Good afternoon from Capitol Hill,
Late Sunday night, President Joe Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, who was shortly to be sentenced for firearm and tax offenses. However, Biden’s pardon covers far more than those charges alone, immunizing Hunter Biden from any “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.”
Theories abound as to why Biden chose that 10-year time period. As observers have pointed out, 2014 was the year that Hunter joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Also notable: this pardon removes the ability of Hunter Biden to invoke the Fifth Amendment’s right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Congress or grand juries.
The pardon comes on the heels of both President Biden and the White House repeatedly denying that the president would issue it – a pledge Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reaffirmed as recently as November 8th. And this is only the first of preemptive pardons that Biden is expected to make. Democratic Senator Ed Markey recommended that Biden pardon all those who may be targeted by investigations by Republican committees before he leaves office.
Congress is back in town, and 17 days away from a government funding deadline. Another Continuing Resolution (CR) looks imminent. The deal will determine what funding fights President Trump will face during his first year in office.
Passing a short-term CR through the beginning of next year will prevent a government shutdown and an end-of-year fight over a massive omnibus bill that would undoubtedly allow Democrats to continue their legislative priorities into the next administration. One thing is certain: Republicans will likely only have a one-seat majority when new members are sworn in on January 3rd.
This week, the Senate is scheduled to vote on judicial nominations, including the military promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, who Senator Markwayne Mullin temporarily blocked. Sen. Mullin objected to promoting Donahue due to his failed leadership, as he was the commanding officer during the final days of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal where 13 U.S. servicemembers died.
Meanwhile in Palm Beach, Florida, President Trump continues to fill out his Cabinet and executive branch staff.. President Trump named Kash Patel, a former DOJ prosecutor, as his choice for the new FBI Director. Patel has promised to reform the FBI’s intelligence operations, saying, “The biggest problem the FBI has had has come out of its intel shops. I’d break that component out of it. I’d shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state.”
Other notable selections include Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya, a physician and Stanford University professor, gained notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration stating that widespread lockdowns were causing irreparable damage. Together with the then NIH director, Francis Collins, Dr. Anthony Fauci successfully advocated for the blacklisting of anyone associated with the Declaration from social media and the censorship of all online mentions of it.
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