pardon his son, Hunter Biden, casts a bit of a shadow over it. The younger Biden was facing sentencing over tax evasion and gun charges, but the president opted to pardon him, saying he had been unjustly prosecuted, and could be further harassed once Donald Trump takes office.
When it comes to clemencies, Biden says he’s not finished, and may issue more in the weeks left in his term. We will let you know if we get any hint at who those might affect.
Here’s what else is going on today:
-
Trump appointed Kari Lake, a Republican former candidate for governor and senator in Arizona, as director of Voice of America. VOA is a US-government supported global news agency, and Lake is best known nationally not just for her twin failed bids for office, but refusing to acknowledge her defeat in the governor’s race two years ago.
-
Xi Jinping, China’s president, has been invited to Trump’s inauguration next month, CBS News reports. No Chinese leader has ever attended a US presidential inauguration, but many incoming Trump administration officials view China as a rival and national security threat.
-
Time Magazine named Trump its “person of the year”. It’s his second time picking up the accolade, after first getting it in 2016.
