Latest news with #January6
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trump shares unfounded conspiracy theory claiming Biden was 'executed' in 2020
President Donald Trump on Saturday night reposted a baseless claim on Truth Social that former President Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with clones or robots. The original post, made by an anonymous Truth Social user who often spreads outlandish claims, suggested that Biden was replaced with 'clones, doubles' and 'robotic engineered soulless mindless entities.' Trump published a link to the post to his nearly 10 million followers without adding any context or explanation. The original poster's account has a little more than 5,000 followers. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday explaining why Trump shared the post and whether he believes Biden was executed in 2020. Trump has frequently taken to sharing misinformation and unproven conspiracy theories over the years. He repeats false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election, which led some of his supporters to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn Biden's victory. He also claimed — before he backtracked — that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, during the 2024 campaign, alleged that Haitian immigrants were 'eating the pets.' All of those claims were debunked or otherwise proved false. Trump's circle, too, has spread conspiracy theories, with some of the top brass in the administration having spread misinformation about vaccines or the so-called deep state. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeated a debunked claim that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism, and the FBI's director and deputy director have spread claims that the Biden administration and the 'deep state' weaponized the FBI against Trump. Biden revealed last month that he had been diagnosed with a metastatic form of an aggressive type of prostate cancer as he and his top aides were already facing mounting scrutiny about his mental acuity and physical capabilities in office and how forthcoming they had been with the country. The revelation of his cancer diagnosis initially prompted an outpouring of well-wishes from Democrats and Republicans, but that quickly shifted as Trump allies claimed Biden had hidden his cancer diagnosis. A spokesperson for Biden said at the time that he had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer before last month. Biden, since his diagnosis was made public, said Friday he felt good and joked with reporters about the allegations of his supposed mental decline in office. Trump has made host of heightened attacks against Biden in recent weeks. Trump and House Republicans have scrutinized Biden's use of an autopen to sign some pieces of legislation and executive orders, using it to call his mental state into question. Trump has gone as far as to claim that some pardons Biden signed were not valid because they had not been signed with a real pen. NBC News has reported that the White House has used autopens to create signatures for decades. This article was originally published on
CBS News
a day ago
- General
- CBS News
Former Trump supporter Pamela Hemphill refuses and returns her Jan. 6 pardon
What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons Amid the wave of pardons and commutations President Trump has doled out to some of his supporters and surrogates, one former MAGA loyalist in Idaho is fighting to return her pardon. Pamela Hemphill is one of the more than 1,500 people whom Mr. Trump pardoned earlier this year for their roles in the U.S. Capitol Insurrection. She has invoked help from her Republican senator to formally refuse and block the pardon Trump issued her on Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House. Though Hemphill was a defendant of the largest criminal prosecution in American history, she is seemingly standing alone now as the only Jan. 6 defendant to refuse the clemency Mr. Trump offered. Speaking with CBS News from her home in Idaho, Hemphill said, "The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies, propaganda. We were guilty, period." "We all know that they're gaslighting us. They are using January 6 to just continue Trump's narrative that the Justice Department was weaponized," she said. "They were not, When the FBI came to my home, oh my God, they were very professional. They treated me very good." Hemphill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for her role in the crowd on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors argued Hemphill "was in the front of the crowd that confronted U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers attempting to keep the rioters behind the metal bike-rack barriers." They alleged Hemphill galvanized others to descend on Washington for the certification of the electoral vote after the 2020 election, according to court filings. "On December 28, 2020, Hemphill posted encouragement to go to Washington, D.C. for January 6, saying 'its a WAR!' On January 1, 2021, she posted a message 'on my way to Washington DC January 6th," the prosecution said. Image from court filings show Pamela Hemphill's social media post about Jan. 6, 2021. Handout Hemphill also pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a count of unlawful parading and was sentenced later that year to a term that included three years of probation. Her case mirrors many other misdemeanor cases from the U.S. Capitol siege, in which members of the crowd were not accused of making physical contact with police or damaging any property — though prosecutors emphasized how each member of the mob contributed to the breakdown of police lines, the injuries and the damage to American democracy. Hemphill told CBS News the pardons for her and fellow members of the crowd were inappropriate and damaging Americans' views of the federal government. "How could you sleep at night taking a pardon when you know you were guilty? You know that everybody there was guilty. I couldn't live with myself. I have to be right with me. And with God," Hemphill said. Former Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer, who was fired by the Trump administration in March after a disagreement over a case, told CBS News that Hemphill's protest is a sharp contrast from the conduct of other Capitol riot defendants who championed their own pardons. "Some Jan. 6 defendants blew up our phones seeking a copy of their pardons. They wanted the copies quickly," Oyer said. "They wanted it framed and signed." Court filings reviewed by CBS News show other Jan. 6 defendants have utilized their pardon certificates to make arguments in court about their cases, restitution payments or other legal matters. In contrast, senate records obtained by CBS News show Hemphill sought assistance from Sen. James Risch to secure a formal acknowledgement from the Department of Justice that she will not accept her pardon. In an April 2 correspondence from the Office of the Pardon Attorney to Sen. Risch, the pardon attorney's office wrote, "Ms. Hemphill's non-acceptance is noted." The letter said the Justice Department would not issue Hemphill a formal certificate to chronicle her pardon. In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for Risch said, "The Office of U.S. Senator Jim Risch regularly assists constituents with matters pertaining to federal agencies or programs. Due to privacy concerns, we cannot disclose details about individual cases." Hemphill has sparred on social media and in podcasts with other Jan. 6 defendants over her arguments about what she says is the whitewashing of the Capitol riot. In one segment on a podcast earlier this spring, Hemphill debated Enrique Tarrio, a former Proud Boys leader who was convicted at trial and received the longest prison sentence of any Jan. 6 defendant. Tarrio's sentence was commuted by Trump. Hemphill told CBS News she expects her protest will garner the attention of the president. "Trump will probably say that ungrateful lady, I'm going to make sure she gets back on probation and give her the worst you can give her. I won't be surprised," she said.
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Former Trump supporter Pamela Hill refuses and returns her Jan. 6 pardon
What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons What to know about Trump's flurry of pardons Amid the wave of pardons and commutations President Trump has doled out to some of his supporters and surrogates, one former MAGA loyalist in Idaho is fighting to return her pardon. Pamela Hemphill is one of the more than 1,500 people whom Mr. Trump pardoned earlier this year for their roles in the U.S. Capitol Insurrection. She has invoked help from her Republican Senator to formally refuse and block the pardon Trump issued her on Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House. Though Hemphill was a defendant of the largest criminal prosecution in American history, she is seemingly standing alone now as the only Jan. 6 defendant to refuse the clemency Mr. Trump offered. Speaking with CBS News from her home in Idaho, Hemphill said, "The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies, propaganda. We were guilty, period." "We all know that they're gaslighting us. They are using January 6 to just continue Trump's narrative that the Justice Department was weaponized," she said. "They were not, When the FBI came to my home, oh my God, they were very professional. They treated me very good." Hemphill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for her role in the crowd on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors argued Hemphill "was in the front of the crowd that confronted U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers attempting to keep the rioters behind the metal bike-rack barriers." They alleged Hemphill galvanized others to descend on Washington for the certification of the electoral vote after the 2020 election, according to court filings. "On December 28, 2020, Hemphill posted encouragement to go to Washington, D.C. for January 6, saying 'its a WAR!' On January 1, 2021, she posted a message 'on my way to Washington DC January 6th," the prosecution said. Image from court filings show Pamela Hemphill's social media post about Jan. 6, 2021. Handout Hemphill also pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a count of unlawful parading and was sentenced later that year to a term that included three years of probation. Her case mirrors many other misdemeanor cases from the U.S. Capitol siege, in which members of the crowd were not accused of making physical contact with police or damaging any property. Hemphill was spared from serving prison time at sentencing, though prosecutors emphasized how each member of the mob contributed to the breakdown of police lines, the injuries and the damage to American democracy. Hemphill told CBS News the pardons for her and fellow members of the crowd were inappropriate and damaging Americans' views of the federal government. "How could you sleep at night taking a pardon when you know you were guilty? You know that everybody there was guilty. I couldn't live with myself. I have to be right with me. And with God," Hemphill said. Former Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer, who was fired by the Trump Administration in March after a disagreement over a case, told CBS News that Hemphill's protest is a sharp contrast from the conduct of other Capitol riot defendants who championed their own pardons. "Some Jan. 6 defendants blew up our phones seeking a copy of their pardons. They wanted the copies quickly," Oyer said. "They wanted it framed and signed." Court filings reviewed by CBS News show other Jan. 6 defendants have utilized their pardon certificates to make arguments in court about their cases, restitution payments or other legal matters. In contrast, senate records obtained by CBS News show Hemphill sought assistance from Sen. James Risch, a Republican Senator from Idaho, to secure a formal acknowledgement from the Department of Justice that she will not accept her pardon. In an April 2 correspondence from the Office of the Pardon Attorney to Sen. Risch, the pardon attorney's office wrote, "Ms. Hemphill's non-acceptance is noted." The letter said the Justice Department would not issue Hemphill a formal certificate to chronicle her pardon. In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for Risch said, "The Office of U.S. Senator Jim Risch regularly assists constituents with matters pertaining to federal agencies or programs. Due to privacy concerns, we cannot disclose details about individual cases." Hemphill has sparred on social media and in podcasts with other Jan. 6 defendants over her arguments about what she says is the whitewashing of the Capitol riot. In one segment on a podcast earlier this spring, Hemphill debated Enrique Tarrio, a former Proud Boys leader who was convicted at trial and received the longest prison sentence of any Jan. 6 defendant. Tarrio's sentence was commuted by Trump. Hemphill told CBS News she expects her protest will garner the attention of the president. "Trump will probably say that ungrateful lady, I'm going to make sure she gets back on probation and give her the worst you can give her. I won't be surprised," she said.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
10 fascinating presidential pardons, from bootleggers to traitors
The British called a king's ability to pardon the 'prerogative of mercy,' and the Founding Fathers granted that superpower to the president in the U.S. Constitution. But as President Donald Trump grants pardons to rappers, reality show stars, and Jan. 6 rioters, here's a look at some other notable presidential pardons throughout history.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino claims bureau ‘closing in' on suspects who planted Jan. 6 DC pipe bombs
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino made headlines this week when he revealed the bureau was "closing in" on suspects involved in planting two pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a sign that the bureau may soon solve the nagging, four-year mystery. "The second we got in, I put a team on it and I said, 'I want answers on this,'" Bongino told "Fox & Friends." "And I'm pretty confident that we're closing in on some suspects." Law enforcement discovered the two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committees' headquarters around the same time that thousands of rioters a few blocks away began to descend on the Capitol in protest of the 2020 election results. A faction of President Donald Trump's base has since raised questions about the timing of the pipe bomb incident and security failures surrounding it and speculated that the Biden administration was not forthright to the public about the facts of the case. Prior to being sworn in, Bongino was a leading voice perpetuating that notion. A former Secret Service agent and podcast host, Bongino told listeners of his popular right-wing show that the FBI lied about the pipe bomb incident because the bureau did not want people to know it was an "inside job." Now as deputy director, Bongino is facing pressure from supporters and critics alike to release new details about the case. Video footage released by the FBI shows an unidentified person placing the pipe bombs near the two headquarters more than 16 hours before law enforcement found them. The suspect is seen wearing a gray hoodie, Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers, a face mask, glasses, and gloves. Prior to the administration change in January, the FBI also unveiled a minor last-minute detail that the suspect's height was about 5-foot-7. A woman who is a Capitol Hill resident alerted a security guard that she spotted the first pipe bomb in an alley behind the RNC headquarters while she was out retrieving her laundry around 1 p.m. Security footage showed her running from the area of the washer and dryer and notifying the guard. That set off a furious search that led officers at the DNC headquarters to discover a second pipe bomb there. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general report published last year revealed the two explosive devices were "viable" and "could have detonated, causing innocent bystanders to be seriously injured or killed." The bombs included one-hour timers. An FBI official said they did not believe the timers could have detonated the bombs since the time had already elapsed when the bombs were found, according to the DHS report. That report and an investigative report released by House Republicans revealed that then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at one point came within feet of the pipe bomb by the DNC. The FBI has said it has received more than 600 tips, and it continues to offer a $500,000 reward for any successful leads. The House Republicans' report noted the FBI initially investigated a person who searched on the internet for "pipe bomb DC" and a person who had recently purchased the Nike shoes seen in the surveillance footage. The report noted, however, that the pace of the FBI's inquiry dropped off after about a month as a result of leads drying up.
