Politics
Video: How Kash Patel, Trump’s F.B.I. Pick, Plans to Reshape the Bureau
new video loaded: How Kash Patel, Trump’s F.B.I. Pick, Plans to Reshape the Bureau
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transcript
How Kash Patel, Trump’s F.B.I. Pick, Plans to Reshape the Bureau
Donald Trump’s pick to lead the F.B.I. has called for firing the agency’s top officials, shutting down its Washington headquarters and has vowed to investigate the president-elect’s political adversaries.
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“I’d shut down the F.B.I. Hoover building on Day 1, and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state. And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops. You’re cops, go be cops.” “A man who’s also been with me just about from the beginning. He’s tough, he’s smart. He loves our country and he is a warrior, Kash Patel.” “We are blessed by God to have Donald Trump be our juggernaut of justice, to be our leader, to be our continued warrior in the arena. I am going to go on a government gangsters manhunt in Washington, D.C., for our great president. Who’s coming with me? And we have to take out not just the government gangsters, but the mainstream media, the ones that perpetuated the fake news narratives. We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you.”
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Politics
Video: ‘You Are Out of Line’: Acting Secret Service Director Clashes With Congressman
new video loaded: ‘You Are Out of Line’: Acting Secret Service Director Clashes With Congressman
transcript
transcript
‘You Are Out of Line’: Acting Secret Service Director Clashes With Congressman
A congressional hearing on Thursday erupted into a shouting match. Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting Secret Service director, accused Representative Pat Fallon, Republican of Texas, of politicizing a 9/11 memorial event.
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“Do you recognize this photo?” “Yes, sir, I do.” “OK. Is that a remembrance of Sept. 11?” “It was.” “Was it in New York?” “It was at ground zero.” “Who is usually at an event like this, closest to the president of the United States, security-wise?” “The SAC of the detail.” “Special agent in charge of the detail. Were you the special agent in charge of the detail that day?” “Actually, let me address this. Could you please, staff leave — no, leave that one up with the circle around me. Thank you. So actually, Congressman, what you’re not seeing is the SAC of the detail off out of the picture’s view. And that is the day where we remember the more than 3,000 people that have died on 9/11. I actually responded to ground zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills.” “I’m not asking you that. I’m asking you —” “Congressman —” “Were you the special agent in charge —” “I was there to show respect for a Secret Service member that died on 9/11.” “You’re trying to be —” “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes.” “I’m not. I’m invoking this —” “You are, sir.” “Gentleman —” “You are out of line.” “Committee will come to order.” “I’m asking you serious questions for the American people, and they’re very simple. They’re not trick questions. Were you the special agent in charge of that day?” “No, I wasn’t. I was there representing the United States Secret Service.” “I’m just asking you yes or no?” “Mr. Fallon, your time has expired.” “It did not affect —” “You know why you were there? Because you wanted to be visible, because you are auditioning for this job that you’re not going to get.” “I was there to pay respect for a fallen member of this agency.”
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Politics
Trump taps former Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China
President-elect Trump has tapped former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China.
In his announcement, Trump said Perdue “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China,” citing his decades-long career in business.
TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS
“He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The appointment comes amid threats by Trump to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop the trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl.
BIDEN USCIS NOMINEE CALLED FOR PAUSING BORDER PATROL FUNDING
Trump also appointed Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, as ambassador to Chile.
“Brandon helped me develop and implement the most effective Border Security policies in our Nation’s History,” Trump said. “I have also watched as Brandon tirelessly and honorably represented the Border Patrol Agents who elected him as their voice in all matters, especially in their efforts to secure our Great Country’s Borders, and keep all Americans safe.”
“I am confident Brandon will represent the United States in the same manner as he represented all rank-and-file Border Patrol Agents as the President of the National Border Patrol Council. Brandon will do our Country proud!” Trump added.
Politics
Federal judge in Hunter Biden's tax case denounces president's pardon
The judge who presided over Hunter Biden’s federal tax case in Los Angeles rebuked President Biden on Tuesday for pardoning his son this week, saying he misrepresented the facts of his son’s criminal case when he announced the move.
In a brief order, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi also accused the president of maligning law enforcement and the justice system in his rationale for issuing the clemency, and the judge even claimed that part of the pardon may be unconstitutional.
The blunt criticism of a sitting president from a federal judge adds to the condemnation by both Republicans and Democrats of the president’s extraordinary decision Sunday to give the “full and unconditional” pardon after repeatedly saying he wouldn’t.
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom also spoke out against the president for reneging on a promise.
Scarsi, who was nominated to the federal bench by then-President Trump, took issue with the claim of unequal, biased treatment that the president invoked to spare his son prison time in the tax case. The pardon, which absolves Hunter Biden of any and all federal offenses in an 11-year period, also wiped away the verdict by a Delaware jury that convicted him of illegally purchasing a handgun.
“The President asserts that Mr. Biden ‘was treated differently’ from others ‘who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions,’” Scarsi wrote. The judge explained what he sees as the flaw in that thinking: Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax evasion that occurred after he became sober, when he misclassified personal expenses — like luxury clothing, escort services and his daughter’s tuition — as business expenses.
Scarsi also questioned President Biden’s assertion that no “reasonable person” could reach “any other conclusion” than Hunter Biden was singled out because of his last name.
“But two federal judges expressly rejected Mr. Biden’s arguments that the Government prosecuted Mr. Biden because of his familial relation to the president,” Scarsi wrote. “And the President’s own Attorney General and Department of Justice personnel oversaw the investigation leading to the charges.
“In the President’s estimation, this legion of federal civil servants, the undersigned included, are unreasonable people,” the judge wrote.
Scarsi noted that President Biden has “broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States … but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.”
In his ruling, Scarsi said he would vacate Hunter Biden’s sentencing hearing, scheduled for Dec. 16, and dispose of his case. He wrote that the case would be terminated once the pardon signed by President Biden “is formally received.”
Hunter Biden’s attorneys submitted a copy of a signed pardon in a filing this week, but the judge noted that the document was “not substantiated by an authenticating declaration.”
Much of Scarsi’s ruling focused on the breadth of the 11-year time frame of the pardon, with the judge questioning its constitutionality. Scarsi reasoned that pardons cannot cover future events, but the clemency issued for Hunter extended to conduct “through Dec. 1” and was signed that day.
“The warrant may be read to apply prospectively to conduct that had not yet occurred at the time of its execution, exceeding the scope of the pardon power,” Scarsi wrote. Scarsi said he was opting to understand the pardon as covering conduct “through the time of execution” on Sunday.
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