Blue Lives Matter Unless You Defended the Capitol on Jan. 6th

A condensed overview of 31.5 hours of Fox News from 1/19/25 - 1/26/25

Jan 29, 2025

Last week the folks at Fox News treated Donald J. Trump as if he were a supernatural being who came down from heaven on the wings of a bald eagle to vanquish the woke, transgender, cultural Marxist enemies of the United States and lift the nation up to a mythical state of its former glory when robber barons swam through the Panama Canal.

The network was hardly subtle as segments dedicated to praising the 47th president took up over half of the airtime on the programs I covered last week.

Any pretense that Fox News practiced journalism was completely shattered as Sean Hannity and Judge Jeanine Pirro both openly thanked their viewers for voting for Trump and Greg Gutfeld boasted that 19 Fox News employees have been hired or appointed to be a part of the Trump administration.

Other major stories on the network last week included Trump’s decision to temporarily reinstate the Chinese owned social media app TikTok, the tenuous ceasefire agreement in Israel and the start of mass deportations.

For this newsletter I’m going to focus on a topic that most of the on-air talent at Fox wanted to avoid - Trump’s blanket pardon and commutation of over 1500 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Anyone watching Fox News exclusively last week might have missed out on Prince Harry’s huge legal win against the Murdoch owned media empire along with the legalization of same sex marriages in Thailand.

Shows I covered on Fox News last week:

Fox & Friends - four hours on Sunday 1/19, three hours on Monday 1/20, first hour the rest of the week.
The Five - also extra episode on Sunday 1/19 then Monday - Friday
Hannity - extra episode on Sunday 1/19, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
The Ingraham Angle - Tuesday through Friday
Approx 5.5 hours of Inauguration coverage on Fox News

How Dare Joe Biden Issue a Preemptive Pardon to Anyone

On the night of the inauguration Sean Hannity was reporting from one of the presidential balls honoring Donald J. Trump. The Fox News host was incensed that President Biden would issue preemptive pardons to some of his family members, General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the members of the January 6th Committee that investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“His last-minute preemptive pardons for his family, as we affectionately call them, the Biden Family Syndicate and their friends. Well, that was his final act as President,” said Hannity.

Earlier that day on “The Five” Dana Perino was also upset that Biden would issue preemptive pardons.

“Joe Biden pardoned many of his family members. You know, preemptive pardons. This is in addition to all the other parties he had done around 11 a.m. And as my contention, my belief that President Trump didn't know about these because they announced them after he had already walked into the rotunda. And it is quite brazen, and I think Democrats are going to have a hard time answering it, said Perino.

Her co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro used similar language as Sean Hannity did to describe the Biden family.

“Interesting. And yet to me, it was stunning. Although there's certainly been rumors about this that, Joe Biden decides that he's going to pardon pretty much all of his family. You know, the members of the Biden crime syndicate, his brother Joe and, his son and, I think that some in-laws, Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, preemptive pardon, meaning they aren't charged with anything, but, we're going to tie the hands of the next attorney general to make sure that she. Nice, does not indict anyone. But I think what's so stunning is that the justification for this Dana, where the statement from the Biden White House was, these people do not deserve to be targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. But the shame of this is that it is a recognition that, that there is and was a possibility of based on James Comer alone. There was enough evidence to indict based upon what he uncovered. But James Comer didn't have access to Merrick Garland, Department of Justice. So the evidence is there. They knew it. They have to stop it from the next attorney general,” said Pirro.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government never found any substantial evidence that linked President Biden or his son Hunter Biden to any financial crimes, or bribery.

The impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden which was spearheaded by Comer was a complete bust.

Judge Pirro failed to mention that in December, Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who originally implicated President Biden and his son Hunter in a bribery scheme pleaded guilty to lying to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He also admitted to tax evasion for not reporting more than $2 million in income.

James Comer did have access to the Department of Justice. Hunter Biden was investigated and convicted of charges involving lying about his drug use when he purchased a firearm. He also pleaded guilty to tax charges.

Three days before President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration Comer encouraged the incoming Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute James Biden, Joe Biden’s brother. Comer claimed James Biden lied to Congress to protect his brother.

Comer wasn’t the only lawmaker who wanted to continue investigations into Biden family members.

During an appearance on Fox Business after President Biden issued a pardon for his son Hunter, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said,

“Our investigation (into Hunter Biden) must continue I believe to let the American public know the truth even if these pardons are taking place.”

On Thursday on “Fox & Friends” Ainsley Earhardt brought up Trump’s vow to not pardon himself at the end of his first term.

“Do you remember when it was in the news when Trump was leaving office? Are you going to pardon yourself and he's like he said, I didn't want to pardon myself last night or my family because we did nothing wrong. But the but the media ran with that. They couldn't believe that it could be considered for him to pardon himself and then look exactly what Joe Biden did. He pardoned everyone in his family preemptively, just in case the Republicans went after him. And Pam Bondi already said, we don't have an enemies list.”

Joe Biden didn’t pardon himself.

President Trump also issued several pardons to various advisors who were convicted of crimes that were connected to his administration.

Steve Doocy mentioned that if Trump had pardoned himself he wouldn’t have faced any federal criminal charges.

“But think about it. Had he had Trump pardoned himself none of those prosecutions at the federal level ever would have happened,” said Doocy.

The Folks at Fox Had Very Different Feelings about Trump’s Decision to Pardon January 6th rioters.

Almost immediately after he was sworn in President Trump pardoned over 1500 people and commuted the sentences of 14 related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On the night of the inauguration Judge Jeanine Pirro dismissed any controversy surrounding the pardons.

“The same Biden administration is objecting to any pardoning of the J6 hostages by saying that. Well, if Trump gives them a pardon, it's got to be an admission of guilt. I mean, it's typical hypocrisy that I and I'm sure most of America will be happy to get rid of going forward, because we don't have to deal with that hypocrisy anymore,” said Pirro.

The same night the musician Kid Rock praised Trump during a special 2-hour inauguration episode of “Hannity.”

“I mean, he's already at work it with 1500 J-6ers out I heard already, I think. Good,” said Rock.

The next night on “The Ingraham Angle,” Laura Ingraham also downplayed the seriousness of letting people who had beaten cops out of prison.

“Now what? They're really mad about. It's not the pardons the J-6ers, obviously. Biden said a much more dangerous precedent. They're mad that he's actually delivering on his promises one by one,” said Ingraham.

Wednesday morning Brian Kilmeade discussed how other media companies treated the story.

“And it's amazing they just show up and they just talk about those pardons when not one question about how do you view Joe Biden's pardons, preemptive for the first time in history for his family? Also, when he talked about the pardons, he let everyone go in the J-6 pardons. We'll look at the other pardons on the other side. And today, as every network spends 45 minutes of every hour talking about the January 6th pardons, many of which people were just walking through, some of which was serious,” said Kilmeade.

His co-host Lawrence Jones brought up the BLM protests and riots from the last year of Trump’s presidency.

“It puts cold water on their argument when it comes to the cops and protesters. We watched our cities be burned for months and they assaulted cops for months, and there was no push. But there were no charges that the feds weren't even on the ground to prosecute these people. So I don't want anybody targeting cops. But I think what ends up happening, according to some of the reports, and I pretty much confirm it, is when there was some debate going on about who to pardon, and it kept going back and forth, and he said, just pardon them all. All right. Just pardon me. I'm not going to do this if this is your effort to delay me, getting into J-6ers a pardon the people that were overcharged, which a lot of legal scholars agree that I'm just going to pardon them all,” said Jones.

It’s a false equivalence to compare protests and riots that stretched on for months across the country to an attempt to impede the peaceful transfer of power of an incoming president.

Regardless Jones falsely implied that no protesters were charged with crimes during the 2020 protests inspired by the police killing of George Floyd.

According to Buzzfeed News by June 2020 police had arrested 11,000 people across the country for various crimes involving the George Floyd protests.

The Washington Post tallied 14,000 arrests across 49 cities. According to their research only 3.7% of the arrests were related to property damage and vandalism.

In October of 2020 The Hill reported 17,000 arrests related to the demonstrations, most of which were related to nonviolent offenses.

The protests in 2020 were also much larger and broader in scope than the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol. According to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED)

Between May 24 and August 22, 2020 there were more than 10,600 George Floyd demonstrations and events across the country. Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involved peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involved demonstrators engaging in violence. Well over 80% of all demonstrations were connected to the Black Lives Matter movement or the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump Defended His Decision to Pardon January 6th Rioters

Last week Sean Hannity featured an exclusive interview with President Donald J. Trump from the White House.

“You did run on a platform. You were very straightforward. You said you would pardon these people that were sentenced for January 6th total. If you did. The only criticism of pushback I've seen is about people that were convicted or involved in incidents where they were violent with police. Why did they get a pardon?” asked Hannity.

Trump seemed excited to answer his question.

“A number of reasons. Number one, they were in there for three and a half years, a long time, and in many solitary confinement, treated like nobody's ever been treated so badly. They were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged and they were protesting the vote. And that, you know, should be allowed to protest a vote. You should be allowed to, you know, the day when the day comes,” said Trump.

“But you shouldn’t be able to invade the Capitol,” said Hannity.

“No, ready. Most of the people were absolutely innocent. Okay. But forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly a long time. It would be very, very cumbersome to go and look, you know, how many people we are talking about? Fifteen hundred people, almost all of them are should not have been there should not have happened. And the other thing is, is, some of those people with the police too, but they were very minor incidents,” said Trump.

According to reporting by The NY Times

One officer lost the tip of his right index finger
Other officers were smashed in the head with:
- baseball bats
- flag poles
- pipes
An officer lost consciousness as rioters used a metal barrier to push her into stairs
Some of the injuries included:
- concussions - neurological impairment
- heightened anxiety
- PTSD
- orthopedic injuries that required surgery and rehabilitation
- rib fractures
- burns
- traumatic brain injuries
- shattered spinal discs
- stabbing - suspect used a metal fence stake
- mild heart attack - the officer was repeatedly hit with a stun gun
- strokes
Of the 1200 capitol police officers only 170 were equipped with riot gear
140 officers were injured (73 Capitol Police, 65 Metropolitan police)
Officer Brian Sicknick died immediately after the attack of a stroke
Four officers committed suicide soon after the attack

Trump continued speaking with Hannity.

“Okay. You know, they get built up by that couple of fake guys that are on CNN all the time,” said Trump.

“Nobody watches that,” said Hannity.

“They were very minor incidents. And it was time you have murderers in Philadelphia. You have murderers in Los Angeles that don't even get any time. They don't even collect them. And they know they're there to be collected. And then they go on television and act holier than thou about this one or that one. You had 1500 people that suffered, that's a lot of people, you know, they were looking for new people two weeks ago. They were looking, wait a minute. They were looking to charge new people. They have a woman who's 76 years old that they said was made a statement that was a little bit out of line years after the fact. This was a political hoax,” said Trump.
He then made a pivot to one of his favorite topics - ratings.

“And, you know what? Those people and I'm not saying in every single case, but it was a lot of patriotism with those people, a lot of them, you know, they did a recording and, you know, I they asked me if I do the voiceover and I did, you know, is the number one selling whatever you call it nowadays album, whatever song, CD, whatever you, you don't know, it changes every year. Right. But but it was the number one selling song, number one on Billboard, number one and everything on everything for so long. People get it. They wanted to see those people asking,” said Trump.

The president did record a Voiceover for a recording “Justice for All.” The track included incarcerated January 6th rioters reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” All proceeds from the recording went to a fund for family members of the suspects.

The song was briefly #4 on the Billboard Bubbling Hot 100 Singles, and achieved #1 status Billboard Digital Song Sales chart.

According to 18 USC 2384 United States Code - If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

This is an excerpt from the Department of Justice criminal conviction of four members of the Oath Keepers who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

The defendants also, collectively, employed a variety of manners and means, including: organizing into teams that were prepared and willing to use force and to transport firearms and ammunition into Washington, D.C.; recruiting members and affiliates; organizing trainings to teach and learn paramilitary combat tactics; bringing and contributing paramilitary gear, weapons, and supplies – including knives, batons, camouflaged combat uniforms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, eye protection, and radio equipment – to the Capitol grounds; breaching and attempting to take control of the Capitol grounds and building on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to prevent, hinder and delay the certification of the electoral college vote; using force against law enforcement officers while inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; continuing to plot, after Jan. 6, 2021, to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power, and using websites, social media, text messaging and encrypted messaging applications to communicate with each other and others.
While certain Oath Keepers members and affiliates breached the Capitol grounds and building, others remained stationed just outside of the city in quick reaction force (QRF) teams. According to the government’s evidence, the QRF teams were prepared to rapidly transport firearms and other weapons into Washington, D.C., in support of operations aimed at using force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power.

How PBS Covered Trump’s Jan. 6th Pardons

On Tuesday Geoff Bennett, co-anchor of the PBS News Hour, interviewed Denver Riggleman, a senior technical adviser to the January 6th Committee. Riggleman is also an Air Force veteran and former Republican Congressman.

“These pardons, I mean, this is a real body blow for the US justice system in the sense that this was the single largest criminal investigation in U.S. history. Nearly every FBI field office, nearly every U.S. Attorney's office were involved in these prosecutions. Now, all but 14 people have been pardoned. The other 14 had their sentences commuted. How does all of this land with you?” asked Bennett.

“It's heinous. We have insurrectionists that were actually pardoned. And I think it's just ludicrous, that that's happening in the United States of America. And I don't think it's just a body blow against the Department of Justice. I think it's a body blow against and against the American people. And the fact is, is that the Republican Party can't claim to run a law and order ever again. And for me personally, knowing what happened that day, that these coup like movements and these insurrectionists are being pardoned by the president of the United States, I think it's I think it rattles our allies also, and it really shakes the foundations of everything we stand for as Americans,” said Riggleman.

“What's the real world impact of these pardons and the fact that these rioters are being released from prison?” asked Bennett.

“Well, I think the real-world impact are these individuals are back in their communities where they can they can organize, they can run for office, January Sixers that are presented with medals, that they actually get positions within certain government offices, maybe on the staffs of congressional representatives who support this kind of nonsense and this kind of insanity. I think that's a real world implications. And also, when you look at U.S. Capitol Police and those that were attacked that day, it's really this baseline disrespect against law enforcement, right? It's it's not back the blue. It's screw the blue. And I think that's what you're seeing from the GOP today. And you know, for me, how are they going to recruit the type of people that they need when they see that there's nobody backing them up, especially when they were trying to protect the Capitol and our most. My goodness, our most, I would say, enshrined, and valuable institutions that were attacked that day by really ignorant, violent, insurrectionists,” said Riggleman.

Where Does All of the Inauguration Money Go?

On Sunday the night before Trump’s inauguration PBS featured a segment with Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group and think tank. Holman was interviewed by Ali Rogan, a PBS News Hour weekend correspondent.

“You've put together a research document on the Trump fans inaugural committee fundraising. How much have they raised and who's donating?” asked Rogan.

“It's shattering all records this time around. You know, the Trump inaugural committee originally targeted $150 million to spend on the inauguration, which by itself would break records. Then it upped it to $200 million because money just started flowing in. And today, we know it's going to be around $250 million. And it shatters not only all records in terms of spending, but also in terms of donations. The donations that we're aware of at this point are all $1 million to $5 million from the same donors who used to give to previous inaugurations, Trump's first one. But back then, it wasn't amounts of maybe 50,000 or 100,000,” said Holman.

“You mentioned that it's some of the same folks. So, who tends to be high on the list?” asked Rogin.

“Well, the top of this list is the cryptocurrency industry,” said Holman.

“Related festivities are over. What happens to the money that's left over and what is the law say about it?” asked Rogin.

“There is no restriction on how the surplus money gets spent and there is no disclosure. If Trump doesn't want to tell us how he spent the surplus money, we aren't going to know what happened to it. When it comes to the inaugural funding, there are so few rules in place. One only two one. Foreign nationals can't make a donation. And the second, as we find out, is sometime in the spring. The donors of $200 or more. We don't know how the money gets spent. We don't know what happens to the surplus funds. And quite frankly, we there's no restriction on how Trump dispenses the surplus funds,” said Holman.

Both Obama and George W. Bush set limits for how much anyone could donate to their inauguration committees. Donald J. Trump placed no restrictions or limitations.

From Holman’s research document at Public Citizen here’s a short list of some of the contributors to the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, Inc.

Cryptocurrency firms:

Ripple - $5 million
Coinbase - $1 million
Moonpay - $1 million
Kraken - $1 million

Big Tech

Tim Cook, Apple CEO - $1 million
Jeff Bezos, Amazon - $1 million
Mark Zuckerburg, Meta - $1 million
Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO - $1 million

Bankers/Wall Street

Ken Griffin, hedge fund manager - $1 million
Bank of America - $1 million
Goldman Sachs - $1 million
Ondo Finance - $1 million

Stories Fox News Ignored

Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched on Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following list are stories that PBS covered that Fox News did not. If a publication is listed at the end of these headlines it’s a direct quote.

Although Fox News did spend a lot of time criticizing President Biden over various presidential pardons no one at the network included that Biden granted civil rights leader Marcus Garvey a posthumous grant of clemency for a mail fraud conviction in 1923. Civil rights leaders have argued for decades that Garvey’s conviction was based on fabricated evidence, was racially motivated and related to his activism for Black Americans.
President Joe Biden brokered a prisoner swap with the Taliban which resulted in the release of two unidentified American citizens held in Afghanistan in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008 for drug trafficking and terrorism charges.
Last Tuesday employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were told to halt all public communications. A memo issued by the acting head of HHS, Dr. Dorothy Fink, directed the agency to refrain from most external communications, such as issuing documents, guidance or notices, until such documents can be approved by "a presidential appointee." (NPR)
The State Department suspended all foreign assistance around the world for at least three months. That affects tens of billions of dollars on programs that run from military assistance to Ukraine to supporting police in Mexico who interdict fentanyl coming into the U.S. (PBS News Hour)
Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit. (PBS News Hour)
PBS included an extended segment about a voluntary California program in that includes incarcerated men and women in firefighting teams deployed to battle wildfires. The program has supporters and critics as some argue it’s a pathway to a better life and career while others have called it exploitative.
PBS also included short memorials for some of the 27 people who lost their lives in the California fires. They included short biographies and memories from friends and loved ones.
The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders over the repression of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban has cracked down on women's rights since taking back control of the country in 2021. Laws there bar women from jobs, most public spaces and education beyond the sixth grade. (PBS News Hour)
In Thailand, marriage equality is now the law of the land. A historic bill took effect granting LGBTQ+ people the same marital rights as heterosexual couples. By the end of the day the law went into effect, some 1,800 same-sex couples across Thailand had tied the knot. (PBS News Hour)
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the family who owns it will pay up to $7.4 billion to settle lawsuits stemming from the opioid crisis. Purdue agreed to pay nearly $900 million. The Sackler family itself will pay upwards of $6.5 billion and give up ownership of the company. That is $500 million more than a previous deal, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. This deal does not shield the family from future lawsuits. (PBS News Hour)
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina got a major boost in its decades-long fight to become federally recognized. President Trump signed a memo directing the Interior Secretary to submit a plan for full federal recognition of the tribe. That status would unleash hundreds of millions of dollars in support for the 60,000 member Lumbee. (PBS News Hour)
A federal judge barred the leader of the far right Oath Keepers group, Stewart Rhodes, from entering Washington, D.C., without court approval. It comes days after President Trump commuted his 18-year prison sentence for coordinating the Capitol attack in 2021. (PBS News Hour)
The U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear a case on whether to allow the nation's first publicly funded religious charter school to open in Oklahoma.
The case centers on a proposal by the Catholic Church in Oklahoma to establish an online school that would incorporate religious teachings into its curriculum. (PBS News Hour)
PBS included a segment about the founders of the non-profit app Watch Duty. The app provides real-time updates and notifications from official sources during wildfires. The free app has interactive maps allowing users to track evacuation zones, shelter locations, live camera feeds and fire perimeters, as well as information about containment on specific fires. (PBS News Hour)
Jules Feiffer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and writer whose prolific output ranged from a long-running comic strip to plays, screenplays and children’s books, died Friday. He was 95 and, true to his seemingly tireless form, published his last book just four months ago. (PBS News Hour)