Biden

 Independent - Joe Biden’s dog attacked and bit US Secret Service agents on so many occasions that the president’s staff were forced to “adjust operational tactics” to keep themselves safe, it has emerged. The highly-trained team, who are experts in hand-to-hand combat and selected from the US military elite, are ready to lay down their lives to keep their charge safe.But the case of the aggressive German Shepherd, Commander, they were forced to trade bulletproof vests for dog biscuits. According to newly released documents, at least 24 incidents of biting took place at the White House and the president’s Delaware residence over a ten-month period – including one in which an agent required six stitches. When the agent returned to duty they were given items for future “safety purposes” including pepper spray, a muzzle, and – in case of emergencies – dog treats.

Axios  - President Biden's great-great-grandfather was pardoned by Abraham Lincoln after engaging in a Civil War-era brawl that saw him charged with attempted murder, U.S. National Archives records shared with Axios confirm. The historic documents shed light on a new facet of Biden's family history, revealing "the hidden link between the two men — and between two presidents across the centuries," writes David J. Gerleman, the historian who first detailed the records in the Washington Post this week. Biden's forefather, Moses J. Robinette, was a civilian veterinary surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War, per the Post.

• The records reveal that in March 1864, Robinette got into a fight with another Union civilian employee, John J. Alexander, in a mess tent in Virginia, and ended up cutting Alexander with a knife. Robinette argued that he was acting in self defense, per the Post.
• Still, Robinette was charged with "conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline," as well as "assault, with attempt to kill," the records reveal. He was convicted on all charges except "attempt to kill."
• He was sentenced to two years' hard labor and incarcerated on the Dry Tortuga Islands off the coast of Florida, at Fort Jefferson — a military prison described by Lincoln's opponents as "American Siberia," the Post reported.

Three Union Army officers appealed Robinette's sentence directly to Lincoln in July 1864, arguing it was too harsh and that Robinette had been acting in "the excitement of the moment." Lincoln ultimately agreed. "Pardon for unexecuted part of punishment. A. Lincoln. Sep. 1. 1864," he wrote in a missive. Robinette was freed on special orders from the War Department on Sept. 6, 1864.