How America use to be.

 

Trump pardons 15, commutes 5 sentences

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned 15 people, including a pair of congressional Republicans who were strong and early supporters, a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.

Trump’s actions in his final weeks in office show a president who is wielding his executive power to reward loyalists and others who he believes have been wronged by a legal system he sees as biased against him and his allies. On Tuesday, Trump issued the pardons — not an unusual act for an outgoing president — even as he refused to publicly acknowledge his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20.

Trump is likely to issue more pardons before then. He and his allies have discussed a range of other possibilities, including members of Trump’s family and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Those pardoned on Tuesday included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York, two of the earliest GOP lawmakers to back Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump also commuted the sentences of five people, including former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas.

Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Trump to be president, was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after admitting he helped his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed.

Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on everything from outings with friends to his daughter’s birthday party.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the pardons for Hunter and Collins were granted after “the request of many members of Congress.” She noted that Hunter served the nation in the U.S. Marines and saw combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the group announced Tuesday night were four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone.

Supporters of Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide, had lobbied for pardons, arguing that the men had been excessively punished in an investigation and prosecution they said was tainted by problems and withheld exculpatory evidence. All four were serving lengthy prison sentences.

The pardons reflected Trump’s apparent willingness to give the benefit of doubt to American servicemembers and contractors when it comes to acts of violence in war zones against civilians. Last November he pardoned a former U.S. Army commando who was set to stand trial next year in the killing of a suspected Afghan bombmaker and a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans.

Trump also announced pardons for two people entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. One was for 2016 campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about a conversation in which he learned that Russia had dirt on Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The president also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators during the Mueller probe.

Van der Zwaan and Papadopoulos are the third and fourth Russia investigation defendants granted clemency. By pardoning them, Trump once again took aim at Mueller’s inquiry and advanced a broader effort to undo the results of an investigation that yielded criminal charges against a half-dozen associates.

The pardons drew criticism from top Democrats. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the president was abusing his power.

“Trump is doling out pardons, not on the basis of repentance, restitution or the interests of justice, but to reward his friends and political allies, to protect those who lie to cover up him, to shelter those guilty of killing civilians, and to undermine an investigation that uncovered massive wrongdoing,” Schiff said.

Last month, Trump pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and months earlier commuted the sentence of another associate, Roger Stone, days before he was to report to prison.

Trump has granted about 2% of requested pardons in his single term in office — just 27 before Tuesday’s announcement. By comparison, Barack Obama granted 212 or 6%, and George W. Bush granted 189 or about 7%. George H.W. Bush, another one-term president, granted 10% of requests.

Also among those pardoned by Trump was Phil Lyman, a Utah state representative who led an ATV protest through restricted federal lands.

Lyman was serving as a Utah county commissioner in 2014 when he led about 50 ATV riders in a canyon where there are Native American cliff dwellings that officials had closed to motorized traffic. The ride occurred during a sputtering movement in the West pushing back against federal control of large swaths of land and came after an armed confrontation Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had with Bureau of Land Management over grazing fees.

Lyman spent 10 days in prison and was ordered to pay nearly $96,000 in restitution. The Trump administration in 2017 lifted a ban on motorized vehicles in parts of the canyon but left restrictions in place through other areas where Lyman led his ride.

Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents were also pardoned, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, convicted of shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler near El Paso, Texas, in 2005.

Others on the list included a Pittsburgh dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud, two women convicted of drug crimes, and Alfred Lee Crum, now 89, who pleaded guilty in 1952 when he was 19 to helping his wife’s uncle illegally distill moonshine.

Crum served three years of probation and paid a $250 fine. The White House said Crum has maintained a clean record and a strong marriage for nearly 70 years, attended the same church for 60 years, raised four children, and regularly participated in charity fundraising events.

 

Group of GOP lawmakers meet with President Trump to discuss resistance to Electoral College vote | One America News Network

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is pictured. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:47 AM PT – Tuesday, December 22, 2020

A growing number of lawmakers are planning to reject the Electoral College’s votes. On Monday, a group of legislators led by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) reportedly met with President Trump and his legal team to discuss plans to object to the Electoral College vote count in January.

Brooks has been slamming the supposed outcome of the election due to what he called “evidence of widespread voter fraud.”

“The overwhelming, compelling and irrefutable evidence leads to but one conclusion,” he stated. “If only lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens are counted, President Trump handedly won the Electoral College and re-election.”

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows confirmed the meeting occurred at the Oval Office as Republicans prepare to mount a battle against voter fraud. A number of Republican lawmakers and incoming legislators are confirmed to have been in attendance, including Reps. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and incoming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

The lawmakers reportedly implored President Trump not to give up on his fight for election integrity heading into the vote count. Meanwhile, Gaetz has called for Republicans to fight the stolen election results until the very end.

“Democracy is left undefended if we accept the results of a stolen election without fighting with every bit of vigor we can muster,” he stated.

The Constitution sates one lawmaker each from the House and Senate must object to the results in order for the full Senate to vote on the validity of the outcome. The House and Senate will meet January 6, 2021 to tally the Electoral College’s votes.

MORE NEWS: Rep. Mooney: We Must Stand for Fair Elections ‘No Matter What the Pressures’

 

Congress divided over President Trump's upcoming veto of defense bill | One America News Network

FILE – In this Jan. 27, 2020, file phoot President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:20 AM PT – Tuesday, December 22, 2020

After being passed in both the House and Senate, President Trump has promised to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The President has continuously threatened to veto the bill because it lacks the repeal of Section 230. The section allows social media companies to censor content without fear of legal repercussions.

The bill recently made it through both chambers of Congress with veto proof majorities, which means more than two-thirds of members in either chamber will have the power to override the veto if it happens.

However, several big name Republicans have already signaled their willingness to support the President in his efforts to veto the bill, many of whom voted against the bill during the initial vote.

Additionally, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) had already voted against the original passing of the NDAA in the Senate with Hawley stating he would not vote to override a veto.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also opposes the new defense bill since it would limit the President’s ability to withdraw U.S. troops. The Kentucky lawmaker said he’s even willing to filibuster the bill in order to point out that presidents should have the ability to end a war and not just start them.

Back in 2013, Paul held a 13-hour filibuster in protest of the Obama administration’s possible use of drone strikes on American citizens domestically.

A filibuster from the Republican senator as well as a 10 day delay by President Trump on the veto could possibly push the NDAA vote to it’s limit. The President has until Wednesday to veto the bill.

 

How it Use to be in America.

40s

 

President Trump calls into Turning Point USA student summit

FILE – In this Oct. 23, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump talks on a phone in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

 

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:08 AM PT – Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Conservative student activists received a surprise call from a very special guest at their annual meeting. Turning Point USA‘s Student Action Summit, which is held in Florida, launched on Saturday. The summit played host to a long list of prominent figures representing various sections of the conservative movement.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke while members of the President’s inner circle, including White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr. were also in attendance. President Trump usually attends the student summit every year, but could not be there in person for this year’s event.

While speaking to the approximately 4,000 attendees, Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk was suddenly interrupted by a member of his team who informed him a surprise guest was on the line. As Kirk answered the phone, the President’s voice was heard followed by a roar from the crowd.

During the ensuing conversation, Kirk assured the President the young conservatives in attendance stand behind him in his fight for election integrity. This prompted President Trump to reiterate he’s working to safeguard American democracy.

The current fight for the White House, President Trump added, is a battle for America itself and a battle in need of brave conservatives willing to stand for the values on which the country was founded.

“We are fighting really for the country because we won this election in a landslide,”he stated. “The problem is we need a party that will fight, we have some great congressmen and women and we’ve got some great fighters.”

The President finished by noting the Justice Department and others in government need to step up and help investigate all the instances of voter fraud.

MORE NEWS: Rudy Giuliani calls for Dominion voting machine audit

The Old Days were the Better Days!

 

Big Tech 230 Cartoon