Realism in Foreign and Domestic Policy

Andrew Langet, President of the Institute for Liberty, and John Hulsman, author of The Last Best Hope, a History of American Realism, have a blunt and probing discussion about what has gone wrong–and how to fix- America’s foreign and domestic policies. I you missed it on your local stations, watch at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cduUMJ9mnkTW_z0VvM__LA_eZUYDLHu9/view?ts=65df966f

Quick Analysis

Biden Abuses his Presidential Powers, and Pardons his own Son

In June of 2024, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was convicted of three federal felony charges after a jury trial in a Federal District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. According to the Associated Press, “Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days.” At that time, the AP also noted that “President Joe Biden said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict that he would accept the outcome and ‘continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.’” In September, the President’s son plead guilty to three felony tax charges, as well as six misdemeanor charges in a Los Angeles federal court. The US Attorney’s Office stated that “Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns.” Since this second conviction, President Biden has stated, either through his Press Secretary or in person, that he would not use his Presidential power to issue a pardon for his son. For instance, “[i]n July [of 2023], Fox News’ Mark Meredith asked Jean-Pierre if there was any possibility Biden would end up pardoning his son as Hunter was facing two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. ‘No,’ Jean-Pierre simply said. She also interrupted an attempted following up question saying, ‘I just said no,’ before moving on to another reporter.” In June of 2024, “President Joe Biden said he would not pardon his son Hunter amid an ongoing felony gun trial during a[n]…exclusive interview with ABC News anchor David Muir at the Normandy American Cemetery on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Muir asked Biden…if he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, to which the president said, ‘Yes.’ Biden also said ‘yes’ when asked by Muir if he would rule out a pardon for Hunter.” Many in the media took Biden at his word. As described by the Daily Mail, “MSNBC host and Biden’s former press secretary Jen Psaki described the President’s decision as evidence of his principled honor and character. ‘[T]he justice system that convicted his only surviving son is the same justice system he vowed to protect,’ Psaki said in June. ‘If that doesn’t tell you who Joe Biden is, I don’t really know what does.’ MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski cited Biden’s decision as evidence that he was a more respectful president than former President Donald Trump. ‘The current president of the United States has so much respect for the law that he has said he would not pardon his son, again, it’s all about the contrast,’ she said.” A man who has “vowed to protect” the justice system. A man with “respect for the law.” A man who said, in no uncertain words that he would “accept the outcome” of his son’s trial and “continue to respect the judicial process.” This is the man Psaki, Brzezinski and Jean-Pierre would have you believe is the real Joseph Biden. But most of us know better. Most of us who have followed the corrupt history of the Biden crime family know better. And knowing better, are any of us really surprised that Joe Biden lied through his teeth to the American people about pardoning his son before his term as President expires? “President Joe Biden announced Sunday [December 1] that he has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month for federal tax and gun convictions…’Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,’ the president said in a statement. It is a ‘full and unconditional pardon,’ according to a copy of the executive grant of clemency…The pardon means Hunter Biden won’t be sentenced for his crimes, and it eliminates any chance that he’ll be sent to prison, which was a possibility…The broadly crafted pardon explicitly grants clemency for the tax and gun offenses from his existing cases, plus any potential federal crimes that Hunter Biden may have committed ‘from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.’ This time frame, importantly, covers his entire tenure on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and much of his other overseas work, including in China.” Yes, we on the right knew Biden was nothing more than a liar, but the outrage expressed by Republican members of Congress, while predictable, was still necessary to highlight Biden’s hypocricy. As reported by Fox News, “[o]n the heels of President Joe Biden’s move to pardon his son Hunter Biden, several Republican lawmakers highlighted a post on X from earlier this year in which the president had asserted, ‘No one is above the law.’ Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., both shared Biden’s post and commented, ‘Unless your last name is Biden’…’You’ve been lied to every step of the way by this Administration and the corrupt Biden family. This is just the latest in their long coverup scheme. They never play by the same rules they force on everyone else. Disgraceful,’ Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., declared in response to the old Biden tweet.” The sweeping nature of the pardon gave rise to the inevitable comparisons with Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. According to Politico, “’I have never seen language like this in a pardon document that purports to pardon offenses that have not apparently even been charged, with the exception of the Nixon pardon,’ said Margaret Love, who served from 1990 to 1997 as the U.S. pardon attorney, a Justice Department position devoted to assisting the president on clemency issues…rather than merely pardoning his son for the gun crimes for which he was convicted and the tax crimes for which he pleaded guilty, the president’s pardon covers all ‘offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in’ from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024. That language mirrors the language in Ford’s pardon of Nixon, which did not merely […]

Our Latest Television Program

Bad Ideas, and the Problems they Cause

Just in time for holiday traffic! On this week’s program, we talk with Jay Beeber, Executive Director of Policy at the National Motorist Association about the ridiculous policy mistakes that make driving more aggravating. Then we discuss the continuing harm that socialist ideas bring to America with J.T. Young, author of the insightful new book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left. If you missed the program on your local station, watch it here: https://rumble.com/v5tfez2-the-american-political-zone-november-26-2024.html