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President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to 20 people, including three former Republican members of Congress and two people who were convicted of crimes as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also pardoned four military contractors convicted of killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007, and extended clemency to several people convicted of drug offenses. The pre-Christmas pardons and commutations came as the president has been exploring how to reward friends and allies in the waning days before leaving office next month, with more acts of clemency expected to come.

Jobless Stats Reveal Disparities As economy Starts To Recover March 09, 2012 While the Labor Department reports a surge in private-sector hiring and the nation's unemployment rate holding steady at 8.3 percent, a closer look at the numbers paints a less flattering picture of the country's post-recession growth. The latest report for February shows lingering economic disparities among different segments of the population. And, as has been the case for decades, the unemployment rate used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not tell the whole story. Counting only those Americans who are actively looking for work, the jobless rate...

(WARNING: The video on LGF goes to Soros Funded Think Progress. I didn't know why LGF linked to them at first, but I can't find the video anywhere else.)HUNTER: This is it folks. This is it. There is nothing after 2012. [...] I don’t care if it’s a more moderate/former liberal like Ronald Reagan, who would never be elected today in my opinion. If it’s someone like him or a hardcore conservative, you gotta elect the most winnable person this time. I know it sounds bad, but Congress makes the law. You’ve got a conservative Congress. You’re one third there....

A House panel approved a defense bill early Thursday that would delay President Obama's new policy allowing gays to serve openly in the military and limit the commander in chief's authority on slashing the nation's nuclear arsenal. By a vote of 60-1, the House Armed Services Committee approved the broad, $553 billion defense blueprint that would provide a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, fund an array of aircraft, ships and submarines, slightly increase health care fees for working-age retirees and meet the Pentagon's request for an additional $118 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The committee, on...

Any decision involving the commitment of American military personnel and combat resources is never easy. It requires as much personal reflection as it does strategic evaluation, all with the understanding of what is at stake and what is at risk. With Libya, it is improbable to think that the decision to create and enforce a no-fly zone was treated any differently. The president and his administration were confronted with a tough choice. Either avoid the fight altogether and watch a humanitarian crisis unfold, or stand with the international community to protect others and assist rebel elements that are outnumbered and...

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) says he agrees with how President Obama has used the nation’s military to handle the crisis in Libya. In a phone interview with The Hill newspaper, Hunter defended Obama against critics on the right and the left who have questioned his decision to use force against Libyan strongman Moammer Qaddafi. “I agree with the president. I agree with what he’s done so far on his use of force. I agree on his timing. I agree on the fact that he went in with a coalition,” Hunter said. A former Marine captain who did combat tours in...

U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation, the Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act, to allow for additional infrastructure to be built along the Southwest border. The bill provides the Secretary of Homeland Security with full discretionary authority to build as much as 350 miles of additional infrastructure on the border. The legislation is co-sponsored by congressmen Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), Vista’s Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Ted Poe (R-Texas). It follows a report by the Government Accountability Office, stating that only 44 percent of the Southwest border is under operation...

A bill introduced in Congress today could lead to an additional 350 miles of fencing along the southwest border and would require the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress when apprehension activity climbs 40 percent year over year, if it is approved. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, authored the bill, titled “Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act,” in response to a Government Accountability Report that found 44 percent of the southwest border is under “operational control” and 15 percent is totally secure. The legislation is co-sponsored by Republicans Brian Bilbray, Solana Beach, Ed Royce, Fullerton, and Ted Poe, Texas, and...

March 7, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) recently introduced legislation aimed at curtailing what he views as frivolous lawsuits against small businesses that are allegedly in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The bill, entitled the ADA Notification Act, would provide businesses accused of an ADA violation with a 90-day grace period to make necessary modifications. “It’s bad enough that small businesses are facing enormous challenges due to the current economic downturn,” Rep. Hunter said in a press release. “What they don’t need to contend with are any other unnecessary obstacles that...

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., says the Egyptian turmoil and the threat of rising tensions in the Mideast make it the wrong time for Congress to consider slashing the defense budget, despite calls from some of his GOP colleagues that cuts are needed to contain the soaring national debt. “I disagree with those in my own party who think that we have to cut duncan,hunter,defense,budgetdefense now for appearances’ sake, so that we seem like we are serious about taking on the national debt and the deficit,” Hunter – a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – said in an...

When the conversation about achieving budget savings within the Pentagon started gaining momentum about a year ago, there was no disagreement on the value of identifying efficiencies and redirecting dollars to modernization and development - where funding is needed most. The annual defense budget is by no means exempt from the spending debate, but Congress and the administration must exercise a certain degree of caution when agreeing to any cuts without first considering their implication. The renewed focus on finding budget savings and efficiencies is necessary and long overdue. For defense, the budget is not sacrosanct. It can be cut...

The repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy may hit a road block in Congress next week. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, is drafting a bill that would change how - and possibly if - the repeal is implemented. The repeal law passed in December requires the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to certify that the military is ready for the change. Hunter's bill would require the four service chiefs to also sign off on the policy change. At a December hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Army, Marine Corps and...

A member of the House Armed Services Committee plans to introduce legislation next week designed to put the brakes on repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay troops. The measure by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) would add the four military service chiefs to the list of those who must sign off on repealing the policy before it can be officially scrapped. Hunter, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, is concerned that the bill passed in December repealing the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy “excluded the service chiefs from the certification process,” said one congressional aide. The repeal bill, signed...

Three San Diego-area U.S. congressmen have re-entered the Mount Soledad cross fray with a bill that would allow religious symbols to be a part of military monuments. On Wednesday Rep. Duncan Hunter of Alpine introduced the War Memorial Protection Act in response to the federal Ninth Circuit Court’s Jan. 4 ruling, declaring the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial unconstitutional. Joining Hunter as co-sponsors are Congressmen Brian Bilbray of Solana Beach and Darrell Issa of Vista. A cross was first erected atop Mt. Soledad in 1913. It wasn’t until the cross was rebuilt after a 1952 storm that it became a war...

LA JOLLA — Two San Diego County congressmen wrote a letter Thursday urging the Obama administration to “vigorously defend” the Mount Soledad war memorial in La Jolla in the wake of a court ruling that said the giant cross there is unconstitutional. The letter was signed by Republican Reps. Brian Bilbray of Solana Beach and Duncan Hunter of R-Alpine. It was sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the latest ruling in the 20-year battle over the presence of the Latin...

Washington DC – Immediately following a Department of Defense briefing for members of the House Armed Services Committee on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” report released today, Congressman Duncan Hunter, a Marine combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, reiterated his opposition to overturning current policy. “If anything, the survey results make a compelling case for keeping current policy in place and avoiding any type of distraction for our nation’s military and its combat mission,” said Congressman Hunter. “When breaking down the specifics, more respondents answered unfavorably or remain uncertain about a policy change than those who favor...

In a shift in tactics, the U.S. military in Afghanistan plans to rely more on old-fashioned surveillance, as compared with new-age technology, to stop the biggest killer of American service members in the field. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, said he was informed by the Pentagon in recent weeks that the command is building up a special task force to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Task Force ODIN (Observe, Detect, Identify, Neutralize) is designed to constantly watch troop and convoy routes to catch the enemy planting IEDs, which account for more than 50 percent...

A call to end automatic citizenship for the children of illegal immigrant parents is gaining momentum among leading Republicans in Congress, who recently called for hearings on the subject. Some North County congressional representatives, who are among the most vocal against illegal immigration, have pushed for the public debate, but the issue seldom received much attention from the party's leadership. Then last month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wanted to have hearings, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would like to propose a constitutional amendment to prevent illegal immigrants' children from being declared citizens. With a...

August 12, 2010 (El Cajon) – In the 52nd Congressional District, Democratic candidate Ray Lutz is dishing up a new campaign tactic: a hunger strike. He hopes to convince Rep. Duncan D. Hunter to participate in a series of debates before absentee voting by mail begins. “Until Hunter steps up to the plate, I’ll be stepping away from the dinner plate,” Lutz said in a press release. He added, “Starting this Thursday, August 12, I will refuse to eat until he agrees to debate. I hope my sacrifice will make him realize the community expects him to take their issues...

Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-El Cajon), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, today highlighted a report by the bipartisan Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel, which calls for increasing the Navy to a 346-ship fleet and expanding America’s focus to prepare for threats in the Western Pacific. “The message from the independent QDR panel about the strength and size of our naval fleet must be taken seriously,” said Congressman Hunter." He added, “There are some in Congress and the Administration who believe that cutting defense spending is a good idea amid ongoing engagements and the resurgence of conventional...