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Trump says ‘hell to pay’ if Gaza hostages not released by inauguration; Biden’s pardon rattles Washington: Live

President-elect threatens ‘those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity’ if hostages in Gaza are not freed by his inauguration

Oliver O'Connell,James Liddell,Mike Bedigan
Monday 02 December 2024 19:05 EST
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Biden pardons son Hunter

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Donald Trump has threatened “all hell to pay” if the remaining hostages in Gaza are not released by Hamas before his inauguration on January 20, 2025.

The president-elect posted on Truth Social: “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.”

Trump dined with Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend.

In his latest nomination, the president-elect has named billionaire donor Warren Stephens as his choice for US ambassador to the UK.

Meanwhile, Trump suggested he will free the January 6 Capitol rioters as he slammed President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden as a “miscarriage of Justice.”

On Sunday, Biden announced he had pardoned his son following his federal gun conviction, saying Hunter had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Justice Department.

Biden previously insisted he would not pardon his son. The White House has defended his decision.

Biden’s decision has divided critics. Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis said he was “disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country” while Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks said Hunter “would not ever be prosecuted for the gun crime but for his last name.”

Have other presidents pardoned their family members or friends?

Yes. In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Trump over the weekend announced plans to nominate the elder Kushner to be the U.S. envoy to France in his next administration.

President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton in 2001, after he had completed a prison term for drug charges.

Clinton also pardoned his former business partner Susan McDougal, who had been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the Whitewater real estate deal.

Associated Press2 December 2024 09:34

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