Now It's Time for the Truth

President Donald Trump is hitting the ground running, having signed more than two dozen executive orders and memoranda since his inauguration on Monday.

The subject matter of Trump's executive orders largely mirrors the issues he ran on during his campaign, including declaring a national emergency at the nation's southern border and sending the U.S. military to secure it; designating drug cartels to be "terrorist organizations," withdrawing from the Paris environmental accords and from the World Health Organization, and protecting Americans' freedom of speech from federal censorship.

The latter order explicitly attacks actions taken by the Biden administration -- often in tandem with social media companies -- to silence Americans who were critical of government policies or who dared to question the "official" narrative on issues like election fraud in 2020, the origins of COVID-19, effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines, and risks to human life and health from those inoculations; and the causes of violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The executive order protecting free speech is a good start, but it's just a start. One of the primary objectives of the second Trump administration should be to investigate matters that were censored and bring the truth to light. Americans have been subject to relentless propaganda campaigns throughout the entirely of the former President Joe Biden's term -- and even before.

Biden's mental competency, for example, was diminished prior to the November 2020 election, a fact that was evident from his "basement" campaign appearances and inscrutable observations about Cornpop, the long hairs on his legs, cockroaches and children on his lap, and his inability to remember the Declaration of Independence, just to name a few. Who knew Biden's diagnoses, and who made the decisions to keep that information under wraps?

Similar questions can and should be asked about Biden's son Hunter, and his infamous laptop. Who made the decision to declare the laptop's contents to be "Russian disinformation"? Who contacted the press and insisted they censor any claims to the contrary?

True to form, Biden's last actions as outgoing president -- most notably some of the pardons he issued -- are designed to perpetuate propaganda and keep the truth under wraps.

On Dec. 1, 2024, Biden pardoned his son Hunter for all crimes that Hunter may have been committed -- as far back as 2014. This past Monday -- Inauguration Day -- Biden also pardoned all members of the "select committee," who had purportedly investigated the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as well as the members of the Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan Police who testified before the J6 committee.

Also on Monday, Biden pardoned Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Biden's siblings and their spouses. Oddly enough, Fauci's pardon and those of the rest of the Biden clan were -- like Hunter's -- dated back to 2014.

The J6 committee members and witnesses were pardoned just hours before Trump was sworn in. Biden's familial pardons were issued just minutes before Trump's inauguration began.

Contrary to the assertions made in the documents signed by Biden, these pardons are not about protecting those pardoned from political persecution by the Trump administration. Rather, like Biden's campaigns and the operation of his administration, the pardons are about preventing the truth from ever coming to light on important issues. For example:

-- Did Biden's family illegally sell influence to foreign countries and their operatives, and did Biden personally profit from any such transactions?

-- Did the J6 select committee hide or destroy evidence tending to exonerate Trump, or did they intimidate or solicit false testimony from witnesses?

-- Did then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prevent the National Guard from being at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?

-- Were there federal agents, antifa operatives or other actors inciting violence on Jan. 6, 2021? If so, who ordered their presence?

And then there are the many questions that still remain about the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues:

-- Who authorized the funding of "gain of function" research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China? Who made the decision to lie to the public about that research and create a bogus story about the virus emerging in a "wet market"? Are there biolabs operated by U.S. personnel in Ukraine? What research is being done there?

-- How much did pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer know about the risks to human health and life posed by their mRNA vaccines?

-- Who decided to start a propaganda campaign against the drug ivermectin, and why?

With control of both houses of Congress and without obstructionist Democrat appointees in the CIA, FBI and Justice Department, Republicans should be able to conduct hearings and demand answers. Those who have received pardons will not be able to refuse to testify by pleading the Fifth Amendment; they are immune from federal prosecution for any crimes they may have committed related to the above issues. Which means that if they do refuse to show up or testify, they can be held in contempt of Congress. And that can result in prison time, pardon notwithstanding. (Just ask Steve Bannon or Peter Navarro, both of whom served several months in federal prison after refusing to testify following a congressional subpoena.)

Sen. Adam Schiff, former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Jim Biden, Hunter Biden, Pelosi, Fauci and others should all be called to testify before Congress. It doesn't matter that they can't be prosecuted; there are other fates as bad as imprisonment, including being discredited as a liar, a grifter and a crook.

But this isn't about retribution; it's about undoing years of lies, unraveling propaganda and exposing the people behind it, making sure that the truth is what's actually written in the history books, and restoring faith in the country's most important institutions.

Trump defeated all the attempts to destroy him personally, his businesses and his candidacy. Now he can -- and should -- use the power of the presidency to peel back the layers of lies and reveal the truth to the American public and the world.

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To find out more about Laura Hollis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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