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President Joe Biden is considering preemptive pardons for several prominent names facing possible retribution from the incoming Trump administration, US media has reported.

Among those being considered for the historic pardons are Anthony Fauci, the former White House special advisor on Covid-19, and former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, who has become a fierce critic of Donald Trump.

The president-elect has made no secret of his desire to exact vengeance against critics and those he claims stole the 2020 election from him.

Biden has discussed with advisors the possibility of using his constitutional power to protectively issue preemptive pardons -- even to people yet to be charged with any crime -- before he leaves the White House on January 20.

The discussions were reported by Politico and later by the New York Times, CBS News and the Washington Post, all citing anonymous sources close to the talks.

Biden sparked controversy on Sunday when, in a reversal, he pardoned his son Hunter, who was due to be sentenced this month in cases involving a gun purchase and tax fraud.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, who served as lead manager during the first Senate impeachment of Trump, and retired general Mark Milley might also be in line for preemptive pardons to shield them from Trump.

Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump's first term, later told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump was "a total fascist" and "the most dangerous person to this country."

Overseeing such prosecutions would be the man who the president-elect has nominated to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel.

Patel, who held a high position in the Pentagon during the first Trump term, has said that as FBI chief he would "come after" those "who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections."

"WHEN I WIN," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in September, "those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law."

Presidential pardons, issued at the end of a term, have a long history in the United States. On his last day in the White House in January 2021, Trump pardoned 74 people accused of various crimes and misdemeanors.

And in September 1974, a month after Richard Nixon resigned as president during the Watergate scandal, his successor Gerald Ford announced "a full, free and absolute pardon" for any crimes against the United States which Nixon might have committed while in office.

But the multiple preemptive pardons reportedly being considered by Biden -- to insulate several people from future prosecutions that might not ever happen -- could constitute a first.

America's incoming First Lady, Melania Trump, in a rare public appearance, sat down with the "Fox & Friends" crew Friday morning to discuss how she is getting ready to return to the White House, how her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, is handling his second transition, and to promote her apparently for-profit business ventures, including her book, Christmas ornaments, NFTs, and other "collectibles."

Other First Ladies have had careers after serving the American public in the White House, notably Hillary Clinton and Jacqueline Kennedy, but should she continue with this venture or others, Melania Trump may become the first First Lady who has a for-profit business during her time in the White House.

On Fox News, Trump was asked about the public programs she will focus on as First Lady.

She spoke briefly about her signature "Be Best" program, which she launched in May, 2018. It was widely mocked when she introduced it, and reports found some of it was a repackaging of existing federal initiatives around cyberbullying, including those from the Obama administration.

Trump then quickly moved to talking about what she said were her "Web 2" and "Web 3" businesses.

READ MORE: ‘You Answer to Us’: Hegseth Slammed for Saying He Only Answers to Trump, Senators, and God

"Well, when I was in the White House for four years, I established my Be Best initiative and I also successfully brought it overseas and around the world. It was very successful and after I left the White House, I established my Web 3 and Web 2 platforms where I design, where I have collectibles like ornaments every season, this is the third season. And many other collectibles that are available now."

She then appeared to suggest some of the proceeds from those businesses go to support students, but she did not offer any specifics, nor do her websites. The website where she sells her Christmas ornaments does not appear to say anything about donations to charity.

"So with those, I have students from a foster community that I sponsor and I'm very proud of and we have many of them now, so their life changes because they will have an education," Trump said.

Asked on Fox & Friends what programs she's going to champion in the White House this time around, Melania Trump brings up her ornaments collection pic.twitter.com/mEYBmrfQsi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2024

Juliet Jeske, who runs Decoding Fox News, writes: "The money from the overpriced ornaments doesn’t go to charity. I went through her entire website. The profits go back to her."

On her website, the Christmas ornaments sell for $75 each. The "USA Star" ornament is listed at $90.

"So this are the ornaments that they are available this season, this is the third season that I design and they are very special," Trump told the "Fox & Friends" co-hosts. "For example, Lady Liberty, it was inspiration from my necklace that I bought when I was modeling in Paris. And now we have an ornament and we have also a necklace that it's available on MelaniaTrump.com. So I, also, this one it's the necklace and inspiration, the flower and they're very patriotic this year. As you could see, it's all red white and blue and I was inspired by that."

READ MORE: ‘Sympathy for Dictators’: Ex-NatSec Officials Warn on Gabbard, Want Closed Door Hearings

"They discontinue, they retire, and this is available right now. And it's a great gift and great collectible, actually."

Attorney Michael Kasdan, an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law, remarked, "The Fox-Trump Home Shopping Network."

Attorney Jeffrey Evan Gold, a CNN legal analyst, called it "Free advertising for Melania Grift."

Melania was on Fox this morning selling “patriotic” Christmas ornaments. pic.twitter.com/wm07nuqrEF
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 6, 2024

Last year, The New York Times reported, "In February 2022, Mrs. Trump started 'Fostering the Future,' a scholarship program for foster children aging out of the system. A person familiar with the program, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, would not offer details or disclose how many scholarships have been awarded, saying only that it was 'more than two.' No charity with the name Fostering the Future or Be Best is registered in Florida or New York."

Hillary Clinton, who served as First Lady from 1993 to 2001, has authored nine books, including three during her eight years inside the White House. First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt and Barbara Bush also authored books while serving in the White House.

For her first book, the 1996 New York Times bestseller "It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us," Hillary Clinton donated all royalties to charity and took no money except to cover expenses, according to The New York Times. Similarly, for the other two books she wrote during her time as First Lady, Clinton donated the proceeds to charities, including the National Park Foundation and the White House Historical Association.

Barely weeks after Donald Trump's first inauguration, in 2017, Melania Trump's "representatives issued statements saying that the first lady 'has no intention' of using her public position for personal gain," The Washington Post reported. The paper noted those statements came one day "after Melania Trump filed a lawsuit accusing a British news company of hurting her ability to build a profitable brand."

Before Election Day this year, CNN reported Melania Trump's publisher had requested the news network pay $250,000 for an interview.

“This is completely unprecedented.” The Trump grifting never stops. Melania Trump’s team wants a whopping $250,000 for her to be interviewed by CNN…to promote her own book! (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/tSQKiuYxco
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) October 3, 2024

PEOPLE magazine reported on Friday that "Melania Trump is gearing up for another four years as first lady and all the duties that come with the title, including decorating the White House for Christmas."

"The ex-model wife of President-elect Donald Trump, 54, previously made headlines surrounding the holidays for her bold choice of Christmas decor — and because of leaked audio recordings where she griped about the responsibility of decorating 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.," PEOPLE's report notes.

“'I’m working … my a-- off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f--- about the Christmas stuff and decorations?' she was heard saying in a recording from 2018 that has recently resurfaced on social media. 'But I need to do it, right?'"

Watch the videos above or at this link.

RELATED: ‘Unethical’ and ‘Corrupt’: Melania Trump Slammed Over Six-Figure Fee for Political Event

CNN's Jim Acosta winced as a conservative commentator justified defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth needing his mother to defend his character amid allegations of his past drinking and mistreatment of women.

Penelope Hegseth appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to recant a scathing email she sent to her son that was obtained and published by the New York Times, saying he no longer mistreated women as she had alleged in the 2018 message, and she reportedly called senators on his behalf to calm their concerns about his character.

"What do you make of the role that she has played this week?" Acosta said. "We saw her go out on Fox to defend her son and Axios reports she's been calling senators directly on his behalf. You know, I'm just wondering, I mean, [Ronald] Reagan used to talk about peace through strength. Are we seeing strength being projected out to the world when it comes to the Hegseth nomination if his mother is having to call senators?"

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

Conservative pundit Shermichael Singleton mounted a defense, saying the nominee's mother was forced off the sidelines by what he described as questionable reporting.

"I think his mother is out there because some outlets have printed and reported on a previous email she sent several years ago, I think seven years ago, to be exact," Singleton said, "and she feels the need and I think she should, to come out and clarify what was going on between her, her son and their family at that particular time. I think she did an outstanding job on Fox News and, again, friends of mine that I have who actually work for Republican senators, and I've been talking to and texting with a lot of them to just understand where things appear to be moving from their perspective. These things are absolutely making a difference."

Acosta grimaced, saying that the nominee to lead the Department of Defense should not need his mother to vouch for him.

"I'm just, you know, if you're having to have your mother call senators to defend themselves, I know, but Shermichael, to have to have your mother call senators to to get you cleared for secretary of defense, right?" Acosta said. "I mean he goes out there with tattoos, showing off his biceps and everything."

Singleton didn't seen anything wrong with that, saying that nominees' families frequently speak up for them.

"I've gone through the confirmation process before, having worked for a former Cabinet secretary and you're going to have statements from the spouse, from siblings, from children, from grandchildren, from friends, from neighbors," Singleton said. "So I'm not opposed to having the mother of a secretary potential secretary who would know him very well, saying, this is who this person actually is. I'm just trying to see if there are allegations against this."

Acosta acknowledged his defense and turned to Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, asking what the situation might look like if the parties were reversed and a Democratic nominee needed his own mother to cover for him.

"Oh, I mean, they would be going out of their minds, but I think you hit the nail on the head," Cardona said. "When was the last time that we have spent segments talking about a Democratic nominee, right? I mean, this is where and, frankly, any other nominee from a Republican president, this goes to the heart of Trump's judgment. The fact of the matter is, he said he was going to bring in the best people, he's actually bringing in the crappiest people who have disgusting allegations, who have no experience in the job for one of the most important positions in the U.S. government."

"This does not bode well for Trump," Cardona added, "it does not bode well for the United States of America."

Watch below or click the link.

- YouTube youtu.be

A large earthquake off the coast of Northern California sent the state into emergency mode on Thursday morning Pacific time.

According to local KNTV news, emergency services are asking people to get at least a mile away from the shoreline.

Storm chaser Colin McCarthy posted a screen capture of an evacuation map showing that West Berkeley is being told to "EVACUATE NOW" east of 7th Street.

Authorities are saying that the tsunami is an immediate threat to life.

See the local report below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

— (@)

Donald Trump has rewarded some of his biggest loyalists with top-level positions, but there's not enough government jobs to go around to his allies.

The former president has rewarded strategic persistence when choosing nominees for plum roles in his administration, but multiple advisers told Politico that he was turned off by rumors of presidential ambitions or past criticism of his behavior, and he was annoyed to learn if someone felt entitled to a role or tried to buy his favor – which may have cost Ric Grenell a shot at his dream job as secretary of state.

"An associate of Grenell had approached conservative social media influencers, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, offering paid contracts of as much as five figures to post favorably about Grenell," the website reported. "One such contract, obtained by Politico and not previously reported, outlined that the influencer would do so during 'peak posting times,' that 'content must appear genuine,' and it could not 'appear as an overt advertisement or promotional message.'"

ALSO READ: 'You are out of line!': Secret Service chief screams at GOP lawmaker for politicizing 9/11

The proposed social media campaign ever really took off, organizers said, but Grenell made clear in private conversations that he wanted to lead the State Department if Trump was re-elected, saying it was secretary of State “or bust," according to one source close to Trump – but the job eventually went to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

“People assume the president wants a big personality who is pushing the envelope," said a source familiar with the transition. "That’s not always the case. I think there were a lot of questions about whether Ric was diplomatic enough to be secretary of state,” said a person familiar with the transition."

"Ric was offered several positions that he turned down," that person added. "It’s not like he was shut out.”

Trump did reward some loyalists, like FBI director nominee Kash Patel and U.S. ambassador to NATO nominee Matthew Whitaker, with top jobs after they fought to remain in contention, but a person close to Grenell's situation said the president-elect didn't want to alienate his allies but didn't have enough high-ranking roles to go around.

“I think there is a need and a desire to keep these people close,” that person said. “They are loyalists who have been really successful at getting Trump elected. Where does Trump park these people?"

The United States Geological Survey is showing a 7.0 earthquake off the cost of northern California that was severe enough for residents nearby to get a notification of a tsunami warning.

Yahoo News cited a National Weather Service social media post, which marked the quake at 7.3 on the Richter Scale.

At approximately 1:44 p.m. EST, the quake rumbled about 40 miles off the coast of Petrolia, CA, leading the state to issue tsunami warnings to those down the west coast.

However, it wasn't merely the 7.0 quake that was cause for concern. MSNBC reported that the quake happened along with several others, which are also indicated on the USGS quake map. They are all in the same area and range in severity form 3.3 to 4.2 on the Richter Scale.

ALSO READ: 'You are out of line!': Secret Service chief screams at GOP lawmaker for politicizing 9/11

Meanwhile, other quakes seem to be popping up on the land in northern California, such as a 2.5 quake 16 km from French Gulch, CA. A separate 2.5 also popped up on the map about 6 km northwest of Cobb, California.

“The National Weather Service has issued a TSUNAMI WARNING. A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you,” the alert read in the San Francisco Bay Area. “You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return.”

One Bay Area resident said on X it was the first time he's ever gotten a tsunami warning.