Biden commutes sentences for 1,500, pardons 39 convicted of non-violent crimes
(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that he was pardoning 39 people who were convicted of non-violent crimes and was commuting the sentences of 1,500 people on home confinement, who he said have “shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.”
The White House described the actions as the “largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.”
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” Biden said in a statement.
According to the White House fact sheet, some of those getting clemency on Thursday include a military veteran who spends time helping church members in poor health, a nurse who has helped in emergency response and an addiction counselor who volunteers to help young people.
The White House hinted that this isn’t the last of Biden’s pardons during his final months in office, saying that “in the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, seeking to burnish his foreign policy legacy amid international turmoil.
“This is the fourth time I’ve had the great honor speaking to this assembly as president of the United States,” Biden said as he began his remarks. “It will be my last. I’ve seen a remarkable sweep of history.”
Biden also took a moment, near the end of his speech, to poignantly reflect on his decision to end his campaign for reelection.
“There’s so much more I want to get done,” Biden said. “As much as I love the job, I love my country more. I decided after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward.”
“My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people,” he said, prompting applause. “It’s your people that matter the most. Never forget, we are here to serve the people, not the other way around.”
Even though Biden came into office with decades of foreign policy experience, he leaves behind a mixed record.
Biden touted his administration’s rebuilding of alliances, saying when he came into office he was “determined to rebuild my country’s alliances and partnerships to a level not previously seen.”
“We did just that,” Biden said.
But the two wars that started under his administration have no clear end in sight.
His presidency is winding down as the conflict in Ukraine continues to rage and the risk of an all-out war between Israel and Lebanon increases.
The president has said a top priority before the end of his administration is to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, but negotiations to achieve a cease-fire have stalled.
Tuesday’s speech marked one of his last high-profile chances to rally world leaders.
“Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom, or walk away, let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed? I know my answer,” Biden said. “We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away and we will not let up on our support for not Ukraine.”
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet separately with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House later this week. Harris will not be at UNGA.
With nearly 500 people killed in Lebanon on Monday alone from Israeli strikes, the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the threat of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, will surely overshadow other topics at the U.N.
Speaking on the escalation, Biden warned in his speech that “full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest.”
“A diplomatic solution is still possible,” he said. “In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents of both countries to return to their homes on the border safely. That’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve.”
A senior administration said this meeting will allow for a range of officials to be in the same room to talk about the situation.
“This is one of the advantages of U.N. General Assembly. You literally have the whole world here. So, when you do have crises of the day, they’ll be addressed. And I have no doubt that the situation in the Middle East will be an important theme in a lot of a lot of the meetings, not just that the president has, but other senior U.S. officials who will be convening to talk about — about various aspects of the crisis and what we can do to stabilize the situation,” the official said.
“I think it’s an opportunity to talk about what we have achieved and what we what we still need to do, given a situation that is just heartbreaking where hostages have not been returned, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and as you know, just such a sensitive issue, and such a delicate and dangerous situation between Israel and Lebanon right now,” the official said.
The president “should’ve been more outspoken from the beginning about what Israel is doing,” said Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, adding that “Netanyahu constantly bites the hand that feeds him.”
Notably, even though Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be at UNGA, there are currently no plans for Biden and Netanyahu to meet on the sidelines.
Where Biden has made strides is in stabilizing relations with China and strengthening alliances in the Indo-Pacific region: Biden launched a new security partnership with Australia, the U.K. and U.S. (AUKUS); he brought together Japan and South Korea — two countries with a rocky history — to work with the U.S. on defense and economic cooperation; Vietnam upgraded the U.S. to its highest level of diplomatic relations. (Biden is meeting with Vietnam’s general secretary this week.)
All of those relationships are part of Biden’s strategy to counter China’s influence in the region.
“These partnerships are not against any nation,” Biden said at UNGA. “They’re building blocks for a free, open, secure, peaceful Indo-Pacific.”
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump posted a flurry of announcements to his Truth Social account on Tuesday night, including the appointment of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the ambassador to Greece and Tom Barrack as the ambassador to Turkey.
Guilfoyle, a former fundraiser for Trump and a former host on Fox News, is currently in an established relationship with Donald Trump Jr.
In announcing her position, Trump wrote, “For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally. Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States, and safeguard its interests abroad.”
The post also stated, “Kimberly is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation.”
Tom Barrack is Trump’s longtime friend who chaired his first inaugural committee — and he was notably acquitted of federal charges accusing him of illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
Barrack was charged during the first Trump administration and campaign, in 2021. During his trial, he was accused by federal prosecutors of acting as a foreign agent but failing to register between 2016 and 2018 while allegedly trying to “leverage his access” to Trump with his contacts in the UAE.
A jury found him not guilty on all charges — which also included conspiracy, obstruction and lying to the FBI — in November 2022.
Trump praised Barrack’s acquittal at the time, saying in a statement: “Great news for our Country, Freedom, and Democracy in that businessman Tom Barrack, who should have never been charged or tried, was just acquitted of all charges.”
Barrack’s testimony during the trial was at times critical of Trump. He said on the witness stand that his support for Trump politically was “disastrous” for him professionally, at one point mocking Trump’s understanding of the Middle East.
“This amazingly good businessman became the president of the United States who could not spell the Middle East,” Barrack said.
Asked about his criticism of Trump at the time of the acquittal, Barrack told ABC News: “I’m just done with politics.”
In announcing his ambassadorship to Turkey on Tuesday, Trump said that Barrack is “a well respected and experienced voice of reason.”
The president-elect also announced roles at the Federal Trade Commission. He named Andrew Ferguson as chairman and Mark Meador as commissioner.
“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country. Sworn in as a Commissioner on April 2, 2024, he will be able to fight on behalf of the American People on Day One of my Administration,” Trump wrote in his announcement.
The post continued, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.”
For Meador, Trump listed a series of degrees and accomplishments in the announcement post.
At the Office of Management and Budget, Trump announced Congressman Dan Bishop as deputy director and Ed Martin as the chief of staff.
For Bishop, he posted, “Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State.”
“Ed is a winner who will help Make America Great Again!” he wrote for Martin.
Lastly, Trump announced that Jacob Helberg will serve as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment at the State Department.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said, “In this role Jacob will be a champion of our America First Foreign Policy. He will guide State Department policy on Economic statecraft, promoting America’s Economic security and growth, and American technological dominance abroad. Jacob is a successful technology executive, has the knowledge, expertise, and pragmatism to defend America’s Economic interests abroad, and always puts AMERICA FIRST!”
Helberg is a former Democrat who went from being a little-known tech adviser to a rising star in Trump’s circles, known largely as a China hawk and as a major proponent of the bill that may lead to banning TikTok in the U.S.
He’s a commissioner for the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission, and he helped shore support on Capitol Hill for the bill that would ban TikTok if it’s not sold from its Chinese parent company by Jan. 19, 2025.
After Biden signed the TikTok bill into law earlier this year, Helberg posted photos of himself with several powerful members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, thanking them for being “truly outstanding people who can come together when our security is at stake.”
Helberg called TikTok a “Chinese weapon of war” in August, and he previously published a book titled, “The Wires of War.” The 2021 book is about tech-fueled wars shaping the world’s balance of power in the coming century, arguing that “without a firm partnership with the government, Silicon Valley is unable to protect democracy from the autocrats looking to sabotage it from Beijing to Moscow and Tehran.”
Helberg’s harsh criticism of TikTok could clash with Trump’s vow to “save” TikTok, even though Trump tried to ban the app during his first administration.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance “have laid out an aggressive agenda to face the twin convulsions of technological and geopolitical change, and ensure America wins the economic contests that define this century,” Helberg wrote on X after Trump announced his appointment on Tuesday.
“The State Department will play a critical role in acting on this vision,” his post continued. “I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate and working with @MarcoRubio to implement President Trump’s agenda.”
In previous years, Helberg and his husband were “significant supporters” of Ron DeSantis and then reportedly shifted fundraising support to Nikki Haley in 2023.
By midway through the following year, however, Helberg had personally contributed $844,600 to the Trump 47 Committee, Inc. and another $1 million to the Make America Great Again, Inc. super PACs, according to filing data made available by the FEC.
(PHOENIX) — President Joe Biden was in Arizona on Friday to apologize to Native Americans for the federal government forcing Indian children into boarding schools where the White House said they were abused and deprived of their cultural identity.
Departing the White House Thursday, Biden said he was going to Arizona “to do something that should have been done a long time ago.”
He said he would make “a formal apology to the Indian nations for the way we treated their children for so many years.”
The White House called his trip to Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix — his first to Indian Country as president — “historic.”
Officials said he will discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s record of delivering for tribal communities, including keeping his promise to visit the swing state, which is happening close to Election Day.
“The president also believes that to usher in the next era of the Federal-Tribal relationships we need to fully acknowledge the harms of the past,” the White House said.
“For over 150 years, the federal government ran boarding schools that forcibly removed generations of Native children from their homes to boarding schools often far away. Native children at these schools endured physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and, as detailed in the Federal Indian Boarding School Investigative Report by the Department of the Interior (DOI), at least 973 children died in these schools,” the White House said.
“The federally-run Indian boarding school system was designed to assimilate Native Americans by destroying Native culture, language, and identity through harsh militaristic and assimilationist methods,” it said.
