Hill Dems hammer Biden over Hunter pardon, citing 'two-tier' justice system



After President Joe Biden announced a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter Biden, several lawmakers from his own party came out against him.

Despite repeatedly asserting that he would not pardon his son, Biden is now allowing Hunter to evade legal repercussions for crimes committed from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024. This pardon was issued amid Hunter's most recent felony conviction on gun charges as well as his scandalous background surrounding felony tax offenses and his role in the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

'This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.'

Biden previously insisted that he would not pardon Hunter, reaffirming that "no one is above the law." Over the weekend, Biden announced the decision to pardon Hunter, claiming that he was being "selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

"The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election," Biden said in a statement released Sunday.

"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," Biden continued.

However, lawmakers from Biden's own party were not convinced.

"President Biden’s pardon of his son confirms a common belief I hear in Southwest Washington: that well-connected people are often gifted special treatment by a two-tier justice system," Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who just narrowly won re-election in Washington state, said in a Monday post on X. "The President made the wrong decision. No family should be above the law."

"I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong," Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton said in a Monday post on X. "This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers."

Biden also faced backlash from Democrats on the Senate side.

"President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all," Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said in a Monday post on X.

"President Biden’s decision to pardon his son was wrong," Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said in a Monday post on X. "A president's family and allies shouldn't get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests."

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5 key House seats Republicans are likely to flip



While the Republicans' majority is increasingly narrow, there are currently five competitive blue seats that may help the GOP hold onto the House.

The seats of Democratic Reps. Mary Peltola of Alaska, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Jared Golden of Maine have all been ranked as toss-ups by Cook Political Report.

Alongside these toss-up ratings, polling also suggests these seats are within Republicans' reach going into November.

In 2022, Peltola is the first Democratic candidate to have been elected to Alaska's sole congressional seat in more than half a century after the state adopted a ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to rank their preferred candidates rather than a typical two-party primary system. As a result, Republican candidates Nick Begich and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin split the GOP vote, allowing Peltola to flip the seat blue for the first time since 1970.

Despite the ranked-choice system, Peltola is facing a challenge from just one Republican candidate, Nick Begich, after Nancy Dahlstrom dropped out to consolidate the GOP vote. Combined with Alaska's reliably red voting history, recent polls from the National Republican Congressional Committee put Peltola at an electoral disadvantage.

Peltola is also featured on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "frontline members" list consisting of the most competitive blue seats.

Peltola's fellow frontliner, Caraveo, is also at risk of losing re-election to her Republican challenger. While one September poll puts the Colorado Democrat at a narrow three-point edge, a recent poll from early October puts her in a dead heat with Republican challenger Gabe Evans. Colorado's 8th Congressional District is also perfectly split between Republicans and Democrats, according to Cook Political Report.

Caraveo won her seat in 2022 against Republican candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer by less than 1%.

Since Slotkin opted to run for Senate, Democratic candidate Curtis Hertel and Republican challenger Tom Barrett have gone head to head for the seat. Slotkin flipped the longtime red seat blue in 2022, making the +2 Republican district a potential layup. Polling is also trending in Republicans' favor, with Barrett ahead of Hertel by four to six points.

Slotkin secured her seat in Michigan's 7th Congressional District in 2022 by 5.4%.

Perez, who is also featured on the DCCC's list of vulnerable front-liners, is set to face off against Republican candidate Joe Kent for the second time. Although Perez managed to flip the seat in 2022, she is currently polling dead even against Kent in the +5 Republican district, which may reinstate a red streak in Washington's third congressional district.

Perez, who has refrained from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump, defeated Kent in 2022 by less than 1% after former Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler retired.

Golden, who has served Maine's congressional district for three consecutive terms, is also facing a tight race against Republican candidate Austin Theriault. Despite being a +6 Republican district, Golden won his seat by a 1% margin in 2018 and just over 6% in 2020 and 2022.

Despite his historical electoral advantage, a recent poll shows Golden at a three-point deficit against Theriault.

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‘Failure Theater’: Republicans Openly Revolt Against Mike Johnson’s Latest Spending Bill

'Keep adding $1 trillion to our debt every 100 days'

Washington Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Running as a Moderate, Embraces Defund Police Group Boosting Her Reelection Campaign

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez bills herself as a moderate Democrat, but the Washington State congresswoman has embraced a far-left anti-police group that has helped send hundreds of thousands of dollars into her reelection campaign.

The post Washington Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Running as a Moderate, Embraces Defund Police Group Boosting Her Reelection Campaign appeared first on .

Several Vulnerable Dems Will Be No-Shows At Party Convention

'Help to get across the finish line'

Biden reportedly tells campaign staffers, 'I'm not leaving'; Democratic Rep. Grijalva suggests Biden should drop out



As President Joe Biden's re-election effort is engulfed in a political firestorm in the wake of the presidential debate, Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona has suggested that Biden should bow out of the presidential contest.

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," the congressman said, according to the New York Times.

The outlet noted that Grijalva described former President Donald Trump as an "anti-democratic, authoritarian despot," but called Biden a "good man" and noted that he will support Biden if he remains in the contest.

'I'm in this race to the end and we're going to win.'

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas has called for Biden to drop out of the contest.

Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine has said that Trump will win the election.

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington said she believes Biden will lose the race to Trump.

But Biden, the presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, has indicated that he will not drop out of the race.

"I'm not leaving. I'm in this race to the end and we're going to win," Biden stated during a call with campaign staffers, according to the Associated Press.

On the other side of the political aisle, GOP Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Clay Higgins of Louisiana are pushing a resolution that urges Vice President Kamala Harris to seek the removal of Biden from power per the 25th Amendment.

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Dem Rep Says Trump's Going to Win—And That's Ok

Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) predicts Donald Trump will win in November, writing in an op-ed Tuesday that he’s “OK with that.”

The post Dem Rep Says Trump's Going to Win—And That's Ok appeared first on .

Dem lawmaker urges return of Trump-era border policies: 'US does not have operational control of the southern border'



Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez from Washington stated in a recent interview with NPR that there is an "urgency" for the Biden administration to revive Trump-era border policies.

Gluesenkamp Perez and a group of other "self-described centrist Democrats" are demanding that the federal government do more to tackle the crisis at the southern border, the news outlet reported.

During a Monday interview with NPR's A Martinez, Gluesenkamp Perez said that Biden needs to bring back Title 42 and fully utilize the "remain in Mexico" program. She noted that "one of the fundamental mistakes around immigration" has been "to debate whether or not an immigration policy is … motivated by racial animus."

"By the way, I think a lot of them are, but a lot of people in rural and working-class communities like mine, we come from communities that have been hollowed out by fentanyl, and so we're watching our cousins, our neighbors, our coworkers overdose and die, and we are demanding operational control of the southern border. That can't wait for a perfect immigration policy to come along," Gluesenkamp Perez told NPR.

She added that it is not "a question of stemming immigration," claiming that "immigration itself is not the problem."

"The problem is that the U.S. does not have operational control of the southern border, and so a lot of Americans, a lot of American politicians have had this real focus on the very visceral images of the humanitarian crisis of the southern border, but what they're not seeing is what it's like to live in a country that is being run by a cartel," Gluesenkamp Perez continued.

The Washington lawmaker called on Biden "to exercise his existing authority under remain in Mexico." Gluesenkamp Perez also urged Congress to give Biden "back the presidential expulsion authority under Title 42."

She argued that the "unsecured border" impacts American communities and is, therefore, not a partisan issue. Gluesenkamp Perez told NPR that she believes "operational control" of the southern border is "a lot more achievable in the near term," noting immigration policy is "very, very difficult."

"I voted to fund Border Patrol to have a higher staffing level, being able to know who is coming in and out of our country, and it's not just about racial animus. It's about having a predictable, level playing field that reflects the values of our country," she added. "[M]y job is to depoliticize. You've got to take some of the ammunition and the fuel out of it and say, 'what are the constituent parts that we agree on?' Because it becomes a choice, like, do you want the cartels to have control, or do you want our system of laws to have that? Those are the choices at hand."

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Deleted Webpage Contradicts Washington Congresswoman's Campaign Image as Hands-On Mechanic

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez slides out from underneath a car. She’s wearing a mechanic’s uniform. "I'm not your typical candidate for Congress," she tells the camera. That's how the Democrat introduced herself to voters in Washington's third district in 2022: a hands-on auto shop owner willing to get her fingernails dirty.

The post Deleted Webpage Contradicts Washington Congresswoman's Campaign Image as Hands-On Mechanic appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

This California Democrat Claimed To Pay More Taxes Than Jeff Bezos. Turns Out She Was Delinquent.

A Democratic congresswoman who recently claimed she paid "more in taxes" than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was revealed last week to have skipped out on thousands of dollars in business taxes.

The post This California Democrat Claimed To Pay More Taxes Than Jeff Bezos. Turns Out She Was Delinquent.  appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.