. “They’re politicians who are not even subject to popular election, unlike me,” Raskin said during his Thursday appearance on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut.” “They should move the Supreme Court over to the RNC headquarters because they’re acting like a bunch of partisan operatives.” Raskin’s assessment comes as D. John Sauer, the attorney representing Trump in Thursday’s arguments regarding the former president’s immunity,...

George Soros and his hard-left acolytes are paying agitators who are fueling the explosion of radical anti-Israel protests at colleges across the country.The protests, which began when students took over Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus lawn last week, have mushroomed nationwide.Copycat tent cities have been set up at colleges including Harvard, Yale, Berkeley in California, the Ohio State University and Emory in Georgia — all of them organized by branches of the Soros-funded Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — and at some, students have clashed with police.

An anti-Israeli protester has sparked horror after being photographed at George Washington University with a sign calling for the “final solution,” the Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews. The unidentified man was seen mingling among students on the Washington, DC, campus carrying a huge Palestinian flag — and the sign with the expression Adolf Hitler used to sum up his plan for the “annihilation of the Jews.” The image quickly sparked outrage from many shocked at a term used during the Holocaust. “The parallels between this movement and actual Nazism is real and scary,” one X user wrote.

If you glanced at the New York Times today, you might be shocked at the “real news” they featured. In a rare burst of honesty and clarity, the Old Gray Hag actually let a well-respected legal professor from Boston University publish an opinion piece. This piece didn’t just poke holes in Alvin Bragg’s sham “hush money” case—it blasted it into a pile of dust. The professor called it not only a legal embarrassment but a historic mistake. Ouch. His name is Professor Shugerman, and while he was never onboard with Biden’s show trial, led by Fat Alvin Bragg, after what...

President Biden has introduced a change to his White House departure and return routine. Instead of walking across the South Lawn to and from Marine One by himself, he's now often surrounded by aides. Why it matters: With aides usually walking between Biden and journalists' camera position outside the White House, the visual effect is to draw less attention to the 81-year-old's halting and stiff gait. Zoom in: Some Biden advisers have told Axios they're concerned that videos of Biden walking and shuffling alone — especially across the grass — have highlighted his age. Weeks ago the president told aides...

U.S. troops have begun construction of a pier to be used to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday. “I can confirm that U.S. military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. The news came on the same day Palestinian terrorists fired mortars at United Nations officials as they toured the proposed pier site, as Breitbart News reported.

resident Biden's latest proposal to hike the top capital gains tax rate to its highest level in more than a century is facing heavy criticism from experts who warn such an action could significantly harm the U.S. economy. According to a report issued by the Treasury Department, led by Secretary Janet Yellen, the president's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget would increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to a staggering 44.6%. A capital gains tax hike of that magnitude would take the rate to its highest level since it was first introduced in the early...

SCOTUS Justices wrestled with how to define a president’s ‘official’ versus ‘private’ acts. A decision may delay President Trump’s trial, which would hand him a win. The Supreme Court seemed skeptical on April 25 of former President Donald Trump’s claim that he should receive absolute criminal immunity, but it appeared to be open to allowing some level of immunity for presidents. Conservative justices seemed poised to remand the case back to the district court in Washington with instructions on what constitutes official and private acts for further fact-finding proceedings. This would further delay President Trump’s trial in Washington and possibly...

The Justice Department notified Congress on Thursday that it will not comply with a subpoena for audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur. In an 11-page letter, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte rejected claims from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) that the recordings contain information relevant to the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into the 81-year-old president. Jordan and Comer have threatened to launch contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland if the DOJ does comply with the subpoena. Uriarte argued that the DOJ has complied, by releasing transcripts of...

An adage learned early in the career of a trial attorney is, “if the law is not on your side, argue the facts, and if the facts are not on your side, argue the law, but if neither the facts nor the law are on your side, make sure you get your fee up front and in cash,” because you are almost certain to lose your case. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is paid by Big Apple taxpayers regardless of whether he wins or loses a case, but he deserves to lose the so-called “hush money” case against former President...

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggested Thursday during oral arguments regarding presidential immunity that criminalizing individuals just because they question government-run elections would destabilize true democracy. Special counsel Jack Smith indicted former President Donald Trump for questioning the administration of the 2020 election. The high court is now hearing challenges as to whether presidents have immunity from criminal prosecutions for actions taken while in office that fall within the scope of their presidential duties. “Let me end with just a question about, what is required for the functioning of a stable democratic society, which is something that we all want?”...

Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said Thursday on CNN’s “The Lead” that the Supreme Court acted like “partisan hacks” during the oral arguments on Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution. Host Jake Tapper said, “Justices signaled today that they were skeptical of Trump’s claim that he had complete immunity for anything he did that was an official act. But they also pushed back on how the special counsel framed the case. How likely do you think it is that the court’s going to try to reach a middle ground ruling that might push this trial beyond November’s election,...

Secret Service agent on Vice President Kamala Harris’ security detail has been removed from their assignment for behavioral issues, including reportedly acting aggressive with other agents. According to a report, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the agent's removal from the detail but declined to elaborate on the agent's actions. “At approximately 9 a.m. April 22, a U.S. Secret Service special agent supporting the Vice President’s departure from Joint Base Andrews began displaying behavior their colleagues found distressing. The agent was removed from their assignment while medical personnel were summoned," he said in the statement. "The Vice President...

The House Judiciary Committee released a new report on Thursday which accuses Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing a political prosecution against former President Donald Trump. "[Since] at least 2018, the DANY has weaponized the criminal justice system, scouring every aspect of President Trump’s personal life and business affairs, going back decades, in the hopes of finding some legal basis—however far-fetched, novel, or convoluted—to bring charges against him," the report concluded. "When one legal theory would not pan out, instead of discontinuing its politically motivated investigation, the DANY simply pivoted to a new theory, constantly searching for a crime—any...

Conservative skeptics of funding the war in Ukraine predict the bill signed into law this week will be the last major U.S. aid package for Kyiv that passes. The GOP critics of the package acknowledge that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) won this round of the debate by pushing $61 billion for Ukraine through Congress. But they argue that if President Biden comes back with another request, he’ll go away empty-handed. “If Ukraine thinks that it’s getting another $60 billion supplemental out of the United States Congress, there’s no way,” said Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who led the opposition...

Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Thursday before the Supreme Court that droning American citizens is permissible because Obama’s DOJ said so, whereas questioning election results isn’t OK because the government also says so. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the scope of presidential immunity after special counsel Jack Smith alleged that former President Donald Trump should be tossed in jail for questioning the administration of the 2020 election. Justice Brett Kavanaugh posed a series of hypotheticals to DOJ attorney Michael Dreeben about the scope of presidential authority, asking whether Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon in 1976 could have...

Justice Kavanaugh asks DOJ Lawyer if Barack Obama should be prosecuted over his use of drone strikes against civilians