Washington

How Washington reacted to the Hunter Biden pardon: From the Politics Desk

Published

1 year ago

December 2, 2024

How Washington reacted to the Hunter Biden pardon: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, our reporters go through President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son — and the part that’s particularly rankling fellow Democrats. Plus, senior politics editor Mark Murray looks at three big polling trends that defined 2024.

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Some Democrats bristle at Biden’s pardon justification

By Carol E. Lee, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian

It’s not just that President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter. It’s how he did it that’s upsetting some fellow Democrats.

The president issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for any offenses Hunter Biden has “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” according to a White House statement issued Sunday night.

The pardon comes after Biden repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his son’s sentence. And in his statement, Biden said he was granting the pardon because his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”

That, as Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona told NBC News’ “Meet the Press Now” on Monday, plays against years of core Democratic Party policy positioning — and into the way President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have described his investigations and prosecutions.

“I’m pretty angry because it’s going to be incredibly important that political leaders of both parties stand up for the independence of the Department of Justice, stand up to these attacks suggesting that the Department of Justice has become politicized and needs to be dismantled or the FBI needs to be dismantled,” Stanton said. (See more from Stanton below.)

Trump, in response to Biden’s action, raised the issue of the defendants and people convicted of violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was pushing to overturn the 2020 election results.

“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Special counsel David Weiss’s office on Monday appeared to push back on Biden’s claim that its prosecutions of Hunter Biden were politically motivated, calling such allegations “baseless.” In a court filing challenging Hunter Biden’s request to have his California tax and fraud indictment dismissed in light of his father’s pardon, Weiss noted that a number of judges had already rejected the younger Biden’s claims of vindictive prosecution.

While a handful of members of Congress have spoken out about the pardon so far, one notable group has been silent — those Democrats seen as early possibilities to run for president in 2028. Watch this space going forward.

Three big takeaways from the 2024 polls

By Mark Murray

Beyond signaling that the 2024 presidential election was competitive and uncertain, the polls nailed the political atmospherics that shaped the contest — and could continue to shape politics going forward. Here are some of the biggest lessons we learned.

Most broadly, the polls accurately described an electorate that mostly saw the nation headed in the wrong direction, with an incumbent president, Joe Biden, whose approval rating was stuck in the low 40s — a historical danger zone for the party controlling the White House.

As it turns out, the NBC News Exit Poll found 73% of voters saying they were angry or dissatisfied with the country’s direction, and only 40% approved of Biden’s job performance.

Additionally, the polls foretold many of the key demographic trends that ended up defining the 2024 election, including Trump’s gains with Latino voters.

The NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC Latino poll was among the surveys showing those Trump gains well before the election. Many polls also caught on early to Biden’s and Democrats’ relative struggles with young voters, particularly some men, compared with other recent elections.

But the polls, including the NBC News survey, erred in overstating the size of the gender gap when it came to Harris’ support among female voters and Trump’s backing among men.

According to the exit poll, Harris won female voters by 8 points, and Trump won men by 13 points — a 21-point gender gap that was consistent with recent presidential elections. That was smaller than the 30-point-plus gender gap that the NBC News poll had been showing.

The big thing to keep in mind with the gender gap: For a look at how and where it’s widening, combine it with education and race instead. Harris won white women with college degrees by 16 points, and Trump won white men without college degrees by 40 points — a whopping 56-point gap in the margin between those two different groups.

Read more here →

🗞️ Today’s top stories

🚨 Pardon blowback: GOP lawmakers have been publicly fuming after Biden pardoned his son Hunter, calling it an effort to “avoid accountability” and casting the president as a “hypocrite.” Read more →
🚨 Pardon blowback, cont.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s decision to pardon his son, despite telling the press multiple times that the president had no such plans. Read more →
🏛 Court watch: The Supreme Court will hear a dispute over the Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to approve flavored e-cigarettes over public health concerns, putting the FDA’s role in green-lighting new tobacco products to the test. Read more →
➡️ Preparing for Trump 2.0: Two Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to issue a policy directive that could temporarily limit Trump’s ability to deploy U.S. military troops domestically after he takes office. Read more →
➡️ Preparing for Trump 2.0, cont.: Consumer advocates say they’re bracing for sweeping changes at one of Washington’s newest financial watchdogs under Trump, whose allies have promised broad deregulation of companies that handle Americans’ money. Read more →
✈️ Air Force One to Angola: Biden became the first American head of state to visit the southern African nation of Angola, where he will showcase U.S.-backed infrastructure projects designed to link Angola, Zambia and Congo. Read more →

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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Washington

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.

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Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.

The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.

The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.

The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.

Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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