Growing list of Obama allies, former advisers look to sink Biden re-election bid
A growing list of close allies and former advisers to President Obama are looking to sink President Biden’s re-election bid. The cascade began with former Obama adviser David Axelrod sounding the alarm following Biden’s dismal debate performance last month, and was followed by a group of former advisers known as the “Obama bros” during their time working at the White House, as well as actor George Clooney, who is close to the former president. “Obama bro” Jon Favreau broke his silence concerning Biden’s mental fitness on Wednesday, just hours after the damaging op-ed by Clooney published in The New York Times calling on the president to quit the 2024 race. OBAMA SILENT OVER REPORTS HE’S WORKING ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ TO FORCE BIDEN OUT OF THE 2024 RACE “It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser. I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that,” Jon Favreau said during an appearance on CNN, referencing a June fundraiser he attended in Los Angeles along with Clooney and Obama. “I remember my wife, Emily, turned to me after the fundraiser and said, ‘What are we going to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, there is a debate in a week. Either he’ll do well in the debate, and we’ll think he was just tired because he flew all the way back from Europe, and that’ll be that, or he’ll be like this at the debate and then the whole country will be talking about it. So, here we are.” Clooney wrote that Democratic Party leaders needed to stop trying to convince Americans they “didn’t see what we just saw,” and accused them of ignoring “warning signs” concerning Biden. The actor claimed the Biden that showed up at the fundraiser was “not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” ‘OBAMA BRO’ CONFIRMS CLAIMS IN CLOONEY’S DAMAGING OP-ED ON BIDEN’S MENTAL FITNESS Favreau, on Tuesday, joined his fellow “Obama bros” Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett in dedicating the majority of their latest “Pod Save America” episode to ganging up on Biden following his poor performance in the first presidential debate, and in a subsequent interview. “I thought it was bad, and, at times, very hard to watch,” Vietor said, referencing Biden’s sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week that came as part of an effort by the president to quell critics calling for him to exit the presidential race. “In fairness to Biden, I don’t think that interview could have solved the political problem that stemmed from the debate,” he said, adding the interview made him “more concerned” because Biden “struggled to speak in a clear, coherent way.” Vietor argued Biden didn’t articulate a compelling second-term agenda that would sway swing voters to support him over former President Trump, and that his explanations for his recent poor performance, such as travel and sickness, didn’t fully answer for “how bad the debate was.” ‘OBAMA BROS’ GANG UP ON BIDEN AS LONGSTANDING RUMORS OF TENSION LINGER: ‘HARD TO WATCH’ Lovett agreed and said the interview “was a hard setting for him to succeed, even at his absolute best, because it’s hard to justify why it was more than a week after the debate, that it was so brief, and he was only doing one.” “The debate was just a bad night. We all saw it,” he said. “The explanations are kind of vague… That doesn’t do enough to assuage our concerns about what we saw that night. Right? So, the explanations don’t offer anything.” “If you’re going to raise the stakes on one interview, it can’t be another example of you being hard to understand, not because he’s soft, not because he’s mumbling, but because his train of thought doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The stakes are incredibly high. Trump is an incredible threat, but either he will prosecute that case, or someone else will, and right now, we get neither.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Favreau said that although Biden’s interview was “more coherent than the debate,” he was “worried” Biden’s lack of urgency and message meant he might not be able to make up for the debate going forward. He cited recent polling showing Biden trailing Trump in every key swing state. “What are you going to do to win over voters who are undecided between Biden and Trump when you have that message with George Stephanopoulos?” he asked. Vietor later said it “seems like a clear-cut choice that we’d have a better chance with someone else,” while Lovett argued Biden wasn’t “delivering the message effectively.” “That George Stephanopoulos interview was painful to watch,” Lovett said. “It was a terrible interview. He did a terrible job articulating why he’s in the race, what happened at the debate, and why he’s the person to beat Trump. He’s doing a terrible job.” Obama, despite initially defending Biden immediately following the debate, has stayed publicly silent on the increasing criticism. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Just as the temperature climbs, Texas towns are closing public pools to cut costs
Advocates say public pools are necessary community infrastructure and save lives. Splash pads have become a more affordable option.
North Carolina election board defers certifying RFK Jr, Cornel West: report
An elections board in North Carolina has once again deferred granting certification to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornel West, citing concerns over how their nominating signatures were obtained. Members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections claimed at a Tuesday hearing that during several probing phone calls to voters registered with the two candidates’ parties, some signers did not know they had been nominating Kennedy or West. Board personnel reached out to 26 voters who signed petitions for Kennedy’s We The People party and 66 who signed for West’s Justice for All party. It is not clear how many of those contacted are alleged to have been confused about the purpose of their signatures. RFK JR DENOUNCES ‘SPOILER’ LABEL, REJECTS DEM PARTY LOYALTY CONCERNS: ‘I’M TRYING TO HURT BOTH’ CANDIDATES General counsel Lindsey Wakely said 12 signers of the Justice for All petition did not remember signing the petition. Every individual contacted from the We the People party petition reportedly remembered signing their name, according to local outlet Port City Daily. State election officials previously confirmed that the We the People party submitted more than the 13,865 valid signatures necessary to register as a political party ahead of the 2024 election. The Justice for All party similarly turned in more than the minimum number of signatures necessary. DEM CAMPAIGN CALL REVEALS PANIC MODE OVER RFK JR.’S WHITE HOUSE BID, SCRAMBLE TO SAVE BIDEN RE-ELECTION HOPES Debate has erupted in the state over whether opposition to Kennedy and West’s names on the ballot is based on legitimate ethical concerns or political gamesmanship to protect President Biden from third party candidates. Republican member of the election board Kevin Lewis reportedly expressed frustration with the continued obstacles to Kennedy and West, questioning the motives of his Democrat colleagues. “You know how I voted the last time and I hope fellow board members will do the right thing and approve these partners today,” Lewis said, according to Port City News. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Kennedy has repeatedly denied accusations that he is running as a spoiler against Biden, claiming that he is “trying to hurt both” the president and his opponent, former President Trump.
Biden’s doc not talking as White House spurns press corps requests
For years, the White House has brushed off repeated requests from the media to hear directly from President Biden’s White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. This posture continues even with a mounting number of traditional Democratic allies calling on the president to bow out of the 2024 race over serious concerns over his mental acuity and age. Concerns surrounding Biden’s health and mental fitness are at a fever pitch this summer, as Democrats call on him to quit the presidential race following his disastrous debate against former President Trump last month. Biden has bucked calls to drop out, vowing to remain in the race as his campaign and White House ramp up his number of public events in an apparent effort to quell concerns the president isn’t up for another four-year term in the Oval Office. Biden’s demeanor during the debate – which included him losing his train of thought, stumbling over his words, and delivering responses with a raspy voice and subdued tenor – was just the most recent example of concerning behavior from the president, following repeated gaffes and miscues during public events since 2021. As concerns mount surrounding Biden’s health, the media has called on the administration to make the president’s White House physician available for questions. “Given the fact that it’s more than a bad night when his political future is threatened, would he be willing to provide more medical information? Would he be willing to have Dr. O’Connor provide more to answer these questions?” a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week. BIDEN’S ‘BIG BOY’ NATO NEWS CONFERENCE CARRIES HIGH STAKES AS FIRST PRESSER SINCE DISASTROUS DEBATE “What we have provided has been very transparent,” Jean-Pierre responded. This week, as Jean-Pierre discussed a Parkinson’s disease expert’s repeated visits to the White House in the last year, another reporter asked: “So can [Dr. O’Connor] tell us?” Jean-Pierre shot down that specific request, arguing O’Connor “will not confirm” details surrounding the Parkinson’s expert’s visit. O’Connor released a letter that same day clearing up and confirming that the Parkinson’s expert visited the White House as part of the president’s annual physical, and that other trips to the White House were unrelated to Biden’s health. There were no signs of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ascending lateral sclerosis, stroke or cervical myelopathy, found during Biden’s physical in February, O’Connor said. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House about any plans to host O’Connor during a press conference, and why he has not yet joined the media to discuss ongoing concerns on Biden’s health. The White House brushed off a potential O’Connor press conference, saying the physician’s public and detailed reports on the president’s health since 2021 are sufficient. DEMOCRATS, MEDIA DEMAND BIDEN DO MORE INTERVIEWS, PRESS CONFERENCES AMID DEBATE FALLOUT “The thorough summaries Dr. O’Connor puts online for the public are far more extensive than the presidential medical documentation released during the previous administration,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. “In fact, the American people heard from Dr. O’Connor through his daily written reports on President Biden’s COVID case for over two weeks straight – a condition he had the honesty to disclose right away, unlike Trump’s physicians in office. “Dr. O’Connor teaches at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science, completed U.S. Army flight surgeon training, and was among the first American service members in Afghanistan and Iraq. His unique expertise is sought across the medical community, in which he is respected for his candor, attention to detail, and work ethic,” he continued. NATO SUMMIT IN DC IS ‘PIVOTAL’ MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT FOR BIDEN AS SCRUTINY OVER FITNESS FOR OFFICE INTENSIFIES O’Connor has released repeated statements and updates on the president’s health since Biden was sworn in as the president, including when he was diagnosed with COVID, as well as updates on Biden’s annual physicals. Fox News Digital reviewed previous White House press briefings from across the Biden administration and found reporters have repeatedly asked to hear directly from the president’s doctor, going back to at least 2022, when Biden was diagnosed with COVID. “I understand there’s been questions about Dr. O’Connor, but does the White House plan on making him available for questions, making him available to the public at any point?” a reporter asked Jean-Pierre on July 22, 2022. WHO IS WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN DR. KEVIN O’CONNOR AND WHAT ARE HIS CLOSE TIES TO THE BIDEN FAMILY? “We feel that Dr. O’Connor’s statements and his detailed report – again, on a – on a – on a situation as the – as the doctor just said, is mild – very mild. And he’s able to continue to do his work – is enough,” she responded. Earlier this year, Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents after his departure as vice president under the Obama administration further compounded concern over the president’s mental acuity. Hur announced in February that he would not recommend criminal charges against the president for possessing classified materials, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote in his report. The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime yet could still serve as president. COMER REVEALS WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN WAS INVOLVED IN BIDEN FAMILY BUSINESS DEALS, DEMANDS HE TESTIFY Again, the media asked the White House to hear from the president’s doctor following the report’s findings. “When can we talk to the president’s doctor? And how come he hasn’t been – they haven’t been asked to come out here and talk with us, given the Hur report
Dem senator helps block Biden judicial nominee amid controversy over transgender inmate
Senators successfully blocked a judicial nominee to a district court on Thursday after a recommendation from her to transfer a biological male that identifies as a transgender woman to a prison that housed biological women, despite a conviction on sexual offenses. Judge Sarah Netburn’s nomination was prevented from advancing after Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., voted against her with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary committee, creating a bipartisan opposition, an increasingly rare occurrence. BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE TO SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW In an 11-10 vote, the controversial nominee was blocked from moving to the floor for a confirmation vote. The vote was particularly significant because no Biden judicial nomination had ever been voted down in committee, making Netburn the first. A GOP aide told Fox News Digital, “No Democrat has ever voted against a Biden judicial nominee in committee.” BATTLEGROUND DEM FEELS HEAT AFTER BIDEN’S DEBATE AS PARTY TURMOIL CONTINUES The block is a defeat for President Biden, particularly as he seeks to fill more judicial vacancies than former President Trump. Earlier this year, Biden hit a milestone of 200 confirmations, outpacing Trump at the time. But with a recess-heavy schedule this fall, its unclear if he can outdo Trump’s record. “I have deep concerns about Judge Sarah Netburn’s nomination, and specifically about her radical rulings that endanger women by placing biological men in women’s prisons,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in remarks ahead of the vote. “And given the avalanche of letters this committee has received from women’s groups and female inmates, I’m not the only person with concerns.” FIRST DEM SENATOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ The Texas senator shared with his colleagues some of the input he’s received, including a letter from a former female inmate, in which she said, “As a former inmate in the California state prison system, I share your concern about how women’s rights are being pushed aside compared to the interest of men who are self-identifying as women and gaining entry to facilities meant for women.” SENATE DEMS TEST WHETHER ABORTION CAN BREAK THROUGH TALK OF BIDEN CONCERNS In remarks on the Senate floor ahead of the committee’s vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “Unfortunately, the red flags on Judge Netburn’s record aren’t limited to the inappropriate actions she does commit.” He explained that “Judge Netburn failed to rule on the unopposed motions they submitted that would have entitled them to participate in the next round of compensation for grieving families,” referring to the families of 9/11 victims. “As they put it, ‘We cannot understand how a Magistrate Judge could treat 9/11 family members so callously or so blithely disregard her duties,’” he continued.
Flashback: The last time Biden had a solo ‘big boy press conference’ was eight months ago
President Biden is gearing up for a crucial press conference Thursday evening, the first solo press event since the APEC Summit in California eight months ago. On Nov. 15, Biden met with China’s President Xi Jinping and reportedly left the meeting optimistic that he had reduced tensions between U.S. and Chinese forces in the Asia-Pacific, a feat he was aiming to button up prior to announcing his re-election bid. The president’s press conference for the summit lasted about 20 minutes, and he answered roughly five questions before leaving. However, throughout Biden’s 41 months as president, he has gone a total of 30 months without a solo news conference, 16 months without a TV news interview, and 10 months without either, according to a Fox News count. DEMOCRATS, MEDIA DEMAND BIDEN DO MORE INTERVIEWS, PRESS CONFERENCES AMID DEBATE FALLOUT And several of those press conferences have reportedly been scripted, with the president receiving the questions ahead of time. Biden has also had other interviews guided by questions that were allegedly pre-selected by media executives, which left no room for prominent journalists to ask him off-the-cuff questions or even follow-ups to the “scripted” questions. “To the word. Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate,” former ESPN host Sage Steele previously told Fox News Digital about an interview she had with Biden in 2021. What the media are calling Biden’s “big boy press conference” Thursday evening is setting up high expectations for his Democratic base. It comes as at least nine elected Democrat lawmakers have called on Biden to drop out of the race and 23 Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have hinted that his doing so could be in the best interests of defeating Donald Trump in November. SECOND LOCAL RADIO HOST ADMITS TO GETTING QUESTIONS FROM BIDEN TEAM AHEAD OF INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT Thursday’s press conference is Biden’s first interaction with reporters since debating Trump in June and his subsequent sit-down with ABC host George Stephanopoulos, amid rising concerns about his health and mental acuity. Biden, 81, has not agreed to do an official independent cognitive test, instead saying that he takes one “every day” while fulfilling his presidential duties. Biden’s interview with Stephanopoulos was also highly anticipated, as the campaign has been filling the president’s schedule to the brim with appearances and rallies in an attempt to showcase he is still fit to continue for another four years. The campaign has also tapped surrogates such as liberal California Gov. Gavin Newsom to headline Biden-Harris campaign events to encourage more support amid a firestorm of unfavorable media coverage of the president’s performance. Biden has also repeatedly dismissed calls for him to drop out of the race to allow another Democratic candidate to take on former President Trump in November. “There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What’s he going to do?” Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. “Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again.” NATO SUMMIT IN DC IS ‘PIVOTAL’ MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT FOR BIDEN AS SCRUTINY OVER FITNESS FOR OFFICE INTENSIFIES White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that they “can expect a solo press conference from this president at the end of … the NATO summit. He’s looking forward to it. And he will be taking your questions. So, that’ll be a good thing.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
WATCH: House lawmakers share expectations for Biden’s big press conference: ‘Ultimate test’
Congressional lawmakers departed Washington, D.C., around noon on Thursday, hours before President Biden’s pivotal press conference, where the 81-year-old leader is tasked with fighting off concerns that he is not fit for another four years in office. Some Democrats were relatively muted in their responses to Fox News Digital on whether the president would do a good job at the press conference, while others insisted the president would pull it off. Republicans, who have long argued Biden is not mentally fit for office, largely said Biden would show more of the same signs of aging he showed at last month’s CNN Presidential Debate against former President Trump. “Just as all of his public appearances go on, it will be very interesting to see him do what they themselves have called a big boy press conference. Look, it’s been the biggest political cover up, probably in the history of the country,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital when asked about the press conference. “I think the more public appearances and speeches he does, the more that will put that on vivid display. And I think there’s a lot to answer.” BATTLEGROUND DEMS TESTER, KAINE TO SKIP BIDEN CAMPAIGN MEETING AS 2024 FEARS GROW “I think this is the ultimate test for him. The press is all over it and if he fails, they’re going to push him out,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, D-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “This is going to come after a long day with NATO. It’s unscripted, and he’s gonna be facing a red-hot press corps.” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said, “We’re in a bad situation because you’ve got a mentally infirm man who is technically a leader of the free world.” “It’s before four o’clock in the afternoon, so he should do okay,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., joked. “Here’s what people need to understand, if the president of the United States is only capable of operating from eight to four in the afternoon, the world is a much more dangerous place, and they should be terrified by this.” DAVE PORTNOY MOCKS GEORGE CLOONEY FOR WAITING 3 WEEKS AFTER FUNDRAISER TO ACKNOWLEDGE BIDEN IS A ‘VEGETABLE’ When asked how he thought Biden would perform in front of the press, Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said: “I would guess about the same as the debate. It’s been a while since we had a press conference with him, so it’d be good to see him answer some questions that aren’t hand handed to the reporters in advance.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said that she thinks “he’s going to do just about as good as you can do, which is not good at all.” The press conference comes as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers have come out against Biden’s candidacy over concerns he would lose to Trump in November. “I think he’s going to do fine,” Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., said when asked about the Thursday press conference. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox that he wishes Biden well at the event, while Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wa., said, “I think he did a good job at NATO – let’s see how he does.” “I think he’s going to stand by our NATO allies, which is what every president should do,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I. Biden, for his part, has insisted that he is still the best person to defeat the former president. However, his performance at last month’s debate is still sowing doubt. He spoke with a hoarse voice, which he attributed to a cold, and stumbled over his answers several times during the primetime event. Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced Trump in 2020. Still, some Democrats on Capitol Hill remained confident that Biden is going to succeed. “President Biden is going to make a strong case that America is safer when we are committed to our allies,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “I think that will stand in direct contrast to the Republican National Convention next week, when Donald Trump will advertise that we should break from our allies, withdraw from the world, making us much less safe.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As of Thursday, 10 House Democratic lawmakers and one senator have called on Biden to step aside.
SpiceJet SpiceJet arrested for slapping CISF officer, airline alleges sexual harassment
According to a SpiceJet spokesperson, Rani had a valid airport entry pass and was subjected to inappropriate language and an unwelcome advance by the CISF officer.
GOP challenger calls on Ohio Dem Sherrod Brown to ‘fess up’ with what he knew about Biden’s condition
Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno on Thursday demanded that his opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, “fess up” about the Democratic Party’s effort to “cover up” President Biden’s mental condition. Moreno, a Republican businessman, held a press conference outside Brown’s office in Washington, D.C., and told reporters that Democrats like Brown “hid from the American public the fact that we have a commander-in-chief who is incapacitated” and did so “for political purposes, so they could ram through their left-wing agenda.” Biden, 81, has faced numerous calls to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election since his disastrous debate performance last month, where his halting speech and at times incoherent answers renewed concerns over his mental acuity. Republicans have since gone on the attack, accusing Democrats of downplaying the president’s age and covering for his mental slips. Brown has remained mostly silent on whether Biden should step aside, though CNN and Axios reported that the Ohio senator has privately said that he does not believe Biden can win in November. BATTLEGROUND DEM FEELS HEAT AFTER BIDEN’S DEBATE AS PARTY TURMOIL CONTINUES On Wednesday, he told reporters that he has heard “concerns” about Biden from his constituents in Ohio. “I hear legitimate concerns from people in Ohio about the president. I listen to those, but my job is to continue to work for my state to fight on prescription drug prices and jobs,” Brown said. WARNER SAYS PEOPLE ARE ‘RAISING SOME QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO GET ASKED’ ABOUT BIDEN “This guy’s a coward,” Moreno said of Brown. “This guy’s now hiding from his lies, because he knows that the gig is up, that people have seen what you can’t unsee. And it’s a disgrace. It’s a shame. And he is a superdelegate. [I] remind all of you he’s a superdelegate. He refuses to take a position on where he stands with Biden. It’s completely disgraceful.” In the Democratic Party, a superdelegate is an unelected delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is free to support any candidate for the party’s presidential nomination. Should Biden withdraw from the race, Brown and the other superdelegates will play a critical role in selecting the party’s presidential nominee. SENATE DEMS TEST WHETHER ABORTION CAN BREAK THROUGH TALK OF BIDEN CONCERNS Moreno charged that Brown has been complicit in “the greatest cover-up in American history” by keeping quiet about Biden’s fitness for office. “This is Watergate on steroids. They knew all along – especially Sherrod Brown, is friends with Joe Biden for decades. So it’s not like they have a casual acquaintance,” he said. A spokesman for Brown’s campaign accused Moreno of playing “political games” with his news conference outside of Brown’s office. “While Sherrod is working for the people of Ohio, Bernie Moreno was once again playing political games that expose how he’s only out for himself,” said Deputy Communications Director Matt Keyes. The Ohio Senate race is rated a “Toss Up” by nonpartisan political handicapper Cook Political Report, alongside only two other Senate races. With split-ticket voting on the decline, candidates for Senate are much more likely to be elected if the presidential nominee at the top of their ticket also carries their state. Fox News’ Kelly Phares and Tyler Olson, as well as Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Michael Cohen goes to the Supreme Court against Trump
Does the president of the United States have the power to throw you in prison? That is the test, says Michael Cohen, of the petition submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. “The Constitution is the bedrock of our democratic republic and is what makes America the beacon of the world,” Cohen says. “To have a President weaponize the DOJ…is how autocracies are created.” HOUSE JUDICIARY GOP CALLS ON APPELLATE COURTS TO ‘REVERSE THE VERDICT’ IN NY V. TRUMP IN NEW STAFF REPORT Cohen, former President Trump’s controversial long-time lawyer and fixer, is asking the court to hear his claim that he was sent back behind bars, shackled and placed in solitary confinement on the alleged orders of Trump and Justice Department officials in July 2020 in retaliation for his writing his first tell all book, “Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized The US Department of Justice Against His Critics.” “Presidents are not kings,” says the petition. “This case represents the principle that presidents and their subordinates can lock away critics of the executive without consequence. That cannot be the law in the country the Founders thought they created when they threw off the yoke of the monarch.” In 2020, U.S. Federal Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein found that the Trump administration violated Cohen’s First Amendment rights when it sent him back behind bars after he was released to home confinement. “The purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory,” the judge said during a hearing on Cohen’s reimprisonment. “It’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others.” A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons denied that Cohen was retaliated against, calling the allegation “patently false.” However, Cohen’s lawyer says the case goes far beyond the impact on his client, but on the legal protections for all American citizens against any constitutional violations by the executive branch. NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER “This case presents an important and unprecedented question – what remedy will this country provide a citizen who was incarcerated because of their criticism of government officials. No one, especially not the President, can use the prison system to silence their critics,” says Cohen’s attorney, Jon-Michael Dougherty. “As it stands now, there is no consequence for officials who lock away their critics. That cannot be America. It must not be America. There is a clear and present danger to Americans’ rights. If speech can lead to a prison cell, many will choose to be silent.” Two courts ruled against Cohen’s initial claim, based on a narrow reading of a Supreme Court ruling called “Bivens,” which provides citizens the limited legal right to sue federal officials who violate their constitutional rights. The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the law does not seem to provide damages and cites the fact that Cohen was ultimately released from prison to home confinement was his legal relief. However, Cohen’s petition points out that the courts have not ruled on remedies or methods needed to prevent such violations in the future and is asking the Supreme Court to decide just that. “This case happens to involve Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, but it is not about Michael Cohen and Donald Trump. This case is not about politics. It is about freedom,” Dougherty told Fox News. However, Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who successfully argued two of the previous cases, says Cohen will not get anywhere with this latest effort. “Michael Cohen’s suit against the President was doomed from its very inception. Setting aside the fact that his allegations are meritless, the Supreme Court has already held, as recently as 2022, that Bivens suits in this context are not viable,” Habba told Fox News. ‘WARPED AND SENSELESS’ GAG ORDER RULING UNDERSCORES ‘UNFAIR TREATMENT’ OF TRUMP, SAYS LEGAL ANALYST During his current campaign, former President Trump suggested he could prosecute his political opponents, establish “televised military tribunals,” and has named a variety of officials and prosecutors who have brought cases against him who should be “put in jail.” “I would have every right to go after them,” the former President told Fox News last month, but added he would not actually do that. Cohen claims that Trump would, in fact, seek revenge, despite Trump’s and the government’s previous denials. “Be warned…Donald will do it again and again if given the chance!” Cohen’s petition echoes that prediction. “A former President and his subordinates conspired to use the federal prison system to silence one of the President’s most vociferous and prominent public critics by revoking his approved release from prison to home confinement when the critic did not agree to waive his rights to speech,” it says. “The possibility that the federal government has the power to retaliate against critics with imprisonment, without any consequence for or check against the officials engaged in such retaliation, is a chilling prospect. This Court should not turn its eyes away from this profound breach of the contract between a government of limited power and free citizenry.” US V TRUMP: DEFENSE TO CLAIM DUE PROCESS VIOLATIONS MADE IN FBI’S MAR-A-LAGO RAID Dougherty says the petition is in front of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In order for Cohen’s petition to be considered by the full court, four of the nine justices must agree to hear it during the court’s next term in the fall. Habba believes that the court will likely decline to hear Cohen’s plea, and if it does, will find that the Justices’ recent ruling on establishing immunity for “official acts” of a president will apply to Cohen’s case. “In the unlikely event that the Supreme Court chooses to entertain Mr. Cohen’s petition, and in the even more unlikely scenario that it finds any merit to his Bivens claim, his suit still fails under the doctrine of presidential immunity. If this case proceeds forward, I look forward to a decisive victory,” she told Fox News. In response to the