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Biden preemptively pardons Fauci, Cheney, Milley on way out

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From The Center Square

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President Joe Biden issued a series of high-profile pardons Monday, citing a commitment to protecting public servants from politically motivated threats and prosecutions.

The decision extends clemency to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, former Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, members and staff of the House January 6 Select Committee and law enforcement officers who testified before the panel.

“These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” Biden said in a statement.

The recipients have all faced criticism, mostly from Republican leadership, for their actions over the past four years.

Dr. Fauci, who served under both President Trump and Biden, became a central figure in the fight against COVID-19, welcomed the pardon, calling the allegations against him “politically motivated” and “baseless.” He noted that such threats had caused significant distress to him and his family. When testifying before a House subcommittee in June, Fauci said he regularly received death threats.

Fauci has been questioned by critics over his handling of the pandemic and has been accused of covering up the true origins of the virus, recklessly shutting down U.S. schools and businesses, inadequately addressing vaccine hesitancy or the concerns surrounding rapid vaccine development.

The pardon also shields those involved with the January 6 Select Committee, which investigated the Capitol attack in 2021. The committee has faced criticism from Republican lawmakers, including a detailed report from Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who has accused it of bias and mismanagement. In the report, Loudermilk called for investigations into the committee’s work, singling out former Vice Chair Liz Cheney.

General Milley, who retired in 2023, faced criticism from political opponents, including former President Donald Trump. Milley accused Trump of treason over calls to a Chinese general during the transition period following the 2020 election. Milley has denied any wrongdoing and framed his actions as efforts to ensure stability.

Influencers celebrate at TikTok-sponsored Trump inauguration party

The president defended the pardons as necessary to prevent the erosion of democratic norms.

“Baseless investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families,” Biden said. “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong … the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., condemned the decision and labeled Biden “one of the worst presidents in American history” and accused him of undermining constitutional norms.

The pardons also come as former President Donald Trump has pledged to pardon those convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack if he returns to the White House.

Trump plans to issue a slate of pardons on his first day in office for those he believes were unjustly prosecuted, including “most” convicted Jan. 6 protesters during his first minutes in the White House.

Trump pledged throughout his campaign that he would pardon some people convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s going to start in the first hour,” Trump previously said. “Maybe the first nine minutes.”

2025 Federal Election

Liberal MP Paul Chiang Resigns Without Naming the Real Threat—The CCP

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The Opposition with Dan Knight     Dan Knight

After parroting a Chinese bounty on a Canadian citizen, Chiang exits the race without once mentioning the regime behind it—opting instead to blame “distractions” and Donald Trump.

So Paul Chiang is gone. Stepped aside. Out of the race. And if you’re expecting a moment of reflection, an ounce of honesty, or even the basic decency to acknowledge what this was really about—forget it.

In his carefully scripted resignation statement, Chiang didn’t even mention the Chinese Communist Party. Not once. He echoed a foreign bounty placed on a Canadian citizen—Joe Tay—and he couldn’t even bring himself to name the regime responsible.

Instead, he talked about… Donald Trump. That’s right. He dragged Trump into a resignation about repeating CCP bounty threats. The guy who effectively told Canadians, “If you deliver a Conservative to the Chinese consulate, you can collect a reward,” now wants us to believe the real threat is Trump?

I haven’t seen Donald Trump put bounties on Canadian citizens. But Beijing has. And Chiang parroted it like a good little foot soldier—and then blamed someone who lives 2,000 miles away.

But here’s the part you can’t miss: Mark Carney let him stay.

Let’s not forget, Carney called Chiang’s comments “deeply offensive” and a “lapse in judgment”—and then said he was staying on as the candidate. It wasn’t until the outrage hit boiling point, the headlines stacked up, and groups like Hong Kong Watch got the RCMP involved, that Chiang bailed. Not because Carney made a decision—because the optics got too toxic.

And where is Carney now? Still refusing to disclose his financial assets. Still dodging questions about that $250 million loan from the Bank of China to the firm he chaired. Still giving sanctimonious speeches about “protecting democracy” while his own caucus parrots authoritarian propaganda.

If you think Chiang’s resignation fixes the problem, you’re missing the real issue. Because Chiang was just the symptom.

Carney is the disease.

He covered for it. He excused it. He enabled it. And now he wants to pose as the man who will stand up to foreign interference?

He can’t even stand up to it in his own party.

So no, we’re not letting this go. Chiang may be gone—but the stench is still in the room. And it’s wearing a tailored suit, smiling for the cameras, and calling itself “leader of the Liberal Party.”

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Business

Trump says ‘nicer,’ ‘kinder’ tariffs will generate federal revenue

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From The Center Square

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President Donald Trump says the slate of tariffs he plans to announce Wednesday will be “nicer,” “kinder” and “more generous” than other countries have treated the U.S.

Trump plans to unveil reciprocal tariffs on all nations that put duties on U.S. imports Wednesday, which the president has been calling “Liberation Day” for American trade.

Trump’s latest comments on tariffs come as he aims to reshape the global economy to reduce U.S. trade deficits and generate billions in federal revenue through higher taxes on imported products.

Trump’s trade policies have upended U.S. and global markets, but the president has yet to get into specifics ahead of Wednesday’s planned announcement.

At the start of March, Trump told a joint session of Congress that he planned to put reciprocal tariffs in place starting April 2.

“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them,” Trump said. “If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”

On Sunday night, Trump said on Air Force One that U.S. tariffs would be “nicer,” “kinder” and “more generous” than how other countries have treated the U.S.

Last week, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported automobiles, duties that he said would be “permanent.” The White House said it expects the auto tariffs on cars and light-duty trucks will generate up to $100 billion in federal revenue. Trump said eventually he hopes to bring in $600 billion to $1 trillion in tariff revenue in the next year or two. Trump also said the tariffs would lead to a manufacturing boom in the U.S., with auto companies building new plants, expanding existing plants and adding jobs.

Trump predicts his protectionist trade policies will create jobs, make the nation rich and help reduce both trade deficits and the federal government’s persistent deficits.

The “Liberation Day” tariffs come after months of talk since Trump took office in January. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently called “tariff” the most beautiful word in the English language.

James Dorn, senior fellow emeritus at the Cato Institute, said Trump’s rhetoric on tariffs doesn’t match the economic reality of Americans.

“Tariffs expand the scope of government, politicize economic life, increase uncertainty, and reduce individual freedom,” he wrote. “Government officials gain arbitrary power while market participants face fewer opportunities for mutually beneficial exchanges and greater uncertainty as the rules of the game change.”

Dorn said consumers would pay the price.

“Tariffs are levied on U.S. importers as goods – both final and intermediate –subject to the tariff enter the country,” he wrote. “Importers and consumers typically end up paying the tariffs, as they cut into profit margins and drive consumer prices up.”

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Farm Bureau Federation, have urged Trump to back off tariff threats.

Trump has promised that his tariffs would shift the tax burden away from Americans and onto foreign countries, but tariffs are generally paid by the people who import the foreign products. Those importers then have a choice: absorb the loss or pass it on to consumers through higher prices. The president also promised tariffs would make America “rich as hell.”

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