Schumer says Senate to take up border bill again this week
The U.S. Senate will once again vote on a bipartisan border security bill this week after previous efforts collapsed when Republicans withdrew their support, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a letter to colleagues Sunday. In the letter, Schumer said the Border Act had received endorsements from the likes of the National Border Patrol Council and that congressional Republicans and Democrats alike were “prepared to join arms and act to secure our nation’s border.” Schumer took shots at his Republican colleagues, who he accused of acquiescing to former President Trump after he “demanded [that] congressional Republicans kill the legislation.” He said Democrats’ commitment to act “never waned.” RUBIO BACKS DEPORTATION PLAN, REVERSING PREVIOUS STATEMENTS: ‘INVASION OF THE COUNTRY’ “That is why the Senate is prepared to take up the bipartisan Border Act as a standalone measure this coming week,” Schumer said. “We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border.” REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN’S SNUB OF REQUEST FOR INFO ON TERROR WATCH LIST NATIONALS The Border Act would reform U.S. asylum laws, hire thousands of border agents and seek to curtail fentanyl smuggling, among other measures, the Democrat leader said. The previous legislation, which was tied to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel, stalled in the Senate after Trump told Republicans not to support it. The bill to be voted on this week would stand alone, Schumer said. Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since President Biden took office in 2021, and border security has become one of the leading issues in the presidential campaign. Trump is seeking to return to office by challenging Biden in the Nov. 5 election. Reuters contributed to this report.
Morehouse defends students, faculty who turned their backs during Biden speech: ‘We are proud’
Morehouse College is praising its students and faculty after at least seven graduates and one faculty member sat with their backs turned to President Biden as he delivered his commencement address at the Atlanta school earlier Sunday. Morehouse said “peaceful assembly is core” to the school’s “social justice tradition,” and its administration “fully supports and defends the right to peacefully protest and the expression of one’s views openly.” Given its most famous alumni, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Morehouse said it was “fitting that a moment of organized, peaceful, activism would occur on our campus while the world is watching to continue a critical conversation.” “We are proud of the resilient class of 2024’s unity in silent protest, showing their intentionality in strategy, communication, and coordination as a 412-person unit,” Morehouse said. PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT REACTS AFTER AT LEAST 75 ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DESCEND ON CAMPUS The commencement came after weeks of nationwide campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that, according to its Health Ministry, has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians. Biden told the graduates of historically Black Morehouse College that he heard the voices of the protesters and that the scenes from Gaza break his heart, too. “I support peaceful nonviolent protest,” he told students at the all-male college, some who wore Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs around their shoulders on top of their black graduation gowns. “Your voices should be heard, and I promise you I hear them.” ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS ARRESTED AT UC IRVINE CLAIM TO BE PROFESSORS: ‘OUT HERE SUPPORTING MY STUDENTS’ Biden said there’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, “that’s why I’ve called for an immediate cease-fire to stop the fighting” and bring home hostages still being held by Hamas after its militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The president commented on the Middle East near the end of a commencement address in which he also reflected on American democracy and his role in safeguarding it. The announcement that Biden would be Morehouse’s commencement speaker drew some backlash among the faculty and those who opposed the president’s handling of the war. Some Morehouse alumni circulated an online letter condemning administrators for inviting Biden and solicited signatures to pressure Morehouse President David Thomas to rescind it. In the end, there were no disruptions of the Morehouse commencement, while applause for Biden was mostly subdued. At least seven graduates and one faculty member sat with their backs turned during Biden’s address, and another student draped himself in a Palestinian flag. Protesters near the ceremony carried signs that said “Free Palestine,” “Save the Children” and “Ceasefire Now” as police on bikes kept watch. On stage behind the president as he spoke, academics unfurled a Congolese flag. The African country has been mired in a civil war, and many racial justice advocates have called for greater attention to the conflict as well as American help in ending the violence.
Top moments from Biden’s Morehouse commencement address
President Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday, his first appearance on a college campus amid widespread unrest and anti-Israel protests. Biden’s speech touched on everything from his history serving as vice president under President Obama to the war in Israel and campus protests. Here are some of the most notable moments from Biden’s appearance. Speaking at Morehouse, a historically Black college, Biden used the opportunity to address Black voters in particular. He said students there have to “be 10 times better than anybody else just to get a fair shot” and that Republicans are not accepting of Black people. “They don’t see you in the future of America. But they’re wrong,” Biden said. Biden’s first newsworthy moment of the day came when one of the graduates was delivering his own address. During the speech, the student called for an “immediate and permanent” cease-fire in Gaza. Behind him, Biden could be seen clapping for the idea. The moment was the first clue to the contents of Biden’s address, as he would later go on to unequivocally call for Israel to impose an “immediate” cease-fire. He also endorsed a two-state solution as “the only solution.” STEFANIK HITS BACK AT HOUSE DEMOCRAT PUSHING TO CENSURE HER: ‘DESPERATE FREE FALL’ Biden took a swipe at Georgia’s election laws at one point in his speech, reviving a misleading claim that voters are banned from receiving food and water while in line at polling places. “Today in Georgia, they won’t allow water to be available to you while you wait in line to vote in an election. What in the hell is that all about?” Biden said. STEFANIK HITS SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH WITH ETHICS COMPLAINT, ACCUSES HIM OF ELECTION MEDDLING The line was in reference to a Georgia law prohibiting poll workers and others from actively distributing water or food to voters within 150 feet of a polling place. The law allows poll workers to provide self-service water from an unattended receptacle within 150 feet of a polling place, however. The law has been the focus of years of Democrat criticism against a recent Republican-led overhaul of Georgia’s election laws. A smattering of Morehouse students and faculty protested Biden’s speech by turning their backs on him for the duration of the speech. The protest was not widespread, however, and those participating did not disrupt his address beyond showing their backs. The small protest was a reminder of the continued unrest at college campuses across the country, however, where anti-Israel protests have forced some universities to cancel their commencement ceremonies altogether. Prior to Biden’s address, some students had urged the college to rescind his invitation. A group of hundreds of alumni also wrote a letter to the college saying Biden should not be the commencement speaker. “I think it’s kind of insulting that our star alumnus is Dr. King, but Biden has been on a tirade in the Middle East,” one student, DeAngelo Fletcher, told NPR. “Bringing him here, especially during an election year … to get the young Black vote especially, it’s kind of insulting.”
Texas crime victims liaison pleads guilty to human smuggling with county vehicle
A Texas crime victims coordinator who was employed by the Starr County District Attorney’s Office has pleaded guilty to using a county vehicle to smuggle immigrants into the United States. Bernice Garza pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to transport undocumented people within the United States, according to a report from KRGV. Two others, Magali Rosa and Juan Antonio Charles, were also arrested in connection with the investigation and have pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges, according to the report. TEXAS CRIME VICTIMS LIAISON ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY USING COUNTY-ISSUED CAR IN HUMAN SMUGGLING SCHEME Garza was arrested in December 2022 after a traffic stop in Victoria County noted that the vehicle registered with the county was making “numerous unauthorized trips to the Houston area,” the criminal complaint said. Magali Rosa was the driver of the vehicle, according to police, while Garza and Charles were among the passengers in the vehicle. Police say Rosa tried to argue that Garza was the Starr County district attorney during the stop, though she later confessed to making over 40 smuggling trips from Rio Grande City to Houston in the government vehicle. FOX NEWS CREW WITNESSES DRAMATIC HUMAN SMUGGLING BUSTS BY TEXAS AUTHORITIES “This investigation is an example of no one being above the law, and our office taking swift action in eliminating public corruption,” the DA’s office said in a statement after the arrests. Garza was soon terminated from the DA’s office, while the four migrants who were in the vehicle at the time of the stop were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol. Sentencing for Garza and Charles was set for Sept. 28, the reporting notes, while sentencing for Magali Rosa is set for June 27.
Rubio backs Trump deportation plan, reversing previous statements: ‘Invasion of the country’
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, shifted gears from his previous stance on former President Trump’s deportation plans, which he had panned as “not a workable plan.” “Yes,” Rubio said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, where he was asked whether he supports Trump’s plan to use the military to deport illegal immigrants from the country. “We cannot absorb 25, 30 million people who entered this country illegally. They’re here illegally, what country on earth could tolerate that?” The comments were seemingly in stark contrast to Rubio’s previous stance on the issue, most notably as a primary rival of Trump’s in 2015. Then, Rubio was critical of the Trump plan to round up and deport the millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CARRY OUT THE ‘LARGEST DOMESTIC DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY’ IF ELECTED “We have 12 or 13 million human beings who have been here for a long time. There’s not really a realistic way of rounding up and deporting 12 or 13 million people and our nation wouldn’t want to do that anyway. It does need to be addressed and it does need to be addressed in a series of manners; we’re not going to be able to do it in one big piece of legislation – we learned that two years ago, the last time we tried,” Rubio said while campaigning in Iowa in 2015, according to a report from Politico. Trump has vowed to implement a plan of mass deportation if he wins November’s election, promising last month to use the National Guard if needed to deport illegal immigrants from the country. Rubio acknowledged that there were millions more people in the country today compared to when he gave the NBC interview, but argued that the dangers of the U.S. being unable to properly vet the flow of incoming migrants justified “dramatic” action. THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET “We’re going to have to do something dramatic to remove people from this country that are here illegally, especially people we know nothing about,” Rubio said. Asked why his stance has changed since campaigning against Trump nearly a decade ago, Rubio argued that the situation itself has changed since then. “When I said that back in 2013 when I was involved in immigration reform, we had 11, 12 million people that had been here for longer than a decade, now we’ve had almost that number in the last three years alone,” Rubio said, noting that he believes some of those who have entered the country more recently could include “terrorists.” “This is not immigration, this is mass migration,” Rubio said. “This is an invasion of the country.” Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Biden mocked for apparent small showing of supporters in Dem city: ‘Nobody cared’
Critics on social media dragged President Biden over video footage showing what appeared to be a small showing of supporters greeting the president’s motorcade in the deep blue city of Atlanta, where he held a fundraising event and delivered Morehouse College’s commencement speech. “Crooked Joe Biden – dazed and confused, as usual – shuffles down the short stairs in Atlanta ahead of his day of pandering. He ignores questions,” RNC research posted Saturday as Biden landed in the city. “If a presidential motorcade passes through town but absolutely nobody cares – did it really pass through town?” RNC Research asked in a follow-up question, accompanied by video footage showing largely empty streets dotted with some people filming the motorcade. Biden held a fundraiser in the expensive Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead on Saturday, where he lauded Georgia voters as the reason he won against former President Trump in 2020. BIDEN INTERRUPTED BY PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTER AT ATLANTA RALLY: ‘I DON’T RESENT THE PASSION’ “If you ever doubt the power of the vote, I say come to Georgia. You are the reason I won. Georgia is the reason I’m president right now,” Biden told the supporters at the event, AJC reported. Footage showing the apparent lack of fanfare over Biden’s motorcade sparked criticisms on social media. Videos circulating online only show short clips of city sidewalks as the president drives by. “Biden arrived in Georgia to participate in a campaign event, and his motorcade drove through deep blue Atlanta. Nobody cared,” one X user named Julia posted. “Mobs gather in Atlanta to see Joe Biden’s motorcade,” X user Collette Harrington posted tongue in cheek. “Haha. Man, can Biden draw a crowd. The only people there are waiting to cross the street,” another user wrote, mocking the footage. “MASSIVE crowd of almost 4 people line the streets as Biden’s motorcade passes through in Atlanta,” another critical tweet read. Biden joined supporters at Mary Mac’s Tea Room in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon before heading to the Arthur M. Blank Family Office for the fundraiser. TRUMP ATTENDS SLAIN NYPD OFFICER JONATHAN DILLER’S WAKE: ‘NEED LAW AND ORDER’ “You all brung me to the dance,” Biden told supporters at the tea room, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You really made a gigantic difference. “It’s easy to forget, but I don’t forget.” TRUMP RAISES MILLIONS IN RITZY ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WANTS TO SECEDE OVER VIOLENT CRIME Biden’s trip to Atlanta has also been marked by protests and outrage – before he even landed in A-Town – when students at Morehouse College sounded off earlier this month that Biden’s commencement speech at the historically Black college was political. “The general feeling on the ground is that we don’t want him here,” a student named Malik told WSB-TV in Atlanta earlier this month when Biden’s speech was announced. “It’s very obvious that we’re being used to score political points and get more Black votes. It is so obvious that it’s just about the presidential campaign.” MOREHOUSE STUDENTS PROTEST BIDEN’S UPCOMING GRADUATION SPEECH: ‘BEING USED’ TO ‘GET MORE BLACK VOTES’ “We don’t want Biden. We don’t want politics. And we definitely don’t want Biden to come speak politics,” one student said. Another remarked, “There’s a lot more other prominent figures right now that can come to our colleges and universities and speak to us as Morehouse men.” Students and faculty also held a protest Friday criticizing the U.S.’s handling of the war in Israel ahead of Biden’s speech. “I definitely understand from a political aspect why he is coming, but from a human and moral level, it makes no sense for the college to invite him or give him an honorary degree,” Morehouse student Anwar Karim told Channel 2. BIDEN TO DELIVER MOREHOUSE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AS PROTESTS DISRUPT GRADUATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY Anti-Israel agitators have carried out protests on college campuses nationwide since last month. Morehouse’s president warned that if disruptive protests broke out on campus Sunday, he would shut down commencement proceedings. “What we won’t allow is disruptive behavior that prevents the ceremony or services from proceeding, in a manner that those in attendance can partake and enjoy. So, for example, prolonged shouting down of the president as he is speaking. I have also made a decision that we will also not ask police to take individuals out of commencement in zip ties,” Morehouse College President David Thomas said last week. “If faced with the choice, I will cease the ceremonies on the spot if we were to reach that position. But this will not be a place where there will be a national photo op of individuals being taken out of the Morehouse campus in zip ties by the police authorities.” VP HARRIS CALLED OUT OR ‘PANDERING’ TO BLACK VOTERS WITH ‘EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN’ DINNERS Biden’s visit to Atlanta comes after a New York Times poll found Trump is leading Biden in a majority of key battleground states, including, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Trump’s support among Black voters has also surged, sparking shock from CNN last week when a poll found the 45th president’s support more than doubled to 22% compared to 2020. Biden has seen a 12% drop in support among Black voters, but still holds a 47-point lead. TRUMP’S SURGE IN POLLS WITH BLACK VOTERS STUNS CNN ANALYST: ‘TRULY HISTORIC’ Trump also visited Atlanta last month, and was notably surrounded by supporters during his trip – including at a Chick-fil-A, where he bought patrons chicken and milkshakes. He also made a stop for a fundraiser in Buckhead, a neighborhood that tried to secede from Atlanta due to spiraling crime in recent years. TRUMP VISITS ATLANTA CHICK-FIL-A, BUYS CUSTOMERS CHICKEN AND SHAKES Dubbed the “Beverly Hills of the South,” residents of the Atlanta district tried to secede from the city in 2021 through last year, as violent crimes such as homicides continued an upward trend, as well as when vehicle thefts and shoplifting spiked. The effort to secede received support from some local Republican leaders, and
Stefanik defends speech at Israel’s Knesset torching Biden, Democrats: ‘Equivocation after equivocation’
House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Sunday defended a recent speech she delivered to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, torching President Biden’s “betrayal of the importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Stefanik, who is meeting with Israeli leaders at the same time Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is also visiting Jerusalem, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” after speaking at the parliament building. Fox News host Shannon Bream asked the third-highest ranking House Republican if the concept broadly adopted in the 1940s of leaving partisan politics at the water’s edge and minority leaders refraining from criticizing a sitting American president while abroad was now “out the door.” But the congresswoman, reportedly on former President Trump’s 2024 VP shortlist, shot back that she had been “invited to talk about my work when it comes to combating antisemitism and my strong record when it comes to U.S./Israel support.” “The world needs to know, and Israel needs to know, that the House Republican majority stands strongly with Israel,” Stefanik said. “That this equivocation, this weak, failed leadership that we are seeing from Joe Biden, that’s not where the American people are, that’s not where the United States Congress is. And it’s not reflective of the legislation that we passed that Joe Biden signed into law. So, it is important for the world to hear. The world is looking for moral leadership, Shannon. And it’s important that House Republicans step up to fill that void, which we have under Speaker Johnson’s leadership.” IN ISRAEL VISIT, STEFANIK TO TOUT TRUMP’S RECORD ON JEWISH STATE, REJECT BIDEN POLICIES: ‘NO EXCUSE’ Stefanik said the main focus of her speech “was that the American people stand strongly with Israel, as do House Republicans,” referencing how on Thursday the House passed legislation that rebuked Biden for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel, seeking to force the weapons transfer. Debate over the bill showed Washington’s deeply fractured outlook on the Israel-Hamas war. The White House and Democratic leadership scrambled to rally support from a House caucus that ranges from moderates frustrated that the president would allow any daylight between the U.S. and Israel to progressives outraged that he is still sending any weapons at all. The bill passed comfortably 224-187 as 16 Democrats joined with most Republicans to vote in favor. Three Republicans voted against it. “You’ve had equivocation after equivocation from Democrats, led by Joe Biden, or whether it’s Chuck Schumer calling for a new leader replacing Prime Minister Netanyahu, that is not the place – that is not the type of leadership we need to be seeing from the highest levels of the United States of America,” Stefanik said. “And that’s one of the focuses that I had today in my speech at the Knesset, that House Republicans stand strongly with Israel at their time of existential need.” NETANYAHU RIVAL THREATENS TO QUIT WAR CABINET OVER GAZA STRATEGY “Oct. 7 was the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” she added. “We want to make sure Israel has all the resources, no equivocation that it comes to eradicating Hamas.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Amid concern that tens of thousands of people have been injured and killed in Gaza, Bream noted that Amnesty International sounded the alarm that U.S. weapons are being used in violation of international and U.S. laws. Stefanik, in response, said Hamas uses civilians as shields, while “Israel has great respect when it comes to human rights” and “that’s why the United States stands fully with Israel, and that’s why they need to be a voice of truth, as those antisemitic propaganda are being shared around the world and being shared by perpetrators who support this terrorism.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mosquitoes swarm Texas town, officials blame climate change
Officials are pointing the finger at climate change as a Texas town battles another spring of exploding mosquito populations. “If you open the car door to go somewhere, you’ve got 10 mosquitoes inside,” Mith Varley, a resident of the Houston suburb of Conroe, Texas, said of the issue, according to a report in the Washington Post. Varley, who has lived in the area of Montgomery County for nearly 10 years, told the Washington Post he has never seen it worse. While the area of Texas has always been known as an ideal mosquito habitat, flood-inducing rains over the last few weeks have given the pesky insects even more ideal areas to breed and spread. WHO APPROVES SECOND VACCINE AGAINST THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE DENGUE AS OUTBREAKS INTENSIFY “They are attracted to me. No one else gets mosquitoes like me,” Linda Adams, a local resident, told the Washington Post. “I was also a redhead as a child. I think that has something to do with it.” Adams said she never leaves the house without dousing herself in bug spray, arguing that it is the “only way I can get through the day.” “It has to be at least 40% DEET,” Adams said. Josue Medina, a local tennis instructor, shared a similar sentiment, telling the Washington Post that this year’s swarm not only has more mosquitoes, but larger ones. “The mosquito season is always bad, but right now it’s worse,” he said. UNDERSTANDING THE SEVERITY OF THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE DENGUE Max Vigilant, the director of mosquito and vector control in nearby Harris County, told the Washington Post that sampling so far shows mosquito levels comparable to 2022 and 2023, though it is nearly impossible to fully count the mosquito population. However, residents noticing a worsening problem can point to climate change as the cause, Vigilant argued, noting that “hotter temperatures” are coming to the area earlier in the year, making it more likely to see a large amount of mosquitoes. “This is the impact that climate change has had on Harris Country,” Vigilant told the outlet. Harris County hosts over 50 species of mosquitoes, the report notes, while the county’s public health department, where Vigilant works, focuses its work with pesticides on targeting those that can carry diseases such as West Nile virus. The Harris County Public Health Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Meanwhile, residents continue to battle the problem while attempting to carry on with their daily lives. “This right here,” Medina told the Washington Post, pointing to a large red welt by his knee. “This one got me yesterday.”
Mosquitoes swarm Texas town, officials blame climate change
Officials are pointing the finger at climate change as a Texas town battles with another spring of exploding mosquito populations. “If you open the car door to go somewhere, you’ve got 10 mosquitoes inside,” Mith Varley, a resident of the Houston suburb of Conroe, Texas, said of the issue, according to a report in the Washington Post. Varley, who has lived in the area of Montgomery County for nearly 10 years, told the Washington Post he has never seen it worse. While the area of Texas has always been known as an ideal mosquito habitat, flood-inducing rains over the last few weeks have given the pesky insects even more ideal areas to breed and spread. WHO APPROVES SECOND VACCINE AGAINST THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE DENGUE AS OUTBREAKS INTENSIFY “They are attracted to me. No one else gets mosquitoes like me,” Linda Adams, a local resident, told the Washington Post. “I was also a redhead as a child. I think that has something to do with it.” Adams said she never leaves the house without dousing herself in bug spray, arguing that it is the “only way I can get through the day.” “It has to be at least 40 percent DEET,” Adams said. Josue Medina, a local tennis instructor, shared a similar sentiment, telling the Washington Post that this year’s swarm not only has more mosquitoes, but larger ones. “The mosquito season is always bad, but right now it’s worse,” he said. UNDERSTANDING THE SEVERITY OF THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE DENGUE Max Vigilant, the director of mosquito and vector control in nearby Harris County, told the Washington Post that sampling so far shows mosquito levels comparable to 2022 and 2023, though it is nearly impossible to fully count the mosquito population. However, residents noticing a worsening problem can point to climate change as the cause, Vigilant argued, noting that “hotter temperatures” are coming to the area earlier in the year, making it more likely to see a large amount of mosquitoes. “This is the impact that climate change has had on Harris Country,” Vigilant told the outlet. Harris County hosts over 50 species of mosquitoes, the report notes, while the county’s public health department, where Vigilant works, focuses its work with pesticides on targeting those that can carry diseases such as West Nile Virus. The Harris County Public Health Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Meanwhile, residents continue to battle the problem while attempting to carry on with their daily lives. “This right here,” Medina told the Washington Post, pointing to a large red welt by his knee. “This one got me yesterday.”
Biden’s ‘privilege’ claims sound like arguments Trump officials made before getting thrown in jail: attorney
President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege to prevent recordings of his interviews with special counsel Robert Hur from being released shares some similarities with former President Trump’s attempts to use privilege while in the White House, according to one legal expert. Though transcripts of Biden’s interview with Hur have already been released to a committee, the White House asserted executive privilege to block the audio recordings from becoming public while arguing in lockstep with Attorney General Merrick Garland that “law enforcement files like these need to be protected.” “The same arguments were made during the Trump years as are being made now. It’s just that the roles are reversed,” former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “For example, during the Mueller investigation, Trump made available Don McGahn, who was the White House counsel. They not only let Mueller interview McGahn at length, but McGahn took voluminous notes of his conversations with Trump, which they also turned over. And then Democrats wanted to subpoena McGahn to come to the House Judiciary Committee, and the Republicans fought it. BIDEN’S PRIVILEGE CLAIM TO KEEP SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEW UNDER WRAPS A ‘CRUDE POLITICS’ MOVE: EXPERTS “What they said was giving information to an executive branch prosecutor doesn’t waive the privilege as to Congress,” he added. “The Democrats all said that this was an obstruction of justice, that it was outrageous, that he’d already waived the privilege by allowing McGhan to speak to the prosecutor.” Executive privilege has been around since the earliest days of the country and gives the executive branch the ability to withhold certain internal discussions and documents from scrutiny by the courts and the legislative branch. It allows the president some breathing room for his own deliberations with staff. “The fact is that since the Republic started, presidents have been withholding information from Congress,” McCarthy said. Congress has a variety of tools it can use to pry information out of the executive branch, including by holding people in contempt. “Congress has a whole arsenal of stuff from the Constitution, powers that it can use to fight back and pry information out of the executive branch,” McCarthy said. “You know, you can slash budgets or hold up appointments, and if it gets bad enough, you can start holding people in contempt. … The final option, obviously, is impeachment.” McCarthy warned, however, that if the president’s party has enough influence in Congress, those efforts can be more challenging. “If the president’s party has enough sway in Congress that you can stop that arsenal from being used, then the whole thing is just a political calculation,” he said. “Like for Biden here, it’s how much worse would I be hurt by letting the tape come out or the recording come out than by stonewalling. It looks like the tape is so bad, he’s decided that even though he’s going to be damaged by stonewalling, that’s better than letting the tape out.” McCarthy also highlighted how the media has reacted to Biden’s assertion of executive privilege, saying they’ll report on the matter in an attempt to preserve their integrity and then move on from it to “help Biden bury it.” “The usual problem that you always have here is that when Republican administrations stonewall, the media gets all whipped up about it, and when Democratic administrations stonewall, they feel like they have to cover it for a day or two so that they can say they covered it but then move on to another subject and help Biden bury it, or at least they’ll try,” he said. Garland on Thursday defended Biden’s decision to assert executive privilege, saying the subpoena for audio recordings “is one that would harm our ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations.” “There have been a series of unprecedented, frankly, unfounded attacks on the Justice Department. This request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just the most recent effort to threaten, defund our investigations, and the way in which there are contributions to an atmosphere that puts our agents and our prosecutors at risk,” he added. “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the President’s claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress,” Associate Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter Thursday to GOP Reps. Jim Jordan and James Comer, chairmen of the Committee on the Judiciary and Committee on Oversight and Accountability, respectively. That “longstanding position,” however, was challenged following Trump’s term in the White House and the Capitol protests Jan. 6, 2021. Two individuals who served in the Trump administration and raised executive privilege claims — former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former Trump adviser Peter Navarro – have been convicted of contempt of Congress and sentenced to serve jail time for their refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the now-defunct House select committee investigating the Capitol protests. TRUMP ALLY STEVE BANNON LOSES APPEAL ON CONTEMPT CONVICTION AS HE FIGHTS TO STAY OUT OF PRISON Bannon, 70, was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022 and a $6,500 fine for ignoring a congressional subpoena. Bannon’s appeal was denied last week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released a 20-page opinion that said granting Bannon’s appeal would “hamstring Congress’s investigatory authority.” Bannon claimed he acted on the advice of his legal team and did not intend to break the law. Judge Bradley Garcia wrote the acting on “advice of counsel” defense is “no defense at all.” The ruling will be appealed, Bannon’s attorney, David Schoen, told Fox News Digital last week. Schoen noted that Bannon’s attorney at the time he received the subpoena, Robert Costello, advised his client that he was not permitted, as a matter of law, in any way to respond to the notice, saying executive privilege had been raised and that it was not his privilege