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Jeffries wants Biden to dole out pardons for people aggressively prosecuted ‘for nonviolent offenses’

Jeffries wants Biden to dole out pardons for people aggressively prosecuted ‘for nonviolent offenses’

On the heels of President Joe Biden’s move to issue a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter Biden, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., issued a statement suggesting the president should issue pardons for individuals who faced “aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses.” “Throughout his life, President Joe Biden has fought to improve the plight of hardworking Americans struggling to live paycheck to paycheck,” Jeffries said in the statement. “Many of these people have been aggressively prosecuted and harshly sentenced for nonviolent offenses, often without the benefit of adequate legal representation. Countless lives, families and communities have been adversely impacted, particularly in parts of Appalachia, Urban America and the Heartland. “During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries continued. “This moment calls for liberty and justice for all,” he concluded. REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN’S ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ CLAIM FOLLOWING HUNTER PARDON: ‘AGED LIKE FINE MILK’ The president’s pardon of Hunter Biden covers more than a decade. The “Full and Unconditional Pardon” covers “those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024 … “ Biden has earned blowback, including from some members of his own party. ‘IT’S A SETBACK’: DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE BIDEN OVER HUNTER PARDON Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., asserted in a post on X that the president’s move “put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said that the pardon would sully the president’s reputation. DEM REP. DEAN PHILLIPS BLASTS BIDEN AFTER HUNTER PARDON, SAYS SOME PEOPLE ‘ARE INDEED ABOVE THE LAW’ “While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” the Democratic governor opined in a tweet.

Trump transition signs agreement for FBI background checks

Trump transition signs agreement for FBI background checks

President-elect Trump’s transition team has signed on to an agreement for the FBI to vet the incoming administration’s cabinet nominees, the transition team announced Tuesday. Trump’s team says it will “submit names for background checks and security clearances,” an agreement typically signed even before the election. The FBI historically vets each cabinet nominee and also handles security clearances, a process that could not begin until the agreement was made. “This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement. A number of Republicans in the Senate had been apprehensive about the transition team’s initial unwillingness to face FBI background checks, and several praised the Tuesday agreement. WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ “I think that’s good –– it’ll save them some headache,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., according to Politico. “And it’ll give the public and senators a little comfort, I think, so I’m glad to hear that.” DOJ SETTLES WITH FORMER FBI OFFICIALS OVER RELEASE OF ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS Trump and his allies have been openly critical of the FBI both on the campaign trail and since the election. Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the organization, has been a crusader against the “deep state” since Trump’s first term and has echoed Republican claims that Democrats have “weaponized” the FBI. TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS “Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday. “This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI,” he added. Patel’s name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released in 2018 that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump. “If they had gotten it right in the first place, when Devin and I and so many others were actually putting out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the left-wing agenda, there would be no reassessment,” Patel told Fox News Digital of the memo last year. “They could not have done their work in the deep state without their partners in the mainstream media, who are part of that deep state.” Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.