Authored by Jim Banks via RealClearDefense,

For four years, we have seen the consequences of weak leadership in the White House: a world rife with conflict, a foreign policy that has emboldened adversaries like Communist China and Iran and abandoned allies like Israel further degrading American security. 

This past fall, the American people voted to usher in an era of renewed American strength. President Trump campaigned on a promise to restore American leadership on the world stage and is appointing the right team to ensure that promises made are promises kept. Specifically at international institutions like the United Nations, this America First leadership cannot come soon enough. Elise Stefanik is the perfect choice to deliver on President Trump’s agenda as Ambassador to the United Nations.

Her pledge to bring “transparency and reform” to the international body is desperately needed. For too long, American interests have taken a backseat at the UN.

The UN rakes in billions of American taxpayer dollars while actively undermining our interests. It allows the worst human rights abusers to sit on the so-called “Human Rights Council,” pushes a radical climate agenda that would destroy our energy industry, and persecutes our most greatest ally Israel while turning a blind eye to bad actors like China and Iran.

Elise understands that there can be no equivocation in our support for our greatest ally, Israel. As a fellow member of the Armed Services Committee during our shared time in the House, she joined me in pushing legislation after legislation that ensures Israel’s right to defend itself and combat the rampant antisemitism polluting our institutions including the United Nations. 

At a time when we face upheaval across the globe, Elise understands that security and peace can only be obtained through strength. Gone are the days of allowing our adversaries unchecked. And under President Trump’s historic national security team filled with my former colleagues and friends, we will restore American standing to the world stage. 

During his first administration, President Trump successfully instituted a historic maximum pressure campaign to hold Iran accountable for its violent actions. Working alongside Congress and with President Trump in the White House, Elise will use her position at the UN to strengthen international pressure on the Iranian regime and hold them accountable once again. 

In addition to standing with Israel and combating Iranian aggression, another key pillar of restoring American strength will be standing up to China, which continues to be a pressing threat to our nation’s security.

Elise summed up the dire need for UN reform and specifically the influence of Communist China when she wrote, “We must strive for a UN in which no one nation is expected to foot the bill but receive no accountability or transparency in return, in which no despot or dictator can sit in judgment of others while deflecting attention away from their own human rights abuses, and in which no organization corrupted by the likes of the Chinese Communist Party can dictate sweeping conventions and international standards across its membership.”

As we saw from their actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN and its World Health Organization are in the pocket of Communist China and its leadership. Across the UN body, subagencies have become mouthpieces for Communist Chinese talking points turning a blind eye to their disgusting human rights violations as they hypocritically chastise other nations’ on the matter from their seat on the Human Rights Council. Under America First leadership and with Elise at the helm, the United Nations will root out this corruption, ensuring accountability for taxpayer dollars sent to the United Nation serve the American people first and foremost. Elise has proven time and time again to be a fighter who will not stand idly by while these international organizations do China’s bidding. 

During her time in public office Elise has shown that she will fight to protect the interests of the American people, defend American sovereignty, and strengthen American security by empowering our allies like Israel and deterring the malign actions of our adversaries like Communist China and Iran. 

Now more than ever that fighting spirit is needed at the UN. I look forward to voting in support of her nomination on the Senate floor and encourage my colleagues to follow suit. 

Sen. Jim Banks (Rep,, Ind.) he preveiously represented Indiana’s 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Was Biden China’s Manchurian candidate the entire time?” David Asher, an expert on illicit financing who previously worked at the US Defense and State Departments, asked on X, following the last-minute pardons that former President Biden issued on Monday morning for family members, including his brother, James Biden; his sister-in-law, Sara Jones Biden; his sister, Valerie Biden Owens; his brother-in-law, John T. Owens; and his youngest brother, Francis Biden. 

The Biden Crime Family pic.twitter.com/HNo1hf22ln

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) January 21, 2025

Asher said, “Biden just pardoned his family, not just Hunter. It’s a clear indication that they have a secret to cover up. Bohai (aka BHR) is worth billions. Via beneficial interest, Biden family may own up to 27%.” 

Biden just pardoned his family, not just Hunter. It’s a clear indication that they have a secret to cover up. Bohai (aka BHR) is worth billions. Via beneficial interest Biden family may own up to 27%. Was Biden China’s Manchurian candidate the entire time? pic.twitter.com/5S26KEIbnY

— David Asher (@dasher8090) January 20, 2025

Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, Hunter Biden’s “sugar brother,” purchased Hunter’s 10% stake in the China-backed investment firm BHR Partners during President Biden’s first year in office. The move allowed the Biden family to declare they had divested from foreign business interests. 

Asher noted, “Hunter says he sold his shares in 2021 to his lawyer/landlord Smith but if that truly happened he would received several billion dollars,” adding, “No evidence of that. All signs are he owns at least 18.8%.” 

Biden’s beneficial interest (and likely direct shadow ownership based on Chinese sources) in Bohai is worth billions of dollars. Hunter says he sold his shares in 2021 to his lawyer/landlord Smith but if that truly happened he would received several billion dollars. No evidence… https://t.co/L0ELFELnXu

— David Asher (@dasher8090) January 20, 2025

“Bohai appears to own China defense company, Zhongkui Group as well. So potential direct ties to the People’s Liberation Army and domestic/foreign Chinese intelligence. WTF??” Asher emphasized. 

Bohai appears to own China defense company, Zhongkui Group as well. So potential direct ties to the People’s Liberation Army and domestic/foreign Chinese intelligence. WTF?? https://t.co/DqcpEDWszk pic.twitter.com/qEcI3fvRnI

— David Asher (@dasher8090) January 20, 2025

Hmmm.

BHR have taken down their website—just in time for the Biden family pardon. Sound suspicious?? https://t.co/QkeQoJkeCQ pic.twitter.com/5gRm8hLZvb

— David Asher (@dasher8090) January 20, 2025

Asher questioned: “Are their associates (Bulger, Morris, et al.) “beneficial shareholders” and have been the whole time? What did they do to be given “golden” founders shares, to begin with, if not for the Biden’s?”

He continued, “Their shares apparently were worth hundreds of millions and possibly billions, at least on paper? So they received this from a Chinese Communist Party company – it is apparently the oldest private equity fund in all of China. While Biden was Vice President and then President? Why are Hunter’s buddies still on the board and or “supervisors.” What’s the deal between Whitey Bulger’s family and the Bidens? Was Biden a Manchurian candidate for the ChiComms?” 

Asher reposted a clip of Peter Schweizer, who said the Biden family pardons are merely “an extension of Joe Biden himself and his role in the family’s dealings.” 

As we said in December when Joe Biden pardoned his son, these pardons are an extension of Joe Biden himself and his role in the family’s dealings. https://t.co/F2hOMUVUCg pic.twitter.com/1SYVjyvdXx

— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) January 20, 2025

Earlier, the former president said blanket pardons to family members do not acknowledge wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be viewed as an admission of guilt. They cover all nonviolent offenses beginning on Jan. 1, 2014. This comes as various Biden family members have been under investigation for influence peddling.

Here’s Vice President Biden and Hunter Biden pictured with Hunter’s Chinese business associates at a 2013 dinner in Beijing. 

Zero Hedge notes that former President Biden denied attending any dinner or meeting with Hunter’s Chinese business associates. 

REPORTER (@stevennelson10): “You didn’t have dinner or lunch [with your son’s business partners]?”

BIDEN (lying): “No!” pic.twitter.com/GV7SnjISXv

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 2, 2024

Speaking with The Hill on Monday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY.) said the pardons “validated” the investigations into Biden family members.

“We finished our investigation, we published a very detailed report, and I think the pardons validate everything in that report,” Comer said, adding, “Now it’s Pam Bondi’s.”

Biden BHR was partners with a CCP United Front entity. How do the hell does this happen? Read this and weep!
Thank God for Trump. Hope AG Bondi goes to work on the Manchurian candidate ASAP. This is crazy. pic.twitter.com/o03Ns4wcj9

— David Asher (@dasher8090) January 21, 2025

Asher continued, “Trump is making history on day one. We are going to end the BS in the USG and make things in government and for the people more than great again. Trump’s better than he’s ever been before. Even old line conservatives need to get on board.” 

“If I get back in, the deep State will be upended and we will make the Department of State great again under Secretary Rubio— who is a total genius and tremendous leader under the president. China will pay for COVID and fentanyl. Iran will not be forgiven for attempting to kill the president and many others while it moves to build nukes to destabilize the Middle East and threaten the US and Europe. We can do a great deal without resorting to kinetic force. Peace through strength!” he concluded. 

The key takeaway is that the last-minute pardons for various members of the Biden family prompted Asher to conduct a public forensic analysis, which raises more questions than answers—particularly about whether Hunter still has ties (potentially beneficial interest) to BHR despite allegedly divesting several years ago. 

Biden has just pardoned his brother and four other relatives, in addition to Hunter. It’s a tacit admission of their guilt. The Bidens took tens of millions from people “directly tied to the spy apparatus of China. All the people involved had ties to Chinese intelligence.” https://t.co/8T4dKCwZJQ pic.twitter.com/EdE5tICuca

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) January 20, 2025

According to a 2022 Fox News report, Peter Schweizer stated that the CCP leadership employs a strategy known as “elite capture” to influence or buy off prominent US oligarchs—potentially including the Bidens—to avoid direct conflict.

“If we [CCP] can capture them with sweetheart deals, with other benefits, we can effectively lobotomize the United States by making them unresponsive to our threats,” Schweizer said of Beijing’s strategy. 

During Biden’s first term, China was largely unchecked in its military base expansion in the South China Sea, the presence of PLA ships in Japanese waters, the deployment of hypersonic missiles capable of destroying US aircraft carriers, and simulated war-gaming around Taiwan. Spy balloons floated over US territory, the drug crisis—fueled by fentanyl precursor chemicals from China smuggled via Mexican cartels across open southern and northern borders—intensified, the origins of Covid from a potential Chinese lab leak were dismissed, and the largest offensive cyberattack against the US (still ongoing) occurred, all without a clear policy response from the Biden administration and a rudderless Department of Defense.

Asher concluded: “This honeypot strategy by the CCP is as old as time. It’s hard to believe the Bidens would fall for it—let alone get away with it—while the corporate media fails to grasp or report on the massive scale, scope, and influence of Bohai within the Chinese Communist Party establishment.”

All of this may explain why former President Biden preemptively pardoned his family members.

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The outcome of Trump’s continued struggle with the “deep state” will reverberate across the world…

Putin’s senior aide Nikolai Patrushev, who ran the FSB for nearly a decade (1999-2008) before chairing the Security Council for over 15 years till recently (2008-2024), made three predictions about international affairs in his latest interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. The first concerns the continued struggle between Trump and the “deep state”, the latter of which can be described as US’ permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies, some members of whom are known to oppose him.

Patrushev expects Trump to implement domestic and foreign policies that are practically the opposite of Biden’s, which he characterizes as pragmatic and more aligned with the interests of the American people, but he’s unsure whether he’ll ultimately succeed due to internal resistance. The precedent from his first term bodes ill for his second, but the outcome of this latest struggle will reverberate for decades seeing as how the world is undergoing far-reaching systemic changes last seen since 1991.

On that topic, Patrushev assessed that one of Trump’s top foreign policy priorities is to ramp up pressure on China, including by artificially exacerbating bilateral tensions.

He then reminded everyone that “For us, China has been and remains a most important partner, with whom we have relations of especially privileged strategic cooperation. These relations are not subject to the situation, they remain regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.” This can be interpreted as signaling that Russia won’t backstab China.

In other words, Trump’s declared goal of “un-uniting” those two will fail, thus meaning that no worsening of their relations will occur. This shouldn’t be misunderstood as suggesting that Russia will go out of its way to help China at the expense of provoking the US’ wrath, however, seeing as how China hasn’t done that for Russia. After all, the Chinese-based BRICS Bank and SCO comply with US sanctions against Russia as do some of its local banks, all of which is proven in the preceding hyperlinked analyses.

A Chinese company also pulled out of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 megaproject under sanctions duress too while private drone companies sell their wares to Ukraine. At the same time, Russia continues arming China’s Indian rival to the teeth despite their nascent rapprochement, and it also authorized the shipment of jointly Indian produced BrahMos supersonic missiles to the Philippines a year ago. Accordingly, while Sino-Russo ties will remain strong, some differences will nevertheless still exist.

And finally, the last prediction that Patrushev made in his latest interview was that Moldova and Ukraine might cease to exist as a result of their anti-Russian policies, with the first possibly “becoming part of another state” in an allusion to joining Romania like some nationalists there want to have happen. As for the second, his ominous prediction was preceded by him remarking about how such policies “are destroying once prosperous cities in Ukraine, including Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolaev, and Dnepropetrovsk.”

While some might believe that he’s implying that Russian forces will sweep across both to the Romanian and Polish borders respectively, it’s much more likely that he simply wants Moldova, Ukraine, and their shared American patron to bear in mind the possibly existential stakes if the conflict further escalates. Of course, it’s also possible that one or both collapse under the weight of their anti-Russian policies due to a combination of domestic instability and Russian pressure, but that probably isn’t what he meant.

This take on his intentions stems from what else he said about the need for Russia to only negotiate with the US, not with the UK, the EU, or anyone else. He reaffirmed that Russia will achieve its goals in the conflict and won’t cede any territory, but the overall impression is that Russia is interested in compromising with Trump the pragmatist, though the potential failure to agree to a decent deal (perhaps due to “deep state” subterfuge) could doom Moldova and Ukraine (at least with time).

Reflecting on Patrushev’s predictions, all three are grounded in a solid understanding of their associated dynamics, which is to be expected from someone like him. What unites them all is whether or not Trump will succeed in overcoming “deep state” opposition to his policies, thus making this domestic aspect of his platform globally important. If he does, then the US will likely cut a deal in Ukraine in order to “Pivot (back) to Asia” pronto, while it’ll likely remain in Ukraine and possibly even escalate if he doesn’t.

In the past, the name Costco has been synonymous with high employee morale and quality of life. The company has been revered as a place to work due to its good pay, stock options and high focus on employee retention. 

But leave it to unions to take that and flip it on its head. 

Now, “eighteen thousand Costco Teamsters are preparing to strike if a ‘fair contract offer’ is not presented by the end of the month,” according to a new report from Fox Business News. 

Eighty-five percent of Costco Teamsters nationwide voted to authorize a strike, according to a Sunday press release. As final negotiations began on January 20, tensions rose with practice pickets held in California, Washington, and Long Island. Hundreds in San Diego are set to join a large practice picket by Thursday, the union said.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien commented: “From day one, we’ve told Costco that our members won’t work a day past January 31 without a historic, industry-leading agreement.”

“Costco’s greedy executives have less than two weeks to do the right thing. If they refuse, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves when our members go on strike,” he continued. 

Bryan Fields, a Costco worker in Baltimore, added: “We are the backbone of Costco. We drive its success and generate its profits. We hope the company will step up and do right by us, but if they don’t, that’s on them. The company will be striking itself.”

Costco’s website says it “is often noted for being much more employee-focused than other Fortune 500 companies. By offering fair wages and top-notch benefits, the company has created a workplace culture that attracts positive, high-energy, talented employees.”

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

In a recent post, I discussed Wall Street’s return estimates for 2025 for the S&P 500 index. To wit:

“We have some early indications of Wall Street targets for the S&P 500 index, and, as is always the case, they are optimistic for the coming year. The median estimate is for the market to rise to 6600 next year, which would be a disappointing return of just 8.2% after two years of 20% plus gains. However, the high estimate from Wells Fargo suggests a 14% return, with the low estimate from UBS of just a 5% return. Notably, there is not one estimate available for a negative return.”

However, it isn’t just Wall Street analysts who are optimistic about 2025 returns. Retail investors are the most optimistic about higher stock prices in 2025 by the most on record. Unsurprisingly, that sentiment resulted in the psychological rush to overpay for assets, pushing forward 1-year valuations sharply higher.

Note that I stated that optimism about returns in 2025 is primarily a function of psychology. Over the last 15 years, stock market returns have run well above the long-term average of roughly 8%. Over the long run, which is the last 125 years, stocks have returned roughly 6% from capital appreciation and 4% from dividends on a nominal basis. However, since inflation has averaged approximately 2.5% over the same period, real returns are roughly 7.5% annually.

The chart below shows the average annual inflation-adjusted total returns (dividends included) since 1948. I used total return data Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern School of Business. The chart shows that from 1948 to 2024, the market returned 9.26% after inflation. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, inflation-adjusted total returns jumped by nearly three percentage points for the last three observation periods.

Here is the issue. Total real (inflation-adjusted) stock market returns are easy to calculate. They are a function of economic growth (GDP) plus dividends less inflation. Such was the case from 1948 to 2000. However, since 2008, GDP growth has averaged roughly 5% with a dividend yield of 2%, yet returns have far surpassed what the economy can generate in earnings.

Those consistently higher returns over the last 15 years have trained investors to expect elevated portfolio returns from the financial markets.

But is that realistic?

A Decade And A Half Of Outsized Returns

As we head into 2025, we must review what drove those outsized returns over the past 15 years and review what conditions exist today to support elevated returns in the future.

As noted, over the long term, there is an obvious relationship between the stock market and the economy. This is because economic activity creates corporate revenues and earnings. As such, stocks can not indefinitely grow faster than the economy over long periods. When stocks deviate from the underlying economy, the eventual resolution is lower stock prices. For example, the chart below compares the three from 1947 through 2024. The surge in earnings in 2021 resulted from reopening the shuttered economy in 2020, but that reversed in 2022 and returned to normal growth rates in 2023-2024 along with economic growth. However, as shown above, asset price returns are well above normal despite slower earnings and declining economic growth rates.

Since 1947, earnings per share have grown at 7.72%, while the economy has expanded by 6.4% annually. That close relationship in growth rates is logical, given the significant role that consumer spending has in the GDP equation.

As we saw in 2021, the difference between earnings and GDP growth is due to periods when earnings can grow faster than the economy. This is the case when the economy is coming out of a recession. However, while nominal stock prices have averaged 9.36%, reversions to underlying economic growth eventually occur. This is because corporate earnings are a function of consumptive spending, corporate investments, imports, and exports. 

So, if the economic and earnings relationship is true, what explains the market disconnect from underlying economic activity over the last 15 years? In other words, what drove portfolio returns, if all else is equal? Two differences in the previous 15 years didn’t exist before 2008.

The first is corporate stock buybacks. While corporate share repurchases are not new, the egregious use of buybacks to boost earnings per share accelerated post-2008. As discussed previously:

“In a previous Wall Street Journal study, 93% of the respondents point to “influence on stock price” and “outside pressure” as reasons for manipulating earnings figures. Such is why stock buybacks have continued to rise in recent years. Following the “pandemic shutdown,” they skyrocketed.”

The second is monetary and fiscal interventions, unprecedented since the financial crisis.

As discussed in “The Markets Are Frontrunning The Fed.” the psychological change is a function of more than a decade of fiscal and monetary interventions that have separated the financial markets from economic fundamentals. Since 2007, the Federal Reserve and the Government have continuously injected roughly $40 Trillion in liquidity into the financial system and the economy to support growth.

That support entered the financial system, lifting asset prices and boosting consumer confidence to support economic growth. However, over the last two years, while the Federal Reserve reduced its balance sheet and lifted rates, stocks climbed higher on expectations the Fed would eventually reverse course.

At the same time, federal expenditures have continued to swell, offsetting the reduction in the Fed’s balance sheet and higher borrowing costs.

The high correlation between these interventions and the financial markets is evident. The only outlier was during the Financial Crisis when the Fed launched the first round of Quantitative Easing (Q.E.). What followed was multiple Government bailouts, support for the housing and financial markets, zero interest rates, and eventually direct checks to households in 2020.

Given the repeated history of financial interventions over the last 15 years, it is unsurprising that investors now expect elevated portfolio returns in the future.

However, there are headwinds to those assumptions as we head into 2025.

Headwinds In 2025

Since the election, optimism has increased that the Trump administration will pass policies that will boost economic activity, reduce regulations, and cut tax rates. That surge in optimism was evident in the most recent National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey.

However, there are risks to those more optimistic assumptions for strong economic growth and continued strong portfolio returns. As noted, we must assume several factors for the market to deliver above-average returns.

• Economic growth remains more robust than the average 20-year growth rate.

• Wage and labor growth must reverse (weaken) to sustain historically elevated profit margins.

• Both interest rates and inflation need to decline to support consumer spending.

• Trump’s planned tariffs will increase costs on some products and may not be fully offset by replacement and substitution.

• The planned reductions in Government spending, debt issuance, and the deficit do not occur, supporting corporate profitability (Kalecki Profit Equation).

• Slower economic growth in China, Europe, and Japan must reverse to support demand for U.S. exports.

• The Federal Reserve continues to cut rates and slows or stops the reduction of its balance sheet to support market liquidity.

However, the current data trends do not support those assumptions. This is particularly true when current valuations deviate from the long-term exponential growth trend. Earnings must grow rapidly to justify the excess valuations. However, if those earnings fail to meet elevated expectations, the eventual reversal of market prices to realign valuations with earnings realities can be somewhat brutal.

As Jeremy Grantham noted:

“All 2-sigma equity bubbles in developed countries have broken back to trend. But before they did, a handful went on to become superbubbles of 3-sigma or greater: in the U.S. in 1929 and 2000 and in Japan in 1989. There were also superbubbles in housing in the U.S. in 2006 and Japan in 1989. All five of these superbubbles corrected all the way back to trend with much greater and longer pain than average.

Today in the U.S. we are in the fourth superbubble of the last hundred years.”

Whether you agree or not that we are developing another market bubble is a choice. However, the deviation from long-term growth trends is unsustainable. Repeated financial interventions by the Federal Reserve and the government have caused the current deviation to be well above anything seen in previous history. Therefore, reversing returns to their long-term means seems inevitable unless the Federal Reserve is committed to a never-ending program of zero interest rates and quantitative easing.

Given the current market dynamics, it is hard to fathom how forward return rates will not be disappointing compared to the last decade. However, the excess returns investors have become accustomed to were the result of a monetary illusion. The consequence of dispelling that illusion will be challenging for investors.

Will this mean investors make NO money in 2025 or beyond? No. It only means that returns will likely be substantially lower than investors have witnessed recently. But then again, getting an average return in 2025 may be “feel” very disappointing to many.

*  *  *

For more in-depth analysis and actionable investment strategies, visit RealInvestmentAdvice.com. Stay ahead of the markets with expert insights tailored to help you achieve your financial goals.

The head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has resigned and will leave his post on March 6.

Halevi said in a statement that he’s leaving after “recognizing my responsibility for the failure of the IDF on October 7, and at the point in time in which the IDF has recorded significant achievements, and is in the process of implementing an agreement to release hostages,” according to the Times of Israel.

“I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my replacement,” he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, is following Halevi’s lead, and says he too plans to resign from the military over his responsibility for the IDF’s failures leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

“Following my conscience and the values that guide me, I have decided to conclude my tenure as Commander of the Southern Command and my service in the IDF,” Finkelman wrote in a letter to Halevi.

“On October 7, I failed in my duty to protect the Western Negev and its beloved, heroic residents.”

Following the resignations, the head of the Knesset’s opposition parties, Yair Lapid, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow their lead and resign.

“I salute…Herzi Halevi. Now let the prime minister and his entire disastrous government take responsibility and resign,” Lapid posted on X.

Another opposition leader, Yisrael Beytenu, said “After the resignation of the [IDF] chief of staff, I call on the prime minister and the other members of the cabinet to take responsibility and follow him home.“

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Following a last ditch preemptive pardon by Joe Biden in his final hours as President, Anthony Fauci has claimed that he did nothing wrong, but appears to be accepting the pardon anyway.

The pardon, along with ones for all members of the January 6th Select Committee and General Mark Milley, was announced via Biden’s X account.

ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent says Fauci told him that the pardon is “appreciated,” but that he still claims complete innocence in regards to his role as head of NIH and the funding of dangerous gain of function ‘research’ from which, it is now generally accepted, came the COVID pandemic.

Dr. Fauci said he is grateful because the threats and possibility of a politically motivated prosecution “creates immeasurable and intolerable distress on me and my family.”

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) January 20, 2025

If he’s innocent, why does he need a pardon?

He doesn’t have to accept the pardon. If he did nothing wrong be a man and turn it down… But you know he won’t because everyone knows he’s guilty of so much. https://t.co/e2QKoHaUPb

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 20, 2025

If you’re not guilty of a crime, you don’t need a pardon. This is Biden’s way of deeply cementing his disdainful legacy further down into the sewer.

— JC Disciple AF Vet (@krew_ny) January 20, 2025

Accepting a pardon is a de facto admission of the crime. There is legal precedent. U.S. Supreme Court case Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915).

— Crowdsource The Truth (@JG_CSTT) January 20, 2025

If you accept the pardon you admit you committed a crime. pic.twitter.com/x0BZBdC1s8

— Cheesed Hammer (@CheesedHammer) January 20, 2025

Exactly. If he has done nothing, decline the pardon.

— Bompa (@RichPrusha) January 20, 2025

A pardon can only be issued for a specific crime. He cannot lawfully issue blanket pardons

— Crooked Joe (@Cr00k3dJoe) January 20, 2025

pic.twitter.com/lbvlC6O8G2

— Rhett Butler (@rhettmbutler) January 20, 2025

I guess Biden agrees they committed the crime.

At least he’s on the same page with us on something.

— Joel Fischer 🇺🇸 (@realJoelFischer) January 20, 2025

Dems know that there won’t be any political backlash for Biden because his political career is over. It’d be interesting to know who is really behind that decision.

— Ani Abello (@ANIABELLO_R) January 20, 2025

Does the pardon cover Fauci for just COVID or the AIDS/HIV scandal too?

Fauci forced people with AIDS to take his AZT drug which ended up taking the life of 330K people:

“Anthony Fauci at that time was trying to ban any kind of therapeutic drugs. He was trying to steer all of the business toward AZT…” pic.twitter.com/8gmnaqHkKh

— “Sudden And Unexpected” (@toobaffled) January 17, 2025

Is Fauci pardoned for his crimes ONLY during COVID?

Can we prosecute him for his role in the AIDS epidemic in 1985?

How is any of this allowed?

— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) January 20, 2025

Authored by Shawn Musgrave via TheIntercept.com,

In less than 30 minutes on Monday, Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency were hit with four different lawsuits over the legal status of the effort to find federal regulations to eliminate and federal employees to fire.

The lawsuits landed as Musk rubbed elbows with fellow billionaires at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As Trump crowed during his speech about DOGE and sending astronauts to Mars, government watchdogs and civil society organizations filed litigation claiming DOGE violates federal law because of its structure and secrecy.

“Currently, DOGE is operating unchecked, without authorization or funding from Congress and is led by unelected billionaires who are not representative of ordinary Americans,” said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in a statement announcing one of the lawsuits, which it filed alongside the American Federation of Teachers and other groups.

Another lawsuit was filed by National Security Counselors, a nonprofit law firm.

The third lawsuit came courtesy of Public Citizen, a consumer protection group, and the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union for federal workers.

Unions have spent the months since the election steeling themselves for a fight over DOGE.

The fourth suit, from the Center for Biological Diversity, per Politico “…seeks all records from the Office of Management and Budget relating to DOGE. ”

Although DOGE is styled as a “department,” Trump lacks the legal authority to create official departments without legislation from Congress.

(During his speech, Trump also said he would establish an “External Revenue Service” to collect his promised tariffs, which would also require a statute.)

The four lawsuits, filed in federal court in Washington, all allege that DOGE flouts the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The law requires certain committees that advise the federal government to follow particular procedures, including drafting a formal charter and holding public meetings, which DOGE has not done.  

“The advice and guidance that Mr. Trump has charged DOGE with producing is sweeping and consequential,” said Public Citizen in an emailed statement.

“DOGE — the members of which currently do not represent the interests of everyday Americans — will be considering cuts to government agencies and programs that protect health, benefits, consumer finance, and product safety.”

In its statement, CREW said:

“DOGE representatives have reportedly already been speaking with agency officials throughout the federal government, and communication is allegedly taking place on Signal, a messaging app known for its auto-delete features.”

The initial fight will be over whether DOGE fits the criteria of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The litigants argue it does since it is “an advisory committee charged by Mr. Trump with providing advice or recommendations to the President and to one or more federal agencies regarding regulatory and fiscal matters,” as Public Citizen asserts in its filing.

Since Trump’s victory in November, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump also tapped to lead DOGE, have been busy staffing up the effort with Silicon Valley types and finding office space, including potentially inside the federal Office of Management and Budget.

(Ramaswamy is expected to step away later this month to run for governor in Ohio.)

DOGE’s “intended goal is clear,” according to the National Security Counselors’ suit, which named both Musk and Ramaswamy personally as defendants, along with Trump and other officials. The suit says “recommendations made by unaccountable outsiders without transparent deliberations which will reduce the size of the federal workforce by whatever means necessary.”

CREW’s lawsuit names DOGE, the federal Office of Management and Budget, and the acting head of OMB as defendants, while Public Citizen’s names just Trump and OMB.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Monday suspending all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days while his staff reviews whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

According to the EO, the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” and “serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.”

Trump also declared that “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”

It’s unclear how much assistance will initially be affected by the Monday order, as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by congress and is obligated to be spent, AP reports.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that “very dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?“

Monday’s EO leaves those decisions up to Rubio, or a Rubio designee, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget – with the State Department and the US Agency for International Development being the primary agencies which oversee such foreign assistance.

Trump has long railed against foreign aid despite the fact that such assistance typically amounts to roughly 1% of the federal budget, except under unusual circumstances such as the billions in weaponry provided to Ukraine. Trump has been critical of the amount shipped to Ukraine to help bolster its defenses against Russia’s invasion.

The last official accounting of foreign aid in the Biden administration dates from mid-December and budget year 2023. It shows that $68 billion had been obligated for programs abroad that range from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions. -AP

Of course, Egypt ($1.5 billion / year + 1 US Congressman), Israel ($3.3 billion / year and most of Congress), and Jordan ($1.7 billion / year) are unlikely to see much of a reduction, as those amounts have been included in long-term packages, and are in some cases governed by treaty obligations.

During Trump’s first term, he moved to reduce foreign aid spending – suspending payments to certain UN agencies, including the UN Population Fund, as well as funding to the Palestinian Authority. Trump also pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council, along with its financial obligations, while the Biden administration pulled funding from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

President Trump fired four high-profile presidential appointees just after midnight Tuesday, including Gen. Mark Milley, and Biden’s top envoy to Iran, Brian Hook (who also served in the role during Trump’s first term).

“Our first day in the White House is not over yet! My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump wrote on Truth social just after midnight Tuesday.

“Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon,” Trump said before listing off the four officials in the post that ended with “YOU’RE FIRED!”

Hook was fired from the Wilson Center, Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, while celebrity chef José Andrés was chopped from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Bottoms was axed from the President’s Export Council, after she dropped out of the Atlanta mayor’s race to work as a senior advisor on Biden’s reelection campaign. 

Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, has questioned whether Trump can carry out his ambitious deportation plans, and seems to be considering a future in politics himself.

The celebrity chef said he submitted his resignation from the post last week and that his term was already up. He elaborated that he was “honored” to work as the co-chair and asked Trump to allow the council to continue its work. -The Hill

“I’m proud of what we accomplished on behalf of the American people…like a historic partnership between the White House and every major sports league to increase access to sports and health programs for kids,” Andres posted Tuesday morning on X.

Coast Guard Commandant Fired

Meanwhile, the acting secretary of Homeland Security removed the Coast Guard commandant from her position, according to USNI News.

Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female commandant of the Coast Guard who assumed duties on June 1, 2022, was terminated over issues with recruitment, operational concerns, and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Under my statutory authority as the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security I have relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” reads an ALCOAST message.

Bye Felicias…