House Rules panel pauses consideration of Hunter Biden contempt amid negotiations for new deposition date
The House Rules Committee will not consider the resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress as planned on Tuesday amid negotiations between House Republicans and the first son to schedule a deposition. The House Rules Committee was set to meet Tuesday afternoon to consider the resolutions that would hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, setting up the potential for a full vote on the House floor on whether to recommend the first son for prosecution. The House Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee last week passed resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. But on Friday, Hunter Biden’s attorneys offered to discuss scheduling a new deposition for the first son. Now, House Republicans are in negotiations to do so. HUNTER BIDEN LAWYERS SAY THEY WILL ‘COMPLY FOR A HEARING OR DEPOSITION’ IF HOUSE PANELS ISSUE NEW SUBPOENA “Following an exchange of letters between the parties on January 12 and January 14, staff for the committees and lawyers for Hunter Biden are working to schedule Hunter Biden’s appearance,” a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital. “Negotiations are ongoing this afternoon, and in conjunction with the disruption to member travel and cancelling votes, the House Rules Committee isn’t considering the contempt resolution today to give the attorneys additional time to reach an agreement.” Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition on December 13, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses who have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition. The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol. At the time, he said his father “was not financially involved in my business.” As the House advanced the resolutions to continue to take steps to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, his attorney Abbe Lowell last week asked that the committees issue a new subpoena. Lowell penned a letter to the committees on Friday, saying the initial subpoenas were “legally invalid” as they were issued before the full House of Representatives voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry against the president. “If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Lowell wrote. “We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden’s behalf.” COMER, JORDAN TO ISSUE NEW SUBPOENA FOR HUNTER BIDEN AS DEPOSITION TALKS REIGNITE House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Lowell over the weekend stating that they would be willing to subpoena him a second time if that meant his cooperation in their probe. “The committees welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena,” Comer and Jordan wrote in the letter. “Although the Committee’s subpoenas are lawful and remain legally enforceable, as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks.” Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Climate activists swarm Joe Manchin at diner, jump in front of SUV: ‘We shut him down so hard’
Members of the far-left climate protest organization Climate Defiance confronted Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., at a diner in New Hampshire on Tuesday, chanting slogans about ending fossil fuel reliance. The group – which was founded in Washington, D.C., last year and is known to forcefully disrupt events to confront politicians over climate policy – said its actions at the diner in Derry, New Hampshire, forced Manchin to flee the restaurant through the kitchen. Video posted by Climate Defiance showed its members yelling at the Democratic senator and one activist appearing to jump in front of Manchin’s vehicle. “Big update. Big, big update. We just found Joe Manchin yet again, in a diner,” Climate Defiance said in an X post Tuesday. “We swarmed it. We took it over. We seized control. We shut him down so hard he had to flee through the kitchen. We will not walk like sheep to slaughter. We will not stand down. Respect us or expect us.” “The single-largest recipient of oil and gas money, Manchin blowtorches our planet and gloats,” the group added. “He chairs the Senate Energy Committee, and uses this role to protect his personal coal company. He earns more income from this coal company than he does from his senate salary. It shows.” FAR-LEFT GREEN ACTIVISTS ‘SURROUND’ JOE MANCHIN EVENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE JUST WEEKS AFTER WHITE HOUSE INVITE According to Climate Defiance’s video, Manchin was delivering remarks to a small crowd at the diner when its members began chanting anti-fossil fuels slogans. Manchin’s comment stating that border security was his “greatest concern,” appeared to particularly spark the activists’ chants. “Off fossil fuels, Manchin, off fossil fuels,” they said repeatedly. HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE MOST DISRUPTIVE CLIMATE PROTESTS OF 2023 Manchin appeared to smile while the protesters were held back and pushed away by police officers. Then, as the SUV carrying Manchin sped away from the diner, one of the activists appeared to jump in front of the moving vehicle with a sign calling for the end of fossil fuel dependence. “We are explicitly and unapologetically committed to making life MISERABLE for every person in power who stands between us and the solutions we so desperately need,” Climate Defiance added in a post. The group’s actions come days after its activists surrounded Manchin after he addressed the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ “Politics & Eggs” forum, which is often attended by presidential candidates. In recent weeks, Climate Defiance has publicly called for volunteers to join its protest to “shut down” Manchin’s events in New Hampshire. The group said it sought to disrupt the events over Manchin’s long-standing support for fossil fuels, pointing to his actions pushing the Mountain Valley Pipeline natural gas project and personally owning a coal company. The protests also come shortly after the group was granted a White House meeting last month. Climate Defiance leaders met privately with senior White House adviser John Podesta on Dec. 15. Following the meeting, the group publicized a letter it handed Podesta in which they thanked him and reiterated that global warming is the “greatest threat that humanity has ever faced.”
What Biden’s record low approval rating, Trump sweeping Iowa caucuses tells us ahead of November 2024 election
President Biden’s approval rating, the lowest for any U.S. president in the past 15 years, combined with former President Trump’s sweeping win in the Iowa caucuses, serves as a bellwether ahead of the November 2024 general election – but political observers question whether it’s too soon to assume a Biden-Trump rematch has been secured. Yet several politicos who spoke to Fox News Digital predict if a rematch doesn’t happen, it will be because of Biden getting out of the race – not Trump failing to secure the nomination. “A unique aspect of this presidential year is that there really is no primary season for either party. Biden has managed to keep challengers off the ballots and Trump’s lead amongst GOP voters is astronomical. Trump’s landslide in Iowa is a statement. And while the debates and this process is important for people to get to know the GOP talent bench, the fact is we are in the midst of the general election between Biden and Trump,” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce said. “Trump is going nowhere, but Biden still could be replaced, but the closer we get to Election Day the more unlikely it is to happen,” she added. BIDEN APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO 15-YEAR LOW, POLL FINDS Trump won all but one of Iowa’s 99 counties, with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley – who came in third place overall in the Hawkeye State – clinging onto Johnson County by one vote. After congratulating Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – the second-place winner in Iowa – during his Iowa victory speech for “having a good time together,” the leader of the “Make America Great Again” movement was back in New York on Tuesday. “Donald Trump’s crushing victory over his opponents in the Iowa caucuses isn’t quite enough to wrap up the Republican nomination before the first primary contest has even taken place. But it very nearly is,” Fox News contributor Gerry Baker said. “The results confirmed the grip the former president has on GOP primary voters.” Baker, who is in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, further surmised of the Iowa caucuses that “the third-place finish for Nikki Haley, who seemed to have some momentum heading into Iowa but who now must score a victory in New Hampshire next week to keep the race alive at all, underscored how far behind she and Ron DeSantis have always been.” “So Trump is set to wrap things up quickly and will then be free of GOP opposition to concentrate his fire on Joe Biden,” Baker said. “This only adds to the escalating bad news for Biden, already struggling with some of the lowest approval ratings for any president in recent history. With an uncertain economic outlook, chaos at the border and rising insecurity in the world, Biden faces overwhelming headwinds,” he said. “Don’t be surprised if the calls within his own party for him to stand down and for a Democratic nominating contest to take place at this summer’s convention grow much louder.” Biden’s approval rating sits at just 33%, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, a day before the Iowa caucuses, meaning the incumbent Democrat has the lowest approval rating of any U.S. president since George W. Bush from 2006-2008. Trump’s lowest as president was 36%. “If you’re a Democrat, this is near a worst case scenario in a presidential election year. Here you have an incumbent president that’s polling in the 20s as far as approval among Independents. He is hemorrhaging support from Black and Hispanic voters. No president has won re-election with approval below 40%, Biden is currently at 33% overall,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha assessed. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump just won Iowa by more than four touchdowns over a popular governor and formidable challenger in the form of Ron DeSantis. According to the RealClearPolitics betting averages, he is the odds on favorite to win back the presidency.” “And unless prices begin to go down, which they likely won’t, and the border somehow improves, which it won’t, and these wars overseas suddenly end, which they won’t, it’s hard to see how Biden turns us around as he continues to get older and less visible to American voters,” Concha added. Regarding the survey, Bruce argued that Biden’s “remarkably low poll ratings are even more shocking because he has had the general support of the legacy media.” “The Democrats don’t seem to realize that their success in 2020 using the basement strategy has given them the entirely wrong impression about the American people,” she said. “They believe they can do it again, but what they had in 2020 that they don’t have now is the trust of the American people.” TRUMP TEASES EX-RIVAL DOUG BURGUM COULD HOLD ‘IMPORTANT’ ADMIN ROLE AFTER IOWA WIN The poll found that just 31% of Americans approve of how Biden is handling the economy, while 56% disapprove. And Biden’s rating on immigration and the border crisis is especially low, according to the ABC-produced poll, which found just 18% approve of the job he’s done, while 63% now disapprove. Biden is polling at 28% approval among Independents, while the survey found he’s 21 points below average among African Americans and 15 points below average among Hispanics. “Biden’s numbers are nothing short of disastrous at this stage,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson said. “With an approval rating of 33%, and underwater by 25 points on the economy, he’s going to have to run an extremely negative campaign to try to compensate for this historic weakness. There’s a reason why Brit Hume recently said on my radio program that Biden is the weakest presidential incumbent he’s seen in his decades of political coverage.” Trump was in New York on Tuesday as jury selection kicked off in the defamation trial stemming from columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims that he sexually abused her in the 1990s. The former president was then expected to head to New Hampshire, where he’ll be joined at
Biden invites key congressional leaders to ‘critical’ meeting on additional national security spending
President Biden invited Congress’ top leaders and committee chairs to a closed-door meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the national security supplemental package, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., are expected to be in attendance on Wednesday. Biden first requested the supplemental package in October, which would unlock billions in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. But this week, the Senate has other priorities: averting a government shutdown by Friday’s deadline. SENATE TO BEGIN VOTE TUESDAY ON TEMPORARY FUNDING PATCH TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “Tomorrow, President Biden will host congressional leaders from the Senate and the House, along with key committee leaders and ranking members at the White House, to discuss the critical importance of his national security supplemental request,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Tuesday’s press conference. “So we will certainly have more to say about that meeting tomorrow.” The supplemental request includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions, and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Last year, GOP lawmakers threw a wrench in plans to unanimously pass a supplemental that ties Ukraine and Israel aid together and argued they should be separate. However, Republican lawmakers have now linked the $60 billion additional aid to Ukraine with changes in border security policies as a prerequisite for its passage.
New York Gov Hochul to travel to DC to plead for ‘stronger border,’ blaming federal government for crisis
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced she will be traveling to Washington, D.C., on Friday to plead with Congress and the White House to reach a deal on securing the border. Hochul, who promoted New York as a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, said during her Tuesday budget proposal unveiling that she was “once again” heading to D.C. on Friday to “advocate for effective immigration reform, a stronger border, and increased support from the federal government for New York.” “New York continues to carry the burden of sheltering more than 69,000 migrants,” Hochul said. HOCHUL TALKS CRIME, HOUSING AS NATIONAL DEMS LOOK TO NEW YORK FOR BIG HOUSE GAINS IN NOVEMBER “Since day one, I have said this is ultimately the responsibility of the federal government to address this crisis,” Hochul said. “Congress, the House of Representatives in particular and the White House, must remain at the negotiating table until they restore the rule of law at our border, fix our asylum system, and provide relief to states like New York, who have been shouldering this burden for far too long.” “But until we see a change in federal policy that slows the flow of new arrivals, we’re going to be swimming against the tide,” Hochul said. Hochul also said that her proposal includes $2.4 billion that would go toward the massive influx of migrants going into New York, calling it the “right thing to do” for the migrants and New York City. “We also know that companies won’t do business in New York if there are thousands of people sleeping on the streets, where the quality of life is dramatically impacted, because the city is forced to cut essential services,” Hochul said. “We’re going to continue focusing on security work authorizations and put the migrants and asylum workers to work,” Hochul also said. “Put them to work, that’s exactly what they came here for.” “That will continue to be our focus,” she added. The New York governor — who, again, touted the Empire State as a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants — also said the responsibility for the immigration crisis lies at the feet of the federal government. “As the migrant crisis continues, the FY 2025 Executive Budget extends an additional $2.4 billion to continue to support efforts in New York City and elsewhere in the state to safely manage the influx with the appropriate humanitarian response,” Hochul’s budget proposal reads. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment. The influx of migrants into New York may prove to be politically harmful for Democrat candidates as the state becomes an expected battleground this election season. The annual address in Albany came as both Republicans and Democrats have placed increased attention on New York as a potential battleground state for the U.S. House in November, adding a level of national importance to the governor’s agenda this year. Hochul’s budget proposal comes a week after her State of the State address where she outlined her agenda for 2024. Among the proposals Hochul announced were policies aimed at curbing retail theft and improving mental health treatment, as well as funding and incentives to increase the housing supply.
Texas Medical Board asked to issue guidance on state abortion laws
Two lawyers filed a petition Tuesday that asks the board to clarify what counts as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws.
Conservative GOP senators call for party to rally behind Trump following Iowa victory
Conservatives in the upper chamber are rallying behind former President Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee after a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. “Trump’s victory tonight showcases once again the changing GOP base,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is a working class party now. The DC Republicans need to figure it out.” Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, wrote on X: “Can we stop pretending this is an actual primary race and get to the business of defeating Joe Biden?” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said, “It’s not going to be easy to defeat Joe Biden,” in a post on X, adding “we need all hands on deck.” In another post, Lee congratulated Trump for his swift victory in Iowa. TRUMP WINS MASSIVE VICTORY IN IOWA, DESANTIS EDGES HALEY FOR SECOND IN 1ST GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CONTEST “Beating Joe Biden won’t be easy. But it’s absolutely necessary. No other Republican has a shot at the nomination. It’s therefore imperative that Republicans start getting behind Trump. No time to lose,” he wrote. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., also celebrated Trump’s win in a post, saying: “We are going to make America great again, AGAIN,” and using the hashtag #TRUMP2024. Meanwhile, the upper chamber’s GOP leader, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remained quiet on the results. Leading up to the Iowa caucuses, more GOP senators began throwing their support behind Trump. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., endorsed Trump just hours after North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum dropped out and endorsed the former president. They joined nearly two dozen GOP senators in endorsing Trump, including Sens. JD Vance of Ohio, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. TRUMP PICKS UP MORE SENATE GOP ENDORSEMENTS The Fox News Decision Desk made the race projection for Trump at 8:31 p.m. ET, a half an hour after the caucuses got underway across the Hawkeye State. The former president’s lightning-fast win in Iowa gave him a crucial early victory in his bid to return to the White House. His rivals for the nomination still include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in a distant second in the Iowa caucuses, nearly 30 points behind Trump, and former Ambassador Nikki Haley, who came in third – close behind DeSantis. “We want to thank the great people of Iowa,” Trump said in a caucus victory speech in Des Moines, the state’s capital and largest city. Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters. Trump’s victory on Monday night was the largest margin in the history of Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, easily surpassing the previous winning margin of 12.8 percent set in 1988 by the late Sen. Bob Dole. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Anti-Israel protesters swarm NYC cancer hospital, accusing ‘complicity in genocide’
Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators protested in New York City on Monday night, with many of them targeting a nearby cancer hospital with accusations of “complicity in genocide.” Protesters could be seen shouting slogans on social media at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. They then moved on to accusing a nearby Starbucks and McDonald’s of further “complicity” in genocide, the New York Post reported. Police arrested three people during the demonstration, including a 16-year-old boy. “Not a good look as pro-Palestinian protesters target a cancer hospital on New York’s Upper East Side. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also houses a pediatric day hospital,” wrote Danny Morris, who works for an organization that tracks antisemitism. PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT NEW YEAR’S EVE FESTIVITIES IN NEW YORK CITY, BOSTON Monday’s protest was only the latest in a long series of demonstrations supporting either Palestinians or Israel. Tens of thousands of protesters clashed in Manhattan late last year as Israel began its retaliatory campaign against Hamas following a massacre that left 1,200 Israelis dead. PRO-PALESTINIAN CARAVAN SNARLS NEW YORK TRAFFIC AROUND JFK, LAGUARDIA AIRPORT Protesters at Monday’s event also targeted the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, accusing it of supporting “zionism,” according to the Post. “Mount Sinai you can’t hide, you support genocide,” the protesters chanted. One Jewish woman, 74, who lives nearby the demonstration, reportedly had to be escorted through the chanting crowd while on a walk with her dog. OBAMA CALLS FOR END OF ‘OCCUPATION,’ SECURITY FOR ISRAEL, STATE FOR PALESTINIANS “I thought I was in Germany in 1939,” she told the Post, declining to give her name. “I’m astounded. I think it’s horrific.” New York City has seen waves of protests all over the city. Earlier this month, demonstrators in Manhattan tried to block access to several bridges and a major tunnel. Protesters set fire to an Israeli flag during a demonstration in early November. Onlookers cheered as the flag burned and at least one protester stomped on it. Other anti-Israel protests have seen demonstrators blocking traffic in New York City and other major cities across the U.S.
Hunter Biden knew 70% of art buyers, contradicting White House narrative on ‘anonymous’ collectors: Gallerist
The White House said in July 2021 that a “system” had been “established” to ensure the identities of those who bought Hunter Biden’s artwork would remain anonymous for ethical reasons. However, the first son’s art dealer testified that a new agreement to stop the disclosure of Biden’s art buyers was not set up for several months following that statement and said the first son knew the identities of approximately 70% of those buyers. George Bergès, the art dealer for Biden, took part in a closed-door, transcribed interview before both the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees earlier this month as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. ART DEALER REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN KNEW ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ WAS TOP BUYER, MAKING WH ETHICS PLEDGE A ‘SHAM’: COMER Fox News Digital reviewed a transcript of Bergès’ interview. House investigators, during his interview, showed Bergès a statement made by then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki on July 9, 2021. “After careful consideration, a system has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards,” she said. “All interactions regarding the selling of art and the setting of prices will be handled by a professional galleries, adhering to the highest industry standards. Any offer out of the normal court would be rejected out of hand.” Psaki added, “The galleries will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities, with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection.” When pressed further, Psaki stressed that “it would be challenging for an anonymous person who we don’t know and Hunter Biden doesn’t know to have influence — so that’s a protection.” However, Bergès testified that at the time of the White House’s July 2021 statement, he had an agreement with Hunter Biden which called for him, instead, “to disclose to Hunter Biden who the purchasers of his art were.” Bergès said that contract was agreed to in December 2020. Bergès said that it was not until September 2021 that a new agreement with Hunter Biden was created. That agreement stated that “the gallery will not disclose the name of any buyers of artist’s artwork to artist or any agent of artist.” Bergès stressed, though, that there was not a “White House-involved agreement,” and that Hunter Biden did know the identities of approximately 70% of the buyers of his art. HUNTER BIDEN GALLERIST TELLS LAWMAKERS HE NEVER SPOKE TO WHITE HOUSE ABOUT PAINTINGS: SOURCES Meanwhile, Bergès testified that he had spoken to President Biden both on the phone and in person. Bergès told lawmakers that he spoke to the president “at the White House wedding during Hunter’s — Hunter’s daughter getting married.” Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, got married at the White House on Nov. 19, 2022. As for his phone conversation with the president, Bergès said, “My daughter finished camp, and he called to, you know, wish her, congratulate her for finishing camp and I answered the phone.” Bergès’ testimony comes after the House formalized the impeachment inquiry against President Biden. The inquiry is being led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. House Republicans are investigating any foreign money received by the Biden family, whether President Biden was involved in his family’s foreign business dealings and steps allegedly taken by the Biden administration to “slow, hamper, or otherwise impede the criminal investigation into the President’s son, Hunter Biden, which involves funds received by the Biden family from foreign sources.” Republican investigators have suggested they are suspicious over whether Hunter Biden’s art career, which began in recent years, has led to any conflicts of interest between wealthy buyers and the White House. “The Biden White House appears to have deceived the American people about facilitating an ethics agreement governing the sale of Hunter Biden’s art,” Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement earlier this month, calling the agreement a “sham.”
Federal appeals court rejects Trump petition over Special Counsel Jack Smith access to Twitter feed
A federal appeals court has rejected former President Trump’s request to block Special Counsel Jack Smith from accessing his Twitter feed, as part of his election interference case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. ruled on the matter and denied further review. The decision comes after an appellate panel had rejected Trump’s original request. “Upon consideration of appellant’s petition for rehearing en banc, the response thereto, the amicus curiae brief filed by Electronic Frontier Foundation in support of rehearing en banc, and the absence of a request by any member of the court for a vote, it is ordered that the petition be denied,” the ruling states. The former president and 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner can now ask the Supreme Court to review the matter. Smith plans to use data from the cell phone former President Trump used in his final weeks in office — including data revealing when Trump’s phone was “unlocked and the Twitter application was open” on Jan. 6, 2021. Unsealed court filings in August showed that Smith’s team obtained location data and draft tweets in addition to the former president’s messages. Attorneys for the company, now named X Corp., attempted to block and delay the effort in January and February, leading one federal judge to speculate that X owner and one-time CEO Elon Musk was attempting to ally himself with Trump. The social media giant ultimately lost the struggle, however, and was forced to hand over an extensive list of data related to the “@realdonaldtrump” account, including all tweets “created, drafted, favorited/liked, or retweeted.” The handover also included searches on the platform surrounding the 2020 election, devices used to log into the account, IP addresses used to log into the account, and a list of associated accounts. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.