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After urging respect for justice system, Biden claims SCOTUS’ Trump case ruling is ‘attack’ on ‘rule of law’

After urging respect for justice system, Biden claims SCOTUS’ Trump case ruling is ‘attack’ on ‘rule of law’

President Biden claimed this week that the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity “undermines the rule of law of this nation,” just one month after he said the justice system and its decisions “should be respected” and bragged about the high court not being able to “stop” him from carrying out his agenda. “This decision today has continued the Court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation,” Biden said in a brief address from the White House on Monday. Biden’s remarks on the ruling came less than a week after his disastrous debate with former President Trump, who he insisted would be “emboldened” by the court’s ruling should the former president win back the White House in this year’s election. “The American people must decide if Trump’s embrace of violence to preserve his power is acceptable. Perhaps most importantly, the American people must decide if they want to entrust the presidency to Donald Trump once again. Now knowing, he’ll be even more emboldened to do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants to do it,” Biden said. BIDEN URGES RESPECT FOR LEGAL SYSTEM AFTER TRUMP CONVICTION WHILE PUBLICLY FLOUTING SCOTUS RULINGS The comments from the president struck a different tone from that which he used in May, when he claimed the justice system “should be respected” and that it was “reckless” for Trump to claim that the verdict in his New York City criminal trial was “rigged.” “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden said in response to Trump’s remarks about the NY v. Trump verdict, which found the former president guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system, that justice should be respected. And we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that,” Biden added at the time. Biden’s remarks on the Trump ruling in May came just two days after he bragged to his supporters at a rally in Philadelphia that the Supreme Court ruling his student debt relief plan was unconstitutional did not “stop” him from canceling student loans. “The Supreme Court blocked me from relieving student debt, but they didn’t stop me,” Biden said in a speech at Girard College in May. That same message was shared by the president in a post to X on May 29. In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office but not for unofficial acts. In a 6-3 decision, the Court sent the matter back down to a lower court, as the justices did not apply the ruling to whether or not former President Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. BIDEN SLAMS SCOTUS PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING, IGNORES QUESTIONS ABOUT DROPPING OUT “This is a fundamentally new principle, and it’s a dangerous precedent, because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court of the United States. The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone,” Biden said Monday. Prior to ending his speech and dodging questions from reporters, Biden spoke about the character of the nation’s first president, George Washington, and how he believed power was limited, not absolute. Biden, like several other Democrat and Republican presidents throughout history, has taken aim at the Supreme Court for a number of rulings they have made during his tenure in the White House. During his State of the Union address in March, Biden took direct aim at the justices and insisted they had underestimated the “electoral and political power” of women in their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. During an interview with MSNBC about his remarks directed at the justices, Biden said, “Look, I think they made a wrong decision, think they read the Constitution wrong, I think they made a mistake.” Biden made similar comments on how the high court’s ruling “didn’t stop” him from canceling student loans in February while speaking at the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, California. “Early in my term, I announced a major plan to provide millions of working families with debt relief for their college student debt,” Biden said at the time. “Tens of millions of people in debt were literally about to be canceled in debts. But my MAGA Republican friends in the Congress, elected officials and special interests stepped in and sued us. And the Supreme Court blocked it. But that didn’t stop me.” Last June, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that federal law does not allow Biden’s Secretary of Education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt. Biden promised at the time that his administration would continue to push for his student debt relief plan. Shortly after the court’s ruling, Biden said, “I think the court misinterpreted the Constitution.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Earlier this year, Biden announced the Savings on Valuable Education plan that cancels debt for enrolled borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 10 years and hold $12,000 or less in student loan debt. Those with larger debts will receive relief after an additional year of payments for every additional $1,000 they borrowed. In a statement to Fox News Digital last month, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said, “Expressing disagreement with a Supreme Court decision — as all Presidents do — is not the same as attacking the rule

‘It’s time to rip the band aid off!’: Former longtime Democrat lawmaker urges Biden to step aside for Harris

‘It’s time to rip the band aid off!’: Former longtime Democrat lawmaker urges Biden to step aside for Harris

A former longtime Democratic lawmaker is once again calling for President Biden to step aside and end his 2024 bid for a second term in the White House.  “We have to rip the band aid off! Too much is at stake,” former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio emphasized in a social media post on Tuesday. Pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris, Ryan argued that “@VP has significantly grown into her job, she will destroy Trump in debate, highlight choice issue, energize our base, bring back young voters and give us generational change. It’s time!” BIDEN CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTS MASSIVE JUNE FUNDRAISING HAUL IN 2024 ELECTION REMATCH WITH TRUMP in his post, Ryan linked to an opinion piece he wrote in Newsweek which starts with him noting that “I ran for President in 2020. I was the first Presidential candidate to endorse Joe Biden in 2020. I love America. I love our Party. I love Joe Biden. The Democratic Nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris.” Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at last week’s first debate with former President Trump sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party politicians and donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer. BIDEN TRIES TO FLIP THE SCRIPT ON NEGATIVE NARRATIVE COMING OUT OF DISASTROUS DEBATE WITH TRUMP In his two 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate appearances in the summer of 2019, the then-congressman from Ohio known for his populist outreach to blue-collar workers tangled a couple of times with the then-former Vice President Joe Biden. However, after dropping out of the nomination race in the autumn of 2019, Ryan endorsed Biden. Fast-forward to 2022, and as the Democratic Senate nominee in Ohio, a high-profile election showdown with now GOP Sen. JD Vance, Ryan said multiple times that he did not believe Biden should run for re-election in 2024. “No, I’ve been very clear. I’d like to see a generational change,” Ryan said at an October 2022 debate. Additionally, last November during an interview with CNN, Ryan reiterated that “I don’t think the president should run.” Ryan, who turns 51 later this month, wrote in his opinion piece that Biden pledged during the 2020 campaign “to be a bridge President to the next generation. I liked that idea. I envisioned him defeating former President Donald Trump, stabilizing the country, and passing the torch to the next generation.” “Regrettably, that bridge collapsed last week. Witnessing Joe Biden struggle was heartbreaking. And we must forge a new path forward,” Ryan argued. Fox News reached out to the Biden campaign for reaction to Ryan’s comments but had yet to receive a response at the time this article was posted. Biden is not the only top Democratic politician Ryan has urged to step aside. Following the 2016 election, Ryan unsuccessfully challenged then-former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader. While Pelosi – who would two years later once again win back the Speaker’s gavel – easily dispatched Ryan, his challenge was credited with leading Pelosi to enact changes to House Democrats’ leadership. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

White House to take questions on camera for 1st time since debate

White House to take questions on camera for 1st time since debate

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will address the briefing room Tuesday for the first time since President Biden’s rocky debate performance.  In the aftermath of Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, Jean-Pierre did hold a press gaggle aboard Air Force One while en route to Queens, New York, on Friday, but Tuesday will be the first time she returns to the White House briefing room to field questions on camera. Biden returned to the White House Monday night after gathering with family at Camp David in Maryland over the weekend.  During the press gaggle with Jean-Pierre, campaign communications director Michael Tyler referenced Biden’s remarks at a Friday post-debate rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. Reading from a teleprompter and addressing a live audience, in contrast with the debate, the president told cheering supporters, “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth.”  BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS “Obviously, I think the president said himself he’s not as good as a debater as he used to be. He doesn’t walk or talk as smoothly as he used to. But he knows how to fight like hell. And I think he showed that today in North Carolina,” Tyler said. “And so, that’s what the American people are going to continue to see day in and day out for the remainder of this campaign: a president in Joe Biden who understands he’s never going to stop fighting for the American people, and he’s never going to stop contrasting that against Donald Trump, who every single day is clearly fighting for himself.  “So, I think the President is honest about his own performance. But as far as what last night’s debate actually provided for the American people, it — it crystallized the threat — it begins to crystallize the threat that Donald Trump poses,” he added.  After a string of campaign events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, first lady Jill Biden and the president’s children and grandchildren gathered at Camp David reportedly to encourage the president to stay in the race despite uproar within the Democratic Party questioning whether the current commander-in-chief is a viable candidate to nominate for a second term.  Reports said Biden’s family on Sunday blamed campaign staffers, arguing they did not adequately prepare the president for the CNN debate against former President Trump.  BIDEN STAFF ‘SCARED S—LESS’ OF HIM, SENIOR ADMIN OFFICIAL SAYS; WH HITS BACK According to a new report by Politico on Tuesday, a senior administration official claimed that some of President Biden’s top officials are “scared s—less” of displeasing him in daily briefings.  “It’s like, ‘You can’t include that, that will set him off,’ or ‘Put that in, he likes that,’” a senior administration official told Politico on background. “It’s a Rorschach test, not a briefing. Because he is not a pleasant person to be around when he’s being briefed. It’s very difficult, and people are scared [s—less] of him.” The official told Politico that Biden is unwilling to take advice from outside his small inner circle, becoming increasingly isolated from wider public opinion and input. “He doesn’t take advice from anyone other than those few top aides, and it becomes a perfect storm because he just gets more and more isolated from their efforts to control it,” the official reportedly told Politico. White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates pushed back on the Politico report’s claim that staff are afraid of the president, telling Fox News Digital, “That’s simply not who [Biden] is.”  Jeane-Pierre’s White House press briefing is scheduled to start Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

Do these potential Biden replacements have what it takes to beat Trump?

Do these potential Biden replacements have what it takes to beat Trump?

The panic following last week’s disastrous debate performance by President Biden has shifted the spotlight to potential replacements for the president at the top of the Democratic ticket, though most would still likely be underdogs against former President Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are two names that have emerged as potential replacements for Biden if he were to leave the race, but both have trailed behind Trump in polling of a hypothetical matchup. Whitmer would fare the best in a matchup with Trump, with a Fox News poll from November showing the Democratic governor within the margin of error of the former president, garnering 46% of the support of registered voters compared to 48% for Trump. The two-term governor of the crucial Midwestern swing state could be an attractive option for Democrats, though Whitmer has reportedly expressed annoyance that her name is being mixed in as a potential replacement for Biden. Responding to a recent Politico report that the Michigan governor warned the Biden campaign the president no longer had a shot at winning her home state following the debate, Whitmer took to social media and argued anyone who thinks she would make such a claim is “full of s—.” BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE If Whitmer were unwilling to step up for Biden, Newsom, who has been one of the more visible Democrats supporting Biden, would make a natural choice to replace the president if he were to end his campaign. California’s Democratic governor ran slightly worse against Trump in the November poll, garnering 45% of the support of registered voters compared to 49% for the former president. Like Whitmer, Newsom has distanced himself from the idea that he would replace Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. “I would never turn my back on President Biden. Never turn my back on President Biden. I don’t know a Democrat in my party that would do so. And especially after tonight, we have his back,” Newsom said shortly after Biden’s debate performance. “We run, not the 90-yard dash. We are all in. We’re going to double down in the next few months. We’re going to win this election.” BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT Notably, both Newsom and Whitmer performed better in the poll than Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris, who has also been floated as a potential replacement for Biden, trailed Trump by five points in the poll, garnering 45% support compared to Trump’s 50%. The two Democratic governors also compared favorably to Biden’s number, who the poll found losing the race to Trump by four points, with Newsom tying that mark and Whitmer besting it by two points. Another option is Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who has proved popular in typically red Kentucky.  While the Fox News poll did not feature Beshear in a hypothetical matchup with Trump, the Democratic governor’s ability to win over Trump voters in two elections could appeal to Democrats looking to defeat the former president in November. In one example highlighted in a Politico report, Beshear was able to flip Kentucky’s deeply red Perry County during his 2023 re-election bid, a county that supported Trump over Biden by a resounding 77-22 margin in 2020. Just three years later, Beshear was able to carry the country with a 56-44 margin, a dramatic 65- point swing. According to a Morning Consult poll conducted in April, Beshear enjoys a 65% approval rating in typically-red Kentucky, making him the most popular Democratic governor in the country and the fourth most popular governor overall. In comments to reporters Monday, Beshear acknowledged that Biden had a “rough” debate performance, but also said he had no desire to replace the president at the top of the ticket. “Well, the debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president,” the Kentucky governor said. “But he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy, so as long as he continues to be in the race, that’s important.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Congressional Dems plot revenge for Supreme Court ruling on Trump immunity

Congressional Dems plot revenge for Supreme Court ruling on Trump immunity

Democratic lawmakers are already calling for congressional action to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, arguing that the decision is a blow for democracy while empowering former President Trump. But the forceful outcry is a stark contrast to Democrats mostly downplaying concerns regarding President Biden’s chances of beating Trump in November. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has threatened to introduce articles of impeachment against the Supreme Court’s conservative justices when Congress is back in session next week. “The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control. Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture,” Ocasio-Cortez said on X, formerly Twitter. BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS Another Democrat, Rep. Joe Morelle, of New York, said he would introduce a resolution to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision. He wrote on X after the ruling came out: “The conservative, extremist majority on the Supreme Court has decided former President Trump is above the law. Today’s decision further erodes the public’s confidence in our institutions and poses as great a threat to our democracy as the former president’s behavior.” The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump’s classified documents case that presidents do have immunity for official acts while in the White House, and that those acts cannot be used as evidence against them in a trial. However, it also ruled that not all of a president’s actions are official, and left it to a lower court to decide which of Trump’s actions constitute which. Democrats argued that it gave Trump a vast legal shield over matters he should be prosecuted for. It also almost guaranteed that the ex-president will not have a federal trial in his classified documents case before November. SOURCES CLOSE TO BIDEN REPORT ‘MARKED INCIDENCE OF COGNITIVE DECLINE’ IN LAST 6 MONTHS: BERNSTEIN It prompted Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to renew their calls to expand the Supreme Court. But to stand any chance of doing so, Democrats would need to win commanding victories in the House, Senate and White House – and several polls since Thursday night’s debate show Biden’s appeal slipping among general election voters. Discussions surrounding Biden’s viability as a candidate have swirled in the media and among pundits on the left after the 81-year-old president’s poor performance in his debate against Trump last Thursday.  BIDEN CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTS MASSIVE JUNE FUNDRAISING HAUL IN 2024 ELECTION REMATCH WITH TRUMP Elected Democratic officials have largely defended Biden since then, however, arguing he’s still the best candidate to beat the ex-president in November – while others have stayed silent.  A new CBS News and YouGov poll released over the weekend showed nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters believe Biden does not have the cognitive health to serve as president.  A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Monday shows Trump leading Biden 41% to 38% among nationwide voters. But the aforementioned Democratic lawmakers did not respond to queries from Fox News Digital about whether they were concerned Biden’s performance in the debate would enable Trump, who they view as a threat to democracy, to win in November. Morelle said earlier this week that he “wouldn’t write Joe Biden off because of one bad performance,” according to local outlet WXXI. He indicated, as others have, that Biden himself should decide his own viability. “I think he has to make a decision, his family and his inner circle about whether they think he feels he can still fulfill his obligations.” Morelle said. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez, who has publicly broken with Biden on certain issues in the past, appeared on video days after the debate urging Latin American voters watching the Copa America soccer tournament to support Biden.

Bragg does ‘not oppose’ Trump request to delay sentencing; awaits Judge Merchan’s approval

Bragg does ‘not oppose’ Trump request to delay sentencing; awaits Judge Merchan’s approval

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told Judge Juan Merchan Tuesday that he does not oppose former President Trump’s request to delay his sentencing scheduled for next week. Trump on Monday moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office. TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION In a 6-3 decision, the court narrowed the case against the former president and returned it to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment.  Bragg charged Trump last year, and after a six-week trial last month, a jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty.  Trump sent a letter to Merchan Monday night asking for permission to file a motion to vacate the jury’s Manhattan verdict and asking for a delay of his scheduled July 11 sentencing.  TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’ To file a motion in New York, defense and prosecution must first request permission from the judge in the case.  Bragg, on Tuesday, responded to that request.  “We are in receipt of defendant’s pre-motion letter dated July 1, 2024 seeking leave to file a motion to set aside the verdict pursuant to CPL § 330.30(1) based upon the Supreme Court’s July 1, 2024 decision in Trump v. United States,” Bragg wrote. “In that letter, defendant requested until July 10, 2024 to submit a memorandum of law in support of such motion.”  “While defendant’s letter states that he does ‘not object to an adjournment of the July 11, 2024 sentencing date,’ his request to file moving papers on July 10 is necessarily a request to adjourn the sentencing hearing currently scheduled for July 11, 2024 pending resolution of the motion,” he wrote. “Although we believe defendant’s arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion.”  Bragg requested a deadline of July 24 — two weeks after Trump’s requested deadline — to file and serve a response. Trump’s sentencing was previously scheduled for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to be formally nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.  Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report. 

Arizona election worker charged in security-related thefts seen with Democrat politicians in resurfaced photos

Arizona election worker charged in security-related thefts seen with Democrat politicians in resurfaced photos

EXCLUSIVE – A temporary election worker charged in connection to two security-related thefts that happened just a day apart last month at the Arizona Senate Building and the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center was seen smiling with several Democratic politicians in resurfaced social media posts viewed by Fox News Digital, and participated in Democrat primaries in Arizona during at least two past cycles.  Walter Alphonso Jamel Ringfield Jr., 27, of Phoenix, is facing multiple charges, including theft, criminal damage, trespassing and burglary, as Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner said last week that investigators were combing through “a lot of digital evidence,” including Ringfield’s past social media activity, and vowed to “leave no stone unturned” when determining whether the crimes were politically motivated. Although authorities have not provided an update on their investigation since then, screenshots viewed by Fox News Digital show Ringfield posed in several photos he shared on social media in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with Democratic politicians, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Tempe, Arizona, Mayor Corey Woods; and then-Tempe police chief Jeffrey Glover, who was later appointed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs as director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety in 2023. Arizona DPS is the agency that accused Ringfield of stealing from a security guard’s desk in the state Senate building last month. ARIZONA ELECTION WORKER SEEN STEALING FROM SENATE SECURITY DESK DAY BEFORE ELECTION CENTER THEFT: OFFICIALS In one post, Ringfield described the politicians as “some of my friends.”  The photos shared on Instagram showed a smiling Ringfield also sharing his experience meeting Jevin Hodge, a former Democratic state representative who resigned earlier this year amid sexual assault allegations, the former Democratic mayor of Tempe, Neil Giuliano, and Berdetta Hodge, a member of the Tempe City Council whose position is nonpartisan.  “A leftist activist, with a history of run-ins with the law, allegedly stole the key to illegally access the machine that counts votes from Maricopa’s election system,” RNC Election Integrity communications director Claire Zunk said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “Democrats at best have turned a blind eye while insisting the election is secure. At worst, was this a planned threat in a long line of extreme election interference by Democrats? What was the motive, one month before the primary? Arizonans must have proof their ballots are safe and Americans a system where these threats are not tolerated.”  Ringfield was arrested outside his Phoenix home on June 21. Just a day earlier, he was seen on security footage walking past a desk with multiple tabulators and pocketing a security fob and lanyard, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Ringfield was confronted by his employer, and detectives who served a search warrant at his home recovered the security fob from a dresser in the master bedroom.  At a press conference held the next week, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates admitted Ringfield was in a felony diversion program, information he said did not surface in a background check conducted before Ringfield was hired as a temporary election worker in Maricopa County.  Court records show Ringfield was in the program following a September 2023 arrest for allegedly pocketing $1,800 in cash over the course of a shift working as a cashier at a Phoenix grocery store.  In total, Ringfield has had four criminal filings against him for unspecified offenses, including one felony and one traffic infraction. That includes in 2019 when he had a forcible entry/detainer filed against him. Court documents also list a prior arrest for disorderly conduct and fighting.  In response to Ringfield’s arrest late last month, the RNC and the Arizona GOP dispatched attorneys and observers on the ground in Maricopa County “as part of our election integrity program to gather information and promote transparency as the situation developed,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a June 25 statement. “The RNC and AZGOP have a long history of engaging in Maricopa County election issues both in the field and in the courtroom, and yesterday’s events are an example of our election integrity program’s capacity to provide real-time legal response when issues arise at tabulation centers.” “This incident raises serious questions about election security in Arizona that must be answered – we will be constructively engaged with Maricopa County officials to ensure that the remedies to this security breach sufficiently address our concerns,” Whatley added at the time.  ARIZONA ELECTION WORKER ACCUSED OF STEALING SECURITY DEVICE WAS HIRED DESPITE FELONY THEFT ARREST MONTHS PRIOR Two days after the press conference, the Arizona Department of Public Safety revealed that Ringfield had been tied to another theft from the Arizona State Senate Building.  Troopers reviewed security footage that showed a suspect, later identified as Ringfield, entering a restricted area of the building and removing numerous items from a security staff member’s desk on June 19, the day before the theft at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center. State police said the stolen items included challenge coins and other desk accessories.  Under the handle @alphonsosundevil on Instagram, Ringfield shared a selfie with Kelly on Sept. 9, 2022, according to a screenshot viewed by Fox News Digital.  The caption said, “I met 2 current amazing and inspiring US Senators today,” tagging Kelly and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who was not pictured in the post.  In another photo shared on Jan. 17, 2022, Ringfield, wearing a mask with other volunteers, is seen carrying a blue sign with Martin Luther King Jr.’s image that reads, “The dream lives on… Voting rights now.”  The caption said he was blessed to have walked in the MLK parade and thanked Berdetta Hodge, also the former president of the Tempe Union High School District governing board, adding: “It’s an honor and a privilege interning for you this semester.”  On Dec. 18, 2021, Ringfield shared a photo smiling with a group of politicians, according to a screenshot viewed by Fox News Digital. The account “@alphonsosundevil” is now private.  “With a smile on my face, it’s time to introduce