Joe Biden to ‘pardon Dr Anthony Fauci’ before Donald Trump puts enemies in crosshairs
President Joe Biden is considering unprecedented, sweeping pre-emptive blanket pardons of Donald Trump’s so-called ‘enemies’, including the US’s Covid Tsar, Dr Anthony Fauci.
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Joe Biden is considering sweeping pardons for so-called “enemies” in the crosshairs of Donald Trump, according to a new report.
The unprecedented pre-emptive pardons would be dolled out to Washington DC establishment figures like Dr Anthony Fauci, architect of the US’s Covid response, and Liz Cheney, Congressional investigator of the January 6 US Capitol riot.
It comes after Mr Biden shocked the political establishment with a pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, for all crimes that may have occurred over an 11-year period.
The latest break from presidential clemency norms comes after Mr Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, set off a “sense of alarm” in the White House, according to Politico.
Another candidate for a blanket pre-emptive pardon is California Democrat Adam Schiff, who spearheaded the Russiagate hoax and first impeachment that mired Mr Trump’s first term in years of investigations and litigation.
“Senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue pre-emptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials,” Political reported, adding they are “deeply concerned about a range of current and former officials who could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments.”
The potential pardon for Dr Fauci comes after a two-year US investigation into the origin of Covid-19 found the virus likely originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was heavily funded with grants from the Fauci-led National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The White House has declined to comment on the discussions.
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Joe Biden appeared to fall asleep while helming a meeting with African leaders in Angola.
As his bombshell pardon of son Hunter Biden continued to send shockwaves through the US political machine, the octogenarian president was seen aggressively resting his eyes while listening to representatives from Tanzania, Zambia and Congo.
Mr Biden embarked on a tour of Africa immediately after announcing a sweeping 11-year pardon for his son, which Donald Trump has pounced on to call for the dismissal of a criminal fraud conviction.
The incoming president-elect’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the conviction of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to pornographic film actor Stormy Daniels.
In a motion to presiding Judge Juan Merchan, Mr Trump’s lawyers said Mr Biden’s comments in his pardon “amounted to an extraordinary condemnation” of the Department of Justice.
“This is the same DOJ that co-ordinated and oversaw the politically-motivated, election-interference witch hunts targeting President Trump.” The 69-page brief also invoked the doctrine of presidential immunity — which the Supreme Court has ruled extends to “official acts” while president — and the Presidential Transition Act, among other laws, to “immediately dismiss the Indictment and vacate the jury’s verdicts.”
In his pardon, the president claimed that Hunter Biden was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Department of Justice (DOJ) “only because he is my son”.
Judge Merchan indefinitely postponed Trump’s sentencing at a hearing on November 22, given his win in the November 5 presidential election.
With Trump’s defence team filing to dismiss the case, Mr Merchan will now have to decide whether to throw out the case entirely, or to suspend any legal consequences until after the end of Trump’s upcoming term in office, which will begin on January 20.
Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg has supported the latter in light of the “unprecedented circumstances” caused by Trump’s electoral victory.
Bragg had argued during the hush money trial that Trump’s payments were made to cover up a scandal that would have tarnished his campaign in the 2016 election that Trump ended up winning over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels.
TRUMP NAMES ANOTHER BILLIONAIRE FOR NEW TEAM
Donald Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman, a billionaire online payments entrepreneur and the first private astronaut to conduct a space walk, as the next head of NASA.
The nod raises questions about potential conflicts of interest, given Isaacman’s financial ties to SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who is set to co-chair a government efficiency commission and is one of Mr Trump’s closest advisers.
Isaacman, 41, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, has emerged as a leading figure in commercial spaceflight through his high-profile collaborations with SpaceX.
He made history in September by stepping out of a Crew Dragon to gaze at Earth from the void of space while gripping the spacecraft’s exterior, during the first-ever space walk carried out by non-professional astronauts.
“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration.”
It comes a day after Mr Trump is said to have offered the role of deputy secretary of defence to another billionaire with stakes in companies that do business with the Pentagon.
Stephen Feinberg, co-founder and CEO of investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, has stakes in companies that do business with the military, the Washington Post reports.
It is not clear if Feinberg accepted the job, the Post reports, and the President-elect has not yet announced the nomination.
According to POLITICO, citing a person familiar with the decision, Feinberg has yet to accept the offer but is expected to do so.
If Feinberg accepts the role it would be another controversial pick for Mr Trump and could pose some conflicts of interest.
It comes as Mr Trump’s top adviser Jason Miller said the incoming president will take “non-stop” action in his first 100 days.
He said several top advisers including incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and “border tsar” Tom Homan “are putting together the executive orders and the policies. As President Trump said, we’re going to drill, baby, drill and secure the border – those will be day one priorities.”
He continued: “His first 100 days is going to be non-stop. There’s so many things that he’s ready to do. Because, again, we’ve never had a second-term president step in that is ready to go.”
‘NONSENSICAL’: PROSECUTOR SLAMS BIDEN AS HUNTER CASE CLOSED
A federal judge closed Hunter Biden’s firearms case as the prosecutor hit back at the “nonsensical” pardon by president Joe Biden.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika ended proceedings in a terse court order citing the executive grant of clemency, which Mr Biden said he did due to the “selective” and “unfair” prosecution.
Special Counsel David Weiss denied claims that the younger Biden was “treated differently”, saying there has never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution”.
“The Government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy. But that does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away as if it never occurred,” Weiss wrote in a filing with the US District Court for the Central District of California.
Mr Weiss argued that Hunter Biden’s tax case shouldn’t be dismissed despite the president’s pardon.
“It also does not mean that his charges should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive,” he said, adding that there was no evidence of unfair treatment in the case.
“The defendant made similar baseless accusations in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware,” he added. “Those claims were also rejected. In explaining why, the Delaware court exposed the nonsensical nature of the defendant’s selective prosecution claims.”
RFK JR FLAUNTS RIPPED FIGURE
Fitness junkie Robert F Kennedy Jr has showed off his impressive muscles in a shirtless workout video, joking he’s preparing for his confirmation hearing as US Secretary of Health.
Mr Kennedy is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and he is known for his fit lifestyle and his vaccine scepticism.
The video shows him working out with another man, pulling off impressive callisthenics moves at Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, as Eye of the Tiger plays in the background.
Mr Trump has vowed to let Mr Kennedy, who is a Covid cynic and has long disparaged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “go wild on medicines”.
TRUMP NOMINEE’S DRUNKEN ESCAPADES REVEALED
It comes as Donald Trump’s cabinet secretary pick is facing new claims of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement, and being drunk on the job.
A whistleblower report claims Pete Hegseth, who is nominated to be the Secretary of Defence, was “forced out” of positions at two veterans advocacy groups amid the claims – including being so drunk at a strip club he needed to be restrained from joining strippers on stage.
An adviser for Mr Hegseth, 44, said: “We’re not going to comment on outlandish claims laundered through The New Yorker by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr Hegseth’s. Get back to us when you try your first attempt at actual journalism.”
The bombshell report in The New Yorker came as Mr Trump faces further pressure over picks for his administration, with Mr Hegseth – already facing a sexual assault allegation – now the most likely to be rejected by the Senate following the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
The seven-page whistleblower report dates back to Mr Hegseth’s time at the Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) between 2013-2016.
It claims he was visibly intoxicated during official work events, and would categorise female staff as either “party girls” or “not party girls”.
One email contained allegations that Mr Hegseth spent donor funds on “partying” and “hook-ups”.
The incident at the Louisiana strip club ended with Mr Hegseth needing to be physically carried out, according to the report.
A female employee also alleged that Mr Hegseth ignored her allegation, against another employee, of attempted sexual assault.
In 2015, Mr Hegseth was accused in a letter of complaint that he was at a bar drunkenly shouting “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!”
Former colleagues of Mr Hegseth told The New Yorker he was forced out from the two veterans groups as a result of the behaviour.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who will lead the committee reviewing Mr Hegseth’s nomination, said the report was alarming and disqualifying.
“Much as we might be sympathetic to people with continuing alcohol problems, they shouldn’t be at the top of our national security structure.” Mr Blumenthal told The New Yorker.
“It’s dangerous. The Secretary of Defence is involved in every issue of national security. He’s involved in the use of nuclear weapons. He’s the one who approves sending troops into combat. He approves drone strikes that may involve civilian casualties. Literally life-and-death issues are in the hands of the Secretary of Defence, and entrusting these kinds of issues to someone who might be incapacitated for any reason is a risk we cannot take.”
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Originally published as Joe Biden to ‘pardon Dr Anthony Fauci’ before Donald Trump puts enemies in crosshairs
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