House Democrat staff member fired following Capitol Police arrest
A House Democratic staff member has lost his job after allegedly trying to bring ammunition into the Cannon House Office Building this week. Michael Hopkins, the 38-year-old communications director for Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., was arrested Monday morning by the U.S. Capitol Police. “In response to this morning’s incident, Mr. Hopkins is no longer employed by Representative Morelle’s office effective immediately,” Jo Stiles, Chief of Staff to Rep. Morelle, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. Capitol Police told Fox News on Monday that “At approximately 8:45 a.m., a House staffer entered the Cannon House Office Building and put his bag through screening. USCP officers noticed what appeared to be ammunition on the x-ray screen.” US CAPITOL POLICE ARREST HOUSE DEMOCRAT STAFF MEMBER AFTER FINDING AMMUNITION “After a hand search of the bag, officers found four ammunition magazines and eleven rounds of ammunition. The staffer told the officers that he forgot the ammunition was in the bag,” the statement continued. MORE CANDIDATES JUMP INTO WIDE-OPEN RACE FOR DNC CHAIR Capitol Police say Hopkins is now facing charges for unlawful possession of ammunition, including one charge for possession of a high-capacity magazine. Morelle’s office said prior to the announcement of Hopkins’ firing that it was gathering more information about the arrest. “As Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, Congressman Morelle is devoted to ensuring a safe and secure workplace for all,” it said in a statement. Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Outgoing DNC chair defends party, says 2024 could have been worse for Democrats
Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison defended his party’s performance in the 2024 elections this weekend, arguing they were up against a “global” pushback against parties in power. Harrison, who will not seek another term when Democrats vote on new leadership next year, admitted that his party had trouble connecting with the working class. He nevertheless argued that the outcome of the 2024 elections could have been much worse for the party. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that Kamala Harris is not going to be the next president of the United States,” Harrison said. “Although Democrats did not achieve what we set out to do, Trump wasn’t able to capture the support of more than 50% of the electorate and Democrats beat back global headwinds that could’ve turned this squeaker into a landslide.” A slew of Democrats are competing to replace Harrison now that he will not seek another term. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet at the beginning of February at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC’s winter meeting. WHO ELSE IS MULLING A BID TO STEER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY The long list of candidates seeking to replace Harrison includes former Chicago mayor and current U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, as well as Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor. Ben Wikler, who has led the Democratic Party in Wisconsin for five years, has also thrown his hat in the ring. Other candidates include former New York State assembly member Michael Blake, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who describes himself as “non-college-educated Mexican redneck.” Democrats across the country have speculated as to why the American electorate sided so strongly against them in the 2024 elections. Moderates like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., argued in an interview with the New York Times that the party lost the support of male voters by being “insulting” and condescending. “Telling them that ‘I know better than you do,’ that’s not helpful,” Fetterman said, characterizing the party’s message to male voters. Fetterman recalled a 2016 event where he noted Trump’s resonance with male voters and what he deemed a poor party response. “I was doing an event with the steelworkers across the street where I live, and I was noticing [a] different kind of energy with this, with Trump. It was clear at that time that people were voting for Trump. And the Democrats’ response was, ‘Aren’t they smart enough to realize they’re voting against their interests?’” he said. “And that’s insulting, and that’s, I mean, that’s, that’s just not helpful. It’s condescending. And if anything, that reinforces that kind of stereotype,” he added. TRUMP VICTORY PROVES IMPORTANCE OF CANDID, LONGFORM PODCASTS AS PLATFORM SHOWED ‘HUMAN SIDE’ OF ONE CANDIDATE Trump secured a strong majority of the male vote in the 2024 election cycle, making notable strides with Blacks, Latinos and younger male voters in particular. Throughout the presidential campaign, Democratic Party polling showed support among men flagging, but efforts to reach them with running mate Tim Walz and celebrity surrogates faltered. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, Gabriel Hays and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
John Bolton declares hiking US defense budget the ‘most important priority in foreign affairs today’
Former national security advisor John Bolton described raising the U.S. defense budget as the top foreign affairs priority. “The single most important priority in foreign affairs today is to increase the American defense budget. I think Congress would support a major increase if Trump proposed it. I hope that’s what he does,” Bolton declared in a post on X. Bolton said last month during an appearance on CNN that he hopes Pete Hegseth, who Trump nominated to serve as Defense Secretary, secures “a massive increase in the Defense Department budget,” noting that if domestic spending could be slashed so the deficit does not increase, “that would be important too.” PENTAGON FAILS 7TH AUDIT IN A ROW, UNABLE TO FULLY ACCOUNT FOR $824B BUDGET Bolton has asserted that the Senate should oppose Trump’s pick of Kash Patel to serve as FBI director. “John Bolton has been wrong about everything so I guess Kash must be pretty awesome,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said in a post on X. Bolton previously suggested that the Senate should reject Trump’s nomination of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the role of director of national intelligence, and of Matt Gaetz for attorney general. JOHN BOLTON COMPARES KASH PATEL TO STALIN’S RIGHT-HAND MAN AFTER TRUMP’S FBI NOMINATION After former Rep. Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the role last month, Bolton tweeted, “One down, more to follow.” Business magnate Elon Musk called Bolton “a staggeringly dumb warmonger” in a tweet last month. In a July post, Musk called Bolton “a belligerent idiot.” ELON MUSK BLASTS JOHN BOLTON AS ‘STAGGERINGLY DUMB WARMONGER’ AFTER CRITICISM OF TRUMP AG PICK MATT GAETZ Bolton, who served as national security advisor during a portion of Trump’s first term, previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during a portion of President George W. Bush’s White House tenure.
Senate Democrats to hold leadership elections after losing chamber majority
Democrat senators are scheduled to hold an internal leadership election to fill their top posts in the chamber less than two months after losing the Senate majority to Republicans in the 2024 election. The election is expected to take place on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning, with a focus on who will fill the No. 3 position held by a retiring longtime lawmaker. Last month’s election cost Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a job he has long held: Senate majority leader. But it will only amount to a demotion for Schumer, who will assume the position of Senate minority leader in 2025. Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is also expected to remain the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber as minority whip, a position he has held for nearly two decades. SENATE CONFIRMING KASH PATEL AS FBI DIRECTOR IS A ‘BIG QUESTION MARK,’ EXPERT ARGUES However, the third ranking Democrat, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., did not seek re-election this cycle, leaving her policy and communications committee chair position up for grabs. ‘CONVEYOR BELT OF RADICALS’: GOP SLAMMED OVER SENATE ABSENCES THAT HELPED BIDEN SCORE MORE JUDGES IN LAME DUCK Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., were reportedly both competing for the No. 3 position in the chamber. However, Axios reported Monday that the Minnesota Democrat is in line to fill the coveted leadership post. Booker will reportedly take on the No. 4 position in the Senate, though it is unclear as to what that will entail, according to an Axios report ahead of the leadership election. Booker spent the campaign season making himself known around the country with appearances in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin, per the New Jersey Globe. Senate Republicans recently held leadership elections as they gear up for their six-seat majority in the chamber next Congress. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was elected via secret ballot in November to serve as Senate majority leader in the 119th Congress, replacing Schumer in the No. 1 position in the chamber.
Hunter Biden’s ex-biz partner reveals Trump DOJ blueprint he would like to see after last-minute pardon
FIRST ON FOX: A former longtime friend and business partner of Hunter Biden reveals the blueprint he would like the Trump Department of Justice to implement after President Biden announced on Sunday that he was giving his son a full pardon. Devon Archer, who served on Ukrainian energy company Burisma’s board alongside Hunter, says he is looking ahead to the future and is optimistic about the Trump DOJ. When Fox News Digital asked Archer about the elder Biden’s pardon, he sidestepped addressing the pardon and instead called for the Trump DOJ to be “an impartial institution again.” “I look forward to the Trump Administration restoring the Justice Department to an institution that reflects the founding principles of justice and adheres to federal laws akin to its inception on July 1, 1870,” Archer told Fox News Digital. “The DOJ needs to be an impartial institution again rather than being driven by personal or political agendas as witnessed in recent years,” he continued. TRUMP PREVIOUSLY PREDICTED BIDEN WOULD PARDON SON HUNTER Archer has faced his own legal troubles related to his criminal conviction for his alleged role in defrauding a Native American tribe. A federal judge sentenced Archer to prison in 2018 for allegedly defrauding the tribe by fraudulently issuing $60 million in tribal bonds after he was convicted by a jury. However, his conviction was thrown out in late 2018 by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan because she was “left with an unwavering concern that Archer is innocent of the crimes charged,” according to Reuters. Archer’s conviction would then be reinstated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals a month before the 2020 election and he received a one-year and one-day prison sentence in February 2022. Despite the sentence, Archer’s lawyer, Matthew Schwartz, has maintained his innocence and said they intended to file a series of appeals, which has delayed Archer serving his sentence. “Mr. Archer is obviously disappointed with today’s sentence, and intends to appeal. It is unfortunate that the judge, who has previously expressed concern that Mr. Archer is innocent of the crimes charged and reiterated that belief today, felt that she was constrained not to act on her independent assessment of the evidence,” Schwartz said in February 2022. President Biden announced on Sunday that he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after the first son was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year. The announcement was made by the White House on Sunday night. The pardon applies to offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024. This decade-long window covers Hunter’s Burisma tenure, among several other shady foreign business dealings. “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden wrote in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” ‘IT’S A SETBACK’: DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE BIDEN OVER HUNTER PARDON Hunter Biden’s pardon has incensed Republicans who have alleged for years that Hunter Biden’s business dealings while his father was vice president were not legitimate. Archer spoke before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last year and detailed the business connections between Joe and Hunter Biden. Archer said Biden was put on the phone to sell “the brand,” according to a transcript of the hearing. These phone calls included a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li of BHR Partners, a state-backed private equity firm. Archer also testified that there was value in adding Hunter Biden to Burisma’s board as “the brand,” a source previously told Fox News Digital. The argument was that then-Vice President Joe Biden brought the most value. Archer also stated that Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, would have gone under if not for “the brand.” The president, his 2020 campaign staff and top White House aides previously claimed at least 20 times that Biden “never discussed” his son Hunter’s business dealings with him, which Archer’s testimony directly contradicted. Democrats have maintained that Hunter Biden did nothing wrong with his businesses and the president defended his son in his Sunday statement. “Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” Biden said. “Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.” Biden also referenced his son’s battle with addiction and blamed “raw politics” for the unraveling of Hunter’s plea deal. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” the 82-year-old father wrote. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden’s statement concluded. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report
Hunter Biden’s pardon sets troubling precedent, risks politicizing Justice Department, critics say
President Biden faced mounting criticism Monday for the “sweeping” pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, with critics citing fears that it could be used by Trump to further his views of a “politicized” Justice Department and erode the role of the judiciary as an important check on executive power. In a statement announcing the pardon, Biden took aim at what he described as a politically motivated investigation. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” the president wrote. That Biden used his final weeks as a lame duck president to protect his only living son from prosecution was met with less shock among legal analysts than was the sheer breadth of the pardon itself, which spans a nearly 11-year period beginning in January 2014, the year Hunter was appointed to the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, and ending on Sunday, the day that the White House announced the pardon. While that time frame includes both the federal firearm and tax evasion convictions that Hunter was convicted of this year, experts say the scope of the pardon could go much further by extending to any actions committed for more than a decade, virtually ensuring the president’s son cannot be held accountable for any activity conducted during that period. In terms of both length and scope, the Hunter Biden pardon “could really could not be more sweeping, to be honest with you,” Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and member of Congress, told Fox News Digital in an interview. The time frame included in the pardon covers “almost all federal statutes of limitations,” Gowdy said. “For the vast majority of federal crimes, this covers this time period and means that charges cannot be brought.” SPECIAL COUNSEL, IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY DON’T BUY BIDEN ‘SPIN’ ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA Critics note that Biden broke his own repeated declarations that he would not pardon Hunter earlier this year. First, after he was found guilty in June on three felony firearm charges, and then in September after he pleaded guilty to separate federal charges of tax evasion. “I am not going to do anything,” Biden said this summer. “I will abide by the jury’s decision.” This week, Biden did the opposite. White House officials insist that Biden still backs his contention this summer that “no one is above the law.” “As he said in his statement, he has deep respect for our justice system,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “And as a wide range of legal experts have pointed out, this pardon is indisputably within his authority and warranted by the facts of the case.” “The pardon power was written in absolute terms, and a president can even, in my view, pardon himself,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote in an op-ed for Fox News Digital. “However, what is constitutional is not necessarily ethical or right,” Turley said, adding that in his view, Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter is “one of the most disgraceful pardons even in the checkered history of presidential pardons.” “His portrayal of his son as a victim stands in sharp contrast to the sense of immunity and power conveyed by Hunter in his dealings,” Turley said. BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE Some lawmakers and legal analysts separately cited fears that the pardon could further erode public trust in the Justice Department, giving more credence to Trump’s frequent complaints that the Department of Justice is a political apparatus capable of being “weaponized” rather than a department that strives to act independently and largely without political influence. In granting the pardon, Biden is “essentially endorsing Trump’s long-held opinion that the Department of Justice is politicized and isn’t acting impartially,” longtime GOP strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News in an interview. Gowdy said Biden’s pardon reflects his longtime view that the Justice Department has been too politicized in recent years and needs to be reformed, citing a swirl of investigations during recent administrations, including probes that were led by House committees, and which looked into the actions of both Biden and Trump family members. “When I was a prosecutor, politics had nothing to do with the job,” Gowdy said. “I didn’t know the politics of a single one of my co-workers.” The focus, he said, should be shifted back not to “targeting people, but targeting fact patterns.” “Prosecuting your political enemies, involving family members, all of this stuff is new, and all of it’s really dangerous.” Special Counsel David Weiss, who brought both cases against Hunter Biden, has defended his actions against claims that the prosecutions were politically motivated, noting in a court filing Monday that Hunter Biden’s team had filed “eight motions to dismiss the indictment, making every conceivable argument for why it should be dismissed, all of which were determined to be meritless.” Weiss added, “There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case.” PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PARDON OF SON HUNTER A POLITICAL GIFT FOR TRUMP GOING FORWARD Still, some have objected to the intense investigation surrounding Hunter Biden, noting that if not for his father’s presidency, he likely would not have faced charges in the gun case. Gowdy, a former Republican House member, said he ultimately agreed with that contention. “I prosecuted gun cases for six years,” Gowdy told Fox News Digital. “I would not have taken this case.” “There’s a lot of really serious federal violent crime out there, and I would not have wasted the resources on the gun part of this,” Gowdy explained. But the former South Carolina lawmaker also said that doesn’t mean he would have let Biden’s son off the hook. “I definitely would have gone forward on the taxes and allegations of corruption,” Gowdy said of the other allegations against Biden. Ultimately, the Justice Department and FBI need to be “significantly reformed,” Gowdy said. “They
Biden, Trump both rip DOJ after president pardons Hunter
There is no other way to put it: Joe Biden lied. Over and over. After repeatedly promising, pledging, vowing not to pardon his son Hunter, the President of the United States did exactly that. The move amounted to a devastating vote of no confidence in his own Justice Department, matching Donald Trump’s own denunciations of that very department. PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER, SPARING HIM POSSIBLE PRISON SENTENCE Trump, who also pardoned several political allies during his first term, was quick to react on Truth Social: “Does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” And prominent Republicans are calling Biden a liar, with ample justification. I think most people assumed that a father wouldn’t let his son go to jail. And if the president had explained it in those terms, he might have garnered some public sympathy. But he did not. You know how the president often talks about “my word as a Biden”? I mistakenly assumed that he wouldn’t promise again and again not to pardon his son or commute his sentence if he had thought there was any possibility he would get Hunter off the legal hook. But what is anyone going to do? He leaves office next month, his political career is over and the story will quickly fade. MEDIA ADMITS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS TOO ‘WOKE’ AFTER KAMALA HARRIS’ 2024 LOSS Biden sounded very much like Trump as he accused the DOJ, which he had long defended, of treating his son unfairly – swinging the political door wide open for the president-elect to retaliate against Justice, in part by naming longtime confidant Kash Patel to run the FBI. Biden said his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” and he blamed political pressure on the special counsel named in the case. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been 5-1/2 years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” But that bolsters the Trump argument that he too was singled out for selective prosecution by the DOJ – and will be in a position to do something about it. Hunter put out his own statement after the Sunday pardon: “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.” The feeble attempts by some in the media and in Democratic politics to defend Biden are just sad, because they only tell half the story. Let’s say Hunter Biden was in fact singled out for prosecution, that the case would have been routinely disposed of if his last name was Jones. (Hunter had already been convicted in one case and pleaded guilty in another to tax and gun-related charges.) But as Hunter admitted in one email, it was his last name, when his father was vice president, that enabled him to land all those buckraking contracts from around the world. It’s why the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma hired him, why he was able to get money from China. TRUMP HIT FOR HIRING LOYALISTS LIKE PAM BONDI: DOESN’T EVERY PRESIDENT DO THAT? Hunter had no expertise in any of these areas. What he had was a connection to a powerful father. The pardon is so sweeping that it covers everything Hunter may have done from Jan. 1, 2004 through Sunday – which could be a way of his father protecting himself as well. Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters on several occasions that Biden would not pardon Hunter. Hunter Biden on Sunday night released a statement noting his recovery from addiction and his sobriety: “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.” Mark Halperin argues that Biden put his son in jeopardy by running for president, knowing the full range of Hunter’s addiction problems – and lied about Hunter not getting money from China and not helping his business clients (even if he just made small talk at a couple of group meetings). TRUMP NOMINATES KASH PATEL TO SERVE AS FBI DIRECTOR: ‘ADVOCATE FOR TRUTH’ Meanwhile, Trump’s choice of Kash Patel for the FBI (who would replace his own appointee, Chris Wray, who replaced the fired Jim Comey) has sparked a media backlash. One thing no one can argue is that Patel lacks experience. He has been chief of staff at the Pentagon and a deputy assistant to the president. In fact, he was a national security prosecutor in the Obama Justice Department, before Trump got into politics. But on Steve Bannon’s podcast last year, Patel said: “Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly.” Patel has also said that on day one he’d shut down the FBI headquarters in Washington – ironically named for J. Edgar Hoover – and turn it into a museum on the “deep state.” Its 7,000 employees would be dispersed around the country. One thing Biden never did was put any family members on the government payroll, as Trump did in naming Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, to top White House positions in the first term. Now Trump is continuing that tradition by naming Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, as ambassador to France. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES
DOJ special counsel says Hunter Biden’s indictment should not be dismissed
Attorneys for first son Hunter Biden filed a motion with the court arguing that the grand jury indictment against President Biden’s son be dismissed completely, though the special counsel assigned to the case says the dismissal should be denied. President Biden pardoned his son Hunter late Sunday evening, sparing him from being sentenced in a pair of separate court cases in which he was found guilty of illegally purchasing a gun and failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes — convictions the president claimed were politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.” On Monday, Special Counsel David Weiss of the U.S. Department of Justice filed a request to the judge who presided over the gun case, Judge Maryellen Noreika, seeking to deny the motion to dismiss Hunter’s indictment. “The Government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy,” Weiss said in the filing. “That does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive or selective prosecution. SPECIAL COUNSEL, IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY DON’T BUY BIDEN ‘SPIN’ ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA “No court has agreed with the defendant on these baseless claims, and his request to dismiss the indictment finds no support in the law,” the special counsel added before requesting the dismissal of the indictment be denied. In response to the request, Hunter’s attorney, Abbe Lowell of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Winston & Strawn LLP, argued that the majority of courts support a dismissal. “The Special Counsel paradoxically claims that Mr. Biden’s notice is ‘without any legal support’ in suggesting that his pardon means that the Court should dismiss the indictment, at the same time, the Special Counsel acknowledges that ‘the majority of courts, when faced with such a decision, have chosen to dismiss an indictment,’” the defense team wrote. “The Special Counsel’s admission that this is the practice of the ‘majority of courts’ certainly provides legal support to Mr. Biden’s claim that dismissal is warranted.” JOE BIDEN MET WITH AT LEAST 14 OF HUNTER’S BUSINESS ASSOCIATES WHILE VICE PRESIDENT Hunter Biden was found guilty in the gun case in June, with a jury of his peers determining he made a false statement in the purchase of a gun, made a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. He has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” which walked readers through his previous need to smoke crack cocaine every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a “crack daddy” to drug dealers, and anecdotes revolving around drug deals, such as a Washington, D.C., crack dealer Hunter Biden nicknamed “Bicycles.” In the tax case, Hunter faced another trial regarding three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court in September, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Trump to attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris five years after devastating fire
President-elect Trump will travel to Paris this weekend to attend the re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire damaged the 12th-century structure. Trump announced the Dec. 7 visit on social media. “It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he wrote on Truth Social. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.” NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL TO REOPEN, BRACES FOR INFLUX OF TOURISTS AFTER DEVASTATING FIRE “It will be a very special day for all!” he added. The invite-only ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday are expected to attract about 50 heads of state and governments. Aides to Trump were in talks with French President Macron’s office regarding the visit, sources confirmed to Fox News. Nearly $1 billion was raised to rebuild the iconic site after a catastrophic fire swept across the landmark in April 2019. Around $148 million of that sum remains. The blaze caused the collapse of the cathedral’s roof and part of its exterior while destroying the interior. HUMAN REMAINS AT NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL MAY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AFTER MORE THAN 450 YEARS At the time of the blaze, Trump encouraged France to use “flying water tankers” to put out a raging fire. “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” he wrote. “Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” The cathedral was visited by more than 12 million people every year before the fire, according to the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris’ site. French President Emmanuel Macron toured the site ahead of its reopening to the public on Dec. 8, describing the experience as “overwhelming,” An estimated 15 million annual visitors are expected to book time-allocated slots upon the reopening, according to the cathedral’s website.
Trump suggests Canada become 51st state after Trudeau said tariff would kill economy: sources
President-elect Trump suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week that if a tariff for failing to address trade and immigration issues would kill the neighbor to the north’s economy, maybe it should become the 51st state, sources told Fox News. Last Friday, Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago unannounced after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Specifically, Trump is threatening to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico over their failures to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from those countries into the U.S. Now, new details are beginning to emerge about the meeting between the two men, which Trump called “very productive.” Before nibbling on crab cocktail and slurping down oysters, the issues of tariffs, border security and trade deficits were front and center. TRUMP BOASTS OF ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING’ WITH CANADIAN PM TRUDEAU AT MAR-A-LAGO According to two people at the table who heard the discussion, Trump, while cordial and welcoming, was very direct when it came to what he wants from his counterpart to the North. Paraphrasing the discussion, Trump told Trudeau that Canada has failed the U.S. border by allowing large amounts of drugs and people across the border, including illegal immigrants from over 70 different countries. Sources say Trump became more animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated to be more than $100 billion. MUSK, STALLONE AMONG STAR-STUDDED NAMES PARTYING AT TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO CLUB FOR THANKSGIVING The president-elect told the prime minister if Canada cannot fix the border issues and trade deficit, he will levy a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods on day one when he returns to office. Trudeau told Trump he cannot levy the tariff because it would kill the Canadian economy completely. Trump replied – asking, so your country can’t survive unless it’s ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion? Trump then suggested to Trudeau that Canada become the 51st state, which caused the prime minister and others to laugh nervously, sources told Fox News. MEXICAN PRESIDENT MIGHT BE CHANGING VIEW ON US AS TRUMP WIN SENDS WARNING TO RULING SOCIALISTS But he continued, telling Trudeau that prime minister is a better title, though he could still be governor of the 51st state. Sources told Fox News someone at the table chimed in and advised Trump that Canada would be a very liberal state, which received even more laughter. Trump suggested that Canada could possibly become two states: a conservative and a liberal one. He told Trudeau that if he cannot handle his list of demands without ripping the U.S. off in trade, maybe Canada should really become a state or two and Trudeau could become a governor. While sources say the exchange got many laughs, Trump delivered the message that he expected change by January 20. The nearly three-hour conversation continued about various other topics, and at the end, the Canadian guests called the dinner “very friendly and very positive,” though no reference was made about becoming the 51st state. Fox News Digital has reached out to both the Trump camp and Trudeau’s team about the statements, though neither immediately responded.