In Shocking Move, Trump Re-Pardons Far-Right Militia Member
After pardoning a far-right militia member for his role in the Capitol riot, President Donald Trump gave him another pardon for an unrelated conviction for illegally possessing firearms.
On January 6, 2021, Dan Wilson, of the Oath Keepers and a Three Percenters–associated militia, breached the Capitol. Days earlier, per prosecutors, he had sent a disturbing text message to a Telegram group chat with other anti-government militia members: “I am ready to lay my life on the line. It is time for good men to do bad things.”
Wilson was ultimately convicted for conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer. He pleaded guilty to the gun charges after authorities searched his Kentucky home and discovered firearms, some loaded, that he was forbidden from possessing due to previous felony convictions.
Trump did away with the conspiracy charges this January, when he pardoned “individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Since then, Wilson’s lawyers have argued that the pardon also applied to his gun charges.
But as Trump-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled in March, the “plain language of the pardon” did not cover them. However, the judge noted at the time, Trump “has the constitutional authority to pardon Wilson for all of his crimes. He still may do so.”
On Friday, the president did just that, Politico reported Saturday—signing a full and unconditional pardon for Wilson that specifically cited his gun case. An unnamed White House official told Politico’s Kyle Cheney that Trump is pardoning Wilson because the search that led to the firearm conviction “was due to the events of January 6, and [the investigators] should have never been there in the first place.”
In recent days, Trump has issued slews of eyebrow-raising pardons for his political allies, though this one stands out as a particularly egregious example.
As Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on social media, “Trump is now pardoning January 6th rioters for unrelated crimes, just to reward them for their violence to keep him in power. The Republican Party is in the full time business of endorsing and incentivizing political violence.”
President Donald Trump made a baffling comment after receiving an MRI, calling into question his grasp of basic medical treatment—or what he could be hiding from the general public.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, the president said that he had undergone a physical and received an MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging test, as part of the exam.
He (predictably) reported that the results were extremely positive.
“Mr. President, can you tell us why you needed to get an MRI?” a reporter asked. “I understand that the results were good, but what was it for?”
“Because it’s part of my physical,” he said. After some back and forth, the president broke it down for the reporter.
“Here’s what the story is. I had an MRI. The doctor said it was the best result he has ever seen as a doctor. That’s it.” Trump said. “But, I had an MRI as part of my standard, yearly—or, I think they do it every two years. But I have the physical every year. But the result was outstanding.”
“Was it your brain, or … ?” the reporter asked.
“I have no idea what they analyzed, but whatever they analyzed, they analyzed it well,” the president said.
Trump: I had an MRI and the result was outstanding.
Reporter: Was it your brain?
Trump: I have no idea what they analyzed, but whatever they analyzed, they analyzed it well. pic.twitter.com/uMhkBu0RUU
For what it’s worth, an MRI is a fairly involved process that involves removing clothing, donning earplugs, and lying completely still in a large scanner for extended periods of time with the goal of obtaining quality images of internal structures of the body, according to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine. Given the amount of effort this process takes, several people on social media pointed out, patients would generally know what body part is being tested.
Trump, who is the oldest person ever elected president, has been the subject of swirling theories and concerns about his health for months, which seems to have put him on the defensive. The president breezed past his ignorance about the test and continued the conversation with the reporter, lauding his mental acuity, as he is wont to do.
“The other thing I took is, I took, as you know, a … very advanced test on mental acuity. Because I think a president should have to do that. And as you probably heard I aced it, I got a perfect score … and the only reason I tell you that is that it’s one subject, unlike Biden, and others, that you can take off your plate,” he said.
But for someone who claims not to know what his MRI “analyzed,” it’s hard to see how this could be true. Or maybe he just doesn’t want us to know. Either way, we’re left with a lot more questions than answers.
President Donald Trump eased some of his “Liberation Day” tariffs Friday evening, all but conceding that his trade policy has increased Americans’ grocery expenses despite his administration’s claims to the contrary.
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