Monday Morning Minute

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Good morning, and welcome to RedState’s “Morning Minute” — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.

TOP O’ THE MORNIN’

Catherine Herridge Nails Biden on Big Problem in Hunter’s Pardon As IRS Whistleblowers Speak Out

So even in the wording of the pardon, what Joe Biden is trying to sell us is malarkey, after lying that he wouldn’t pardon his son.

Jonathan Turley Rips Biden’s Pardon of His Son to Shreds

This is what they think of us, and we should never forget it.

Ominous Signs for Democrats in New York

This Thanksgiving weekend has been cold, with a weather system dropping snow and ice over much of the northeastern United States, but that’s not what is sending chills down the spines of Empire State Democrats today.

WHAT’S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill…

The critters are still out today (I do love their holiday schedule), but will be back at it tomorrow, and in the interim, I expect we’ll be hearing plenty about, oh, you know, the Biden pardon, the Trump transition, funding the government, and whatnot.

White House What’s Up

President Joe Biden, after capping off his weekend (and legacy) with a mega-pardon to the smartest guy he knows (son Hunter), has hightailed it out of Dodge (along with First Lady Jill) and is currently in Angola. Yes, Angola. (I’m not going to lie; I had to look it up on the map as a refresher — my geography skills are waning.) Monday morning, he’s meeting/met with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva of Cabo Verde during a refueling stop, then heading on to Luanda, Angola, where he will greet staff and families of U.S. Embassy Luanda.

Full Court Press…

Well, we know what won’t be coming up this month: the sentencing of Hunter Biden in Delaware for gun charges or in California for tax fraud charges, compliments of the pardon from the Big Guy. Notice of the pardon has already been filed with the courts in Delaware and California. It will be interesting to watch how this unfolds in the coming days and weeks, though, as it relates to House investigations…and other Biden family members.

Relatedly (perhaps), the trial of Alexander Smirnov for purportedly making false statements accusing Joe and Hunter Biden of a bribery scheme, which was supposed to begin this week has been continued to January 8, 2025. (To be fair, it was Smirnov who requested the continuance earlier in November after a late disclosure of discovery documents by the Government in October, and the court granted the brief continuance at the pre-trial hearing on November 25.)

Could this be the week the New York appellate court rules on President-elect Donald Trump’s civil fraud appeal? I am not holding my breath, but sure, why not? We do know that Judge Juan Merchan is awaiting the parties’ briefs before issuing a decision(s) on whether the election of Trump supersedes the proceedings and/or whether presidential immunity warrants the verdict being set aside in the Manhattan case and/or whether Trump will be sentenced, so there likely won’t be any movement on that until at least next week.

The Supreme Court is back in session and slated to hear oral argument in two cases Monday morning:

FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments — involving FDA regulations and e-cigarette products
United States v. Miller — involving the scope of a bankruptcy trustee’s authority

MORNING MUSING

Okay, so let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: I’m neither surprised nor even outraged by Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter. Like many, I long suspected it was in the works, and it makes perfect sense for it to land ahead of Hunter’s scheduled sentencing. I’m not even surprised by the breadth of it. What I do take issue with, however, is the endless gaslighting over this family and their corruption and Ukraine as the laundromat in the middle of it all. At this rate, I’d just like the truth to out on it all — every bit of it, no matter who that ultimately reveals as “the bad guys.” I’d also like to remind folks that there are now 49 days left until Inauguration Day, and we should expect several more plot twists.