Category Archives: Joe Biden

Trump revokes security clearances for Biden, Harris and other political enemies

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In Friday memo, president also pulls clearances for Antony Blinken, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Letitia James

Donald Trump moved to revoke security clearances for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and a string of other top Democrats and political enemies in a presidential memo issued late on Friday.

The security-clearance revocations also cover the former secretary of state Antony Blinken, the former Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, the former Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who prosecuted Trump for fraud, as well as Biden’s entire family. They all will no longer have access to classified information – a courtesy typically offered to former presidents and some officials after they have left public service.

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Trump makes unsupported claim Biden pardons are ‘void’ as he used autopen

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President claims without evidence that January 6 panel members’ pre-emptive clemency was not signed personally

Donald Trump claimed on Monday, without offering evidence, that pardons signed by Joe Biden were “void, vacant and of no further force and effect” because they were signed with an autopen.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an autopen as “a device that mechanically reproduces a person’s signature”.

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Trump says the economy ‘went to hell’ under Biden. The opposite is true

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By standard measures such as job and GDP growth and the stock market, the US economy was in excellent shape

Donald Trump keeps saying he inherited a terrible economy from Joe Biden and many Americans believe him, even though that’s not true. During his White House marketing event for Tesla on Tuesday, Trump said the US and its economy “went to hell” under Biden. Last week, in his national address to Congress, Trump said: “We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.”

But the truth is that by standard economic measures, the US economy was in excellent shape when Biden turned over the White House keys to Trump, even though most Americans, upset about inflation, told pollsters the economy was in poor shape.

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ICC urged to investigate Biden for ‘aiding and abetting’ Gaza war crimes

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US-based nonprofit Dawn also accuses ex-secretary of state Antony Blinken and ex-Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

A US-based nonprofit organization has urged the international criminal court to investigate former president Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The request, submitted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) last month but made public by the group on Monday, urges the ICC to investigate Biden, as well as former secretary of state Antony Blinken and former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, for their “accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza”.

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Donald Trump revokes Joe Biden’s security clearance in latest revenge move

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US president cites Biden’s removal of Trump’s security clearance in 2021 in the wake of the January 6 attacks and attempts to overturn the 2020 election result

President Donald Trump has said he’s revoking Joe Biden’s security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he’s receiving, in payback for Biden doing the same to him in the wake of the January 6 attacks.

Trump announced his decision in a post saying: “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s security clearances, and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.

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Families fear for Cuban prisoners after Trump reneges on release deal

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US president reinstates Cuba on terror list despite Biden deal to release prisoners jailed over demonstrations

The families of Cuban protesters jailed in anti-government demonstrations are waiting anxiously to see if the government will continue with a planned prisoner release after Donald Trump reneged on a deal made last week by Joe Biden.

Activists from the human rights group Justicia 11J believe around 150 prisoners have been released so far of the 553 agreed with the Catholic church.

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Biden posthumously pardons civil rights leader Marcus Garvey

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Activist who was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s influenced Malcolm X and other leader leaders

President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Also receiving pardons were a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention.

Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride. After Garvey was convicted, he was deported to Jamaica, where he was born. He died in 1940.

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Who banned TikTok? Politicians toss culpability like a football

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Claiming a threat from a ‘foreign adversary’, the US has yet to prove China shared propaganda or collected US user data

The United States of America deleted TikTok early on the morning of 19 January. A government formed “by the people, for the people”, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, has made scant evidence available to those people as to why. As those in power at the 11th hour realize how unpopular such a paternalistic move might be, each is doing their best to lay blame with the others.

Why did the US ban an app used and beloved by some 170 million Americans? For fear of China’s propaganda and data collection. It’s a far-reaching, unprecedented move. The text of the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed in April and signed by Joe Biden, reads: “This bill prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application (eg, TikTok).” Both a federal appeals court and the US supreme court have affirmed that rationale as sufficient.

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Uncharted territory for the WHO if Trump withdraws US membership

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WHO is ‘critical in protecting US business interests’, says CEO of firm that may see lean years if Trump carries out vow

The World Health Organization (WHO) could see lean years ahead if the US withdraws membership under the new Trump administration. Such a withdrawal, promised on the first day of Donald Trump’s new administration, would in effect cut the multilateral agency’s funding by one-fifth.

The severe cut would be uncharted territory for the WHO, potentially curtailing public health works globally, pressuring the organization to attract private funding, and providing an opening for other countries to influence the organization. Other countries are not expected to make up the funding loss.

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Trump inauguration to move indoors amid frigid temperatures in Washington – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest reporting here:

Donald Trump told CNN that he will decide what to do with TikTok once he takes office, after the supreme court upheld legislation that will ban it on Sunday unless its Chinese owner sells its US operations.

“It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,” Trump said in an interview with the network. Asked if he would try to reverse the ban, should it go into effect, Trump said: “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision.”

It is not clear that the Act itself directly regulates protected expressive activity, or conduct with an expressive component. Indeed, the Act does not regulate the creator petitioners at all …

Petitioners, for their part, have not identified any case in which this Court has treated a regulation of corporate control as a direct regulation of expressive activity or semi-expressive conduct … We hesitate to break that new ground in this unique case.

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Democrats concerned after Mike Johnson fires top Republican from House committee reportedly at Trump’s request – live

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House speaker removed intelligence committee chair Mike Turner, whose stances have run afoul with Trump

Here’s what Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, wrote on X about his decision to name the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate:

Florida deserves a senator who stands unapologetically for conservative principles, supports law enforcement, has a strong record of combatting illegal immigration, and is ready to deliver on President Trump’s agenda. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s exemplary track record shows her commitment to these principles. A fifth-generation Floridian, she has served the people of Florida honorably as a prosecutor, judge, and Attorney General.

I look forward to seeing Senator Moody fight the good fight against the entrenched interests in Washington, and I know she will be a critical part of bringing President Trump’s America First agenda to fruition.

I’m very proud to have served on the House Intelligence Committee and as its chairman. There are great members on the Committee, and I’m honored to have served with them.

Under my leadership, we restored the integrity of the Committee and returned its mission to its core focus of national security. The threat from our adversaries is real and requires serious deliberations.

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Biden insists US is ‘winning’ on world stage – what would losing look like?

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The president defended his record on Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan but foreign policy successes have been few

On paper, few US presidents could boast the foreign policy bona fides of Joe Biden, a veteran statesman with nearly a half-century of experience before he even stepped into office.

But as his term comes to an end, critics have said that the president will leave a legacy of cautious and underpowered diplomacy, as even allies have conceded that the administration is still grasping for a cornerstone foreign policy success.

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Gloom and pessimism take hold of Democrats as they look for new leaders

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Questions about the viability of a female presidential candidate rise after a crushing presidential defeat

Democrats are harboring strong feelings of stress and gloom as the new year begins. And many are questioning whether their party’s commitment to diverse candidates – especially women – may lead to further political struggles as Donald Trump is sworn in for a second presidency on 20 January.

A recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a significant number of Democrats believe that it may be decades before the United States will get its first female president.

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‘He is peddling stories’: Bob Woodward denies Republican’s claim he said Biden was corrupt

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Washington Post reporter says he never made comments to James Comer published in the congressman’s new book

The Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward forcefully denied making statements attributed to him by James Comer, the Republican chair of the powerful House oversight committee, in which Woodward supposedly said Joe Biden was financially corrupt.

“The statements attributed to me in what is apparently his book are false,” Woodward said. “I made none of those statements he attributes to me. I repeat none, and not even in a paraphrased form.”

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Blinken says Trump’s push for US to take over Greenland is ‘not going to happen’ – US politics live

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Outgoing secretary of state says Trump’s idea is ‘obviously not a good one’, while Department of Justice plans to withhold part of Jack Smith’s report

Greenland is an autonomous part of Denmark, and the Danish foreign minister said they would be open to discussing security concerns over the island with Donald Trump’s administration, but downplayed the possibility of it becoming part of the United States. Here’s more, from the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour, Kim Willsher and Miranda Bryant:

Denmark has said it is open to dialogue with Donald Trump about his legitimate security concerns after the incoming US president said he was prepared to use economic tariffs or military force to seize control of Danish-administered Greenland.

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Biden says he warned Trump not to ‘settle scores’ with political adversaries

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President is considering whether to grant pre-emptive presidential pardons to Liz Cheney and Anthony Fauci

Joe Biden said he told Donald Trump not to follow through on his campaign vows to pursue retribution against his political adversaries once he returns to the White House.

Talking to USA Today, Biden said he proffered the advice when he hosted Trump at the White House in November after his election victory over Kamala Harris. The president-elect did not respond directly but did not reject the suggestion, Biden said.

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Biden designates two new national monuments after advocacy from tribes

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Chuckwalla and Sáttítla monuments in California will be safeguarded against extraction and energy development

Joe Biden will designate two new national monuments in California in his last days in office, after tribes and environment groups asked him to take urgent action.

The designation of the Chuckwalla monument in southern California and the Sáttítla monument in the far north of the state will place 840,000 acres (339,935 hectares) of land under protection, shielding it from extraction and energy development.

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Trump moves to block report on election interference and classified documents cases – US politics live

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President-elect’s lawyers ask attorney general to stop release of outgoing special counsel Jack Smith’s report

Nina Jankowicz, a former homeland security official tasked with fighting disinformation, said Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end factchecking on his platforms was a “bending of the knee” to Donald Trump.

“Let’s be clear – the factcheckers have not ‘been’ politically biased as Zuckerberg suggests, but have been *perceived as such* because of politically motivated efforts to smear them, one that Zuck is now participating in and capitulating to,” said Jankowicz, who know leads the American Sunlight Project, an anti-disinformation group.

Facebook has already contributed to the demise of journalism and this will be the final nail in the coffin; newsrooms —especially outside the U.S. where subscription models are difficult sells—get grants from Facebook to provide fact-checks. That money allows them to do other journalism!

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Biden administration bans medical debt from inclusion on credit reports

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Kamala Harris announces removal of billions in medical debt from credit reports of 15 million Americans

Lenders will no longer be able to see whether American borrowers have unpaid medical debt in their credit history, according to a new rule from the outgoing Biden administration.

The vice-president, Kamala Harris, announced early on Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was removing $49bn of existing unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of 15 million Americans and will ban the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports.

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Biden signs bill to boost social security payments for millions of public workers

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President says Social Security Fairness Act will benefit ‘Americans who have worked hard all their lives’

Joe Biden has signed into law a measure that boosts social security payments for current and former public employees – such as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public-service workers – in what the White House has described as the first expansion of such benefits in 20 years.

“The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their lives … should be able to retire with economic security and dignity,” Biden said. “That’s the entire purpose of the social security system crafted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly 90 years ago.”

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