Network of Lies by Brian Stelter

Author:Brian Stelter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria/One Signal Publishers
Published: 2023-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Trump managed not to incite any further insurrections in January. On the morning of the 20th, he boarded Air Force One for the final time and watched his plane take off via a TV monitor tuned, naturally, to Fox News. Fox hosts praised him on the way out; MacCallum claimed he “worked hard in the past 48 hours to finish this on a more gracious note.” In reality, Trump refused to attend Biden’s inauguration; refused to even shake the new president’s hand and welcome him to the White House; refused to even pretend that he respected the peaceful transfer of power. That’s why he was on the plane before noon.

During the flight, his skeleton staff announced one literally last-hour addition to the long list of pardons he had granted the night before. The surprise name was Albert J. Pirro Jr., aka Judge Jeanine’s ex-husband, who had been convicted on conspiracy and tax evasion charges in 2000. Pirro had been so bonkers on the air that Cecily Strong’s impression of her on Saturday Night Live seemed almost tame; but her loyalty to Trump was unmatched. She had broadcast Trump infomercials for four straight years. So—divorced or not, father of a “love child” or not, tax-evader or not—she was outraged when Albert’s name wasn’t on the final pardon list (the one that included Steve Bannon) overnight. She lobbied Trump early on inauguration morning, and around 9 a.m., aides were told to get it done—throwing a wrench in final-day plans.

By the time Trump touched down in West Palm Beach, Pirro Jr., who had been out of jail for almost twenty years, was a pardoned man. Insiders gossiped about the possibility of a quid pro quo. Whether there was or not, Trump’s final act in office was a favor to his Fox friend.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.