right now on msnbc, pardon power. new reaction to the president's sweeping and unconditional pardon of his son hunter.

is there anything the incoming president-elect could do to unravel it? donald trump stuns washington tapping a loyalist to lead the fbi? who is kash patel? how would a man who's railed against the deep state lead that agency? also ahead, arctic blast. bitter cold and feet of snow hammers the northern u.s. with more on the way. later, cyber monday is here. the deals you don't want to miss. you can stay on your couch and learn the new deals available right now. it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart in for ana cabrera. we begin with reaction to president biden's sweeping pardon of his son hunter. the president issuing a full and unconditional pardon late sunday a stunning reversal for a

president who repeatedly insisted he would not intervene in his son's case. in a statement president biden said, quote, no reasonable person who looks at the facts of hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than hunter was signaled out only because he was my son. trying to break hunter they've tried to break me and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. enough is enough. it comes after hunter biden's legal team issued a 52-page defense of the president's son over the weekend. ahead of scheduled sentencing by judges in both delaware and california this month. joining us now nbc news washington managing editor carole lee, who is part of the team to first report on this pardon and matt viser, "washington post" white house reporter, chuck rosenburg, senior u.s. fbi official and former federal prosecutor. you were part of the team that

broke the news, how did the president go from never pardoning to blankette pardoning? >> according to our reporting the president never took this idea of pardoning his son off the table. in june when after hunter biden was convicted on gun charges, there were discussions about this and the decision was made to publicly message that the president would not pardon his son even though it hadn't been fully ruled out. the idea was still very much an active possibility. now what happened in the last few weeks is, obviously, former president trump, now president-elect trump, got elected, that raised concerns that potentially hunter biden could be targeted and to use the president's words in a new trump administration, and so it largely became inevitable that this is something that the president would do. now we heard from the president

in that statement where he talked about this and said that he believes that politics played a significant role in the -- what his son was facing, it affected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice and said to the american people i hope americans will understand why a father and president would come to this decision. so farr we've seen mixed reactions from republicans and democrats and the president this was something that he and the family discussed. he made the final decision over the weekend and now hunter biden has a broad pardon. >> carole, what was the calculation about the sweeping nature of this pardon? something we haven't seen since decades? >> it's a great question and the question had that piece had to do with the fact that we have a president-elect trump and the concerns that once there was a

new trump administration, could that administration launch new investigations into hunter biden. so the decision to cover this nearly a decade long period where the -- where hunter biden cannot be investigated or charged with anything that he may or may not have done during that time frame, that really takes care of that in that sense, and look, the fact that jose, this has happened before hunter biden's sentencing scheduled to happen in just days from now in his gun charges trial and then the plea on tax evasion charges, that means that hunter biden also, what the president did here, he doesn't have to go through those proceedings. so there's still a lot of questions here. i'm sure a lot of people will be asking them. but this is something that is very, very broad. >> carole lee, thank you so much. really appreciate it. matt, this decision by the president comes after a report was released on saturday by hunter biden's legal team criticizing the foundation of

the investigation and warning of a harsh sentence. here's part of what that report said. quote, there is no disputing that trump has said his enemies list includes hunter. the prospect trump will turn his vengeance on the special counsel prosecutors if they fail to take a harder line against hunter exerts considerable pressure on them not to let up on hunter. clearly the president was concerned his son could do serious prison time here. >> that's right. and that is, i think, underlying a lot of why president biden is doing this and doing this right now, is the fear really of what trump and a trump justice department may do to hunter biden as carole had alluded to this, pardon is broad covering a time period of mo are re than a decade, covering all aspects of the controversial business dealings hunter biden had been engaged with and could be

pursued by a trump justice department and so that really is the aspect of this timing here. there's certainly a personal element to this in the president choosing to pardon his son and there's a political element to it, and it really has pitted the president loyalty to his family against his pledge to stand up for institutions and the rule of law and so the politics of it are tricky even though there's a personal element of him trying to protect his son. >> the broad nature of this pardon which wipes the slate clean as matt was saying for hunter biden from 2014 to yesterday, this covers everything hunter biden has been found guilty of, but also anything else that may have happened from 2014 on. how unusual is this. >> well, it is broad and

sweeping, pardon powers as you know, jose, and unusual, sure, in the sense that it's the president's son and the president used his power as a father and as a president to, you know, clear him, to grant him clemency. i do want to point out one thing, one caveat, i was a federal prosecutor for a long time and indeed including as a criminal tax prosecutor for a period and often when you have a federal tax crime you have estate tax crime because in so many states your federal income tax and federal tax forms are made part of the state return. presidents can only clear somebody for federal offenses. and so it's possible, jose, at least theoretically, that hunter biden still faces state criminal tax liability. we'll see if states come after him. but as far as the federal cases are concerned, they're done.

>> and you wrote recently for politico, quote, particularly in the wake of trump's victory, biden is on strong ground at a minimum to commute any sentence of imprisonment for his son hunter before he leaves office. not a pardon you wrote, but an important show of mercy. this is not only a show of mercy -- because this is not a commutation or a pardon of just the specific things that hunter biden has been accused of and found guilty -- but this is anything and everything that could have been undue since 2014. >> yeah. it is quite broad and everyone is pointing out correctly that a motivation here is almost certainly the appointments that donald trump has been announcing and what they indicate about the willingness of people in senior positions to target hunter biden, that clearly is

motivating the sweep of the pardon, the assumption that maybe they would come after him again. the one thing i would say about this, though, as people are debating this and have been debating this is that it is highly unusual, as you've noted, that there would be a pardon going back ten years. ten years is basically the longest at most long-term criminal statutes have to apply like bank fraud as a statute of limitations, federal prosecutors have been investigating hunter biden for quite some time. last summer they also implied that they might be able to bring a criminal case against him, one of the reasons the plea deal fell apart. we're a year and a half after that and there's been no criminal case. they've had years going back to the first trump administration to go through hunter biden's financial and personal dealings and bring any criminal cases that were appropriate. i would be extremely surprised if there's any credible criminal case left on the table for this period. i understand that the pardon is

sweeping and unusual, but i think it's important to put that context here. >> and, matt, meanwhile, what do you think trump's choice of kash patel to lead the fbi likely had any impact on biden's decision to issue this pardon? >> i think that was a big motivation. i think the president has been watches as president-elect trump has made his appointments. they were struck initially by the matt gaetz appointment which fell apart, but trump is appointing people, the very people, who would go after hunter biden and so i think that that is one of the main motivations behind this sweeping pardon that the president issued to his son. and that was a ai long with a rt that hunter biden's legal team had focused on over the weekend was to point out the threats that hunter biden would face

going forward. but he also faced, you know, sentencing. the threat of prison time. and i think that that was a big factor here as well over the next two weeks he was scheduled to be sentenced in both california and delaware and there was the very real possibility that he would face jail time in that. so, you know, the president, you know, part of the psychology of him and looking at his son who did deal with a drug abuse issue, where the president, you know, was helpless almost in trying to help his son and in this instance felt like he could do something to help him, and he is it. did but there's a lot of political implications for that. >> you were saying clinton pardoned his brother, trump pardoned jared kushner's father who he picked to be u.s. ambassador to france. what do you make of the timing

of this one? >> it makes sense to matt's point. the sentencing proceedings in both delaware and california were pending. they were imminent. and so rather than have the court go through that process rather than have his son go through that process, the timing makes sense to me. the pardon doesn't make sense to me, but the timing of the pardon makes sense to me. by the way, if you look carefully at what mr. biden said, he said he was acting as a father and president and as a father i get it, right. he's taking care of his son, he loves his son, he doesn't want his son to go through any more heartache or face the possibility of prison. as a father makes perfect sense. as a president, i think it was a mistake, jose. i think it was a mistake to characterize the proceedings as tainted and political. i think it was a mistake to suggest that the prosecution was selective. that has a real meaning in our prosecutorial world. it was a mistake to suggest that

there weren't valid charges. hunter biden was convicted by a jury in delaware proof beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimously and admitted under oath in a california federal court that he had committed tax crimes. so the notion that he hadn't committed crimes or that the process was tainted and political it's deeply unfortunate for a president of the united states to say that. mr. biden at least in this instance, sounds a good bit like mr. trump in my view. >> just a, you know, legal perspective, so a presidential pardon of this nature says that, you know, he's pardoning for the crimes that he is accused of and committed. but then anything and everything that he may have done from 2014 on, does that mean that essentially you're future-proofed from having done anything in your past, even if

you're not accused of it now? how does that work? >> yes. yes. yes. if i understand your question correctly, if there was criminal conduct during this period that we did not know about, could hunter biden face charges in the future under this pardon, no. any undiscovered criminal conduct would be covered by this pardon. i would echo what chuck said here, one of the reasons why a major reason why i argued last week that i thought a commutation would be in order not a pardon, a pardon does have significance and does signal a sort of, you know, hollowness or corruptness to the proceedings or innocence on the part of the accused that don't exactly apply here. selective prosecution is a term of art in the legal system. i don't think we need to get into the weeds here but i don't think it applies to hunter biden as a strictly legal matter. as a practical political matter, would we have seen these

criminal cases brought if this were not hunter biden? i doubt it. but they were brought. he was convicted in delaware. he admitted his guilt in l.a. i think the pardon for that reason is going to be controversial, even though, you know, we may be able to understand. the last point i would say about why he is doing this now, chuck is exactly right that he's doing this ahead of the sentencing, but it's not just the process of the sentencing on the day of, what happens ahead of the sentencing would be many embarrassing revelations during the sentencing proceeding in the form of the government sentencing submission and facts that hunter biden himself would have to put into the record to mitigate the offenses. he's also obviating what would be a very embarrassing couple weeks leading up to that sentencing. >> matt, chuck, and ankush, thank you very much. we'll dig deeper into president biden's pardon of his son hunter and reactions from capitol hill. first the trump loyalist that might become fbi director and

how he could use the agency to undermine him. an arctic shock, some parts of new york blanket the with four feet of snow. and you know what, more is on the way. we're back in 90 seconds. msnbc reports. msnbc reports. and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ still have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis... ...or crohn's disease symptoms after taking... ...a medication like humira or remicade? put them in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when symptoms tried to take control, i got rapid relief with rinvoq. check. when flares tried to slow me down,... ...i got lasting remission with rinvoq. check. and many were in remission... ...even at nearly 2 years. and rinvoq... ...helped visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting remission. and visibly reduced damage. check. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections.

before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal;... ...cancers, including lymphoma and skin;... ...serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death;... ...heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus... ...with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection,... ...hep b or c, smoked,... ...are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. put uc and crohn's in check... ...and keep them there. with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist... ...about rinvoq. at harbor freight, we do business differently from the other guys. we design and test our own tools... and sell them directly to you. no middleman. hurry in for black friday deals up to 70% off. 18 past the hour. this weekend donald trump laid the groundwork for a realignment at the fbi announcing kash patel to be his choice to become the

new director of the bureau. patel has become a trump loyalist spreading conspiracies about the 2020 election and deep state vowing to purge the government, the courts and media of perceived trump enemies to become director he has to be confirmed by the senate and before that trump would have to fire the current fbi director christopher wray, highly controversial and it would be trump's second time doing it. he appointed wray after firing james comey. joining us vaughn hillyard and ken dilanian and rob d'amico. vaughn, good morning. patel wasn't necessarily a surprise pick. how did it come together? >> this was a conversation taking place between the transition at the onset of their election night victory on november 5th that kash patel wa white house, but even in the lead up to his election defeat

and especially in the two months following his election loss, when he went around the country and was promoting the election conspiracies that the election was stolen from him, but even more so he was serving at the time in capacity as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense for chris miller. kash patel served as the effectively the number two to the acting director of national intelligence during the first administration and this is somebody donald trump has seen as a key loyalist who would root out effectively the idea of the deep state within the department of justice, the fbi, and somebody who he had his eyes on naming to this fbi director post, but part of the conversation among the transition was the extent to which he could be confirmed by the senate. >> yeah. and republican senator mike rounds has support for chris wray. take a listen to this.

>> every president wants people that are loyal to themselves, but i'll also share with you that chris wray, you know, who the president nominated the first time around, i think the president picked a very good man to be the director of the fbi when he did that in his first term. when we meet with him behind closed doors, i've had no objections to the way he's handled himself and so i don't have any complaints about the way he's done his job right now. >> ken, what's trump's justification for ousting the current director? does he need one? >> he doesn't need one, but that's a really important question and it's kind of getting lost. you heard mike rounds there articulate what is a split within the republican party. even donald trump who hired chris wray, chris wray is a republican, former justice department official before he got to the fbi, even donald trump has not had much bad to say about chris wray but he clearly has resented the fact that wray was overseeing the fbi at a time when the fbi was helping the special counsel pursue criminal charges against

donald trump. wray, after all, had to sign off on that fbi search of trump's mar-a-lago home to retrieve those classified documents. trump hasn't explicitly called wray out for that. some other republicans have. they've accused the fbi, without evidence by the way, of being corrupt and being part of the deep state and acting politically. some republicans have, but, obviously, people like mike rounds, the senator, have not seen that and, in chris wray h been a typical fbi director, most of what the fbi does has nothing to do with politics. it's an law enforcement agency, intelligence agency. wray has gotten high marks from many employees for kind of, you know, sailing the ship through these choppy waters and one interesting question whether wray decides to keep working and forces donald trump to fire him or whether he agrees to resign at some point. >> yeah. because fbi directors have ten-year terms to prevent the type of appointment of a

loyalist. what does this turnover mean for the rank and file? >> i'm hearing a lot on both sides. some are just like horrified that a person that they don't believe is anywhere near qualified to be nominated for this, but i'm also hearing frustration, especially from retired agents that do feel that the fbi has gotten more political in a sense and that really came under mueller who started putting a lot back in headquarters. before cases were run out of field offices and investigations were everything, mueller liked the agency a bit too much, and he went over too far in that headquarters dictates so much you have people in field offices that don't even work for the sec and work for people at headquarters and any time you centralize around something in d.c. politics does creep in. hearing old school guys saying we need to get back. they might not agree with the choice but they also think maybe

a radical change could help. it's going both sides right now, but i think overall, they don't think this person is qualified but they are looking for some type of change. >> i mean, interesting, because here's what patel said about a year ago how he would run things. take a listen. >> we will go out and find the conspirators not just in government but in the media, yes, the people in the media who lined about american citizens and helped joe biden rig presidential elections, we're going to come after you. whether it's criminally or civilly we'll figure that out. >> he has insisted that the fbi not be all centered in washington, d.c., but that it goes out into the country. can he doourngs, carry out any of these plans if he does become the director of the fbi? >> i don't think he can wave a magic wand and make that happen. that's just not doable. even like when mueller got in,

he had years of pushback from agents who weren't really out to see what he wanted. there was always a thing in the bureau if you're in a field office and you get a new special agent in charge you don't like what he says, the old guys say hey, wait two years he'll be gone. i don't think he can do it instantaneously. you can't get rid of headquarters, move outside of d.c. into maryland, but you can't get rid of those people. some of the cases that get centralized and run out of there, if you put that back in the field office and you get away from analytical type things and back into investigations, i think that's what a lot of people want to see with the bureau. i just don't know if taking a huge ax to it is going to work instead of a scalpel. >> ken dilanian and ron 'amico. vaughn, i want to turn to pete

hegseth's pick and more allegations of misconduct. "the new yorker" cites documents from two previous jobs. nbc news has not seen the documents and hegseth's attorney declined to comment monday morning. walk us through these accusations. >> these are troubling allegations that come two months away from when pete hegseth could be expected to go before confirmation hearing for the first time not only is there "the new yorker" story that just came out this morning, in which it details a history dating from 2013 to 2016, when he was a top aide, veterans advocacy organization, in which he was alleged per a whistleblower report, that was prepared by multiple employees of that organization and given to senior management which the new yorker has obtained, we have not obtained at nbc news, this document ourselves, but in it it alleges not only financial mismanagement, but also sexual misconduct, repeated

intoxication and actions, for instance, at an allegedly new orleans strip club in which pete hegseth is accused of leading members of his organization to there and then was intoxicated to the point he tried to get on stage with dancers before other members of that organization along with security had to keep him away. another accusation in this whistleblower report from the organization at the time was that he closed down a hotel bar in 2015 and along with another staffer shouted, quote, kill all muslims." nbc news has reached out to pete hegseth's this morning based off "the new yorker" reporting and they have not provided a statement. an adviser to hegseth provided a statement to the new yorker in which that adviser, quote, wrote we're not going to comment on outlandish claims laundered through "the new yorker" by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate to mr. hegseth's. get back to us when you try your

first attempt at journalism. >> thank you, my friend. appreciate it. next the arctic blast burying parts of the country under feet of snow and creating treacherous conditions. g treacherous conditions >> like a complete whiteout. the roads you couldn't see. nothing. uldn't see nothing. bster. pasta. ♪ ♪ crab. bacon. ♪ ♪ shrimp for the takin' ♪ ♪ 500 locations! ♪ ♪ seven new creations ♪ ♪ come taste it! ♪ okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪) an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement.

shop etsy's cyber spectacular voltaren, until december 3rd for up to 60% off gifts crafted by small businesses. get fetching finds for friends with fur friends and everyone else on your list. for up to 60% off gifts that say i get you. etsy has it. as americans, there's one thing we can all agree on. the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families. the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+ folks. the time to act to protect our rights is now. that's why i'm hoping you'll join me today in supporting the american civil liberties union. it's easy to make a difference. just call or go online now and become an aclu guardian of liberty. all it takes is just $19 a month.

only $0.63 a day. your monthly support will make you part of the movement to protect the rights of all people, including the fundamental right to vote. states are passing laws that would suppress the right to vote. we are going backwards. but the aclu can't do this important work without the support of people like you. you can help ensure liberty and justice for all and make sure that every vote is counted. so please call the aclu now or go to my aclu.org and join us. when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special we the people t-shirt and much more. to show you're a part of the movement to protect the rights guaranteed to all of us by the us constitution. we protect everyone's rights, the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression, racial justice, lgbtq rights, the rights of the disabled. we are here for everyone. it is more important than ever to take a stand.

so please join us today. because we the people means all the people, including you. so call now or go online to my aclu.org to become a guardian of liberty. your business needs a network it can count on... even during the unexpected. power's out! -power's out! power's out! comcast business has got you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! -let's power on! it's from the company with 99.9% network reliability. let's power on! power on with the leader in connectivity. get wifi backup for your business, or get started with comcast business internet. and for a limited time, get an $800 holiday bonus. call today.

now to the arctic blast freezing roads and grounding flights as millions make their way home from the holiday weekend. whiteout conditions across the great lakes region with up to 60 inches of lake-effect snow expected in some areas east of lake ontario. in buffalo bills fans braved conditions to shovel out two feet of snow burying the aisles. quarterback josh allen later celebrating the win with an on field snow angel alongside head coach sean mcdermott. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking it for us.

to george solis in orchard park, new york, south of buffalo. when i saw you on saturday night and "nbc nightly news" the snow was coming in horizontally. how is it doing today? >> hey, jose. a little bit of a reprieve this morning but that lake-effect snow, obviously, far from done. take a look. here in orchard park you can see the accumulation, the roads looking a lot better and the snow event not done yet. still coming down for sunday night football. some would say that gave the bills the home-field advantage. we're not just talking about the snow. those frigid cold temperatures are making their way into the plains and southeast with more snow also coming. this morning, life-threatening snow slamming parts of the country causing chaos for millions on the year's busiest travel weekend. >> slow traffic. >> reporter: intense snow hounding the great lakes region. dumping more than two feet of snow in pennsylvania and

triggering a state of emergency for western new york with dangerous blizzard-like conditions blanketing the sglooej looks like a whiteout. you couldn't see anything in front of you. the roads, nothing. >> reporter: the treacherous terrain causing dozens of serious accidents with thousands of vehicles left stranded on major highways. >> don't travel unless you have to. >> reporter: snow plows struggling to keep up on clogged roadways some residents forced to dig out of their homes. >> you shovel so much you have to stop and rest because if you don't you'll pass out out here. >> reporter: in buffalo the snow piling up on highmark stadium on football's biggest weekend didn't stop an epic sunday night football game. >> there's at least two feet, maybe more. >> reporter: fans ready to eer on their team no matter the weather. >> we're here. that's what we do. >> reporter: the bills fans know how to have a good time in the snow. looking like a breakdown, it's getting warmer but more inches

if not feet of snow are on the way. officials not taking any chances. they went ahead and canceled classes because of the cold temperatures and that snow and we're just looking at more accumulations which is really adding insult to injury for a lot of people trying to dig out today, jose. >> george solis, thank you so much. michelle, more snow in some areas. what can we expect this week? >> hi. more snow, we could see up to 20 inches still in some spots. some spots have seen over five feet of snow. this is really heavy wet snow, right. the lakes are very warm, upper 40s, low 50s. holds moisture. we're seeing such heavy snowfall. satellite and radar looking at the snow kind of circling here. what happens is these are really narrow bands. we could see 20 inches within one band. it could snow at one to 2 inches per hour. so really interesting. even if you go a mile, two miles you may see nothing. this is what we're looking at right now. we're going to track this over

the next couple days. by wednesday another system comes in, not quite as robust but we'll see more snow. 5 million impacted. we have lake effect snow warnings. this is where we expect to see the most snow. winter storm warnings, winter storm watches, winter weather advisories in advisories u.p. and state of michigan. we could see reduced visibilities that's tough because the roadways are covered with snow and we're going to see one to 2 inches per hour. the windshield wipers will be fast. the eastern half of the great lakes. a new system approaches across the western great lakes. not quite as robust but still will drop some snow. how much snow? we could see another 20 inches especially where you see these purple colors, pink colors as well, downwind of lake erie. the arctic winds go across that lake, picks up the moisture and we're seeing the snowfall. still a lot of spots could see a lot of snow over the next couple

days. temperature wise we are chilly. we have the arctic blast in place. this is an open door from canada. the jet stream to the south. the cold air is coming in. we're looking at 32 in charleston, 28 in minneapolis, and nearly 20 degrees below typical what is for this time of year. >> mucho, michelle freeman. >> next how republican lawmakers are reacting to joe biden's decision to pardon his son. ahead t minus 23 days until christmas. making your gift budget and checking it twice, cyber monday deals are all over the place. we'll tell you about some of the most, well, interesting ones, next. ll, interesting ones, next

hi, my name is damian clark. if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. most plans include the humana healthy options allowance. a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. plus, your doctor, hospital and pharmacy may already be part of our large humana networks. so, call the number on your screen now, and ask about a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special

needs plan. and remember, annual enrollment ends on december 7th. humana. a more human way to healthcare. when i hear cancer, i hear death sentence. at that moment, it was sadness, scared, surprised, worry... everything. every 15 seconds someone will hear the words, “you have cancer.” at the american cancer society, this is why we're here... to help people facing cancer through their entire journey. every cancer, every life. and today, we're asking for your support. i was ready to battle... and do whatever it took to be there for my family. your donation helps fund our cancer research. i survived cancer because of research funded by the american cancer society. thanks to our efforts and others,

over 4 million lives have been saved since 1991. but we can't do it without your support. to donate, call, go online or scan the qr code now. your gift helps ensure people don't miss their lifesaving treatments. last year we gave over 750,000 free rides. your gift supports our hope lodge communities... where patients and caregivers can stay when they travel for care. free of charge. it's so important that my mom is here at the hope lodge with me. this year, over 2 million americans will hear the words... “you have cancer.” your donation will help us be there for them... and help support our efforts to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. i want to thank you guys, [crying] for your donations that make my stay here possible. i owe it all to the american cancer society. i wanna show people that there is strength even with cancer, that there is hope... every cancer, every life...

- i am a prostate cancer... - colorectal cancer... stage four breast cancer survivor. call now or go to give.cancer.org to donate today.

41 past the hour. republicans on capitol hill reacting this morning to president biden's full and unconditional pardon of his son hunter. for months the president denied if he would interfere in the case in any way and now congressional republicans are denouncing the president. joining us, senior national political reporter sahit kapur and reporter for the "washington post" ashley parker. hunter biden had been [ inaudible ]. walk us through capitol hill. >> time will tell if republicans choose to investigate this.

there's not anything they can do to stop president biden on this. this power belongs to the president but they can condemn this move and they are doing that. take a look at the representative sample of republican reaction to the move. marjorie taylor green calls him a liar. andy biggs, one of the most corrupt presidents. james comer, oversight chairman of the house, the biden family continues to do everything they can to avoid accountability. chuck grassley said the president said he wouldn't do this, and i believed im. steve scalise calls it the latest in the cover-up scheme. he calls is disgraceful. recently speaker mike johnson says, quote, trust in our justice system has been damaged by the bidens by their use and abuse of it. among democratic lawmakers more of a mix. some disagreeing and criticizing the president for this move including greg stanton of arizona, quote, i respect president biden but he got this

one wrong. greg landsman of ohio says as a father i get it but as someone who wants to believe in public service there's a step back. jasmine crockett praised the move said the hunter prosecution was political, gamesmanship the entire time and there's eric holder, former attorney general of over six years under president obama, take a look at the tweet. this pardon was warranted. holder argues no u.s. attorney would have charged this case given the underlying facts had his name been joe smith the resolution fundamentally and more fairly a deck combination to prosecute. jose. >> thank you very much. ashley, holder reacted to something that colorado governor jared polis posted on x and this is what had posted this is a bad precedent that could be abused by later presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. what are you hearing from other

democrats? >> democrats are more torn on this, of course. he's a democratic president and understand the point of view of a father doing something for their son, especially in a world in which president-elect trump has made clear in the people he has nominated, the people he would like to put in these positions, his statement that he is bent on revenge and retribution, but a lot of democrats are also publicly we've seen and more so privately uncomfortable with this in part because president biden has held himself to a higher standard than president-elect trump. one of the reasons he said he was running was to preserve democracy, to save democracy, to restore faith in democratic institutions and, regardless of the reasons, which the president outlined in his memo, and he made clear he himself has grappled and wrestled with it and noted at the end he hopes

the american people can understand this decision both as a president and a father, that this is a -- feels like a very political personal decision which is not what pardons are intended for, although i will just add briefly historically, there is a history of presidents often pardons are controversial and of presidents pardoning family members. bill clinton pardoned roger, president-elect trump when president the first time pardoned his in-laws, son-in-law jared kushner's father who he appointed as ambassador to france, this is not the first time a family member had been pardoned. biden said he would not do it and another layer that made democrats uncomfortable. >> i mean, ashley, any questions on the timing of the pardon and as you were saying, just the blanket nature of it? >> right. well there is, again, as i

mentioned there's this precedent, but the blankette nature is one thing that has raised eyebrows and prompted some alarm and outcry from republicans, which is basically a decade-long period where hunter either had been convicted of crimes or -- and the blanket nature it is a pardon for things that may have happened that we don't know about, he hasn't been charged with, it is an incredibly long stretch, decade long stretch when hunter mainly was grappling with addiction. there's the blankette nature of that and then again also the aspect separate from the fact of the pardon that he had said he would not do it. there was some thought and there might have been a way to keep the focus off hunter had he done it with sort of a bucket of other pardons we might see coming but he wanted to do this before any sentencing happened. there was one scheduled for this month before any sentencing

memos were released. biden's belief made clear they were trying, the republicans, prosecuting his son hunter, were trying to break hunter or trying to break him and his view once he made the decision there was no sense in delaying it, in part because it could spare hunter from more going forward. >> ashley parker, thank you very much. appreciate it. if you haven't started your holiday shopping or skipped out on black friday deals, cyber monday is in full swing right now. we'll tell you where to get the best deals next. best deals next.

(cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. have you compared your medicare plan recently? with ehealth, you can compare medicare plans side by side for free. so we invited people to give ehealth a try and discover how easy it can be to find your medicare match. this is pretty amazing. i can go on a vacation with this money. i have quite a few prescriptions. that's why people call us. we're going to compare plans, and i'm gonna try to get you as much bang for your buck as possible. that's great. this one here covers all your prescriptions, your doctors as well. oh, wonderful. i have a hard time with this. that's okay, that's what i'm here for. based on our conversation today, i would highly recommend this plan. you're so helpful. you know, you don't know.

i'm excited for you, sir. again, my name is sham. and if you have any other questions, give me a ring. thank you very much. oh, my god, that was super easy. uhhh! see how your medicare plan stacks up with the big changes for 2025. just call this number or get started at ehealth.com. compare plans that cover your doctor's prescriptions, pharmacy and budget, and compare plans from the nation's top insurance companies. they pay us to help you. how much do you think you'll be able to save using ehealth? at least $300 a month. would you say you found your medicare match? yes i did. what sham did she explain to me exactly what i needed to know? well, i have a surprise for you. sham, come on out. oh my goodness. it's a pleasure to meet you today, sir. what does it feel like to be face to face? you helped me out quite a bit. call to meet your advisor. they're paid the same. no matter which medicare advantage plan you choose. ask them about ehealth, live advice or get started on your own at ehealth.com. either way, it's always a free service. see if you could get more for less with ehealth, like these folks did.

the savings are unbelievable. i could see the costs side by side. ehealth is wonderful. $1,200 savings in my pocket. i was really pleasantly surprised with that. (♪♪) (♪♪) ehealth. your medicare matchmaker. if you have generalized myasthenia gravis, picture what life could look like with... vyvgart hytrulo, a subcutaneous injection that takes about 30 to 90 seconds. for one thing, could it mean more time for you? vyvgart hytrulo can improve daily abilities and reduce muscle weakness with a treatment plan that's personalized to you. do not use vyvgart hytrulo if you have a serious allergy to any of its ingredients. it can cause serious allergic reactions like trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting and allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, shortness of breath, and hives. the most common side effects are respiratory

and urinary tract infections, headache, and injection site reactions. it may increase the risk of infusion-related reactions and infection. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or symptoms of an infection. talk to your neurologist about vyvgart hytrulo for gmg and picture your life in motion. class dismissed. talk to your neurologist about vyvgart hytrulo don't sit in courses you've already taken. class dismissed. at university of phoenix, could save time by transferring prior eligible college credits.

plus there's a transfer scholarship that could help you save money. earn your degree at university of phoenix. 52 past the hour. today is expected to be the busiest online shopping day of the year with millions scrolling and sharing and cyber monday deals. experts say online sales today could rake in billions after an already record smashing black friday and whether searching for new headphones, tv, makeup, appliances, all kinds of things, nbc's business team is speaking out what we should be seeing. business correspondent brian cheung joins us with the latest. >> happy cyber monday. here at the amazon fulfillment center in new jersey there are conveyor belts and robots zigzag all to get the packages to your door on time and for what it's worth there was a record black

friday for amazon. they saw tens of millions of customers around the world placing orders, record number of items ordered and a record number for sales for amazon on black friday, all of which bodes well for cyber monday as well. this morning, cyber monday is in full swing with millions of consumers looking to score big online. >> cyber monday is low key where it's at. >> the extravaganza on track to be the biggest single shopping day driving $13.2 billion in spending up 6% from last year. experts say to expect the deepest discounts on electronics and peril. retailers are offering of their lowest prices yet. our price tracker followed the prices of several items finding these air pod pros are at the cheapest since july. experts say the list of cyber monday bar begins are poised to cap off a strong weekend of holiday shopping.

>> could be another record breaking day for the e-commerce cyber monday. >> yeah. cyber monday tends to be the strongest online shopping day of the year so i would not be surprised to see some records broken. >> reporter: latest numbers show retail sales on black friday rose 3% from 2023 and while plenty of folks turned out to the local malls to do in-store shopping americans increasingly opted to shop online on black friday. the in-store record $10.8 billion in online sales. >> people definitely laid back in their pjs and did shopping on black friday. >> reporter: some of this year's sellers, makeup and skin care sets, hair products and bluetooth speakers. if you didn't make it all the way down your list just yet, you may be in luck. today could be your best time to buy. >> i know my son has been bothering me for another gaming system. so, you know -- >> is he going to get one? >> we'll see. >> we'll see. >> if the deal is right. >> if the deal is right.

>> reporter: if the deal is right. and again, just to rehash the numbers, we already saw records broken on online sales for both thanksgiving and black friday at over $6 billion and almost $11 billion respectively and over the weekend we saw $10.9 billion in spend even during those off days according to adobe. they're projecting over $13 billion in spend on this cyber monday. we'll have to see how the numbers come in tomorrow. it's a great time to get the shopping done if you haven't done so already. >> certainly looks like today is a day. brian, great seeing you. thank you so much. in our next hour more on president biden's decision to pardon his son hunter. could donald trump undo it? donald trump's latest tariff threats and the impact it could have on your bottom line. ne libed my car insurance so i saved hundreds. with the money i saved i thought i'd get a wax figure of myself. cool right? look at this craftmanship.

i mean they even got my nostrils right. it's just nice to know that years after i'm gone this guy will be standing the test of ti... he's melting! oh jeez... nooo... oh gaa... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ what causes a curve down there? is it peyronie's disease? will it get worse? how common is it? who can i talk to? can this be treated? stop typing. start talking to a specialized urologist. because it could be peyronie's disease, or pd. it's a medical condition where there is a curve in the erection, caused by a formation of scar tissue. and an estimated 1 in 10 men may have it. but pd can be treated even without surgery. say goodbye to searching online. find a specialized urologist who can diagnose pd and build a treatment plan with you. visit makeapdplan.com today. ♪ and build a treatment plan with you. like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya...

with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. ♪

when i was a kid, my mom would always put harry & david pears in our stockings. and if you got that gold one, it was like you had won christmas. my grandmother started it and now it's a tradition that i get to pass on to my kids. and that means a lot.