Biden bowing out of race could hurt Trump, Steve Bannon warns: ‘Best guy we’re ever going to get’
Steve Bannon – the on-again, off-again adviser to former President Trump – argued that President Biden’s poor performance in last week’s debate could actually be bad news for Trump. “Trump’s Thursday was a Pyrrhic victory.… You’re going to take out a guy you know you can beat and beat badly, and we’re going to have a wild card,” Bannon said in an interview with the Washington Post Sunday. Bannon, who is set to report to prison Monday and serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, argued that the performance by Biden in last week’s debate would tank the president’s poll numbers and force him to exit the race. However, such a development would be bad news for Trump and the Republican Party. “This is the best guy we’re ever going to get,” Bannon said of running against Biden, arguing that not only would Trump win big, but that the GOP would secure 53 or 54 Senate seats while gaining another six seats in the House of Representatives. BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT Democratic lawmakers and donors have been reeling since Biden’s debate debacle, though the president’s campaign has insisted that the performance has done nothing to fundamentally change the race. In a memo released Saturday, campaign manager Jen O’Malley argued that any dip in polls would be because of negative media coverage about the debate. Meanwhile, Biden himself has given no indication he plans to drop out. But Bannon, who continues to speak occasionally with Trump and has spoken highly of those now running his campaign, believes it is too late for Biden and that the Trump campaign should start preparing to take on an alternative. “We must weaponize their process and show the nation how callous they were, how self-serving they were, how they didn’t put the good of the nation first, they put the good of personal ambition first,” Bannon said. BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE SPARKS MEDIA MELTDOWN, CALLS FOR HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM 2024 RACE “They’re going to be searching for a messiah, and then you’re going to have the honeymoon,” Bannon continued. “By the time you get to the Democratic convention in late August, it must be so toxic that whoever it is – if it’s Michelle Obama or Gavin Newsom or whoever it is – that they start off with a minimum of a five-point to seven-point deficit.” Bannon will now surrender to authorities and start his sentence at a low-security federal prison in Connecticut after the Supreme Court rejected his petition to delay his sentence. The longtime Trump ally was convicted in July 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to cooperate with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Nevertheless, Bannon, who hosts a popular podcast, vowed to continue using his voice from prison, noting that he will be able to reach followers through emails and interviews. “They can’t shut me up,” Bannon said. “I’ll be bigger from prison.” Neither the Biden nor Trump campaigns immediately responded to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Biden tries to flip the script on negative narrative coming out of disastrous debate with Trump
Aiming to rebound after his halting performance in his first debate with former President Trump, President Biden is launching a new ad in key battleground states that aims to alter the brutal narrative coming out of last week’s showdown. The 60-second commercial doesn’t use clips of the president’s rough delivery and stumbling answers at the debate in Atlanta before an estimated audience of 50 million people across the country. Instead, the spot showcases clips of an energetic Biden the next day at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Folks, I know I’m not a young man. But I know how to do this job. I know right from wrong. I know how to tell the truth,” Biden says in the ad. “And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up.” TEAM BIDEN TRIES TO GO ON OFFENSE AFTER DEBATE SETBACK The ad aims to salvage Biden’s standing in his 2024 election rematch with Trump, and to ease widespread panic in the Democratic Party, after the president’s performance sparked calls from political pundits, editorial writers, and some Democratic politicians and donors, for Biden to step aside as the party’s standard-bearer. The commercial also continues a theme from the Biden campaign since Thursday’s debate – that Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods throughout the debate. “Did you see Trump last night?” Biden says in the ad, in a clip from the Raleigh rally. TROUBLING NUMBERS FOR BIDEN IN A NEW POST-DEBATE POLL “I mean this sincerely – the most lies told in a single debate. He lied about the great economy he created. He lied about the pandemic he botched. And then, his biggest lie: He lied about how he had nothing to do with the insurrection on Jan. 6,” the president argued. The release of the ad comes as the president and his campaign work to push back against the tidal wave of criticism and calls for Biden to end his bid for a second term. “Americans deserve a president who doesn’t back down from a fight, and that’s Joe Biden,” campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement. The ad is the latest element in a multipronged effort by the president, his campaign and allies. Two Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News that top Biden campaign officials worked to calm concerns and fears as they huddled privately on Friday at a previously scheduled meeting in Atlanta with top party donors. The Biden campaign held a conference call Saturday with committee members and other officials of the Democratic National Committee, two Democratic Party sources confirmed to Fox News. The call was described as an effort to reassure party officials and demonstrate that the Biden campaign is communicating with its allies. And starting during the debate on Thursday night, Biden’s campaign repeatedly highlighted throughout the weekend what it described as record-breaking fundraising both during and after the debate. Biden’s campaign on Saturday morning announced that it hauled in $27 million in fundraising Thursday and Friday, which it highlighted as “a sign of strength of our grassroots support.” The campaign on Sunday morning spotlighted that the campaign cash haul had surged to $33 million. A Biden campaign adviser, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News the fundraising is “an important sign that there’s a bit of disconnect between national narratives and where supporters are.” A Democratic strategist and presidential campaign veteran said the Biden campaign’s focus on fundraising “is their best and maybe their only card to play.” But the strategist, who was granted anonymity to speak more freely, emphasized “there’s no amount of money that can reverse the damage that was done at the debate and the president confirming everyone’s worst suspicions and fears about him and his age and not being up to the job. Period.” The Biden campaign is taking aim at criticism from within the party. Biden campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon released a memo on Saturday evening that pushed back against “all the hand-wringing” and reiterated that “this will be a very close election.” And the campaign on Monday touted their “Weekend of Action,” which they called a “mobilization blitz, engaging voters at over 1,500 events across the battlegrounds, marking the most successful organizing weekend of the campaign by far this cycle.” Trump, in a nationally syndicated radio interview that aired Monday morning, emphasized that “this thing was a monster,” as he pointed to the debate. “It was just very important,” he added as he joined conservative radio host and Trump ally John Fredericks. The comments were Trump’s latest in his victory lap following Thursday’s debate. “He studied so hard that he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Trump said of Biden’s week-long debate prep ahead of the showdown, as the former president spoke at a large rally Friday in Chesapeake, Virginia. Trump took aim at his Democratic rival, calling the president “grossly incompetant.” Looking forward, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News that “from the campaign standpoint, it’s just added rocket fuel… it helps greatly in terms of not only raising money and motivating the troops, but creates issues clearly for the Democrat nominee.” Asked by Fox News if they’d start running ads with debate clips, LaCivita answered, “I don’t discuss ad strategy but duh!” But as of Monday morning, neither the Trump campaign nor MAGA Inc., the leading super PAC supporting the former president’s campaign, had launched new ads using debate clips. A source in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News “how much do we need to do while they are busy committing suicide,” when asked about whether ads would be forthcoming. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
WhatsApp banned over 66 lakh accounts in India during may, know why
WhatsApp also received 11 orders from the Grievance Appellate Committee in the country and complied with both, according to its monthly compliance report as per the new Indian IT Rules 2021.
“Always go out on top”: Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp will retire June 2025
Sharp leaves after having transformed the institution, embedding it into state government, expanding its reach and boosting its academic and athletic reputation.
Texas’ social media law remains blocked after U.S. Supreme Court sends it back to lower court
The tech industry saw the measured ruling as a win. Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to continue defending for the law.
Congressional Dems blast ruling on Trump immunity: ‘Extreme right-wing Supreme Court’
Democratic lawmakers lamented the conservative majority Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, granting presidents limited immunity for actions in their official capacity. “This is a sad day for America and a sad day for our democracy,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X. “The very basis of our judicial system is that no one is above the law.” “Treason or incitement of an insurrection should not be considered a core constitutional power afforded to a president,” he continued. SCOTUS RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION FOR OFFICIAL ACTS IN IMMUNITY CASE The court ruled on Monday that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution when it comes to official acts while they are in office, but this does not extend to unofficial acts. The ruling was decided 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts authoring the majority opinion. “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official,” he wrote. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said she would introduce articles of impeachment over the decision, though she did not specify which justices she would target. “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. I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return,” Ocasio-Cortez said on X. Minutes later, fellow progressive Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, responded, “Count me in.” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., claimed in a statement, “This Court has lost all credibility—made painfully clear by the fact that Justice Thomas and Justice Alito refused to recuse themselves from this case despite their glaring lack of impartiality.” BALANCE OF POWER: DEM REP SAYS PEOPLE WILL ‘WANT TO TALK ABOUT’ BIDEN STATUS ON TICKET AFTER DEBATE The Vermont lawmaker has been an advocate of ethical reform for the nation’s highest court. The ruling sets a “dangerous precedent,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “House Democrats will engage in aggressive oversight and legislative activity with respect to the Supreme Court to ensure that the extreme, far-right justices in the majority are brought into compliance with the Constitution,” he added. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called the ruling “shocking.” “The extreme right-wing Supreme Court just drastically weakened accountability if a president attempts to use their office for criminal purposes. It’s a disastrous ruling that could have grave effects on our democracy,” she claimed. VULNERABLE DEMS WON’T SAY WHETHER BIDEN SHOULD BE NOMINEE: ‘PRESIDENT CAN MAKE HIS OWN DECISIONS’ Another strong advocate for ethics reform, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote on X, “My stomach turns with fear & anger that our democracy can be so endangered by an out-of-control Court.” “The members of Court’s conservative majority will now be rightly perceived by the American people as extreme & nakedly partisan hacks—politicians in robes,” he said. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., claimed the Supreme Court had gone “rogue” in its decision-making. “The former president’s claim of total presidential immunity is an insult to the vision of our founders, who declared independence from a King,” she said in a statement. Democrats in Congress were quick to point out that three of the justices were appointed by former President Trump. According to Schumer, the decision on immunity, handed down by the court’s conservatives, “suggests political influence trumps all in our courts today.” TOP 5 MOMENTS DURING TRUMP-BIDEN DEBATE SHOWDOWN: ‘I DIDN’T HAVE SEX WITH A PORN STAR’ “He appointed 3 extreme judges and is now exploiting the powers of the president in ways that were once unthinkable. The court can no longer be counted on to defend the constitution,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin avoided opining on the ruling itself, but bashed the Supreme Court in general on X. “Reminder: Republicans and this activist Supreme Court are responsible for stripping away women’s reproductive rights and they aren’t done attacking our freedoms. My Women’s Health Protection Act would restore these rights everywhere across the country. Let’s pass it,” she wrote.
Trump allies celebrate blow to ‘senseless lawfare’ in Supreme Court immunity decision
Former President Trump’s allies in Congress are cheering the Supreme Court’s decision in the former commander in chief’s historic immunity case on Monday. “With today’s decision, the Supreme Court concluded what we’ve known all along: a president cannot be prosecuted for his official acts,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Speaker Mike Johnson’s top deputy. “While it’s becoming increasingly clear Democrats believe their only path to victory in November is through prosecuting their political opponent, today’s decision makes it clear this is not allowed in our constitutional system.” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House GOP leader, said, “The Democrats have proven they will do everything in their power… to destroy [Trump]. Today’s Supreme Court decision is a positive step in the right direction of ending their senseless lawfare.” The high court ruled 6-3 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. SCOTUS WEIGHS MONUMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL FIGHT OVER TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM 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. “Certain allegations – such as those involving Trump’s discussions with the Acting Attorney General – are readily categorized in light of the nature of the president’s official relationship to the office held by that individual,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. “Other allegations – such as those involving Trump’s interactions with the vice president, state officials, and certain private parties, and his comments to the general public – present more difficult questions.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., wrote on X in response to the decision, “The Supreme Court just delivered a crushing blow to Joe Biden’s 4-year witch hunt against President Trump. Trump will wipe the floor with Biden in November.” JUSTICE ALITO QUESTIONS WHETHER PRESIDENTS WILL HAVE TO FEAR ‘BITTER POLITICAL OPPONENT’ THROWING THEM IN JAIL The Monday decision does not guarantee Trump full immunity from prosecution. However, it’s likely to further delay Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against the ex-president – with chances of a trial before the November election almost totally out of reach. House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., whose name has been floated as a possible Trump running mate, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the decision was “a historic victory.” “The president of the United States must have immunity, like members of Congress and federal judges, which is necessary for any presidency to function properly,” Stefanik said. TRUMP ATTORNEY, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLASH ON WHETHER A PRESIDENT WHO ‘ORDERED’ A ‘COUP’ COULD BE PROSECUTED Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said the decision “is a big win for constitutional separation of powers and a huge loss for those who want to weaponize the federal government against their political opponents.” The No. 3 Senate Republican, Conference Chair John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on X, “Today is another victory for democracy and the rule of law against Democratic lawlessness.”
Trump calls Biden a ‘cognitive mess’ after pushing him during debate to take a test
Former President Trump on Monday is describing President Biden as a “cognitive mess” after telling him during their debate just days ago that he would like to see him take an exam to test his mental abilities. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, wrote that “Only three things could have been the reason that Crooked Joe Biden, the worst President in the history of the United States, failed so badly at the debate on Thursday night.” In addition to Trump praising his own performance, he said that “Crooked Joe ‘choked’ like a dog” and “Joe is a cognitive mess!” Biden’s debate performance has been criticized by both Democrats and Republicans and has sparked repeated calls for him to withdraw his re-election bid ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. BIDEN CAMPAIGN SAYS BIDEN’S FUNDRAISING CASH WOULD GO TO KAMALA HARRIS IF HE DROPS OUT AS TOP DONORS WAVER “I took two tests, cognitive tests. I aced them. Both of them. As you know, we made it public. He took none,” Trump told Biden onstage at last week’s debate. “I’d like to see him take one, just one. A real easy one, like go through the first five questions, he couldn’t do it.” Earlier this year, the White House released the results of a physical exam Biden took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, declaring that he is a “healthy, robust 81-year-old.” In a release from Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the physician for the president, said Biden was determined to be fit to “successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” “President Biden is a healthy, active 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” the release said. BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS In the note for Biden’s physical exam, O’Connor found that the president’s physical exam was “essentially unchanged from baseline.” “The President feels well and this year’s physical identified no new concerns,” the release said. The president’s physical exam came after the White House confirmed that Biden would not take a cognitive test as part of his examination. “I’m just gonna say what Dr. O’Connor said to me about a year ago when [Biden’s physical] was released,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time. “The president proves every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks, by dealing with world leaders, by making difficult decisions on behalf of the American people – whether it’s domestic or it’s national security.” Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Hunter Biden has major conflicts of interest as top adviser to the man who could pardon him
One of President Biden’s most trusted advisers, his son Hunter Biden, could have a conflict of interest while advising his father to stay in the race despite a disastrous debate performance last week. Hunter Biden was one of the strongest voices in imploring his father to stay in the presidential race during a family huddle at Camp David on Sunday, according to a report from the New York Times. “Hunter Biden wants Americans to see the version of his father that he knows – scrappy and in command of the facts – rather than the stumbling, aging president Americans saw on Thursday night,” the report said, noting that the president’s son has “long” been one of his most trusted advisers. The president’s son was joined by First Lady Jill Biden in encouraging him to see things through to November, the report noted, while other family members such as a grandchild have expressed interest in trying to do more to help the campaign, with the grandchild suggesting they could reach out to influencers on social media. EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE But Hunter Biden has perhaps the most to lose if his father drops out of the race, with the president’s son still facing sentencing after a conviction in a federal gun trial last month and another trial, this time on federal tax charges, later this year. While President Biden has the ability to pardon his son in both cases – presidents can pardon prospectively, that is before someone has even been tried – he has so far indicated that he believed the first trial was fair and that he would “abide by the jury’s decision.” “I am not going to do anything,” Biden told reporters last month. Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the president’s son advocating for him to stay in the race was far worse than a garden variety conflict of interest. “It’s not a conflict of interest at all, it’s just a pure and simple massive interest in his dad staying president so he can pardon not only Hunter, but Joe and the rest of the family for the crimes they committed, and probably Merrick Garland, too, for his role in the cover-up,” Howell said. Representatives for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Biden’s Camp David huddle with family members came just days after a debate performance that set off anxiety among Democratic politicians and donors, who noted the president appeared feeble and weak compared to former President Trump. Biden has faced calls to drop out of the race and let a younger candidate grab the torch ahead of November, with many expressing doubt that the president was capable of defeating his chief political rival a second time. CAN BIDEN BE REPLACED AS THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE? Those fears were seemingly justified by a CBS News poll taken after the debate, where 45% of Democrats indicated the party should choose another candidate. Worse yet, only 27% of registered voters overall believe that Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, down from 35% in the last survey taken before the debate. Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign has forcefully pushed back against the idea the president would drop out, though the New York Times report notes that some sources close to the president said the door was not closed to the possibility. But what the president chooses to do will ultimately come down to discussions between him and his family, NBC News reported after the debate, citing top Democratic sources. “The decision-makers are two people – it’s the president and his wife,” one of the sources said. “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation.” “The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady,” added another. “If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.” The Biden campaign and White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
House Judiciary sues Garland for Biden audio that Hur says shows him as ‘elderly man with a poor memory’
The House Judiciary Committee is suing Attorney General Merrick Garland to obtain recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The committee, as part of the lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, stressed the importance of the “verbal and nonverbal context” of Biden’s answers that could be provided by the audio recordings – especially considering that Hur opted against charging Biden after the interview, in part, because he was viewed as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” DOJ WON’T PROSECUTE AG GARLAND FOR CONTEMPT FOR REFUSAL TO TURN OVER AUDIO FROM BIDEN, HUR INTERVIEW The lawsuit comes amid chaos in the Democratic Party as leaders consider whether Biden should continue with his re-election campaign after the president’s widely panned debate performance last week. The committee, in its lawsuit, says the president’s invocation of executive privilege over the materials “lacks any merit,” and it asks the court to overrule that assertion of privilege. “This dispute is about a frivolous assertion of executive privilege,” the lawsuit states. As part of the House impeachment inquiry against the president, the committee issued a subpoena to Garland to obtain records related to Hur’s investigation of Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified records. The committee sought materials related to Hur’s interviews with Biden and Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of Biden’s 2017 memoir. The Justice Department has provided the committee with transcripts of those interviews, but Garland “has refused to produce the audio recordings of the Special Counsel’s interviews with President Biden and Mr. Zwonitzer.” “Instead, Attorney General Garland asked that President Biden assert executive privilege over those recordings, and President Biden complied with that request,” the lawsuit states. The committee argues that audio recordings “are better evidence than transcripts of what happened during the Special Counsel’s interviews with President Biden and Mr. Zwonitzer.” “For example, they contain verbal and nonverbal context that is missing from a cold transcript,” the committee states. “That verbal and nonverbal context is quite important here because the Special Counsel relied on the way that President Biden presented himself during their interview – ‘as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’ – when ultimately recommending that President Biden should not be prosecuted for unlawfully retaining and disclosing classified information.” The committee argued that the audio recordings – not merely the transcripts of them – are “the best available evidence of how President Biden presented himself during the interview.” SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN ‘SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,’ BRINGS NO CHARGES “The Committee thus needs those recordings to assess the Special Counsel’s characterization of the President, which he and White House lawyers have forcefully disputed, and ultimate recommendation that President Biden should not be prosecuted,” the suit states. The committee said Biden’s “self-serving attempt to shield the audio recording” of his interview from the public “represents an astonishing effort to expand the scope of executive privilege from a constitutional privilege safeguarding certain substantive communications to an amorphous privilege that can be molded to protect things like voice, inflection, tone and pace of speech.” The committee also noted that the transcript of the interview was made public, which essentially “waived” executive privilege.” “Additionally, the heart of the privilege claim – that Executive Branch employees will be less likely to cooperate with DOJ investigations if they know that audio recordings of their interviews may be released to Congress after DOJ has made transcripts of those same interviews publicly available – is at odds with common sense,” the lawsuit states. “If the potential for disclosure would chill cooperation, it would be the disclosure of a transcript, which DOJ voluntarily disclosed here, not the disclosure of audio recordings after the transcripts are widely available,” the lawsuit states. The committee argued that because of this, Biden’s invocation of executive privilege “lacks any merit.” “The Committee therefore asks this court to overrule the assertion of executive privilege and order that Attorney General Garland produce the audio recordings of the Special Counsel’s interviews with President Biden and Mr. Zwonitzer to the committee,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit comes just weeks after the House of Representatives voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress, referring him for criminal charges over defying the congressional subpoenas for the audio recordings. The Justice Department, though, said it would not prosecute Garland. “Consistent with this longstanding position and uniform practice, the Department has determined that the responses by Attorney General Garland to the subpoenas issued by the committees did not constitute a crime, and accordingly the Department will not bring the congressional contempt citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the Attorney General,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte told House Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter last month. Hur, who released his report to the public in February after months of investigation, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents, and he stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”