Fallout over the pardon of son Hunter (pictured) builds as Joe Biden visits Angola, the first-ever US president to do so, and the first president since 2015 to visit sub-Saharan Africa. Many Democratic leaders are angry that the presidential pardon drains their argument over President-elect Trump’s disdain for the rule of law.
Florida Men (and Women) – Donald J. Trump is looking at replacing ex-Fox News personality Pete Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his choice for Defense secretary, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing “people familiar with the discussions.” Hegseth has been the subject of deep scrutiny over his personal life -- including reports of a 2017 sexual assault allegation which he paid for to keep secret -- since Trump named him as the man he wants to lead the Pentagon.
Trump and DeSantis visited a memorial service together in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, for fallen law enforcement, according to the report.
DeSantis, aka “DeSanctimonious,” drew Trump’s ire when he challenged the former and future president for the GOP nomination early this year. Some of the closest members of Trump’s inner-circle are said to oppose making the Florida governor Hegseth’s replacement-nominee. DeSantis is a former US Navy attorney who served at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
If Trump chooses DeSantis, which would happen within a couple of days as Hegseth’s personal life remains pinned under a microscope, it would accelerate the game of musical chairs being played by the Florida GOP. DeSantis already has the task of replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who faces near-certain Senate confirmation as Trump’s choice for secretary of state. Trump’s closest loyalists want DeSantis to name the president-elect’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Convention, Lara Trump, as Rubio’s replacement, the WSJ says.
Then there’s Florida’s governor’s office, which presumably would go to Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (R). DeSantis is term-limited from running for governor again in 2026, and there has been speculation that former Trump attorney general nominee and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will run after next year.
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Briefing Room Shuffle? – The incoming Trump administration is looking at clearing out the White House James Brady Briefing Room of news outlets that are not loyal to the president-elect, The Hill reports. Outlets including NBC News, CBS News, ABC News and Reuters, which traditionally have seats in the front row along with Fox News, and in the second row The Wall Street Journal, CBS News Radio, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Bloomberg News would be replaced by podcasters, internet personalities and media “deemed more friendly” to Trump, according to The Hill, which traditionally is in the fourth row.
“It would be a total mess,” a White House reporter told The Hill. “I would expect people would probably boycott the briefings, though that would put certain outlets in a tough spot deciding if they want to go along with what the people are trying to pull.”
--TL
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...meanwhile...
TUESDAY 12/3/24
Martial Law in South Korea – Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea declared an “emergency martial law” on TV overnight, accusing opposition forces of an “insurgency” and of trying to control parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing his government with “anti-state activities” (per BBC, AP and The New York Times). It’s the first declaration of martial law in South Korea since 1980, the BBC reports. One source told the BBC the streets of Seoul are quiet, but “The people here certainly look bewildered.”
Netanyahu’s playbook? … In his television address, Yoon accused those government opposition forces of “trying to overthrow the free democracy.” President since 2022, Yoon has been facing potential impeachment amid calls for independent investigations of scandals involving his wife and top officials.
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Advances Against Assad – Rebel group Haý at Tahrir al-Sham has taken over Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and are advancing on the capital of Damascus in an uprising that began last week after nearly 14 years of civil war, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. Fighting between rebels and President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Armed Forces had been halted by a 2020 cease-fire. Assad’s allies Iran and Russia have had to divert military assistance to the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict and war in Ukraine, respectively, the last US ambassador to Syria (2011-14), Robert Ford, told NPR’s Leila Fadel.
So the Russian-Syrian connection could have implications for Ukraine after President-elect Trump takes office next month.
But Atlantic Council non-resident fellow Omer Ozkizilcik believes Russia will make Ukraine, and not Syria, its priority.
“I do highly doubt that Russia will accept to stall its advance in Ukraine, in the battlefield, for protecting the Assad regime in Syria,” Ozkizilcik told Al Jazeera. “And it’s very unlikely for the Russians to step up and rescue the Assad regime.”
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No Payout, Yet, for Musk – Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the Delaware judge who negated Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s multi-billion-dollar pay package last January, Monday ordered the package to be rescinded after shareholders voted its approval, The Wall Street Journal reports. McCormick said she was not swayed by shareholder approval coming after her January ruling, saying directors were beholden to Musk, and that the approval was “tainted” and lacks transparency.
Jumping for Trump … Musk’s stock-option pay package was valued at roughly $44-45 billion early this year. But Tesla shares have rallied since Donald J. Trump’s presidential election victory November 5 and Musk’s package is currently valued at $55.8 billion, according to the WSJ.
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Oxford Word of the Year – Is “brain rot” (though we count two words). Sure. Why not?
--TL
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While We've Been Feasting
MONDAY 12/2/24
Art of Ukraine’s NATO Deal – With the threat of President-elect Trump’s plan to end the Russian-Ukraine war on Day One looming over the invaded country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week suggested that perhaps it’s time to fast-track Ukraine into NATO membership, at the alliance’s Foreign Ministerial meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. The plan outlined by Zelenskyy would end the “hot phase” of the war in exchange for NATO membership. It would not immediately include territories already occupied by Russia.
“We understand that Article 5, when you’re a member of NATO, cannot apply to the entire territory of Ukraine during wartime, as countries are against the risks of being drawn into war,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference with Antonio Costa, the new president of the European Council, The Kyiv Independent reports.
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Biden’s Last Victory? – Israel signed a 60-day cease-fire with Hezbollah, in which it will gradually withdraw its forces from Lebanon, and Hezbollah will not entrench itself near the Israeli border, according to The New York Times. More to come … and as always, your opinions and perspectives are welcome. Email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.
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He Is Trump’s Retribution – While noise from the opposition to Trump nominees ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (withdrawn) for attorney general, Peter Hegseth for Defense secretary and Orbánophile Sebastian Gorka as administrative assistant to the president nearly drowns each other out, controversy is hitting new heights with the president-elect’s choice for FBI director. Donald J. Trump has named one of his most loyal followers, Kash Patel, to replace Christopher Wray as FBI director. Trump appointed Wray seven years ago, which means the incoming president wants him removed with three years left in his term.
What would happen to the FBI under Patel? It seems the entire Trump administration will be quite busy on “day one.”
“I’d shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and then reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state,” he said, according to NBC News.
Short-lived Trump administration National Security Advisor John Bolton reacted in this statement to NBC News’ Meet the Press: “Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrentiy Beria,” a reference to Stalin’s much-feared secret police chief. “Fortunately, the FBI is not the NKVD. The Senate should reject the nomination 100-0.”
Nepo in-laws … Last Saturday, Trump appointed Charles Kushner, father of son-in-law Jared, to be US ambassador to France, and Massad Boulos, the Lebanese-American father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, to be senior advisor of Arab and Middle-Eastern affairs (per The Forward).
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa