© Carlos Osorio and Matt Rourke, Associated Press |
Trump-Cheney feud intensifies as pardon debate rages
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THE PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS DRAMA that has gripped Washington kicked back to life Monday, with the feud between between President-elect Trump and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) becoming the nexus point in a debate over executive clemency and a weaponized justice system.
President Biden is considering preemptive pardons and immunity for allies and Trump critics, with Cheney thought to be among the names under potential consideration. In a Sunday interview with NBC, Trump alleged Cheney and other members of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot deleted or destroyed records that he says would have changed the political narrative around what happened that day.
In the interview, Trump also accused the media of ignoring and refusing to investigate the allegations that the Jan. 6 select committee hid or destroyed some evidence.
Trump said he would not explicitly direct Kash Patel and Pam Bondi — his picks to lead the FBI and Department of Justice, respectively — to go after Cheney or other members of the committee. However, Trump said investigations would likely be warranted.
“If [Patel and Bondi] think that somebody was dishonest or crooked or a corrupt politician, I think he probably has an obligation to do it,” Trump said.
Cheney fired back in a statement on Monday.
“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power…Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.” |
While many Democrats fear Trump will use law enforcement and the justice system to retaliate against his opposition, they’re by no means unified behind the idea of Biden issuing preemptive pardons.
“I think preemptive pardons seem to imply guilt,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewalt. Auchincloss praised Cheney for standing up to her own party and said she hasn’t done anything to warrant criminal charges.
“I don’t think she needs, or probably wants, a pardon. I think she should be celebrated.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she’s worried about Trump going after his opponents — but she’s also worried about the precedent Biden might set by issuing preemptive pardons.
“I am not a fan of these. I didn’t like the pardon of the president’s son; I didn’t think that that was prudent,” she told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “But I also am very concerned about what Trump is going to do with this Justice Department.”
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PARDONS BECOMING THE NORM? |
Biden and Trump have been engaging in a game of one-upmanship over pardons, with both sides arguing the pardons are warranted because the other side is weaponizing the justice system to target the political opposition.
The debate boiled over earlier this month with Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter Biden, which many Democrats opposed.
Biden not only pardoned his son, he also issued sweeping immunity for any crimes he may have committed over an 11-year period.
Trump said in the Sunday interview with NBC that he’ll issue mass pardons for defendants who have been accused or convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill, something he has long floated. |
💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: Democrats vie to make Biden’s pardon list.
• The Hill: Biden must act now to block Trump’s retribution threats
• The Guardian: Biden wrecked his legacy, but he still has time to fix it. • The Hill: Hunter goes free — Trump to go wild? |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Police identified 26-year-old Luigi Mangione as a person of interest in the deadly shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week. Mangione was taken into custody Monday in Pennsylvania. Track the latest here.
- Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran at the center of the New York City subway chokehold trial, was found not guilty in the death of Jordan Neely.
Public defenders for Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Trump at one of his Florida golf courses, asked a federal judge to delay his criminal trial. They cited an “extraordinary volume” of discovery with the trial set to begin in two months.
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© AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin |
Gabbard goes into the Congressional frying pan
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Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) will hit Capitol Hill this week to meet with the senators who will decide whether to confirm her to be President-elect Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and combat veteran who was deployed to Iraq, is seen by some in Washington as a controversial pick due to her heterodox views on foreign policy. A former Democrat who supported former Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential bid before becoming a Republican and backing Trump in 2024, Gabbard has angered the foreign policy establishment in Washington for visiting with Bashar Assad in Syria in 2017. Gabbard later described Assad as a “brutal dictator,” but the visit provoked some of Gabbard’s critics to claim that she’s been corrupted or compromised by Russia. Gabbard’s contrarian views on foreign policy will come under the microscope this week, particularly in light of the Assad’s stunning fall.
• Syrian rebels with links to al Qaeda toppled Assad’s government.
Assad fled for Moscow, where he’s been granted asylum.
• The Assad family’s decades-long rule was marked by civil war and of humanitarian abuses, including the use of chemical weapons on its own people.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Monday that despite the media frenzy and narratives around some of Trump’s controversial picks, he expects the GOP-controlled Senate will ultimately confirm all of Trump’s remaining nominees.
“Of the 72 cabinet secretary nominees since the Clinton transition, only 2 nominees have ever received NO votes from the president-elect’s party,” he posted on X. “No one should be surprised that the Republican Senate will confirm President Trump’s nominees.” |
Meetings will resume this week for Pete Hegseth, who Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Defense.
Hegseth has been dogged by allegations of heavy drinking and sexual impropriety, but Trump is standing behind the nomination and signaled in an interview over the weekend he believes the tide is turning in Hegseth’s favor.
“It looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.
Hegseth had his second meeting in a week with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is seen as a crucial vote along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks can only afford three GOP defections if all Democrats vote against them. Hegseth has also been accused of sexual assault, although he denies the allegation and says he settled out of court with the accuser to avoid being defamed in public.
Ernst, who is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a survivor of sexual assault, issued a statement saying Hegseth promised to “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault with the ranks.”
“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” Ernst said. |
Trump, GOP plot Day 1 moves on border bill, deportations |
Immigration, border security and deportations will be Day 1 priorities for President-elect Trump and the GOP majorities in the House and Senate when they take over in January. Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, told Fox News that Trump plans to “issue a series of executive orders that seal the border shut and begin the largest deportation operation in American history.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) echoed that sentiment, posting on X that the House and Senate would prioritize passing a “transformational” border security bill in the new Congress.
Trump has also pledged to end birthright citizenship, a promise he reiterated in a Sunday interview with NBC.
• These are the countries with and without birthright citizenship.
• Trump’s vow to end birthright citizenship could face legal challenges. |
WILL TRUMP USE THE MILITARY TO CARRY OUT DEPORTATIONS? |
There is some opposition among Republicans on this, including from close Trump allies, such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who said it should be used only as an “extreme last resort.”
Tom Homan, Trump’s appointed border czar who would oversee the deportations, signaled some potential room for negotiations with Democrats.
He told Fox News that a potential legislative solution for Dreamers should be contingent on Democrats supporting increased border security and deportation measures. “So, President Trump will put it on the table again,” Homan said. “But I would not go forward with it until the Democrats show this president that they’re willing to secure this border and willing to support him and the removal of public safety threats that are illegal here in the United States. So, it’s going to be put on the table once again.”
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11 days until the government funding deadline. 25 days until the new Congress begins and the House leadership elections.
31 days until Congress counts the electoral votes. 42 days until Inauguration Day. |
Congressional roundup: Sen. Lara Trump?
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• President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump is eyeing a Senate seat, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) poised to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who Trump has tapped to lead the State Department. Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She told The Associated Press that a Senate appointment to finish Rubio’s term is “something I would seriously consider.”
• House Republicans will choose new leaders for several powerful committees this week. The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks have the latest on the contenders for the key Congressional posts.
• The Hill’s Alexander Bolton scoops: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is warning that beneficiaries could face longer wait times for service next year unless Congress agrees to the White House budget office’s request to increase funding. The SSA implemented a hiring freeze after House Republicans declined to increase funding in the September continuing resolution.
• Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) is floating Medicare and Social Security as having potential for cuts under Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Some Democrats are on board with DOGE proposals — at least when it comes to defense spending.
• House Democrats say they’ll skip the election protests they’ve staged in past presidential cycles, four years after Trump’s supporters rioted across the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of the election results. Democrats have in the past used the formal certification of GOP presidential wins to object to how some states carried out their elections, but they’ll tread more carefully this year to not be accused of hypocrisy in accepting results.
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💡Perspectives:
• Slate: Dems have a Pod Save America problem.
• The Liberal Patriot: How Dems can win more center-right voters. • The Bulwark: What it took to fix the Dem brand the last time around. |
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