Tonight on the readout.

I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardoned power conferred upon me by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution, have granted, and by these

presidents do grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon.

It was a preemptive pardon that sparked a lot of controversy because President Nixon had likely committed crimes, but hadn't been charged.

50 years later, President Biden considers preemptive pardons for people who have not committed crimes, but are being targeted for punishment anyway by Trump and his incoming

Department of Retribution. Also tonight, Trump is reportedly considering an inhuman plan

to deport immigrants to countries not their own, where they may not even speak the language,

and some of the countries he has in mind are firmly telling him no.

But we begin tonight.

But we begin tonight with the trouble with Donald Trump's national security picks.

Among his many controversial and unqualified selections thus far, Tulsi Gabbard, his choice for

Director of National Intelligence looms as perhaps the most concerning of all. That's the message from

nearly 100 former national security officials who say they are alarmed at the prospect of Gabbard

leading the nation's intelligence community, overseeing all 17 intelligence agencies, including the CIA,

and briefing the president daily on intelligence matters.

In a letter obtained by NBC News,

the officials noted several of Ms. Gabbard's past actions

call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the president, Congress,

and to the entire national security apparatus. Senate committee should consider in closed sessions,

all information available to the U.S. government when considering Ms. Gabbard's qualifications

to manage our country's intelligence agencies. The official said

the Senate must carefully evaluate whether Gabbard is equipped for the job, given that she'd be

...