Month: January 2025

President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C. for the second time shortly after noon on Monday, Jan. 20th.  Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, the Trump family, and Trump’s future Cabinet was in attendance along with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as billionaire tech CEOs including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.

Trump took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, at 12:05 p.m. EST, with his children and wife standing by along with outgoing President Biden and Vice President Harris looking on. He acknowledged the living former presidents in attendance before delivering his inaugural address inside the Capitol Rotunda for the first time in 40 years, due to the sub-freezing temperatures in Washington.

After being sworn in as president, Trump vowed in his inaugural address “from this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” adding that “the golden age of America begins right now.” He announced a slate of executive orders and a series of changes, including declaring national emergencies at the southern border and energy. The President spoke for nearly 40 minutes in the Capitol Rotunda; while in a second set of free-style remarks in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall, Trump attacked political adversaries, while once again calling the 2020 election “totally rigged”.

Trump was expected to sign a series of executive actions immediately, including declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border and pulling the US out of the Paris climate deal. He is also planning to pardon nonviolent January 6 defendants and commute the sentences of others.  Said Trump: “all illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my ‘remain in Mexico’ policy. I will end the practice of catch and release and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

For a full recap of Inauguration Day events, head HERE.

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In the final moment of his presidency on Monday, President Joe Biden issued pardons to several close family members as well as several Trump critics. (per ABC NEWS.)

Shortly before Donald Trump was to be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president, the White House announced that Biden granted clemency for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and also issued five preemptive pardons to James Biden, Joe’s younger brother; Sara Jones Biden, James’ wife; Valerie Biden Owens, Joe’s younger sister; John T. Owens’, Valerie’s husband; and Francis W. Biden, Joe’s younger brother. Signed Jan. 19, the pardon excuses James Biden and the other family members of “ANY NONVIOLENT OFFENSES against the United States which they may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon.”

Biden wrote in a statement: “My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.  That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”

Republicans in congress had pressed the incoming Justice Department to bring charges against James Biden, 75, for allegedly lying to Congress as part of its impeachment inquiry into the outgoing president and his family.  James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote to incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi to hold James Biden accountable for “having misled Congress regarding Joe Biden’s participation in his family’s influence peddling and deserving of prosecution under federal law.”

Biden announced the preemptive pardons for his siblings and in-laws while in the Capitol Rotunda attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump: “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finance. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”

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Approximately 12 hours after TikTok was shut down in the U.S on Saturday, the app was back as of noon on Sunday. TikTok posted in a statement on Sunday that they are “in the process of restoring service” following incoming President Trump’s pledge to sign an executive order delaying the implementation of the bill which would require the company to divest.

The popular social video app went dark in the U.S. on Saturday night, just before the divestiture bill was set to became law at midnight on Jan. 19. The Biden administration had said that “actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”

At approximately 10 p.m. eastern time on Saturday, TikTok posted a message in their app saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”  However on Sunday, users opening the app received a “Welcome back!” message that thanked them for their patience and support, which also noted: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump wrote: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order. Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations. I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions. Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”

TikTok thanked Trump, sharing in a statement: “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

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President Joe Biden pardoned five people in his final day in office, including a prominent civil rights activist who died in the 1940s and the speaker of the Virginia House. The president pardoned the late Marcus Garvey, a civil rights leader convicted of mail fraud in 1923, who died in 1940. Garvey founded the first Black-owned cargo shipping line, Black Star Line, and created the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

Biden said in a statement issued by the White House Sunday: “America is a country built on the promise of second chances. As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history. Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption. These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities.”

Biden also pardoned Rep. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth and the first Black person to serve as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was convicted in 1994 of a nonviolent drug offense and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Scott, a Navy veteran, worked as an attorney after his release. Scott said in a statement: “My journey — from being arrested as a law student to standing here today as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 405-year history — is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of second chances.” 

Biden pardoned Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate who was sentenced to 17 years in prison, also for a nonviolent drug offense, in 1998. Chambers is a native of Wilmington, Del., where Biden also lives.

Ravi Ragbir was an advocate for immigrant rights in New York and New Jersey and also convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 2001. Biden also pardoned Kemba Smith Pradia, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 1994, also for a nonviolent drug offense.

Per NBC News, Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. He announced on Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. He also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their sentences to life in prison and issued a full pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, his most profile presidential pardon in recent months.

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