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Trump suggests freeing Jan 6 rioters and slams ‘miscarriage of Justice’ after Biden pardons son Hunter: Live

Biden’s announcement came after Trump unveiled more administration picks, nominating Tiffany’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs and Charles Kushner as ambassador to France

Oliver O'Connell,James Liddell,Mike Bedigan
Monday 02 December 2024 12:52 GMT
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Biden pardons son Hunter

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Donald Trump has suggested he will free the January 6 Capitol rioters as he slammed President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden as a “miscarriage of Justice.”

On Sunday, Biden announced he had pardoned his son following his federal gun conviction, saying Hunter had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Justice Department.

Biden previously insisted he would not pardon his son.

Trump blasted his rival on Truth Social: “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”

Biden’s decision has divided critics. Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis said he was “disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country” while Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks said Hunter “would not ever be prosecuted for the gun crime but for his last name.”

In other news, Trump looks set to fire the head of the FBI after tipping MAGA loyalist Kash Patel for the role. He also nominated people in his family’s orbit to join his administration including Tiffany’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs and Charles Kushner as ambassador to France.

Progressive Democrats try and chart a path after Trump

Trump’s victory saw his Republican allies flip the Senate and hold the House of Representatives by the thinnest of majorities, giving Democrats plenty of time to lick their wounds, sift through the ashes of defeat and figure out what comes next.

As various factions play the blame game, progressive Democrats who remain in Congress, albeit in the minority, are trying to offer an appealing alternative to the voters who ditched their party in November.

Eric Garcia reports:

Progressive Democrats try and chart a path after Trump

Progressives talk about appealing to the working class. What policies they will deploy is not entirely clear yet, Eric Garcia reports

Andrea Cavallier1 December 2024 17:00

Who is MAGA loyalist Kash Patel?

Donald Trump has announced he will nominate MAGA loyalist Kash Patel to lead the FBI.

Trump announced his pick of Patel, who has pledged to go after Trump’s enemies in the media, on Saturday evening.

A conspiracy theorist who wants to restrain federal law enforcement agencies, Patel has advocated for firing workers and going on a prosecution spree to fulfill Trump’s promise of retribution. He is a Trump loyalist who has railed against the so-called “Deep State.” Even among the most staunch MAGA loyalists, he is viewed as a controversial figure.

Read more:

Trump picks MAGA loyalist Kash Patel as his new FBI director

Kash Patel could only serve as FBI director if current Director Christopher Wray is fired or resigns

Andrea Cavallier1 December 2024 16:00

Critics say nomination of Patel is ‘as dangerous as it gets’

Critics expressed concern over Trump’s pick of Kash Patel to lead the FBI.

In reaction to the news, the Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols said he “believes in nothing except serving” President-elect Donald Trump and described the nomination as “as dangerous as it gets.”

“I suppose if we still have the ability to be shocked, it’s shocking,” Nichols said. “But I think this is something … many of us saw it coming and, you know, shouldn’t be that surprising. But it’s an incredibly dangerous development.”

Far-left commentator Mehdi Hasan accused Patel of being a “deeply strange and alarming and sycophantic figure.”

MSNBC’s Morning Joe previously called Patel the “personification of MAGA rage about the Justice Department and the FBI.”

Andrew McCabe, who briefly served as acting FBI director under Trump in 2017 before being fired for allegedly leaking to the media and a “lack of candor,” called the nomination “a plan to disrupt, to dismantle, to distract the FBI.”

“It’s a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning, professional, independent Federal Bureau of Investigation,” McCabe said on CNN. “The fact that Kash Patel is profoundly unqualified for this job is not even, like, a matter for debate.”

Andrea Cavallier1 December 2024 15:00

Kash Patel's nomination met with praise from Republicans

Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel as FBI director was met with enthusiasm and instant praise from Republicans.

Patel, longtime Trump loyalist, is a critic of government corruption and has blasted the bureau in the past, saying he would “shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen the next day as a museum of the deep state.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called Patel an “America First fighter.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, wrote: “Kash was INSTRUMENTAL in President Trump’s first term and will be EVEN GREATER in his second! Time to clean this place up, and Kash is the man to do it!!! MAGA!”

Andrea Cavallier1 December 2024 14:20

Elon Musk names financial watchdog government agency he wants to ‘delete’

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur turned political adviser, announced on X he intends to push Donald Trump’s administration to get rid of the Consumer of Financial Protection Bureau, a financial watchdog agency.

The noteworthy announcement, made in a nine-word response to a clip from The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, is part of Musk’s new role co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the committee advising Trump on how to cut down on government spending.

Ariana Baio has more:

Elon Musk names financial watchdog government agency he wants to ‘delete’

Musk used a clip from ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ to make the announcement

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 13:01

Pundits rip Pete Hegseth after his own mom calls him ‘an abuser of women’ then tries to take it back

Pete Hegseth, the man tapped by Donald Trump to become Defense Secretary, has come under fire from Democrats and other liberal pundits after he was branded as an “abuser of women” by his own mother.

A report from The New York Times featured a 2018 email to the former Fox News anchor from Penelope Hegseth, where she said she had “no respect” for her son and that he needed “take an honest look at yourself.”

Read more here:

Pundits rip Pete Hegseth after his own mom calls him ‘an abuser of women’

In a 2018 email to the former Fox News anchor, his mother Penelope Hegseth said she had ‘no respect’ for her son

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 12:05

Trump threatens 100 percent tariff on several nations if they try to undermine the U.S. dollar

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.

His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Read more:

Trump threatens 100% tariff on nations if they try to undermine the U.S. dollar

While the U.S. dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business, members of the alliance say they are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 10:05

Joe Rogan claims a ‘media psy-op’ is responsible for people having a negative view of Trump

Joe Rogan has claimed that a “media psy-op” is responsible for creating a negative image of Donald Trump that has “distorted” people’s perceptions of the president-elect.

The MMA commentator and popular podcast host noted an apparent shift in media treatment of the President-elect dating to a time before his first presidential term.

Read more here:

Joe Rogan claims a ‘media psy-op’ is responsible for people’s negative view of Trump

The MMA commentator and popular podcast host noted an apparent shift in media treatment of the President-elect dating to a time before his first presidential term

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 08:01

Dems want Harris to stop sending fundraising emails after burning through $1.4bn in campaign funds

Dems want Harris to stop fundraising emails after burning through $1.4bn in campaign

Harris ended her unsuccessful 2024 campaign with $20m in debt, according to reports

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 07:01

Cheryl Hines posts cringe video promoting MAHA brand as her husband RFK Jr. takes a shower

Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines showed off her self-care and “MAHA” products in front of her showering husband, in a new cringeworthy video posted to Instagram.

The 59-year-old actor and co-owner of the self-care brand Hines + Young, which she founded with her daughter Catherine Young, was filming a video to promote the company’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals at the same time Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was taking a shower.

Inga Parkel has more:

Cheryl Hines posts cringe video promoting MAHA as husband RFK Jr. takes a shower

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ star was filming a video to promote Hines + Young’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

Graeme Massie1 December 2024 06:26

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