World News

Hunter Biden Pardoned

Andrew Taylor

08 Dec 2024 — 10 min read

Last Sunday, President Biden pardoned his son Hunter, who faced federal tax evasion and gun charges. President Biden had said numerous times that he would not pardon his son, most clearly saying in June, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.”1

“A Full and Unconditional Pardon—For those 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, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss….”2

The pardon was arguably the most sweeping in presidential history, even more sweeping than Gerald Ford’s 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon.

President Biden defended his decision to pardon Hunter. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son—and that is wrong,” he said. “Here’s the truth,” he added. “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process, and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”3

According to The New York Times, “Biden’s decision to wipe his son’s convictions on gun and tax charges came despite repeated statements that he would not do so. This past summer, after Hunter Biden was convicted, he said, ‘I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process.’ The statement he issued last night made clear he did not accept the outcome or respect the process.”4

Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley wrote on X, “With this pardon, Joe Biden shredded any residue of veracity and credibility as president. For years, he was repeatedly asked if he met any of his son's clients. He lied and denied it. He was repeatedly asked if he was aware of Hunter's foreign dealings. He repeatedly lied and denied it. He was asked if he would pardon his son. He repeatedly lied and denied it….”5

Israel/Hezbollah Peace Deal Reached, Although Fighting Continues

Israel's Security Cabinet on Tuesday approved a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon brokered by Biden and Trump. Axios wrote, “The agreement, which was also approved by the Lebanese side, will end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. It will also allow hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to gradually return home…. The ceasefire agreement includes a 60-day transition period during which the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army is to deploy in areas close to the border, and Hezbollah is to move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.”6

However, some fighting has continued, as each side accuses the other of violating the deal.

According to The New York Times, “The Israeli military said two Hezbollah projectiles fell in open areas without causing casualties. They hit a strip of land called Shebaa Farms—Mount Dov to Israelis—that was seized by Israel in the 1967 war, but is claimed by both Israel and Lebanon….

“In response, the Israeli military said it had bombarded sites ‘throughout Lebanon,’ including dozens of missile launchers. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 10 people and wounded three others in Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants….

“Israel’s leaders say they will ‘enforce’ the terms of the deal militarily to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding itself near the border. Tolerating even small infractions, they argue, could embolden the Lebanese armed group.”

“‘We will respond decisively to Hezbollah’s severe violation of the ceasefire, and will continue to do so. We have plans and targets ready to be carried out and at any given moment,’ Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military chief of staff, said in a statement on Monday.”7

Romanian Elections in Turmoil, Citing Russian Interference

A series of events is playing out in Romania right now which is remarkably reminiscent of the controversies surrounding the 2016 U.S. elections.8

Reuters: “Romania's top court annulled an ongoing presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling and ruled on Friday the entire process, which had been due to conclude this weekend, would have to be re-run. The second round had been scheduled for Sunday, and voting has already begun in polling stations abroad.”9

This comes as Călin Georgescu, a far-right independent, was catapulted from obscurity into the lead in the first round of voting on November 24.

The second round of voting had been scheduled for Sunday. It would have pitted Georgescu against pro-European Union centrist leader Elena Lasconi.

According to the BBC, “A recount of the votes cast in [the] first round of presidential elections in Romania [was] ordered by the country's top court following allegations that social media platform TikTok gave ‘preferential treatment’ to the surprise winner, Calin Georgescu.”

Georgescu, an independent with no party of his own, campaigned mainly on TikTok. TikTok said it is “categorically false to claim his account was treated differently to any other candidate.”10

The U.S. State Department supports the Romanian court’s decision to redo the election.11

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Shot and Killed

Brian Thompson was murdered in cold blood on a Manhattan sidewalk early Wednesday morning by an unknown masked male, as Thompson was stepping up to a hotel where UnitedHealthcare was to hold business meetings.

Pictures of a suspect were released with no identification, but the public noticed the suspect was wearing clothing similar to but different from those worn by the masked man in the videos.

To date, no suspect has been named, and bizarre details abound, such as a backpack believed to be worn by the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer full of Monopoly money, and cryptic messages engraved on the bullet casings. UnitedHealthcare protocol required Thompson to move with security protection, and he had none. For those following the case closely, it is perplexing how someone could elude identifiable detection in a city as covered with surveillance as New York City.

The shooting sparked intense debate online, with a New York Times-dubbed “torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies.”12

Former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz cheered the murder, writing,“And people wonder why we want these executives dead.”

Lorenz later defended her comment in her newsletter, User Mag, “If you have watched a loved one die because an insurance conglomerate has denied their life-saving treatment as a cost-cutting measure, yes, it’s natural to wish that the people who run such conglomerates would suffer the same fate.”13

Trans Case Supreme Court Oral Arguments Draws Aspirin Comparisons

A recent Tennessee bill banning sex changes for kids has been challenged by the U.S. government and is being adjudicated by the Supreme Court (U.S. v. Skrmetti). The case will shape the future of transgender issues in the U.S.

In oral arguments on Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor likened the side effects of transgender medical procedures on minors to that of taking an over-the-counter painkiller.

“Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin,” Sotomayor said. “There's always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that's going to suffer a harm. So, the question in my mind is not, ‘Do policymakers decide whether one person's life is more valuable than the millions of others who get relief from this treatment?’”14

When it got to Ketanji Brown Jackson, she invoked the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia case, in which the court unanimously ruled Virginia's laws banning interracial marriage violated the 14th Amendment. Jackson cited the overturned Virginia laws, which the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 prohibited an individual from acting in a way that was inconsistent with their natural characteristics. She said that this Tennessee law also prohibited an individual from acting in a way that was inconsistent with their nature: “It’s sort of the same thing.”15

Assad Regime Topples

This weekend, rebel forces entered the Syrian capital Damascus as President Bashar al-Assad fled the country by plane to find asylum in Russia. The lightning offensive which began with the sudden capture of Aleppo in late November appears to have brought down the end of the regime in less than two weeks.

According to the BBC, "The initial attack was led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - which has a long and involved history in the Syrian conflict. HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.N., U.S., Turkey and other countries.”16

Reuters writes, “HTS, which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria, was formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.”17

The U.S. has sought since 2011 to topple the authoritarian, secular Assad regime, and has used radical Islamists before in the effort. Now that the house of Assad has finally fallen, time will tell how the ex-al -Qaeda Islamists will run the country.

Israeli forces have advanced and are now in control of the entire Mount Hermon, holding the area for the first time in 51 years. The troops reached areas 14km into Syrian territory, farther than any point reached in 14 months of fighting in Gaza or Lebanon.

The IDF and U.S. Central Command are now carrying out strikes in Damascus and on other ISIS targets in Syria. The fate of Russia’s coastal air and naval bases in Latakia and Tartus, Syria, remains uncertain.

Other News

Notre Dame Reopens: After more than five years of fast-tracked reconstruction, Notre Dame Cathedral reopened to the world on Saturday, completely restored from the devastating 2019 fire. World leaders such as President-elect Trump, First Lady Jill Biden, Prince William & Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the opening ceremony, and President-elect Trump met with Emmanuel Macron, the French president whose chosen prime minister was just forced to resign after a no-confidence vote.18

Trump No Longer under Federal Indictment: According to Fox News, Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who brought federal charges against Trump, has dropped all charges related to the January 6 case, and has dropped his appeal in his classified records case against Trump–a case that was tossed in July by federal Judge Aileen Cannon. Cannon ruled Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.19

Mysterious Drones: Witnesses have routinely spotted enigmatic nighttime drone flights across New Jersey skies since mid-November, and officials have offered no clues on who or what is controlling them. The flights have taken place near a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility and over Donald Trump’s golf course. Sources told Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime that “there’s a possibility that these drones are actually very advanced military craft, and that the Pentagon is testing these drones over friendly American territory.”20

Thanksgiving Traffic: Last Sunday was the busiest day ever for U.S. air travel. TSA screened more than three million passengers.

Bitcoin Breaks $100K Wall: The New York Times writes, “In May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, an early cryptocurrency enthusiast, used Bitcoin to buy two pizzas from Papa John’s. He spent 10,000 Bitcoins, or roughly $40 at the time, in one of the first purchases ever made with the digital currency. It has turned out to be the most expensive dinner in history. On Wednesday, the price of a single Bitcoin rose to more than $100,000, a remarkable milestone for an experimental financial asset that had once been mocked as a sideshow and a fad. The total cost of those pizzas today: $1 billion.”21

Offbeat Tidbits

Noah Sinks: New data shows “Muhammad” has overtaken “Noah” as England’s top baby name. According to the British Office for National Statistics, parents named more than 4,600 newborns “Muhammad” in England and Wales in 2023, over 100 more than the second-place finisher.22

NYT: No Plural “You” Exists in the English Language: John McWhorter, an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, investigated and wrote a New York Times Op-Ed on the acceptability of using the phrase “you guys” to refer to both men and women.

First, McWhorter wondered if Audrey Bilger was right after all, and if “calling women ‘guys’ makes femaleness invisible.”

But then McWhorter realized that actually “English is, in general, somewhat pronoun-starved,” having no plural “you” without reaching back to the Old English “ye.”

He felt this gap in modern English was sufficient to forgive any gender concerns regarding the use of “you guys” to refer to women.23

While McWhorter considered the matter closed, readers may find regret at Columbia’s failure to introduce him to the pronoun-richness of the English language and the existence of plural you pronouns such as “y’all,” a proper contraction widely used in America since appearing in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1856.

Readers may also be enlightened to learn that the origin of said proper contraction is in England itself, found in numerous English literary works beginning with William Lisle’s The Faire Æthiopian (1631).24