Page 2270 – Texas Weekly Online

Hur transcript confirms Biden memory lapses, contradicts president’s claim about exchange over son’s death

The newly released transcript of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden has confirmed the president’s frequent memory lapses, as well as contradicted his claims surrounding their exchange over his son Beau’s death, a Fox News Digital review of the transcript has found. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the transcript ahead of Hur’s Tuesday testimony on Capitol Hill surrounding the probe into Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Hur released his report to the public in February, but did not recommend criminal charges against the president, characterizing him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur noted in the report that Biden struggled to remember details about when his son died, which drew sharp backlash from the president, who blasted Hur during a press conference. SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY ON FINDINGS FROM BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE “How in the h— dare he raise that,” Biden said. “Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their d— business.” However, Fox later confirmed it was actually Biden who first brought up Beau’s death, a detail also reflected in the transcript. While discussing his activities post-vice presidency, which included writing a book about Beau’s death, Biden referenced the death as a major factor in his decision about whether to run for president. During that portion of the interview, Biden appeared to become confused about when Beau died. BIDEN’S MEMORY STRUGGLES COULD IMPERIL NATIONAL SECURITY, DEFENSE EXPERTS WARN: ‘NOT ONLY WEAK BUT CONFUSED’ “I hadn’t walked away from the idea that I may run for office again. But if I ran again, I’d be running for president,” Biden said. “And, and so what was happening though — what month did Beau die? Oh, God, May 30th —” Biden was reminded by multiple people that Beau died in 2015, but later asked again, “Was it 2015 he had died?” The transcript also showed Biden asking multiple times when his term as vice president ended while being questioned specifically about some of the classified documents at his home. BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS “Well, I’m sure, I’m sure there were. I don’t know — my problem was I never knew where any of the documents or boxes were specifically coming from or who packed them. Just did I get them delivered to me. And so this is — I’m, at this stage, in 2009, am I still Vice President?” Biden said. Another instance included Biden being asked about a notebook in his possession related to the war in Afghanistan. “The date is 4-20-09,” Biden said. “Was I still vice president? I was, wasn’t I? Yeah.” Hur began his public testimony at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning. Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Kansas judge rules keeping biological sex on IDs does not harm transgender

A Kansas judge ruled in favor of the state’s conservative attorney general on Monday and determined that prohibiting sex changes on state IDs and driver’s licenses does not violate the rights of individuals who identify as transgender. In a memorandum, District Judge Teresa Watson kept in place an existing ruling she previously made in July 2023 to prohibit the Department of Revenue from allowing transgender individuals to change their biological sex on ID cards. Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach first sued Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in 2023 after a law passed by the legislature suspended sex changes on ID cards. Kelly vetoed the bill – SB 180 – sparking the lawsuit. The court then issued a temporary restraining order. WOMEN’S PRO GOLF TOUR UPDATES POLICY TO ONLY ALLOW BIOLOGICAL FEMALES, BANNING TRANS GOLFER HAILEY DAVIDSON “This decision is a victory for the rule of law and common sense,” Kobach said in a statement. “The Legislature wisely stated that state agencies should record biological sex at birth, and today the court held that the meaning of the law is clear.” Watson permitted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to represent transgender individuals in the case. They argued the law would violate the state’s constitution, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 grants a right to bodily autonomy. At the time, the SCOTUS ruling pertained to abortion access. RILEY GAINES BLASTS NCAA AS ‘COWARDS’ OVER TRANS ATHLETE POLICIES AMID CALLS FOR CHANGE: ‘DISHEARTENING’ “Information recorded on a driver’s license does not interfere with transgender persons’ ability to control their own bodies or assert bodily integrity or self-determination,” Watson wrote on Monday. “It does not prevent them from “mak[ing] their own decisions regarding their bodies, their health, their family formation, and their family life.” Watson wrote in the 31-page memorandum that to apply the SCOTUS ruling to the no-change policy on state-issued IDs would be “an unreasonable stretch.” CALIFORNIA CITY BANS NON-GOVERNMENT FLAGS, ANGERING LGBTQ GROUPS “It did not say Kansans have a fundamental state constitutional right to control what information is displayed on a state-issued driver’s license,” Watson continued. “And the Intervenors’ testimony at the hearing was that producing a driver’s license indicating a sex different than their expressed gender did not result in physical violence, verbal harassment, loss of employment, loss of benefits, refusal of service, or negative interaction with law enforcement. Rather, Intervenors testified about feeling embarrassed, humiliated, or unsafe if someone gave them a puzzled look, hesitated, or questioned their identity when looking at their driver’s license.” Kansas and Florida are the only two states that currently prevent sex changes on state-issued ID cards. In a statement to Fox News Digital, ACLU’s LGBTQ+ legal fellow D.C. Hiegert said they were “disappointed” about Monday’s ruling and the decision would lead to transgender “people experiencing harassment, denial of services, or worse.” “We remain unconvinced that the imaginary injury to the state could ever outweigh the enormous harm our clients and other transgender Kansans have and will continue to experience by being forced to carry,” the statement read.

Kansas judge rules keeping biological sex on IDs does not harm transgender people

Massachusetts Gov. Healey to follow Biden’s lead, announcing pardons for marijuana offenders

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey plans to announce this week that she’s following the lead of President Joe Biden and issuing pardons to those convicted of simple possession of cannabis at the state level, her office said Monday. The move could touch the lives of tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents with simple possession convictions on their records. Details of the plan will be announced at a news conference Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear how far back the Democratic governor would reach to issue pardons. If she follows the wide-ranging pardons championed by Biden, the number of pardons could be in the tens of thousands. BOXING LEGEND MIKE TYSON CALLS OUT BIDEN, WANTS CLEMENCY FOR ALL FEDERAL MARIJUANA OFFENDERS In 2016, Massachusetts voters approved a question legalizing pot, the same year voters in California and Nevada also legalized recreational marijuana. In the years since 2016, a bustling legal pot industry has sprouted up in Massachusetts, even as the drug remains illegal at the federal level. In December, Biden pardoned thousands of people who had been convicted of the use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia. The White House said at the time that Biden’s latest round of executive clemencies was meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system. Biden had said his actions would help make the “promise of equal justice a reality.” BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCES FOR 11 CONVICTED OF DRUG CRIMES, TARGETING ‘UNJUSTIFIED DISPARITIES’ December’s action was meant to build on a similar round of pardons issued just before the 2022 midterm elections of those convicted of simple possession on federal lands. At the time, Biden called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. As a Democratic candidate for governor in 2022, Healey indicated that she would heed Biden’s call. It’s hard to know just how many people could benefit from Healey’s pardons. According to a report by the Cannabis Control Commission, the panel charged with administering the legal cannabis market in Massachusetts, there were close to 69,000 civil or criminal violations for marijuana possession issued in Massachusetts from 2000 through 2013.

SBI submits electoral bonds details to Election Commission

SC ordered SBI to disclose the details of electoral bonds to ECI by the close of business hours on March 12.

Andrew Cuomo slams NYC for policy he supported, says ‘plan is for city taxpayers to pay’ for ‘migrant crisis’

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo heavily criticized the government of New York City in an op-ed Monday, accusing officials of trying to make citizens pay for the migrant crisis. Cuomo centered his complaints on the implementation of “congestion pricing” – a $15 charge for motorists driving into Lower Manhattan – despite having supported the state law himself while in office. “Congestion pricing is a policy designed to incentivize people to use mass transit,” Cuomo wrote in the New York Post op-ed. “It is an important goal; we passed it in 2019 but implementation has been delayed until now.” FORMER GOV. ANDREW CUOMO BLASTS BIDEN OVER STATE’S MIGRANT CRISIS: ‘WORST GOVERNMENT BLUNDER’ While the policy was intended to coerce New York City residents to use public transportation such as the subway, rising fear of violent crime has made New Yorkers double down on avoiding the system. Cuomo claimed in his piece that an increased police presence and crackdown on crime would be necessary to restore trust in the city’s public transportation – but blamed “progressives” for inaction. “That simple logic is impolitic with today’s self-defined ‘progressives.’ Cries to ‘defund, disband and disarm’ the police are politically powerful, and many politicians are intimidated,” Cuomo wrote. “While certainly police reform was and is necessary as evidenced by the George Floyd murder, the answer is not to abandon public safety.” ANDREW CUOMO SUES LETITIA JAMES OVER SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS “Just think of the absurdity: The plan is for city taxpayers to pay for the MTA and for the migrant crisis! It’s outrageous. Then we wonder why we are losing population to Florida and other states,” the former governor concluded. “I understand these are difficult political issues that politicians would rather avoid, but democracy dies in silence and it can kill New York City in the process.” Cuomo was the governor of New York from 2011 until 2021 – he submitted his resignation after several women accused him of sexual harassment. He was a Democratic Party heavyweight throughout his time in office and rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Gun rights groups ask Supreme Court to strike down Illinois ‘assault weapons’ ban

FIRST ON FOX — A gun rights group representing over 2 million members and activists has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Illinois’ strict rifle ban is constitutional. Gun Owners of America (GOA) and its sister organization, the Gun Owners Foundation, on Monday filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court in their challenge to the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). The groups, representing Illinois gun owners, argue the law imposes an unconstitutional, sweeping ban on hundreds of commonly owned and lawfully used rifles and ammunition magazines. “GOA has been at the forefront of this challenge since before the bans even took effect, and while our goal was never to have to end up before the Supreme Court, we were fully prepared to do so,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America. “We urge the Justices to hear the pleas of millions of Americans in Illinois and several other states nationwide who cannot purchase many of the commonly owned semiautomatic firearms available today because of the unconstitutional laws passed by anti-gun politicians,” Pratt said. ILLINOIS GUN GROUPS REPORT CONFUSION, ‘CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE’ AFTER DEADLINE PASSES TO REGISTER ‘ASSAULT’ WEAPONS The strict gun control law, signed by Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last year, carries penalties for anyone who, “Carries or possesses… Manufactures, sells, delivers, imports, or purchases any assault weapon or .50 caliber rifle.” Those who legally possess a banned weapon under the law must register it with the Illinois State Police. The law also includes statutory penalties for anyone who “sells, manufactures, delivers, imports, possesses, or purchases any assault weapon attachment or .50 caliber cartridge.” Any kit or tools that are used to increase the fire rate of a semiautomatic weapon are also banned, and the legislation includes a limit for purchases of certain magazines. ILLINOIS ENACTS 320 NEW STATE LAWS, INCLUDING BAN ON SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS AND INDOOR VAPING A federal judge in the Southern District of Illinois had initially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding PICA did not respect the Second Amendment rights of Illinois residents. District Judge Stephen Patrick McGlynn, a Trump appointee, blocked the state from enforcing the “assault weapons” ban, finding it not only restricted the right to self-defense, but in some cases, “completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 ‘arms.’” But the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned McGlynn’s ruling on May 5, 2023, and permitted the law to take effect on Jan. 10, 2024. Law-abiding gun owners faced a Jan. 1 deadline to register their so-called assault weapons with the state police. However, Illinois Second Amendment groups reported mass confusion from gun owners and large rates of noncompliance. ILLINOIS ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN BACK IN EFFECT AS COURTS PLAY PING PONG WITH GUN CONTROL Of the over 2.4 million Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cardholders, there have only been 112,350 disclosures filed as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to state police data. Another 29,357 disclosures were in the process of being completed as of Jan. 6. Gun rights activists previously told Fox News Digital that apparent high rates of noncompliance came from a mix of ignorance of what the law requires and civil disobedience. Now, they hope the Supreme Court will weigh in on their side. “JB Pritzker and his colleagues in the Illinois General Assembly openly defied the Supreme Court and the Constitution when they passed their ‘emergency’ bill to ban so-called ‘assault weapons,’” said Sam Paredes, a board member of the Gun Owners Foundation. “We are optimistic the justices will choose to hear the case and make clear once and for all that ‘assault weapons’ bans on tens of millions of commonly owned rifles are wholly out of line with the Second Amendment.” Fox News Digital’s Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Maryland elections board nominee questioned after predecessor charged in Capitol riot

Maryland lawmakers questioned a Republican nominee to the state elections board on Monday, specifically asking her whereabouts on Jan. 6, 2021, after a previous board member resigned when charged with participating in the attack at the U.S. Capitol. In questioning Diane Butler at a state Senate hearing, the panel of lawmakers controlled by Democrats was following up on a pledge to be more careful in its confirmation process as it weighs the replacement for the former Republican elections board official, who resigned in January. “I’d just gotten back from Florida visiting with my daughter, and I was actually cleaning my fish tank because it got a bunch of stuff in it while I was gone,” Butler said, when asked where she was on Jan. 6, 2021. “I was at home.” BALTIMORE MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER IN AMBUSH OF POLICE OFFICER, BUT MOTIVE WAS NEVER PRESENTED Members of Maryland Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee have said they will be more diligent after failing to ask a single question of Carlos Ayala, who resigned his position on the elections board in January after being charged in federal court. He faces charges of civil disorder, a felony, and multiple misdemeanor counts for allegedly participating in the riot while Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election results. Sen. Clarence Lam, a Democrat, also asked Butler about a screenshot of a Facebook page he said his office received that appeared to be from her relating to pandemic masking guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The post that was purported to be from you said that you have responded with a comment of: ’What’s next? Nazi armbands?’ Is that something you recall posting in the past?” Lam asked. When Butler responded “no, I don’t recall that,” Lam asked again. “It could have been mine. I think that there were a lot of different thoughts about the masks, and I think people had a lot of thoughts in the beginning,” Butler said. Butler, who served as a county elections official in the state, faced a variety of questions about her beliefs in the integrity of the state elections process. Butler appeared before a state Senate panel that votes on nominees by the governor to positions in state government, including the Maryland State Board of Elections, which is comprised of five members. The minority party, which in Maryland is the Republican Party, nominates two members to the state’s governor, who forwards the nomination to the state Senate for consideration. Lam also asked Butler if she thought fraud “is a significant problem in Maryland’s elections,” and she said “no.” Butler also said she did not believe there has been illegal interference in past elections in the state. Asked for her thoughts about mail-in ballots, Butler said she believed “it can be done extremely well,” and she thought Maryland did “a good job with it under the circumstances we had” during the pandemic.

Trump heading to Ohio with his GOP clout on the line in contentious Republican Senate primary

Former President Donald Trump heads to Ohio on Saturday to support the Republican Senate candidate he’s endorsed in the state’s increasingly contentious GOP primary. The former president – who is expected to sweep Tuesday’s four Republican presidential primaries and caucuses and formally become his party’s 2024 presumptive nominee – on Saturday will headline a rally in Dayton, Ohio, for businessman Bernie Moreno. Trump’s trip will come three days before the March 19 primary. The rally was announced Monday night by a pro-Moreno group titled Buckeye Values PAC. The move came hours after state Sen. Matt Dolan – one of the two other major contenders, along with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, in the Senate primary – was endorsed by two-term Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a former longtime U.S. senator and state attorney general. SIX KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER Late last week, Dolan – a former top county prosecutor and Ohio assistant attorney general whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians – also landed the backing of former Sen. Rob Portman. DeWine and Portman are considered top members of Ohio’s Republican old guard or establishment. LOCKING IT UP: TRUMP, BIDEN, EXPECTED TO CLINCH PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS TUESDAY “Matt Dolan has a vision for the future. He listens. He fights. And, he knows how to get results for Ohio,” DeWine said in endorsing Dolan. Dolan, who along with Moreno is making his second straight bid for the Senate in Ohio, has highlighted that he’s a supporter of Trump’s policies but not the former president’s personality. Moreno, an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally from Colombia who later became a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant, was endorsed by Trump in December. Trump’s endorsement of now-Sen. JD Vance just ahead of the 2022 Ohio GOP Senate primary helped boost Vance to victory. Vance last year backed Moreno, which was seen as a prelude to the eventual Trump endorsement. Andy Surabian, a senior Moreno campaign adviser who’s close to Trump’s political orbit, emphasized in a social media post that “the Ohio Senate race is officially Team America First vs Team RINO.” RINO is a term used to insult some in the GOP as “Republicans in name only.” There’s been a dearth of public polling in the Republican Senate primary and the three major campaigns are treating the race as a dead heat ahead of next week’s primary. Millions have been spent by the campaigns and aligned super PACs to flood the airwaves with negative attack ads. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The winner of the GOP primary will face off in November against longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown, who is the only Democrat to win statewide in Ohio over the past decade, is being heavily targeted by Republicans in a state that was once a premiere battleground before shifting red. Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020: Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. Five others seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in 2020: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. As Trump locks up the GOP presidential nomination, he’s once again exerting increasing control over the Republican Party. On Friday, a top Trump ally and the former president’s daughter-in-law were installed as chair and co-chair of the Republican National Committee. On Monday, the new regime at the RNC pushed roughly 60 current staffers out the door. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Congress releases 2nd list of 43 candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024

The second list came a day after the Congress’ central election committee, chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, met at the party headquarters here to finalise the candidates.

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