Trump questions China spying threat and says TikTok will ‘stay around’

On Inauguration Day, both the outgoing and incoming US presidents issued controversial pardons that expanded the power to new limits.

Joe Biden gave family members pre-emptive pardons, while Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged with crimes related to the riot at the US Capitol.

The BBC’s Analysis Editor Ros Atkins examines how both cited “politically motivated prosecutions” to explain their actions – and why that’s a challenge for trust in the justice system going forward.

Marco Rubio, the top US diplomat, has had a busy second day as the secretary of state.

He is due to travel to Panama in the coming days in his first trip overseas, according to US officials who spoke to American news outlets.

Trump has been levelling accusations against Panama, claiming that China is in control of the canal that the US dug before handing the vital waterway over to the Central American country.

He has even suggest seizing it with military force – similar to comments he has made about Greenland, a Danish territory.

According to Politico, the trip will take place in February and also include stops in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Rubio also spoke to the prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, in which they discussed the “threat” of Iran, and the future of the US-Saudi relationship, according to a news release from the State Department.

Earlier, in his interview with Fox, Trump was asked why he has not released all the government files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy (JFK), as he promised to do in his first term.

He says that he did release files “to an extent”.

“But I was asked by some government officials not to. And you have to respect them.”

He specifically mentions his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo as one of the officials who asked him not to release the classified files.

“I felt he knew something,” he says of Pompeo, adding that he felt “it was not a good time to release them”.

He later goes on to speculate that Pompeo might “deny” having made the request.

Days before taking office, Trump told a rally that he planned to release the documents, as well as those relating to the assassinations of JFK’s brother, Democratic politician Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Hannity presses Trump on his decision to pardon Capitol Hill rioters, including ones who admitted to violently attacking police officers.

Trump says the January 6 convicts were “‘treated like the worst criminals in history”.

He adds that he sees the decision as his fulfilment of a campaign pledge.

“I was very clear about it,” he says.

“I said I was gonna release them, and probably very quickly. And they voted for me. And I won in a landslide.”

Trump and Hannity are still talking on Fox News in the sit-down interview which was recorded earlier today. They speak about Biden’s last pardons in office, in which he pre-emptively pardoned some of his family members and allies who he said were at risk of being persecuted by the new White House administration.

“The funny thing, or the sad thing, is he didn’t give himself a pardon,” Trump says about Biden. He adds that there were other people in need of pardons that Biden denied, despite their “begging”.

Hannity asks if Congress should investigate Biden’s pre-emptive pardons, and Trump doesn’t answer.

Trump notes that he never issued himself a pre-emptive pardon after his first term, or any pardons for immediate family members.

In a free-flowing interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity, the topic has turned to TikTok – which recently went dark in the US after the Supreme Court upheld a decision that it should be banned. Trump then signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law banning the app if it is not sold.

Trump tells Hannity that: “I think TikTok’s going to stay around”.

When asked about fears that the app is being used by the Chinese government to spy on US citizens, Trump says “you can say that about everything made in China”, and that “we have our telephones made in China”.

Trump says TikTok users are mainly young people, and asks is it “that important to be spying on young people, on young kids watching crazy videos?” Hannity replies that he doesn’t want China spying on anybody.

Trump replies, “but they make your telephones, they make your computers… isn’t that a bigger threat?”

In an interview currently airing on Fox News, President Trump says that there are looming budget battles coming to Congress, and notes the need for disaster aid for Los Angeles and North Carolina.

“Los Angeles has changed everything because a lot of money is gonna be necessary for Los Angeles,” says Trump, in reference to the wildfires.

After host Sean Hannity mentions North Carolina, a state that voted for him and is still reeling from Hurricane Helene in September, Trump chimes in that “the Democrats don’t care about North Carolina”.

Regarding federal funding to states, Trump says: “I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.”

He also claims that California is allowing fresh water to drain into the ocean, rather than using it to combat wildfires.

As he was speaking, new evacuation orders were being issued in LA amid a new fast moving wildfire.

• Read more: Thousands evacuated as new fast-growing fire ignites near Los Angeles

People applying for green cards, the name given to a permanent US residency document, are no longer required to have proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, the Trump administration has announced.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it is “waiving any and all requirements that applicants” seeking legal permanent resident status need to provide proof of receiving a Covid-19 vaccination.

Kyiv is waiting for action, not words, from President Trumppublished at 01:44 Greenwich Mean Time

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Eastern Europe, reporting from Kyiv

Ukraine’s leaders might appreciate this tougher-talking Trump: they’ve always said that Vladimir Putin only understands strength.

When Trump urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to make a deal to end the “ridiculous” Ukraine war or face new sanctions, initial reaction in Kyiv suggests it is actions people are waiting for, not words.

The US president is calling on Russia to stop a “ridiculous” war and “settle” – or face costs. But Trump hasn’t specified where more economic penalties might be aimed, or when.

Russian imports to the US have plummeted since 2022 and there are all sorts of heavy restrictions already in place. The US president is also couching his threat of tarrifs and tighter sanctions in words of “love”’ for the Russian people.

He even highlights his respect for Soviet losses in the Second World War – a near-sacred topic for Putin – though Trump massively over estimates the numbers and seems to think the USSR was Russia alone. In reality, millions of Ukrainians and other Soviet citizens also lost their lives.

But the president who previously said he could “understand” Russia’s concerns about Ukraine joining Nato – which for Ukrainians is tantamount to saying Putin was provoked – does seem to be shifting his tone. For Kyiv, that’s something.

President Trump has announced Andrew Puzder as the next US ambassador to the European Union.

Pudzer is the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, which is the parent company of the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s chains.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump says Puzder “will do an excellent job representing our Nation’s interests in this important region”.

The announcement comes after Trump told reporters on Tuesday that “The European Union is very, very bad to us”. He went on to say “they’re going to be in for tariffs”.

In the photo above, President Donald Trump looks at a letter from his predecessor Joe Biden, which was left for him in the drawer of the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

Fox News is reporting on what it says Biden wrote in that letter.

“Dear President Trump, As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years.

“The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.

“May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.”

The BBC has not verified the content of the letter.

Transition letters from the outgoing president to their successor became a tradition after Ronald Reagan left one for George HW Bush in 1989.

Biden has confirmed he left a letter for Trump. Trump also said he left a letter for Biden in 2021,

The letters are usually considered private, and past messages have come to public view after being released by the national archives.

Trump has nominated the head of his personal Secret Service detail to lead the agency charged with protecting the president and other US dignitaries.

Sean Curran was among the agents who protected Trump during the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the summer.

He and other agents physically covered Trump with their bodies as the sniper’s gunshots rang out at the rally.

“Sean is a Great Patriot, who has protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service,” Trump said in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.

Trump went on to describe him as a “brilliant leader”, and saying that “he proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin’s bullet in Butler.”

“I have complete and total confidence in Sean to make the United States Secret Service stronger than ever before.”

The Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny over the past few months – especially after a second attack on Trump at his home in Florida was thwarted months after the Butler attack.

Trump spoke by phone on Wednesday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a news release from the Saudi government.

Bin Salman – whose nickname is the acronym (MBS) – congratulated Trump on his inauguration and wished “progress and prosperity” to the American people under his leadership, according to the Saudi statement.

The two discussed stability in the Middle East and efforts to combat terrorism, the statement continues.

It adds that Bin Salman noted Trump’s “ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms”, adding that Saudi Arabia wishes to partner and invest in these US initiatives.

The prince added that the kingdom wishes to invest about $600bn (£487bn) in the US over the next four years.

The statement adds that Trump “expressed his appreciation and thanks” to bin Salman, “and affirmed his keenness to work with the Kingdom on all that benefits the interests of both countries”.

President Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Andrew Zabavsky and Terrence Sutton, two former Washington DC police officers who were convicted in 2022 over the death of Karon Hylton-Brown.

Zabavsky and Sutton’s convictions came after the death of the 20-year-old black man, who was pursued by Sutton during a traffic stop.

Hylton-Brown’s moped was struck by another vehicle, and he died days later in hospital.

Sutton was convicted of second degree murder and other charges, including covering up evidence, in a jury trial.

The same jury found that Zabavsky also “conspired and combined to hide from Metropolitan Police Department officials the circumstances of the traffic crash leading to Mr Hylton-Brown’s death”.

Zabavasky was sentenced to four years in prison and Sutton was sentenced to a little over five years.

Trump’s pardons for the pair comes amid criticism the president has received for his sweeping pardons for those involved in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. Some 140 police officers were injured in that incident.

Some critics of Trump’s Capitol riot pardons have said it was an insult to police, and it condoned political violence.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Freed from prison in Maryland, the Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has just appeared on BBC News, launching into a defence of his actions during the Capitol riot and saying he was “very grateful” to President Trump.

Rhodes was not pardoned – instead his 18-year sentence was commuted, but he said he would apply for a full pardon and said he was confident that Trump would grant him one.

Rhodes founded and led the far-right Oath Keepers militia, made up of current and former military personnel and first responders. He told the BBC that he led about 20 members to the Capitol but said: “I didn’t go inside, nor did I instruct anyone else to. I simply stood outside and exercised my right to free speech.”

Prosecutors who brough the case against Rhodes and his fellow Oath Keepers, including on charges of seditious conspiracy, or attempting to overthrow the government, instead argued at trial that Rhodes was a ringleader, directing his members who marched in a “stack” up the steps of the Capitol.

Rhodes complained he did not get a fair trial because it was held in Washington DC, where the riot took place, and jurors were from the city – an argument that was previously rejected in court.

The militia leader told presenter Christian Fraser that he wanted his group to “go back to the mission we had at the very beginning, is one to advocate that the police of the United States follow the constitution and don’t violate people’s rights.”

He claimed that the rioters were victimised by police – even though dozens of officers were beaten and badly injured during the melee.

Trump has signed an executive order declaring Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, a foreign terrorist organisation.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, have fired at US ships dozens of times. The executive order signed by Trump on Wednesday says the Houthis are responsible for deadly attacks in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade,” Trump’s executive order says.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman has told the department’s staff to report people he says are obscuring their role’s connection to implementing diversity, equity and inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) objectives, BBC’s US partner CBS News reports.

President Trump has ordered all US government staff with work related to DEIA – such as diversity officers – to be put on immediate paid administrative leave, as his administration aims to halt the programmes it describes as “immoral”.

CBS News cited four people familiar with the matter and says it has obtained the message sent by Huffman to the department’s roughly 260,000 staff.

It says: “We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.”

Anyone aware of changes to any contract or “personnel position” description made since 5 November and intended to “obscure the connection” to DEIA or “similar ideologies” is asked to report it to a “DEIAtruth” email address, the message says.

“Failure to report this information within 10 days will result in adverse consequences,” it adds.

We’ve been bringing you the latest from Capitol Hill this week where Trump’s cabinet picks continue through the confirmation process of a committee hearing, committee vote and then approval by the full Senate.

Earlier this week, Florida’s former Senator, Marco Rubio, made it through and was sworn in as Secretary of State.

Other nominees, such as Defence Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi have successfully passed through committee votes, but are now waiting for the full chamber

Two of Trump’s more controversial selections Robert F. Kennedy Jr (nominated for Health and Human Services Secretary) and Tulsi Gabbard (nominee for Director of National Intelligence) have yet to reach the hearing step.

Today we learned Kennedy will have his hearing next Wednesday, 29 January.

Trump has been highly critical of the Biden administration’s approach to immigration across the southern border with Mexico, pledging to address “record” illegal border crossings and casting current migration as an “invasion”.

The graph below shows the number of “encounters” recorded by US border officials – these include people who attempted to cross illegally and people who tried to enter legally but were deemed inadmissible.

The number of encounters is not a count of individuals who stay in the US as some migrants will be returned and the same person can be recorded trying to enter multiple times. And it doesn’t count the number who cross undetected.

Crossings did reach record levels under Biden, but numbers began dropping significantly even before Trump won the election and took office.

We have more details on the US troops who will be deployed to the southern border.

A senior military official tells BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that 1,000 army personnel and 500 marines will move to San Diego in California and El Paso in Texas. They will work on the placement of barriers and other “border missions”.

They will not be involved in law enforcement, the official says.

Two C-17 and two C-130 aircraft, along with helicopters, will also be sent to the US border with Mexico.

Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses says the department will provide military airlift to support deportation flights of more than 5,000 people he describes as “illegal aliens”.