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Story by Monica Sager

A staff member for Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY) was arrested by the Capitol Police on Monday.

The Capitol Police told Newsweek via email that 38-year-old Michael Hopkins was arrested for "unlawful possession of ammunition, including one charge for possession of a high-capacity magazine." In a statement issued by Jo Stiles, Morelle's chief of staff, the office was informed that a member was arrested by Capitol Police on Monday morning. Morelle's office is "currently gathering more information regarding the circumstances of the arrest," Stiles said.

The Capitol Police told Newsweek Hopkins was arrested at 8:45 a.m. while entering the Cannon House Office Building when he "put his bag through screening."

"USCP officers noticed what appeared to be ammunition on the x-ray screen," the public information office for the Capitol Police told Newsweek. "After a hand search of the bag, officers found four ammunition magazines and eleven rounds of ammunition. The staffer told the officers that he forgot the ammunition was in his bag."
Story by Hailey Gomez

Several conservatives expressed concerns Sunday over President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of Republican Florida sheriff Chad Chronister to be administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Trump revealed Saturday in a statement that he will nominate Chronister to lead the DEA in his second administration, stating that the Florida sheriff will work with his attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, “to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border.” While Chronister received praise from colleagues and others after the initial announcement, some Republicans have begun to fire back due to his actions during the COVID-19 lockdown.

In March 2020, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office released a press statement revealing that they had arrested local Tampa Bay church pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne on two second-degree misdemeanors for unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules. In a post on X from the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, the group called out Chronister’s decision to arrest Howard-Browne, leading Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie to respond as well.

“I’m going to call ‘em like I see ‘em. Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns,” Massie wrote on X.
By Jack Forrest, CNN

CNN — Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI and an ardent supporter of the president-elect, has vowed to help dismantle the same organization he’s poised to lead.

The former public defender is widely viewed as a controversial figure and one whose value to the president-elect largely derives from their shared disdain for established power in Washington.

Putting him in charge of the FBI would require forcing out current director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, before his 10-year term expires in three years — a future move that has already prompted bipartisan criticism.

The FBI director must also be confirmed by the Senate, where members are already bracing for how they’ll navigate a slew of unorthodox Trump selections.

As of late last week, some close to Trump believed it was a “toss-up” between Patel and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as to whom the president-elect would pick for FBI director, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

But some in Trump’s inner circle were not happy with either option, the source said, adding a third, unknown candidate would likely have emerged in the next week or two if Trump hadn’t made a decision by then.

Patel, in particular, is not viewed as a consensus choice for the job, the source said, noting that it was always going to come down to what Trump wanted and, potentially, the last person he spoke to on a given day.
By Dahlia Lithwick

On Dec. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in what is likely to be the most important trans rights case in history. It will have knock-on effects for civil rights jurisprudence that will affect the freedoms and protections of LGBTQ+ Americans, women, medical providers, and parents’ rights to raise their children without interference from the state. Tennessee’s SB1 bans surgery, puberty blockers, and hormone treatment for the purpose of gender transition for people under 18. On Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick spoke to Chase Strangio, co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, who will argue United States v. Skrmetti. Strangio will be the first openly trans lawyer arguing at the high court. Their conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Dahlia Lithwick: After Dobbs came down, you warned on this podcast about the ways the decision to overturn Roe had just rocket-fueled anti-trans legislation across the country. I would love for you to just remind listeners why Dobbs was never just about abortion and how it connects to the Tennessee ban in Skrmetti.

Chase Strangio: They’re connected for so many reasons—whether you look at the equality thread or the autonomy thread in Dobbs, this is about structural efforts to impede people’s abilities to make decisions for themselves. The way in which Dobbs opened the door in particular for these anti-trans bans is that first they revitalized this case that was not talked about for a long time—although we know Justice Ginsburg hated it—Geduldig v. Aiello. This was the case in which the court said that restrictions on benefits related to pregnancy are not sex discrimination. The court allowed this idea to sit dormant for quite a while, but it was reactivated by Justice Alito in Dobbs. So now, when we are talking about things related to medicine, or health, or areas where we can claim that biological differences between men and women justify some differential treatment, we see the erosion of the protections we have worked so hard to build for sex-based protections under law.
President-elect Donald Trump's communications director responded to Biden's decision without directly naming the president or his son.
By Megan Lebowitz

WASHINGTON — GOP lawmakers began publicly fuming shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he was pardoning his son Hunter Biden.

President-elect Donald Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung, reacted to the announcement without naming the president or his son.

"The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system," Cheung said in a statement.

"That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people," he continued.

Shortly after, Trump himself reacted publicly to the news, invoking prosecutions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!" Trump said on Truth Social.
The president-elect chose Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump's father-in-law, for a senior role in his administration
Peter Wade

It appears marrying into the Trump family is a good way to get a political appointment. After the president-elect selected Charles Kushner, father of Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner, as his nominee for ambassador to France, Donald Trump announced he will nominate Massad Boulos as his advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Boulos is Tiffany Trump‘s father-in-law.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social. “I am proud to announce that Massad Boulos will serve as Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs,” Trump wrote. “Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the International scene.”

Boulos, a Lebanese American billionaire, played a role in Trump’s campaign as an unofficial representative to Arab American and Muslim American communities, meeting with them in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere to shore up votes for Trump.

“Trump will be a strong president,” Boulos told Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya in October, according to The Los Angeles Times. “He’s the only president who can achieve peace [in Lebanon] and a permanent solution to the Palestinian problem.”

Boulos grew up in Lebanon during the country’s civil war but came to the U.S. where he received a degree in international law from the University of Houston. He married a Lebanese entrepreneur’s daughter who got him a position running SCOA Motors in Nigeria, which manufactures and distributes trucks and busses. Boulos launched an unsuccessful run for parliament in Lebanon in 2018. His son, Michael Boulos, married Tiffany Trump in a 2022 ceremony at Mar-a-Lago. Tiffany is currently pregnant with their first child.

According to The Times, many Lebanese believe Boulos can push Trump to end the war between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel launched an offensive on Lebanon and Hezbollah in the fall of this year.

Sources told Reuters that Boulos has been in recent contact with Hezbollah as well as other Lebanese leaders, including the Lebanese Forces Party, a Christian group that opposes Hezbollah.

“Boulos’ Lebanese political past gives no real indication of a geostrategic or even national vision, but it demonstrates ambition and a set of political allies that will stand out in Trump’s circle like a sore thumb,” Century Foundation fellow Aron Lund told Reuters.
Story by Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his son Hunter following his conviction on federal gun charges, despite previously claiming he would not do so.

The president officially announced the decision on Sunday night, saying that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Justice Department. In a lengthy statement, he said he hoped the American people would understand his decision as a father.

The pardon comes less than two weeks ahead of Hunter’s sentencing on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges back in June.

He was also set to be sentenced in a separate criminal case on December 16, after pleading guilty in September to federal tax evasion charges.

“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.

“Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.

“Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
By TRÂN NGUYỄN

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers will return to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.

The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.

California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success.

“We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference.

Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.
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