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Tag: Biden’s DOJ
January 21, 2025
Lawfare
TRUMP TRANSITION 2024/5

President Trump Issues Blanket Clemency for January 6 Defendants.

President Donald J. Trump is granting comprehensive clemency to individuals involved in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. The clemency affects nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the event, offering pardons to most and commuting sentences for 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, organizations whose members were largely convicted of seditious conspiracy.

The decision reverses the sentences for both nonviolent offenders and those who engaged in assault against law enforcement officers during the riot. The move effectively nullifies years of lawfare by the Biden government, which saw prosecutorial overreach and enhanced sentences predicated on dubious legal statutes.

In the directive, President Trump instructs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss remaining indictments against individuals facing charges related to the January 6 incident. “They’ve already been in jail for a long time,” Trump said, announcing the clemency from the Oval Office. He added: “These people have been destroyed.”

The clemency extends to approximately 1,000 defendants facing misdemeanor charges such as disorderly conduct, unauthorized entry to restricted Capitol areas, and trespassing. Several of these individuals have served limited or no jail time. Additionally, the pardons also cover those charged with assaulting law enforcement—some of whom are serving sentences exceeding ten years.

Additionally, the decision allows for the immediate release and expungement of records for the defendants.

Image by Tyler Merbler.

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President Donald J. Trump is granting comprehensive clemency to individuals involved in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. The clemency affects nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the event, offering pardons to most and commuting sentences for 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, organizations whose members were largely convicted of seditious conspiracy. show more
December 18, 2024
William Upton
Politics

House Ethics Committee Votes in Secret to Release Report on Matt Gaetz.

The House Ethics Committee is set to release its report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Despite initially voting against making the investigation results public in November, the powerful House committee decided in secret earlier this month to release the ethics report. The move indicates that some Republican lawmakers on the committee sided with the Democrats.

“The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes. I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me,” Gaetz said in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. The former Congressman added: “Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”

In the past, the Ethics Committee has generally refrained from making public the outcome of an investigation into a lawmaker once they have left Congress. Gaetz resigned his seat after being named by President-elect Donald J. Trump as his nominee for Attorney General. However, the Florida Republican subsequently withdrew his name from consideration after it became apparent at least four Senate Republicans—led by outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—would not budge in their opposition to his nomination.

Over the course of the year-long investigation, the committee reviewed allegations that Gaetz used illegal drugs and engaged in sexual misconduct. Additionally, the committee stated last summer that it was investigating whether the Florida lawmaker “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts.”

Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations leveled by the committee. Additionally, a parallel probe of the allegations by the Biden government’s Department of Justice (DOJ) determined key witnesses against Gaetz were unreliable. The House Ethics Committee’s probe relies on the same dubious witness testimony that led the DOJ to drop its investigation of Gaetz.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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The House Ethics Committee is set to release its report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Despite initially voting against making the investigation results public in November, the powerful House committee decided in secret earlier this month to release the ethics report. The move indicates that some Republican lawmakers on the committee sided with the Democrats. show more
December 17, 2024
Media
Politics

DOJ Inspector General Says Schiff and Swalwell Behind Russia Hoax Leaks.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) released a report last week revealing Democrat Members of Congress and their staff actively leaked classified materials to the media to push the Russia hoax narrative against President Donald J. Trump during his first term in office. According to the report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was aware of the classified leaks and their sources but failed to pursue the matter adequately.

Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) were named in the report as having purposely leaked classified documents to several corporate media outlets. The report states that a whistleblower who served as a Democratic staffer on a congressional committee identified the two California Democrats to the FBI. The whistleblower stated they “suspected that Member 1 had previously leaked classified information and that Member 2 wanted to influence public opinion via the release of classified information.”

Additionally, the IG report states a senior Democrat congressional staffer was found to be communicating with at least three members of the media who subsequently published classified information that he had access to. However, despite evidence of the leak being handed over to the FBI, the agency declined to investigate further. The New York Times identified the suspected leaker as Michael Bahar.

The investigation included reviewing the communications of several congressional staffers. The DOJ appeared to monitor both Republican and Democrat staff members, as well as nonpartisan positions. A total of 21 Democrats and 20 Republicans had their communications analyzed. The report states that no charges were filed despite various individuals being implicated in leaks.

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) released a report last week revealing Democrat Members of Congress and their staff actively leaked classified materials to the media to push the Russia hoax narrative against President Donald J. Trump during his first term in office. According to the report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was aware of the classified leaks and their sources but failed to pursue the matter adequately. show more
December 12, 2024
William Upton
NatSec

Biden Quietly Grants Clemency for 2 Chinese Spies and a Pedophile.

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of two convicted Chinese spies and a pedophile just before the Thanksgiving holiday in November. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), clemency was granted to Yanjun Xu, who was sentenced in 2022 to 240 months in prison for espionage on behalf of China; Ji Chaoqun, who was sentenced in 2023 to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and acting as an unregistered foreign agent; and Shanlin Jin, sentenced to 97 months in 2022 for possession of child pornography.

The warrants of clemency for the three individuals do not provide any detail as to why their sentences were commuted and subsequently released from prison. However, the Biden White House has stated that the men were part of a prisoner exchange with the People’s Republic of China. As a condition of their clemency, all three must leave the U.S.

TWO SPIES AND A PEDO.

In 2022, Yanjun Xu, a Chinese government intelligence officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being extradited to the U.S. As deputy division director at the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), Xu attempted to illegally obtain U.S. aviation industry trade secrets by using aliases and front companies to lure industry experts to China under the pretense they’d be speaking at a university. After the targets arrived in China, Xu and other MSS operatives would break into their hotel rooms and hack their electronic devices.

Meanwhile, Ji Chaoqun was sentenced to eight years for acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the People’s Republic of China. Ji assisted Xu’s espionage operation and attempted to recruit other Chinese nationals in the American aviation industry to spy for China.

The final clemency recipient, Shanlin Jin, is unconnected to the espionage plot. Arrested on possession of child pornography, Jin’s inclusion in the exchange appears to be because of his family’s influence in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of two convicted Chinese spies and a pedophile just before the Thanksgiving holiday in November. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), clemency was granted to Yanjun Xu, who was sentenced in 2022 to 240 months in prison for espionage on behalf of China; Ji Chaoqun, who was sentenced in 2023 to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and acting as an unregistered foreign agent; and Shanlin Jin, sentenced to 97 months in 2022 for possession of child pornography. show more
December 10, 2024
William Upton
Lawfare
News

WATCH: Jan 6 Defendant Feels ‘Amazing’ After Judge Throws Out Felony Obstruction Charge.

On January 6, defendant Erik Herrera announced that the judge presiding over his case has accepted his motion to throw out the Biden-Harris Justice Department’s 1512(c)2 felony obstruction charge against him. Herrera was initially sentenced to four years in prison after taking a photo of himself standing in a Capitol building office that had been trashed by protestors—with the California native already having served one year of his incarceration.

Herrera will now only have four misdemeanor charges on his record, including “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.”

“I feel amazing; I’m no longer a felon,” Herrera says in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter). “This is a long time coming… I’m just very thankful that this thing has officially been taken off my case, and now I have to go to Washington, D.C., on January 24 for my resentencing, and we’re expecting the judge to just give me time served.”

“I know nothing in life is guaranteed, so we’ll just see how this pans out on that date. But I’m feeling very hopeful,” Herrera added.

In June, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Justice Department overreached in using 18 U.S. Code § 1512(c)2 to attain enhanced felony sentencing for January 6 defendants.

The law was originally intended as a felony punishment for individuals engaging in document and evidence destruction during a financial crimes investigation following the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

Image by Tyler Merbler.

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On January 6, defendant Erik Herrera announced that the judge presiding over his case has accepted his motion to throw out the Biden-Harris Justice Department's 1512(c)2 felony obstruction charge against him. Herrera was initially sentenced to four years in prison after taking a photo of himself standing in a Capitol building office that had been trashed by protestors—with the California native already having served one year of his incarceration. show more
November 25, 2024
Lawfare

‘All DOJ Staff Involved In Anti-Trump Lawfare Should be Fired’ Says Senator.

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has called for the immediate dismissal of all U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) staff involved in cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Schmitt alleged that the DOJ was “weaponized” under President Joe Biden and that the Democrat administration targeted Trump and his allies in what is tantamount to political persecution.

“After the midterms, Joe Biden said that there was no way President Trump would ever be back in the White House,” Schmitt noted, adding: “After that speech, these zombie cases were resurrected.”

Sen. Schmitt argued that the cases, which he described as unfounded, unraveled under scrutiny, calling for accountability. When questioned by NBC’s Kristen Welker about potential prosecutions of those involved, Schmitt clarified he advocated for their firing instead.

The DOJ has pursued Trump over efforts to challenge the 2020 election outcome and accusations of improper handling of classified materials post-presidency. Special counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigations, is believed to be finalizing plans to conclude these cases by December 2, with expectations of resignations within his team ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

President-elect Trump has indicated he intends to dismiss DOJ staff who handled the cases against him, opting to instead redirect department resources towards cracking down on instances of voter fraud or incidents where local election officials outright ignore election laws, as was recently seen in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Schmitt’s call for the dismissal of the DOJ staff who targeted Trump echoes similar calls by former Attorney General Bill Barr and Democrat election attorney Thomas Goldstein, who have both called on the DOJ to drop their prosecutions of Trump. Both Barr and Goldstein contend the American people issued their own verdict by returning Trump to the White House.

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Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has called for the immediate dismissal of all U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) staff involved in cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Schmitt alleged that the DOJ was "weaponized" under President Joe Biden and that the Democrat administration targeted Trump and his allies in what is tantamount to political persecution. show more
November 20, 2024
William Upton
TRUMP TRANSITION 2024/5

MTG Threatens to Air ALL Congress’ Dirty Laundry Amidst Gaetz Opposition.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is arguing that if the House Ethics Committee votes to release the report on its investigation into allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz—President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General—then the committee must release similar reports made against other House members. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Greene insisted on transparency, calling for the disclosure of ethics reports and claims, including one she claims to have filed.

“For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see,” Rep. Taylor Greene wrote. She continued: “Yes… all the ethics reports and claims including the one I filed.”

The Georgia Congresswoman went on to state that the release should include “all your sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with tax payer money” as well as “the entire Jeffrey Epstein files, tapes, recordings, witness interviews.”

“[B]ut not just those, there’s more, Epstein wasn’t/isn’t the only asset,” she added, suggesting Epstein and others may have served as intelligence assets collecting compromising information on lawmakers.

On Monday, The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, argued the corporate media actually has an opportunity to regain trust during the Gaetz nomination process by scrutinizing both sides of the allegations against him.

It is important to note that while the House Ethics Committee proceeded with its investigation, the witnesses they spoke with were all deemed dubious and unreliable by the Biden-controlled Department of Justice (DOJ)—resulting in the agency declining to prosecute.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is arguing that if the House Ethics Committee votes to release the report on its investigation into allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz—President-Elect Donald J. Trump's nominee for U.S. Attorney General—then the committee must release similar reports made against other House members. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Greene insisted on transparency, calling for the disclosure of ethics reports and claims, including one she claims to have filed. show more
November 16, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Lawfare

Top Democrat Litigator: Cases Against Trump Should Be Dropped.

A top Democratic Party election lawyer and Supreme Court litigator who served as counsel to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida argues that his colleagues should end the legal cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump. Thomas Goldstein, who now publishes the legal commentary website SCOTUSblog, echoes an argument made last week by former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, contending that the 2024 Election serves as its own verdict on the prosecutions.

“Democracy’s ultimate verdict on these prosecutions was rendered by voters on Election Day,” Goldstein writes in an essay for the New York Times. The long-time Democrat litigator continues: “The charges were front and center in the campaign. The president-elect made a central feature of his candidacy that the cases were political and calculated to stop him from being re-elected.”

He adds: “Despite the prosecutions, more than 75 million people, a majority of the popular vote counted so far, decided to send him back to the White House.”

DUBIOUS LEGAL THEORIES.

Goldstein contends that the two federal cases against Trump “are history” as Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith has indicated that he intends to resign from his constitutionally questionable appointment. Interestingly, Goldstein contends that the two state-level prosecutions against the President-elect in New York and Georgia “invoke legal strategies that had never been used to criminalize the behavior that prosecutors charge.” He notes both cases “…carry the stench of politics and, if pursued, could lay the groundwork for political prosecutions of future presidents.”

A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. 

The SCOTUSblog publisher also agrees with Trump’s legal team’s contention that the “prosecutors’ legal theories were and are unusual” and that they “are fundamentally federal, not state, concerns.” Additionally, Goldstein argues that the continued pursuit of the charges would threaten the U.S. Constitution and American democracy.

“Inviting prosecutors of the opposing political party to pursue these kinds of charges in the wake of a presidential election can only make things worse,” he states.

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A top Democratic Party election lawyer and Supreme Court litigator who served as counsel to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida argues that his colleagues should end the legal cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump. Thomas Goldstein, who now publishes the legal commentary website SCOTUSblog, echoes an argument made last week by former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, contending that the 2024 Election serves as its own verdict on the prosecutions. show more
November 7, 2024
William Upton
Lawfare

Mike Pompeo Wants You to Forget He Legitimized the Democrat Lawfare Campaign Against Trump.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the first Trump administration, appears to be campaigning for a return to his old job. A former Republican Congressman from Kansas—who also served a stint as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under President Donald J. Trump—faces a steep hurdle in seeking out a job in the new administration. Pompeo, along with several other former Trump allies, legitimized the Biden government’s lawfare campaign against Trump in an effort to put distance between themselves and the former and future president of the United States.

“It’s good that the weaponized Jack Smith cases are being dropped, but they never should have been brought in the first place,” Pompeo wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, adding: “This was a gross abuse of power and politicization of the Justice Department.”

However, the former Secretary of State sang a very different tune in 2023 when Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ)—and its special counsel Jack Smith—moved to indict Trump over allegations he mishandled classified documents.

“If the allegations are true, and there’s lots of indications that they are, President Trump had classified documents where he shouldn’t have had them, and then when given the opportunity to return them, he chose not to do that for whatever reason,” Pompeo said during an appearance on Fox News in June 2023. He continued: “I suppose we can all make mistakes and get them to the wrong place, but when somebody identifies that, you gotta turn them in. So that’s just inconsistent with protecting America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, and if the allegations are true, some of these were pretty serious, important documents. So that’s wrong.”

WATCH:

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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the first Trump administration, appears to be campaigning for a return to his old job. A former Republican Congressman from Kansas—who also served a stint as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under President Donald J. Trump—faces a steep hurdle in seeking out a job in the new administration. Pompeo, along with several other former Trump allies, legitimized the Biden government's lawfare campaign against Trump in an effort to put distance between themselves and the former and future president of the United States. show more
November 6, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Lawfare

Former AG Bill Barr: Prosecutors Must Drop Lawfare Cases Against President-Elect Trump.

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who served in the first administration of President Donald J. Trump, is calling on his successor Merrick Garland—as well as Democrat District Attorneys Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis—to dismiss all criminal charges against the Republican president-elect. Barr contends that the verdict issued by the American people, based on Trump’s landslide electoral victory, should supersede their lawfare prosecutions.

“The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years. They chose him to lead us with full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country,” Barr said Wednesday in a statement. He continued: “I think Attorney General Merrick Garland and the State prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now.”

Trump’s former Attorney General argues that the indictments against the president-elect are largely based on “novel legal theories” that “have already been gravely weakened by a series of court decisions.” Barr states that both the federal and state prosecutions against Trump have been “aired and rejected in the court of public opinion.” He adds that once Trump takes the Oath of Office, the U.S. Consitution renders the cases moot.

While at least three of the cases against Trump could be dropped now that he has won the 2024 presidential election, the former and future Republican president was found guilty of 34 counts of business record fraud in New York City. Trump is set to be sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan on November 26, though the judge may rule that presidential immunity effectively ends the legal action against him.

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Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who served in the first administration of President Donald J. Trump, is calling on his successor Merrick Garland—as well as Democrat District Attorneys Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis—to dismiss all criminal charges against the Republican president-elect. Barr contends that the verdict issued by the American people, based on Trump's landslide electoral victory, should supersede their lawfare prosecutions. show more