here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight the special counsel who led the investigation into huntersharp words for the president's decision to pardon his son. in his final report, special counsel david weiss saying other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to belie the public service at the department of justice based solely on false accusations. hunter biden was convicted on federal charges for lying on a gun form. during the trial the president telling david he would not pardon his son? >> have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes. >> reporter: days before hunter biden was set to be sentenced for that crime and for nine charges to which he had pleaded guilty, the president reversed himself granting his son a full and unconditional pardon. the president saying hunter biden was treated differently and singled out only because he is my son, that he was selectively and unfairly prosecuted. tonight in his report weiss firing back saying these baseless accusations have no merit and repeating them threatens the in

pierre thomas tonight, thank you. >>> we're going to turn next here to the seven police officers shot and wounded while responding to a call in san antonio. a navy veteran now accused of opening fire, shooting officers one by one as they arrived. here's abc's mireya villarreal. >> reporter: tonight, a navy veteran who opened fire on multiple police officers is dead. after a terrifying shootout at a san antonio apartment complex. one after the other, seven arriving officers struck by bullets late wednesday while responding to an attempted suicide call by a concerned family member. >> first officer arrived to that call, he wound up being shot. another officer who arrived after him or the same time as him was also shot. third officer arriving on the scene shot, as well. >> reporter: authorities say 46-year-old brandon pulos opened fire on police through an apartment window where he barricaded himself during an hours-long standoff. residents ducking for cover. >> i actually got on the floor and then i went in my bathtub. i went and sat in my bathtub, i'm like, yeah, this is probably the s

pierre thomas, thank you. >>> next tonight, president trump has revoked the security detail assignedo dr. anthony fauci, according to sources. dr. fauci was the president's top covid adviser during his first term and has faced regular threats on his life for years. trump has also revoked security for three other former advisers who faced threats from iran. in north carolina today, trump said they all have made a lot of money, they can hire their own security too. >>> and in washington today, thousands of people turned out for the annual march for life rally, the first march since republicans won the white house and both houses of congress and 24 hours after president trump issued full pardons to 23 anti-abortion rights activists convicted of blockading abortion clinics. vice president vance and congressional leaders addressed the crowd. in a pre-recorded message, president trump pledged to push for further restrictions on abortion. >>> when we come back, the freighter trapped in the ice. the coast guard trying to break it free. >>> and nearly two years after her death, the lost song

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: just days before the inauguration of president-elect trump, special counsel jack smith releasing a blistering report on trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. saying trump would likely have been convicted on multiple felonies had voters not decided to send him back to the white house. smith, who resigned last week, standing behind his decision to charge trump, stating trump engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power. suggesting his evidence was overwhelming, the special counsel stating, "trump directed the angry mob to the united states capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election." >> we're going to walk down, and i'll be there with you. >> reporter: trump's supporters storming the capitol. some chanting "hang mike pence." >> hang mike pence! >> reporter: but trump has maintained his innocence throughout and stated he never intended for his supporters to commit violence. smith says he decided not to charge trump with inciting an in

our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas is tracking that. good morning, pierre. >> george, good morning. today the entire u.s. government, from the cia to nsa, conducting an urgent national and international investigation into an apparent isis inspired attack on the homeland. authorities want to know whether shamsud din jabbar had other associates helping him and to answer the key question. how did he become a cold blooded killer after serving in the u.s. military, including a stint in afghanistan from 2009 to 2010? the fbi requesting the public's help for any new information. agents swarming two key locations, one a short distance from the massacre, and another in houston where the suspected killer had reportedly been living. president biden said the suspect posted videos of what was described to abc news as a popular social media site aligning himself with isis and expressing the need to murder. the first signs of potential ties to isis, the scene. the terror group's black flag found in the vehicle. abc news has learned he had been divorced

pierre thomas tracking it all, thank you. >>> as new orleans races to reopen its iconic streets after the deadly terror attack, louisiana governor jeff landry promising an unprecedented law enforcement presence for today's rescheduled sugar bowl game. tens of thousands of fans are there amid very tight security. abc's trevor ault on the scene at the superdome. >> reporter: tonight, a massive security presence at the superdome, for the postponed sugar bowl playoff match-up between notre dame and georgia. bomb sniffing dogs sweeping vehicles, police in tactical gear at the gates. you can see the heightened security outside the superdome. multiple police vehicles and these barricades. they've gone as far says to bring in the state police and a s.w.a.t. vehicle with long guns. louisiana governor jeff landry promising an unprecedented law enforcement presence to protect the tens of thousands of fans who came to new orleans and extended their stays to support their teams. >> we walked around yesterday in the french quarter and there were police and fbi all over the place. >> reporter: insid

. >> and i want to go to our chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas. pierre, the attorney general is now reacting to this attack. what sticks out to you from his statement? >> well, i'm struck by the fact that he felt the need to respond so quickly, diane. he said, quote, the country woke up this morning to news of a terrible tragedy in new orleans that killed at least ten people and injured many more. he talked about the fact that his heart is broken, but he also gave an update on the resources that are being applied to the situation. not only is the fbi there, i can now confirm atf is on the scene as well. and also, interestingly, he pointed out in the station in a statement that the national security division of the justice department has been activated on this this incident that tells you a lot right there that this is not being treated at all as some sort of random event. this is being treated as having the potential of terrorism, be it tied to international, domestic or otherwise. again, all the resources of the federal government now aimed at det

we heard pierre thomas describe this as a witch's brew moment. do you agree? >> it's something that we have been discussing publicly for quite some time, george. we have a heightened threat environment as director wray and the attorney general both articulated, and we have been saying this for quite a number of months. we have not only the persistent threat of foreign terrorism, that of course, created the department of homeland security, but we have adverse nation states, and for the past ten years, we've seen a significant increase in what we term homegrown violent extremism. it is a very difficult threat landscape, and it is why that we as a -- as a community, not just the federal government, but state and local officials and residents need to be alert to it, and take the precautions necessary to avoid violence from occurring. >> george: what precautions are being taken from these events that i outlined and discussed with pierre? >> i think the successful conclusion of the sugar bowl is a powerful example of a response to a tragedy and precautionary measure

. >> david: pierre thomas live at the capitol. >>> let's get back to the team that's been with me all abc. our chief washington correspondent jonathan karl, what do you think president trump has to do now in his early days of his administration? >> look, he set the bar extremely high. in his speech, he said, the golden age of america starts right now. he made specific promises, like bringing prices down. we're much beyond that. so, now he has to deliver. and david, we saw him do some executive actions. getting stuff through congress is going to be much, much more difficult, given the narrow majority. he's got the majority, but it's oh so narrow. >> executive action on the border will definitely be coming. bringing prices down might be the bigger challenge as we move ahead in the months to come. martha rad zadatz, you took not that -- credit for getting the ceasefire across the finish line. >> absolutely. they expressed gratitude for what he did and his team did to get it across the finish line. of course joe biden's been working on it 15 months. but the hard part is ahead. this is not

here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: this man in this youtube video talking about real estate -- >> i'm born and raised in beaumont, texas, and now live in houston. >> reporter: is believed to be the suspect seen here lying on the ground. after a violent encounter with police. described as a cold-blooded terrorist who methodically prepared for his attack. the fbi now launching a massive investigation into the background of shamsud din jabbar, a 42-year-old mill arbitrary veteran. he served time in afghanistan from february 2009 to january 2010. tonight, the top priorities of the investigation, what exactly are his ties to isis beyond that flag that authorities recovered from his vehicle used as a battering ram. >> an isis flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle and the fbi is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. >> reporter: and officials openly expressing their concern that jabbar had help. authorities are focusing on the assault-style rifle and handgun recovered from the scene.

let's get more on the investigation from pierre thomas. erre, all signs point to a lone wolf, as we just heard. >> george, progress is being made. they believe that he worked alone, in terms of executing the attack itself. but there's a critical question. how was he radicalized? did he do this online on his own or was there an isis recruiter or handler directing this there behind the scenes? >> george: he had a lot of trouble at home. >> he was divorced at least three times, as far as we can tell. also financial stressors. we know stress can be one of the factors that leads people to extremism. george, i took particular note of the fbi making the point that he was talking about killing his own family before he decided to go forth. >> george: the broader political point, broader political fear right now, copycats. >> overnight we are told by sources the fbi, the department of homeland security sent out a bulletin to 18,000 law enforcement agencies, basically out of an abundance of caution, telling them, be on the lookout for copycats. they'r

. >> pierre thomas, thank you.rump's action to clear the january 6th rioters taking immediate effect, some in prison already cleared to leave. supporters are waiting outside, calling those inside to break the news they'll soon be free. jay is live. you've heard the calls taking place? >> reporter: yeah, david, a large number of supporters here, police as well. you're exactly right, as they have for 900 they took calls. they said tonight the calls take on a much different tenor, because of president trump they're quote, unquote, coming home. every single night these demonstrators have taken calls from inside the d.c. jail, sung the national anthem with rioters in solidary. this was a much different night. there was a thought they would be released earlier, and in fact supporters clashed in front of the jail. there's palpable anticipation for the rioters to be released. one telling me if it didn't happen he would have felt betrayed by president trump. >> fascinating scene playing out. jay is live. bring in the team,

chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has details. morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning. special counsel jack smith in a new report is calling out president-elect trump and bluntly stating he brought the case because he believed he would have gotten a conviction. this morning the special counsel who investigated donald trump's role on january 6th and efforts to interfere in the 2020 election has issued a blistering report sharply criticizing the president elect attacks on his investigation and suggesting trump's actions warranted prosecution, saying no, quote, man in this country is so high that he is above the law. pointing out 200 witnesses wanted to be interviewed. >> the attack on our nation's capitol on january 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seed of american democracy. described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. >> reporter: smith, who resigned on friday, accused trump of unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election and said trump's cases represent ones in which the o

our chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas, also there in washington. morning to you, pierre. >> reporter: robin, good morning. we're here at the d.c. police command center, the nerve center for inauguration security being led by the secret service and d.c. police. security at an all-time high because authorities say this is a particularly dangerous moment. two attempts to kill president trump last summer, and that deadly terror attack in new orleans on new year's day are front and center as the nation's capitol is now on lockdown with unprecedented security for today's inauguration. >> we have to be prepared for everything. we cannot take anything for granted. >> reporter: for the next 24 hours, the city is a fort fortress, reinforced with 36 miles of steel fencing. >> we're in a heightened threat environment. we've got the president-elect who there have already been two assassination attempts on. >> reporter: more than 8,000 national guardsmen arriving to assist with security. they joined 25,000 law enforcement now stationed throughout the city led by

chief justice correspondent pierre thomas is in washington with what happens now. orning, pierre. >> reporter: robin, good morning. the president clearly believes that doj was overzealous in its prosecution of those involved on january 6th. the number of doj officials were hoping the president would not pardon those convicted of truly violent crimes especially against police. take another look at these videos. people hitting police officers with sticks, jabbing them with flag poles, using bear spray. in this video you see a suspect using a cattle prod to shock police officers. the sound of the electric shock is startling to hear. now, all of these suspects, those still in prison, likely will be released immediately. family members of injured police are expressing outrage. the brother of one of the officers who died of natural causes after a confrontation with the mob called the pardons a betrayal of decency. one key question, how will the law enforcement community respond to a president that many of them see as pro police? rebecca? >> rebecca: all right. that is a b