Single House race stands between Republicans and 1-seat majority
House Republicans could begin the new year grappling with a one-seat majority, a perilously slim margin for the 119th Congress as President-elect Donald Trump guns for an active first 100 days. Last-minute GOP losses and exits in favor of the new administration mean Republicans could begin that period with precious little room for dissent, and one congressional race could decide the difference between a likely one- or two-seat majority. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ In California’s 13th Congressional District, Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., is fighting for his political life against Democrat Adam Gray. As of Monday afternoon, Gray leads Duarte by a few hundred votes – a margin of roughly 0.1%. California state law mandates that counties certify their election results by Dec. 5. If Democrats flip the seat, the House would have 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats heading into the New Year. However, three Republican lawmakers’ departures are expected to whittle that down further. Now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the 118th and 119th Congresses amid consideration to be Trump’s attorney general. MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was tapped to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., was named national security adviser. All three lawmakers represent deep-red districts, so there is little concern their seats will fall into Democrats’ hands. However, with special elections to replace Gaetz and Waltz set for April 1, and Stefanik’s not yet scheduled, the GOP may spend nearly all of their first 100 days controlling Washington’s power centers with a one-seat majority in the House. House GOP Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., brushed off concerns about the prospects of holding a one- or two-seat edge in a recent television interview on FOX Business. REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA “That’s essentially what we’ve had over the last year, for better parts of the last year,” Emmer told “The Bottom Line.” “I’ve got to tell you, I don’t give a darn whether it’s 222, 225, 218. As long as we have a majority, we can deliver with Donald J. Trump for the American people” Ultimately, there is little daylight between a one- or two-seat majority, but if the 118th Congress is any indication, the numbers set up House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with a tricky political situation. House Republicans’ slim margins over the last two years enabled different factions of the GOP to paralyze the chamber floor at times over disagreements on government funding and other critical legislative fights. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden still believes ‘no one is above the law,’ White House says in wake of Hunter pardon
The White House today defended President Biden’s declaration in May that “no one is above the law” amid criticism of his sweeping pardon Sunday evening for son Hunter Biden following a yearslong legal saga revolving around two criminal cases. “Yes,” a White House official told Fox News Digital on Monday when asked if Biden still believes “no one is above the law” after pardoning his son. “As he said in his statement, he has deep respect for our justice system. And as a wide range of legal experts have pointed out, this pardon is indisputably within his authority and warranted by the facts of the case.” Biden posted a message to X back on May 31, one day after President-elect Donald Trump was found guilty in the Manhattan criminal trial in May, that “No one is above the law.” BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE Following his pardon of Hunter Biden from a gun case and a tax case, conservatives and others resurrected the post on social media, with Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., for example, quipping that the rule of law applies to all Americans, “Unless your last name is Biden.” REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN’S ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ CLAIM FOLLOWING HUNTER PARDON: ‘AGED LIKE FINE MILK’ “You’ve been lied to every step of the way by this Administration and the corrupt Biden family. This is just the latest in their long coverup scheme. They never play by the same rules they force on everyone else. Disgraceful,” Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., declared in response to the old Biden post. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted, “This aged like fine milk.” Biden’s May message that “no one is above the law” came as his son was preparing for his first criminal trial in Delaware, where he was accused of illegally purchasing a firearm. He was also facing another trial regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. LAWMAKERS HARSHLY CRITICIZE BIDEN’S DECISION TO PARDON HUNTER: ‘LIAR’ Biden was found guilty on June 11 of lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in 2018. He was found guilty on three charges: making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. Hunter Biden had an extensive and well-documented history with addiction, which was best captured in his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” which walked readers through his spirals with crack cocaine use. Hunter faced another trial regarding three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes in a California court in September. As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea. Earlier this year, President Biden had publicly pledged at least twice that he would not pardon his son over the charges. “Yes,” President Biden told ABC News when asked if he would rule out pardoning Hunter ahead of his guilty verdict in the gun case. TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6 HOSTAGES’ IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’ Days later, following a jury finding Hunter guilty in the firearm case, the president again said he would not pardon his son. “I am not going to do anything,” Biden said after Hunter was convicted. “I will abide by the jury’s decision.” While conservatives lambasted Biden for pardoning his son after vowing he would not take that step, some attorneys came to Biden’s defense over the pardon, including Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder. Biden wrote in his statement announcing the pardon that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated. “It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” Biden wrote in his statement. “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.” “For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” the president added. Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
US Capitol Police arrest House Democrat staff member after finding ammunition in bag
The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a member of a House Democrat’s staff Thursday morning after he allegedly tried to bring ammunition into the Cannon House Office Building. The office of Rep. Joe Morelle – who represents New York’s 25th Congressional District – told WROC that it is “fully committed to cooperating with the investigation.” “At approximately 8:45 a.m., a House staffer entered the Cannon House Office Building and put his bag through screening. USCP officers noticed what appeared to be ammunition on the x-ray screen,” Capitol Police told Fox News in a statement. “After a hand search of the bag, officers found four ammunition magazines and eleven rounds of ammunition. The staffer told the officers that he forgot the ammunition was in the bag,” the statement continued. FORMER LAWMAKER CALLS FOR COMPLETE ‘REBRAND’ OF ‘TOXIC’ DEMOCRATIC PARTY Capitol Police say Michael Hopkins, 38, is now facing charges for unlawful possession of ammunition, including one charge for possession of a high-capacity magazine. Morelle’s office said Monday morning that it was gathering more information about the arrest. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER CALLS ON PROGRESSIVES TO STOP LEAVING X “As Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, Congressman Morelle is devoted to ensuring a safe and secure workplace for all,” their statement added. Morelle’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. Morelle’s district includes the city of Rochester.
Harris campaign still asking for donations weeks after massive loss to Trump
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign still has its hand out for donations, weeks after losing the election to President-elect Trump. “With Trump nominating MAGA loyalists left and right, there is nothing more important than making sure we can fight back and hold him accountable,” an email from Kamala HQ sent to the New York Post last week read. “That’s why we need you to step up today. Yes, today.” “Our records show that you haven’t pitched in to support our Harris Fight Fund program yet,” the email continued, according to the New York Post. “We know the election didn’t turn out as we’d hoped, but we’re not backing down.” Trump was declared the victor in the presidential election last month, ultimately securing 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226, and earning the popular vote as well. The election also included the Republican Party reclaiming the Senate and maintaining control of the House. HARRIS PAID OPRAH $1 MILLION IN FAILED BID TO HELP CAMPAIGN: REPORT Weeks after the election, however, emails asking for donations keep hitting the inboxes of supporters. “Even a quick donation of $50 is enough to help us in this fight,” a fundraising email to donors two weeks after the election read, according to Politico. “And with only hours left to hit our goal today, NOW is the best time to rush your support.” “Please do not click away,” another email stated, according to the outlet. MSNBC WAS ‘UNAWARE’ HARRIS CAMPAIGN GAVE $500K TO AL SHARPTON’S GROUP AHEAD OF FRIENDLY INTERVIEW The Harris campaign kicked off in earnest at the beginning of August, after President Biden dropped out of the race amid mounting concern over his mental acuity and age. The Harris campaign raised about $1.4 billion across her few months as the Democratic nominee, but allegedly faces $20 million in debt, according to sources who spoke to Politico. The campaign denied outstanding debts as of Election Day, and won’t report owed debts in reports due to the Federal Election Commission this month, the outlet reported. The Harris campaign faced scrutiny shortly after Election Day when reports spread the campaign paid $1 million to Oprah Winfrey’s production company for a campaign event, millions of dollars on private jets, $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview on MSNBC, and other expenses. ‘$1 BILLION DISASTER’: HERE’S WHAT FEC FILINGS SHOW ABOUT HARRIS CAMPAIGN’S 3 MONTH SPENDING SPREE Political candidates ending a campaign with debt is not out of the norm, but some Democrats remarked that repeated emails calling on voters to donate following the election is likely eroding trust. “I understand that the Harris campaign is in a very difficult position with the debt that they have, and so sometimes you just have to make practical decisions,” Mike Nellis, founder of the Democratic digital firm Authentic, told Politico. “But yeah, I think that stuff like that erodes trust.” “Getting fundraising requests after any candidate has lost, when they admit that they are still millions of dollars in debt, having blown through over a billion dollars… is especially galling,” Democratic strategist Jon Reinish told the New York Post. 5 MISTAKES THAT DOOMED KAMALA HARRIS’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST TRUMP A Harris campaign official told Politico that the post-election fundraising emails do not request donors contribute any more than they did during the campaign cycle, and that some of the fundraising was necessary in order to effectively shut down the campaign while retaining some employees to ensure that mission. HOW KAMALA HARRIS’ FAILED 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN MIRRORS HER ILL-FATED 2020 CAMPAIGN As reports spread last month that the campaign was in debt, Trump trolled the Harris team on social media, calling on MAGA supporters to do “whatever we can do to help them.” “I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn’t have lots of $’s left over,” Trump posted to X days after the election last month. “Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others. Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do,” he continued, “We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media,’ and that doesn’t cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign regarding the continued donor emails and alleged millions of dollars in debt, but did not receive an immediate response.
Thomas Massie, conservative commentators vocally oppose Trump’s DEA nominee
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and multiple conservative figures are speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to serve as administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “I’m going to call ‘em like I see ’em. Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest [of] a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns,” Massie said in a post on X. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 scare. REPS MCGOVERN, MASSIE URGE BIDEN TO PARDON JULIAN ASSANGE TO ‘SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE’ ON PRESS FREEDOM “Announcing the arrest of Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, Pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, who intentionally and repeatedly disregarded state and local public health orders, which put his congregation and our community in danger,” Chronister noted in a tweet at the time. The charges were later dropped. “The State Attorney’s Office has recognized that compliance and not criminal punishment is the focus of our emergency health laws,” Chronister noted, according to reports. “Law enforcement’s intervention through arrest has been rare during this health crisis, and while it remains a necessary tool to protect the health and safety of our community, we agree that further criminal sanctions are not necessary in this instance.” In a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said, “We don’t need authoritarians who refuse to use discretion and protect the Constitution – no matter which party is in power.” TRUMP NOMINATES FLORIDA SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER TO LEAD THE DEA Conservative commentator Liz Wheeler suggested Trump should reverse course on the nomination. “Chad Chronister is a COVID tyrant who arrested a Christian pastor for holding church in person during the pandemic. Chronister held a press conference bragging about the arrest. Chronister abused his power; he’s unfit to lead the DEA. Trump should withdraw his nomination,” Wheeler declared in a tweet. Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist, called Chronister “a woke, BLM-excusing, DEI-enforcing, immigration law-ignoring buffoon. There are thousands of solid sheriffs in this country who are far more qualified to run DEA than this left-wing clown,” he added in a post on X. But Howard-Browne is enthusiastically supporting Chronister for the DEA role. FLORIDA SHERIFF WARNS OF ‘CATASTROPHIC RESULTS’ FROM HURRICANE MILTON “Chad Chronister has been my friend for many years, through good times and challenges,” Howard-Browne said in a message, directed to Trump, that he shared publicly on X. “I truly believe he acted with the intention of doing the right thing, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how he has learned and grown from those experiences. Shortly after my arrest, Sheriff Chronister called me and told me he truly missed our friendship. We met for dinner at my house and we were able to restore the friendship we had, one I will always cherish,” he continued. “His vision, resolve, and leadership make him the ideal candidate to lead the DEA, and I am proud to stand with him as he continues to serve America with passion and purpose,” Howard-Browne stated. Fox News Digital reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Monday to request comment from Chronister. “It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President @realDonaldTrump to serve as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation,” Chronister said in a post on X.
President Biden’s pardon of son Hunter a political gift for Trump going forward
Legal and political analysts are characterizing President Biden’s stunning “full and unconditional pardon” of his son Hunter as an early holiday gift for President-elect Donald Trump. “He’s essentially endorsing Trump’s long-held opinion that the Department of Justice is politicized and isn’t acting impartially,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams said of the move by Biden. In absolving his son ahead of twin sentencings on separate gun and tax convictions later this month, the president argued that the Justice Department’s handling of the cases against Hunter Biden was politicized. DID TRUMP PREDICT BIDEN PARDON OF HIS SON HUNTER? Biden said in a statement Sunday night that his son, who is a recovering addict, was “treated differently” because of who his father is. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” the president said in the statement. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” TRUMP STATEMENT ON BIDEN’S MOVE TO PARDON HIS SON Biden, in his statement, appeared to be pointing to the way the case was handled by David Weiss. He is the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney from Delaware who originally investigated Hunter Biden and was later appointed as a special counsel during the Biden administration by Attorney General Merrick Garland. While an impeachment inquiry by House Republicans that looked into the president and his son’s business relationships fizzled, Trump, during the presidential campaign, hinted at continuing to investigate the younger Biden in his second term in the White House. However, Trump will not be able to undo the pardon when he takes office. Additionally, the pardon’s sweeping nature means the next Trump Justice Department would not be able to reopen the criminal probe against Hunter Biden. However, Trump gains something arguably more valuable – political cover. Trump was heavily criticized during his first term for using pardons to protect political aides and allies – including longtime fixer Roger Stone and 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort – and relatives, including his daughter’s father-in-law, whom the president-elect named as his second term ambassador to France. Biden’s pardon of his son now gives Trump a powerful rebuttal. “Biden has endorsed this idea that the Department of Justice acts in a political way, and he’s thrown out long-held precedent when it comes to pardons,” Williams told Fox News. “He’s blowing up an institution and procedures, which is what Democrats have long criticized Trump for. They don’t have any moral authority to say that Trump is undermining institutions and changing long-held procedures. That’s what Joe Biden just did with this pardon.” The president-elect will be under pressure as he takes office next month to pardon many of those convicted of crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. Many of those convicted are still in prison. HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE EXPLOITED BY REPUBLICANS Fox News legal editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn said that “Joe Biden has lowered the bar so much here in offering this pardon to Hunter Biden, that I think Donald Trump will be able to pardon a whole host of people including Jan. 6 [defendants].” Trump, in a statement following Biden’s move, raised expectations that he should issue pardons for some of those Jan. 6 convicts. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote in a social media post Sunday night. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Biden’s pardon came 24 hours after Trump announced he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel as FBI director. Patel, a controversial pick, has long amplified Trump’s unproven claims the 2020 election was stolen and long vowed to clean house at the FBI. The move by Biden may help Trump as he works to push the nomination of Patel and Pam Bondi – a former Florida attorney general and another Trump loyalist who the president-elect named as his second pick for attorney general – through the Senate. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a leading Trump ally in the Senate, argued in a social media post that “Democrats can spare us the lectures about the rule of law when, say, President Trump nominates Pam Bondi and Kash Patel to clean up this corruption.” The Hunter Biden pardon may convince Republican senators who may have serious reservations regarding the Patel and Bondi picks to now back Trump. “I do think it makes it more likely that some of these more traditional Republican senators will be p****d off enough to help Trump confirm some of his more controversial nominees,” a Republican who works on Capitol Hill told Fox News, as he noted that “it’s the most sweeping pardon since Richard Nixon” a half a century ago.
Morari Bapu’s Ramkatha in Rajkot raises Rs 60 crore
The proceeds from this spiritual gathering will support the Sadbhavana Trust and fund the construction of the Sadbhavana Old Age Home and other charitable initiatives.
Karine Jean-Pierre faces press grilling after Biden pardons son Hunter
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced the press for the first time Monday after President Biden pardoned his son Hunter – an outcome that both Biden and Jean-Pierre previously insisted multiple times would not happen. One reporter asked Jeane-Pierre if those previous statements denying a pardon “could be seen as lies” to the American people. “One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” Jeane-Pierre said, repeatedly saying that Biden “wrestled with [the decision].” Jeane-Pierre was peppered with questions about the pardon and why Biden decided to go forward with it this weekend, mostly repeating many points in the president’s statement from Sunday night, such as Hunter was “singled out politically.” TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6’ HOSTAGES IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’ Jean-Pierre also raised the possibility of further pardons, saying that Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.” “There’s a process in place, obviously,” she told reporters. “And so, I’m not going to get ahead of the president on this, but you could expect more announcements, more pardons, clemency at the end of this term.” Jean-Pierre maintained that Hunter was targeted “because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son.” “And so the president believed enough is enough,” she said. “And the president took action, and he also believes that they tried to break his son in order to break him. That’s what we saw.” HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON’T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED Jean-Pierre took questions from reporters while aboard Air Force One en route to Luanda, Angola, where Biden was taking a three-day trip to highlight a U.S.-backed railway project in Zambia, Congo and Angola that he has pushed as a new approach in countering China’s influence and dominance of Africa’s critical minerals. Jean-Pierre had denied Biden was considering a pardon six times since July 2023. The denials came even as Hunter was being prosecuted. Jean-Pierre last repeated that her answer had not changed in November, shortly after President-elect Trump won the 2024 presidential election. “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no,” the press secretary said at the time. Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘It’s a setback’: Democrats criticize Biden over Hunter pardon
President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter has sparked criticism from some of his fellow Democrats. The move prompted a tidal wave of GOP criticism on Sunday night, but as of late Monday morning, a steady stream of Democrats had also expressed unease. “As a father, I get it. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, wrote on X. Hunter Biden’s sweeping pardon covers any and all possible crimes between 2014 and December 2024. It came as he was facing possible jail sentences over separate firearms and tax charges. LAWMAKERS HARSHLY CRITICIZE BIDEN’S DECISION TO PARDON HUNTER The 82-year-old president accused Republicans of weaponizing the justice system against his son, who he said was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” “I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz. “This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, also criticized the decision. “While as a father I certainly understand [Biden’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,” Polis said in a lengthy statement. HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, HE WILL NEVER TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED “Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.” Still, other Democratic allies of the president pushed back. “Look at the underlying facts and usual DOJ practice Governor,” former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served with Biden in the Obama administration, responded to Polis on X. In a separate post, Holder wrote, “No [U.S. attorney] would have charged this case given the underlying facts. After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been — fundamentally and more fairly — a declination. Pardon warranted.” Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said he had “mixed views” on Biden’s pardon. BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE Like Holder, Ivey argued that Hunter’s family name was a factor in the prosecutions against him but worried it could set a precedent that Republicans could use in return. “Even though I don’t think Hunter Biden would have been prosecuted under those circumstances, a pardon at this point will be used against, I think, Democrats who are pushing to defend the Department of Justice against politicizing it, which is certainly what President Trump plans to do,” Ivey told CNN on Monday morning. “I know that there was a real strong sentiment in, you know, wanting to protect Hunter Biden from unfair prosecution. But this is going to be used against us when we’re fighting the misuses that are coming from the Trump administration.”
Trump previously predicted Biden would pardon son Hunter
President-elect Donald Trump predicted back in October that President Biden would pardon his son Hunter. Trump, speaking to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin on the sidelines of a campaign rally in Arizona, was asked, “If you are president again, in the name of unity, would you consider pardoning Hunter Biden?” “I wouldn’t do anything that would be over in terms of Hunter. It’s a sad situation,” Trump responded. “I’ll bet you the father probably pardons him, let’s see what happens, but he’s a bad boy, there is no question about it,” Trump added. TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6 HOSTAGES’ IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER On Sunday, President Biden accused Republicans of unfair treatment and claimed Hunter was “treated differently” by prosecutors in announcing his decision to pardon his son. Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony firearm offenses in a Delaware trial earlier this year and then pleaded guilty to multiple felony tax offenses in September. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” the president’s statement read. 2 TIMES BIDEN SAID HE WOULD NOT PARDON SON HUNTER BIDEN “Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” he continued. “Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions.” Biden also evoked Hunter’s battle with substance abuse and asked Americans to “understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.” “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” the president continued. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”