Trump team files FEC complaint over transfer of Biden’s $91M to Harris campaign: ‘Brazen money grab’


Former President Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday, accusing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of violating campaign finance laws by transferring his $91 million in fundraising cash to her new campaign. 

Biden bowed out of the presidential race on Sunday following weeks of calls for him to leave following a shaky debate performance. 

The president endorsed the vice president to run for the Democratic ticket in his place and transferred his millions of dollars in campaign cash over to her. 

The Trump campaign argued in the complaint, first reported by The New York Times and obtained by Fox News Digital, that Harris is “seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash.”

MARGIN-OF-ERROR RACE BETWEEN HARRIS, TRUMP IN NEW POLL CONDUCTED AFTER BIDEN DROPPED

A split of Trump campaigning and Biden and Harris together

Former President Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, accusing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of violating campaign finance laws by transferring his $91 million in fundraising cash to her new campaign.  (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images; Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

David Warrington, who serves as general counsel for the Trump campaign, called the act “a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended.”

“Kamala Harris is in the process of committing the largest campaign finance violation in American history and she is using the Commission’s own forms to do it,” the filing concluded. “The Commission must not and cannot sit idly by while one candidate takes nearly one hundred million dollars from the authorized committee of another, in violation of the Act and the will of the donors who gave the money in the first place.”

Included in the complaint are Biden, Harris, “Biden for President (aka Harris for President) and Keana Spencer, as treasurer, for flagrantly violating the Act by making and receiving an excessive contribution of nearly one hundred million dollars, and for filing fraudulent forms with the Commission purporting to repurpose one candidate’s principal campaign committee for the use of another candidate.”

Harris speaking

President Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to run for the Democratic ticket in his place and transferred his millions of dollars in campaign cash over to her.  (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images))

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HARRIS NOW THAT SHE’S SEEMINGLY LOCKED UP THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION?

The complaint argues that if “Kamala Harris were a candidate for something in 2024, federal law requires her to have filed a Statement of Candidacy and for her name to have appeared in the name of her authorized committee. But Kamala Harris’s name does not appear in the name of her purported authorized committee, ‘Biden for President,’ and, until Sunday, no Statement of Candidacy existed for her. Then Sunday, rather than filing her own Statement of Candidacy, she merely altered Joe Biden’s to replace his name with hers. There is no mechanism under the Act for one individual to end another’s federal candidacy by simply amending the other’s Form 2. Moreover, in that purported amended Form 2 Harris designated ‘Biden for President’ as her principal campaign committee and then renamed it. Altering a document submitted to a federal agency is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519.3.” 

The Harris campaign told Fox News Digital that the complaint was “baseless.”

Trump campaigning

David Warrington, who serves as general counsel for the Trump campaign, called the act “a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended.” (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Team Harris will continue to build on our more than 250 coordinated offices and more than 1,300 coordinated staffers across the battleground states – just like we built on the $240 million cash on hand that we had at launch this week, raising $100 million in our first 36 hours and signing up 58,000 volunteers,” the statement read.

“Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election.”

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Harris’ team broke a record with their more than $100 million fundraising haul since Biden dropped out on Sunday and Harris launched her candidacy. Biden had seen much of his fundraising dry up following his difficult debate on June 27. 

In her first speech since Biden dropped out, Harris spoke to Biden campaign staffers on Monday, assuring them she would need the team to stay on to run her campaign with the election little more than 100 days away on Nov. 5. 



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Margin of error race between Harris-Trump in new poll conducted after Biden dropped


Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are locked in an extremely close contest, according to a new national poll conducted entirely after President Biden announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing his vice president.

Trump, who was formally nominated last week at the Republican National Convention as the GOP’s 2024 presidential nominee, stands at 46% support among registered voters in an NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll released on Tuesday.

Harris, who on Monday night announced that she’d locked up her party’s nomination by landing commitments of backing from a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention, stood at 45% support.

Trump’s one point edge was well within the survey’s sampling error. Nine percent of those questioned were undecided. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HARRIS NOW THAT SHE’S SEEMINGLY LOCKED UP THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION?

Kamala Harris, Donald Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

Independents surveyed backed Trump 46%-32% over Harris, with one in five undecided.

In a multi-candidate field, the poll indicated Harris and Trump deadlocked at 42% support, with Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 7% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West each at 1%.

“Looking at the toplines after all that’s transpired this month, even though the names have changed, the contest for president all looks very familiar,” Marist Institute for Public Opinion director Lee M. Miringoff highlighted. “But drilling down into the numbers tells a different story as more voters are undecided and others may be rethinking their choice.”

HARRIS BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS SINCE BIDEN DROPPED OUT OF 2024 RACE

The poll was conducted on Monday, the day after Biden’s blockbuster announcement that he was ending his 2024 re-election rematch with Trump. 

Another national poll also conducted entirely after Biden’s announcement – by Reuters/Ipsos on Monday and Tuesday – indicated Harris with a 44%-42% edge. The margin was within the survey’s sampling error.

The president’s immediate backing of Harris on Sunday ignited a surge of endorsements by Democratic governors, senators, House members and other party leaders in supporting Harris to succeed Biden as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

Joe Biden with sunglasses on after dropping out of the 2024 election

President Joe Biden salutes as he boards Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, in Dover, Delaware, on July 23, 2024. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

Biden suspended his campaign amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party for him to drop out after a disastrous performance in last month’s first presidential debate with Trump.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN AS THE DEMOCRAT’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

The 81-year-old president’s uneven delivery and awkward answers during the first 20 minutes of the debate in front of a national audience quickly prompted questions about his mental and physical ability to serve another four years in the White House.

According to the poll, 87% of Americans thought Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race was the right thing to do, with only 12% believing it was the wrong thing to do.

Harris and Trump are knotted up in a new poll conducted after Biden dropped out

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for President as the presumptive Democratic candidate during an event at West Allis Central High School on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in West Allis, Wissconsin. (Kayla Wolf/Associated Press)

Just over 4 in 10 questioned, including 65% of Democrats, said Biden’s decision increases the Democrats’ chances of winning in November. Just under a quarter said his decision decreases the Democrats’ odds, and 34% said it makes no difference.

Top Republicans have been calling for Biden to resign the presidency in the wake of his decision. But 68% of those polled, including 47% of Republicans, said the president should finish his term in office. Just over 3 in 10 said he should resign now.

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Both Harris and Trump are underwater when it comes to their favorable ratings, with Harris at 40%-44% favorable/unfavorable and Trump at 43%-49%.

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, stood at 28% favorable and 31% unfavorable, with just over 4 in 10 unfamiliar with the senator or unsure how to rate him.

When it comes to a running mate for Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg top the list among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, with each at 21%.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro followed at 17%, with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona at 13%, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper at 7% and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore each at 6%.

The survey had an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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Vice President Kamala Harris’ absence at Netanyahu speech not without precedent


Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that in lieu of co-presiding over the speech to a joint meeting of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she will attend a previously scheduled event in Indiana, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule in Indianapolis.

Since it is a Joint Meeting of the House and Senate, the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, who is the Vice President, usually preside. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said today that it may be “unprecedented” not to have the Vice President preside. 

However, there have been multiple instances over the years in which the President Pro Tempore has presided.

KAMALA HARRIS TO SKIP NETANYAHU’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS, WHILE TOP DEM SENATOR BOYCOTTS ALTOGETHER

 One such instance came during Netanyahu’s 2015 speech to a joint meeting of Congress – the last time Netanyahu spoke to Congress.

Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Israel's parliament.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the fire in Rafah, that reportedly killed 45 Palestinians, as “something that went tragically wrong”  during an address to Israel’s Knesset. (KNESSET CHANNEL/ Reuters)

Then-Vice President Biden did not co-preside with then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Instead, then-President Pro Tempore of the Senate Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) presided.

 In 2011, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke to a joint meeting of Congress. However, then-Vice President Biden did not preside over that meeting, either. It was Boehner and then-President Pro Tempore Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).

ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS INVADE CAPITOL HILL BUILDING ON EVE OF NETANYAHU ADDRESS

There have been other instances as well. However, it is extremely rare to have someone like Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the acting chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, preside over a joint meeting of Congress. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is the president pro tempore of the Senate now. She will also not co-preside with Johnson during the joint meeting.

Anti-Israel protesters gather in Washington Square Park in New York City

Anti-Israel protesters gather in Washington Square Park in New York City on Friday, May 3, 2024. NYU’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition is hosting the demonstration as campus protests continue to sweep the country. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

The controversy unfolds amid a chaotic scene on Capitol Hill, as massive swarms of pro-Palestinian protesters are occupying the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building right now. Police have made some arrests. 

There’s an elevated threat environment, especially following the shooting of former President Trump. Right now, massive fences are encircling the Capitol. These are the same types of fences which police put up after the Capitol riots. The campus will be locked down for much of tomorrow. 

Many Democrats will not be attending the Netanyahu speech, in protest of the Israeli leader’s prosecution of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Cardin enters Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing

WASHINGTON – MAY 21: Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., arrives for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s FY2025 budget request on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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When acting Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin co-presides over the joint meeting of Congress, he will not be the first non-VP or non-President Pro Tempore to do so.

In fact, late Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) was the last non-VP or Senate President Pro Tempore to preside over such a meeting, which occurred when South Korean President Roh Tae-woo spoke to a joint meeting of Congress on October 18, 1989. He shared the responsibility with late House Speaker Tom Foley (D-Wash.).

Fox News’ David Unsworth contributed to this report.



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Kamala Harris hit with articles of impeachment over border crisis, ‘misleading’ people on Biden


A House Republican lawmaker is filing articles of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, over both her handling of the border and knowledge, if any, of President Biden’s alleged cognitive decline. 

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is accusing Harris of breaching public trust and of willfully refusing to uphold U.S. immigration law in two impeachment articles, obtained by Fox News Digital.

The former article on public trust accused Harris of having “knowingly misled the people of the United States and the Congress of the United States, principally to obfuscate the physical and cognitive well-being of the President of the United States, Joe Biden.”

It comes as a growing number of Republican lawmakers question what Harris knew and when about Biden’s mental state after even allies observed that it had worsened over the course of the 81-year-old’s White House term.

HOW WOULD A PRESIDENT HARRIS HANDLE IMMIGRATION, BORDER CRISIS?

Andy Ogles and Kamala Harris

Rep. Andy Ogles filed impeachment articles against Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

The latter article is targeted at Harris’s handling of the crisis at the southern border over her role as the Biden administration’s “border czar.” She was tasked early on in the administration with addressing the root causes of mass migration from Central and South America.

It’s now the cornerstone of GOP-led attacks against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, as states across the country continue to struggle with the migrant crisis, though the number of border crossings has somewhat slowed in recent months compared to the record numbers seen last year.

CREATOR OF IMMIGRATION CHART THAT ‘SAVED’ TRUMP’S LIFE FROM WOULD BE ASSASSIN CREDITS ‘PROVIDENCE’ 

Joe Biden stepping off of Air Force One

President Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024 (Susan Walsh/AP)

“Kamala Devi Harris has demonstrated extraordinary incompetence in the execution of her duties and responsibilities, a stark refusal to uphold the existing immigration law, and a palpable indifference to people of the United States suffering as a result of the ongoing southern border crisis in the United States,” the impeachment articles state.

“During her tenure as the designated border czar, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency ‘encountered’ nearly 302,000 illegal aliens at the southwest border in December 2023, the highest monthly total ever recorded and representing 4 consecutive months of over 240,000 illegal alien ‘encounters.'”

Ogles’ impeachment articles are the latest update in the House GOP’s legislative offensive against Harris ever since she took up Biden’s mantle on Sunday.

FLASHBACK: KAMALA HARRIS COMPARED ICE TO KKK IN SENATE HEARING 

Biden caught millions of Americans by surprise on Sunday afternoon when he announced he would drop out of the presidential race after mounting pressure to do so by fellow Democrats.

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Just as Ogles introduced his legislation on Tuesday, the House Rules Committee advanced a resolution by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to condemn Harris over the border crisis. That bill is expected to get a House-wide vote sometime this week.

Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ office for comment.



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Fox News Politics: Cheatle Resigns


Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

-Biden’s back in public following COVID diagnosis…

-Speaker Johnson reacts to Secret Service director’s resignation

-New poll on Trump-Harris matchup post Biden withdrawal

‘We Failed’

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the wake of mounting bipartisan pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, Fox News confirmed. 

Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after taking bipartisan heat during testimony before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. 

“To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.”….Read more

Kimberly Cheatle at congressional hearing

United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. The beleaguered leader of the United States Secret Service has vowed cooperation with all investigations into the agency following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

White House

‘INCAPABLE OF LEADING’: Harris called to ‘immediately’ invoke 25th Amendment amid mounting concerns over Biden’s health …Read more

I SPY A PRESIDENT: Biden is no longer hiding after COVID-19 diagnosis …Read more

‘LUCKY’: Harris reveals whether Biden is currently fit to serve …Read more

HUR REPORT FALLOUT: DOJ reveals it found transcripts of Biden’s conversations with biographer …Read more

Robert Hur and Joe Biden photo split

The DNC paid lawyers representing President Biden as he was under investigation over his possession of classified documents by Special Counsel Robert Hur.  (Getty Images)

Kamala Central

HIDIN’ BIDEN?: Kamala Harris doesn’t answer whether Biden is fit for office …Read more

YEAH, NOT YOU, THOUGH: Harris snubs one of the few Dems open to being her VP …Read more

‘DISASTER’: VP Harris’ past comments on key swing state issue come back to haunt her …Read more

‘DEMBARGO’ LIFTS: Hollywood Democrats go all-in for Harris …Read more

NO TO BIBI: Kamala Harris won’t preside over Netanyahu address as top Dem senator also refuses …Read more

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HARRIS?: What’s next for the VP as she quickly locks up the Democratic presidential nomination …Read more

MILWAUKEE BOUND: Kamala Harris visits Wisconsin for first campaign rally since launching presidential bid …Read more

Kamala Harris laughing at podium in Milwaukee

Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High School during her first campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

‘TROUBLE’: Kamala Harris’ prosecutor past is bad news for her presidential bid: lawyer …Read more

‘EXTREME AGENDA’: Republicans zero in on Harris immigration, border record amid raging crisis …Read more

RAZOR THIN: New poll looks at Trump vs Harris matchup after Biden bows out …Read more

DISTANCING HIMSELF: Vulnerable Dem senator credited with recruiting Harris to Senate still hasn’t made endorsement …Read more

‘GUNS BLAZING’: Kamala Harris came ‘guns blazing’ with ‘twinkle in her eye’ say CNN, MSNBC …Read more

 

Capitol Hill

WHY SO ‘SECRET’?: Presidential protection boss ducks security questions for hours: 5 takeaways …Read more

‘PROCESS HAS PLAYED OUT’: Top Dem leaders make endorsement in presidential race after Biden’s exit …Read more

MISSING IN ACTION: House leaders convene emergency session to tee up vote on bill slamming Harris on border crisis …Read more

‘CAN’T DO IT’: GOP pushes for Biden to resign the presidency …Read more

DEM HARDBALL: Top Dems threatened to forcibly remove Biden from office, set him up to fail at Trump debate: Sources …Read more

‘THE RIGHT THING’: Speaker Johnson reacts in real time to Secret Service director’s resignation …Read more

Speaker Johnson with former President Trump behind him

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens during a news conference, Friday, April 12, 2024, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.  (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

 

Tales from the Campaign Trail

CEASE AND DESIST: Former Trump rival Nikki Haley demands ‘Haley Voters for Harris’ to ‘cease and desist’ …Read more

‘DISASTER’: VP Harris’ past comments on key swing state issue come back to haunt her …Read more

‘AUTOMATIC CHEMISTRY’: Trump dismisses JD Vance’s past criticism, saying ‘he didn’t know me’ …Read more

President Donald Trump and his running mate J. D. Vance

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate J. D. Vance (Fox News)

CASH DASH: Harris hauls in a staggering $100 million in race against Trump since Biden dropped out …Read more

ENEMIES WATCHING CLOSELY: National security experts warn against ‘chaos’ of US elections as Harris enters race …Read more

 

Trump Assassination Attempt

‘BULLET FOR DEMOCRACY’: Trump reacts to Secret Service director resigning: ‘She never gave me proper protection’ …Read more

‘CANNOT AGREE’: Pennsylvania police commissioner throws cold water on Secret Service’s ‘sloped roof’ concerns …Read more

‘BULLET FOR DEMOCRACY’: Trump reacts to Secret Service director resigning: ‘She never gave me proper protection’ …Read more

‘EERIE’ FEELING: Veteran at Trump rally says ‘something wasn’t right’ before would-be assassin opened fire …Read more

WHAT WENT WRONG?: Former Navy SEAL sniper in Congress breaks down security miscues from PA rooftop where Trump was shot …Read more

lawmakers on roof in Butler, Pa.

Roofs at Butler Fair Ground in Pennsylvania where a group of bipartisan lawmakers visited on July 22. (Fox News Digital)

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Trump shooter’s father returns to public life, says ‘we just want to try to take care of ourselves’ …Read more

 

Across America

‘UNLAWFUL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL’: Trump appeals NY civil fraud judgment worth nearly half-billion dollars …Read more

‘DEPLORABLE’: Secret Service Director Cheatle called out for ‘negligent’ move before Trump shooting …Read more

BIG MEETING: Trump to meet with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Friday …Read more

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.



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Harris repeats debunked claim Trump wants to ‘ban’ abortion during first campaign rally since Biden quit race


MILWAUKEE — Vice President Harris fired up voters in one major swing state on Tuesday, while also using her first campaign rally since President Biden’s exit from the 2024 race to repeat a debunked claim that former President Trump wants to implement a blanket “ban” on abortion.

“We who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body, and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris told a raucous crowd of supporters gathered at a school auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Harris has made the same claim on other occasions, including in an X post earlier this month. “Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide,” she wrote. “President [Joe Biden] and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women’s reproductive freedom.”

RNC DELEGATES IN MILWAUKEE REVEALED WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WITH BIDEN OUT OF THE RACE: ‘IT DOESN’T MATTER’

Kamala Harris, Donald Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)

Her claim drew widespread condemnation from users who used Community Notes, the platform’s way for readers to offer context to messages viewed as false or lacking context, to point to reporting from CNN, BBC, The Associated Press and The New York Times that went against her claim.

X CEO Elon Musk, a supporter of Trump, joined in, accusing her of “lying.”

“When will politicians, or at least the intern who runs their account, learn that lying on this platform doesn’t work anymore?” he wrote.

Trump has said abortion limits should be left to the states, and posted a video on Truth Social detailing his position earlier this year.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land – in this case, the law of the state,” Trump said. 

TRUMP SAYS BIDEN ‘IS NOT FIT TO SERVE’: ‘WHO IS GOING TO BE RUNNING THE COUNTRY FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS?’

Kamala Harris Rally

Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris gather in a high school auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for her first rally since President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. (Fox News Digital/Jamie Jospeh)

Trump has suggested there should be restrictions on abortion after a certain point during a pregnancy, specifically around 15 weeks.

Harris spoke to the crowd for around 18 minutes, much shorter than Trump’s usual hour-long or more speeches, and began by recognizing the importance of Wisconsin as a battleground state.

“The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin. Yes it does. And to win in Wisconsin, we are counting on you right here in Milwaukee,” she said.

She went on to praise Biden as an “incredible” president, said it was “one of the greatest honors” to have served as his vice president, and claimed his legacy had “surpassed” that of presidents who served two terms in office.

“It is my great honor to have Joe Biden’s endorsement in this race,” she added.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR KAMALA HARRIS NOW THAT SHE’S SEEMINGLY LOCKED UP THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High School in Milwaukee on July 23, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

The loudest cheers came when Harris said she had reached enough delegate support to secure her party’s nomination for president.

“I’m so very honored, and I pledge to you, I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party so we are ready to win in November,” she said, acknowledging she has “some work to do” between now and the general election.

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She also continued to try and tie Trump to the Heritage Foundation’s heavily scrutinized Project 2025, which she called “extreme,” and which the former president has disavowed as “ridiculous” and “abysmal.”

Harris was briefly interrupted at one point by a protester who began shouting about the plight of the Palestinians amid the war between Israel and Hamas, but the individual was quickly escorted out of the event space.

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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Trump says he ‘would be willing to do more than one debate’ with Vice President Harris


Former President Trump says he’s open to debating Vice President Kamala Harris more than once as the two face off in the 2024 presidential election.

“Absolutely. I’d want to. I think it’s important,” Trump said Tuesday when asked by Fox News’ Bill Melugin on a conference call with reporters if he would commit to debating Harris at least once.

“I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually,” Trump emphasized.

Minutes later, Trump noted, “I haven’t agreed to anything. I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden.”

HARRIS BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS SINCE BIDEN DROPPED OUT OF 2024 RACE

trump at rally

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a campaign rally July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden, in a blockbuster announcement Sunday, suspended his 2024 re-election rematch with Trump and endorsed his vice president. The move by Biden ignited a surge of endorsements by Democratic governors, senators, House members and other party leaders backing Harris to succeed Biden as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HARRIS NOW THAT SHE’S SEEMINGLY LOCKED UP THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION?

Biden suspended his campaign amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party for him to drop out after a disastrous performance in last month’s first presidential debate with Trump.

The 81-year-old president’s uneven delivery and awkward answers during the first 20 minutes of the debate in front of a national audience quickly prompted questions about his mental and physical ability to serve another four years in the White House.

Joe Biden stepping off of Air Force One

President Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware July 17, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Harris on Monday night announced that she’d locked up the nomination by landing commitments of backing from a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention, which kicks off Aug. 19 in Chicago. 

Trump told reporters debating Harris instead of Biden “will be no different because they have the same policies.”

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN AS THE DEMOCRAT’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

The former president, who skipped out on the GOP presidential primary debates with his Republican challengers, said, “I think debating is important for a presidential race. I really do.

“I think if you’re the Democrat nominee or the Republican nominee, you have an obligation to debate. I think it’s very important.”

Kamala Harris disembarks Air Force Two as she arrives to campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two as she departs for Milwaukee at Joint Base Andrews, Md., July 23, 2024.  (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

Trump, in comments with reporters on a call where he amplified his criticism of Harris on the crucial issue of border security, once again took aim at ABC News, which was scheduled to host the second debate between Biden and Trump in early September.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN AS THE DEMOCRAT’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

“I’m not thrilled about ABC because they’re truly fake news,” Trump said.

He noted that when it comes to the next presidential debate, “I have at least equal say. And I don’t like the idea of ABC.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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Trump early strategy targets state that hasn’t gone red since Nixon


Former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are planning a stop in Minnesota, a surprisingly close state that hasn’t gone to a Republican presidential candidate in 52 years.

Trump and Vance plan to make the trip to St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday, the campaign announced Tuesday, with a Real Clear Politics report noting that Trump pollster John McLaughlin believes the state is in play.

McLaughlin believes Vance, who Trump announced as his running mate on the first day of the Republican National Convention last week, could help put Trump over the top in the state, with the Ohio native expected to have appeal to voters throughout the Midwest.

Trump narrowly lost the state to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, coming up about 1.5% short. The former president’s 2020 performance against President Biden wasn’t as encouraging, with Trump losing Minnesota by about 7% that year.

HARRIS GOES OVER THE TOP IN SECURING THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and JD Vance greet supporters during the rally

Former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance greet supporters during a rally at the Dayton International Airport on Nov. 7, 2022, in Vandalia, Ohio. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

But polling shows signs that Minnesota, which hasn’t gone to a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972, could be competitive once again in 2024. A June poll of likely voters in Minnesota conducted by the Star Tribune, MPR News and KARE 11, showed Trump trailing Biden by just 4% in the state, 45-41.

The Real Clear Politics polling average in the state is even slightly closer, with Trump coming in only 3 points behind Biden. One poll cited in the average, a Hill/Emerson poll, shows Trump and Biden tied in the typically dependably blue state.

The Trump campaign has become increasingly bullish that it can put more states in play in 2024, attempting to expand the map from the most heavily contested swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Minnesota and Virginia have been of particular interest to the campaign, which has insisted the two states could be winnable for the former president.

Like Minnesota, Trump has trended favorably in Virginia in recent weeks. The former president now holds a narrow lead in the state, the Real Clear Politics polling average shows, with the two most recently cited polls showing Trump up two and three points, respectively.

Trump at Michigan rally

Former President Trump holds his first public campaign rally with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN AS THE DEMOCRAT’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a Trump campaign spokesperson pointed to recent Emerson polling that shows Trump with a one-point lead in Minnesota. The spokesperson also noted that the campaign has opened eight new field offices in the state.

Trump has also mentioned Minnesota as a potential state he could grab, touting Vance’s Midwestern roots as a reason the state could be in play in November.

“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond,” Trump said in a Truth Social post that announced Vance as his running mate.

But Trump and Vance’s trip to Minnesota comes amid a rapidly shifting race, with Biden announcing Sunday that he was dropping out. Biden immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket, spurring Democrats to rally around her.

Kamala Harris closeup shot speaking

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an NCAA championship teams celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Less polling has been done on how Trump would fare against Harris in battleground states, though the former president will hope to get a head start on taking the state with his trip on Saturday.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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Vulnerable Dem senator credited with recruiting Harris to Senate still hasn’t endorsed her for president


Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who is involved in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country, is yet to endorse the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris despite recruiting her to the Senate and referring to her as a “friend.”

Several high profile Democrats have endorsed Harris for president after President Biden stepped down but when contacted by Fox News Digital this week about his endorsement, Tester’s office pointed to a Sunday press release from Tester thanking Biden for his public service and his support of an open nomination process. 

Tester’s office did not respond when asked if he would wait until the Democratic National Convention in August to endorse Harris given that talks of an open primary seem to have subsided and Harris has locked up the delegates necessary for the nomination.

Tester’s relationship with Harris goes back many years and the Montana senator was reportedly directly involved in recruiting Harris to the Senate in 2015 when he was chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

MSNBC, CNN LEFT ‘BLOWN AWAY,’ WITH ‘CHILLS’ AFTER HARRIS’ FIRST CAMPAIGN SPEECH: ‘JUMPING OUT OF MY SEAT’

Tester Harris

Sen. Tester has not officially endorsed VP Harris for president (Getty Images)

“It gets me in on leadership meetings and allows me to influence where the party is going, what the party’s going to do … to focus on things that are important,” Tester said about his role at DSCC in 2014.

In 2020, Tester called Harris a “friend” while touting her nomination as vice president in a social media post.

NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNISTS SAY OTHER DEMOCRATS MORE ‘ELECTABLE’, ‘EXCITING’ THAN KAMALA HARRIS

Sen. Jon Tester

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 12: Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) questions U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill September 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer)

“It’s surprising that Jon Tester is trying to distance himself from Kamala Harris after he recruited her to run for Senate, strongly endorsed her for Vice President, and voted with her 100% of the time on her tie-breaking Senate votes,” NRSC Spokeswoman Maggie Abboud told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“It seems like Tester is trying to fool voters in an election year.” 

Tester is widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate as he runs for reelection in a state that former President Trump won by 16 points in 2020.

Tester, who has been attempting to frame his record as more moderate as he faces a tough reelection, called on Biden to step down last week after speaking with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Fox News Digital reported.

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Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on abortion at Howard University on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

The Cook Political Report ranks Tester’s race as a “toss up.”



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Jeffries, Schumer endorse Kamala Harris for president


The top two Democrats in Congress have announced they are getting behind former Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed President Biden in the November election.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., held a press conference at Senate Democrats’ campaign headquarters on Tuesday amid mounting speculation over whether they would endorse Harris.

“Now that the process has played out from the grassroots bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” Schumer said.

Biden made the explosive announcement that he would not seek another term in the White House on Sunday afternoon as a growing chorus of Democrats voiced concerns about his mental and physical fitness for mounting another campaign and even serving another four-year term.

BIDEN ENDS BID FOR SECOND TERM IN WHITE HOUSE AS HE DROPS OUT OF HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH TRUMP

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak to reporters after the White House meeting

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak to reporters after the White House meeting

The 81-year-old leader instead endorsed Harris, who is more than 22 years Biden’s junior. 

A flurry of Democrats quickly followed suit, including former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 150 House Democrats have backed Harris.

TRUMP SAYS BIDEN ‘IS NOT FIT TO SERVE’: ‘WHO IS GOING TO BE RUNNING THE COUNTRY FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS?’

Kamala Harris speaks

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The move has spurred Republicans to accuse Democrats of staging a “coup” against Biden in an effort to coronate Harris because they were afraid the president would lose to former President Trump in November.

Left-wing lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital on Monday, however, insisted the primary was still open to whomever wanted to compete – though they were certain Harris would still win.

“You’re seeing Democrats coalesce around Vice President Harris. I have endorsed her. Ultimately, in order to have a primary, you have to have a challenger. No one is challenging her,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. “And so, right now it is an open process, right? You’ve seen potential people come out who could run and they’re endorsing her. And so that is the open process that’s happening.”

KAMALA HARRIS’ PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RAISES NEARLY $50 MILLION SINCE BIDEN ENDORSEMENT

President Biden

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When asked if he would advise potential challengers to stay out, he said, “I’m not discouraging anything but these people, right, folks at a high level, governors, senators…they’re not saying they’re gonna throw their hat in the ring, they’re endorsing Vice President Harris because they also think she’s the best person for the job. So it’s tough to say ‘We want to process,’ when right now you don’t even have a challenger.”

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Enough delegates have now backed Harris for her to formally win the Democratic nomination at the party’s naming convention in August.

Earlier this month, a source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that Schumer and Jeffries pushed for the DNC to delay its process of formalizing Biden as the nominee.



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Harris says Biden is currently capable of serving as president amid growing concerns over his fitness


Vice President Kamala Harris’ office told Fox News Digital Tuesday morning that she believes President Biden is currently capable of serving as president – after the sudden suspension of his campaign heightened concerns over his ability to complete his term.

Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday after more than 30 Democratic lawmakers called on him to withdraw. Pressure mounted following his catastrophic performance at the first presidential debate in June, where he was seen speaking with a raspy voice and jumbling up his words.

Lawmakers immediately began to question Biden’s ability to serve the remainder of his term if he is unable to seek re-election, but the vice president remains confident in Biden’s ability to serve.

Asked if Harris believes Biden is currently capable of serving as president, the vice president’s office told Fox News Digital, “Yes.”

BRACE YOURSELF, AMERICA, WITH KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATS ARE ABOUT TO PUT ON AN INCREDIBLE SHOW

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024. (Demetrius Freeman/Getty Images)

“As the Vice President has said many times before, the nation is lucky to have President Biden leading our nation,” Ernesto Apreza, press secretary to the vice president, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

The president has been isolated in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for nearly a week since testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. The White House physician released several updates on the president’s health since his diagnosis, writing Monday that he “continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”

TOP DEMS THREATENED TO FORCIBLY REMOVE BIDEN FROM OFFICE, SET HIM UP TO FAIL AT TRUMP DEBATE: SOURCES

The president said in his withdrawal announcement that he will spend the remainder of his term “solely on fulfilling my duties as President,” but some lawmakers are calling on his Cabinet to take action and remove him immediately.

Joe Biden stepping off of Air Force One

President Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., sent a letter to Harris and every member of Biden’s Cabinet on Monday demanding they invoke the 25th Amendment, which states that a vice president and Cabinet majority can vote to oust the president in the case that he is unfit to serve.

“Joe Biden has decided he isn’t capable of being a candidate; in so doing his admission also means he cannot serve as President,” Schmitt said. 

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she would be introducing a similar resolution to call on Harris to invoke the measure.



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Biden will address nation from Oval Office on decision to exit 2024 race


President Biden will address the nation on Wednesday after his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election. 

Biden will speak to the American people about why he decided to exit the race and what he plans to focus on for the remaining six months of his first term. His address will be delivered from the Oval Office, the White House said. 

The president is expected to be seen in public for the first time in six days on Tuesday as he returns to the nation’s capital from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Biden has not appeared publicly since reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 last week. His only public remarks on his stunning decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election came Monday during a brief phone call into the campaign headquarters of Vice Presidential Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

DOJ REVEALS IT HAS BIDEN TRANSCRIPTS AT ISSUE IN CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE AFTER INITIAL DENIAL

Joe Biden stepping off of Air Force One

President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. This was the last time Biden was seen before his COVID isolation. (Susan Walsh/AP)

According to the president’s public schedule, Biden will depart from Delaware at 12:30 p.m. He will then fly from Dover Air Force Base to Joint Base Andrews to return to the White House at around 2:30 p.m. The president will receive his daily briefing at 3 p.m. There are no public events on his schedule. 

In a letter released on X Sunday, Biden said he believes it is in the “best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” 

“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision,” he added, though he gave no details on the time, place or manner in which he would speak. 

Last week, Biden began to self-isolate after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19. He was last seen publicly deplaning in Delaware on July 17.

In a letter updating the status of 81-year-old Biden’s medical condition on Friday, the physician to the president, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, wrote that Biden “completed his sixth dose of PAXLOVID this morning.”

JOE BIDEN RETURNING TO WHITE HOUSE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE ENDING PRESIDENTIAL BID, COVID DIAGNOSIS

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday, July 22, 2024. This is Harris’ first appearance since Biden endorsed her to be the next Democratic nominee for president. (Demetrius Freeman/Getty Images)

Biden “is still experiencing a loose, non-productive cough and hoarseness, but his symptoms continue to improve steadily,” O’Connor wrote in the letter released by the White House. 

“His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal,” the doctor said. “His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.” 

The doctor said Biden has the KP .2.3 variant, which accounts for approximately 33.3% of new infections in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“The President continues to tolerate treatment well and will continue PAXLOVID as planned,” the letter says. “He continues to perform all his presidential duties.” 

BIDEN MAKES BIZARRE CALL IN TO HARRIS HEADQUARTERS HOURS AFTER DROPPING OUT OF RACE

biden and netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden on Thursday at the White House.  (Fox News/Getty Images)

Biden will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday at the White House, according to a U.S. official. Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. a little more than 24 hours after Biden announced that he would no longer seek re-election. 

On Wednesday, Netanyahu will give a speech in front of Congress, though Harris reportedly declined to preside over the address, according to the Washington Post. Before departing Israel for D.C., Netanyahu told reporters that his country would stand by the U.S. “regardless [of] who the American people choose as their next president.”

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“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together,” the leader said.

Netanyahu also requested a meeting with former President Trump this week, according to Politico. It is unclear if Trump agreed to the meeting.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.



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DOJ reveals it has Biden transcripts at issue in classified docs case after initial denial


The Justice Department revealed late Monday in a court filing that it does in fact have transcripts of President Biden’s interviews with a biographer after initially having denied possessing the documents. 

While juggling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to former special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents following his departure as vice president in the Obama administration, DOJ attorneys said it would be time-consuming to process audio files into transcripts related to the president’s conversations with biographer Mark Zwonitzer. 

“We don’t have some transcript that’s been created by the special counsel that we can attest to its accuracy,” DOJ lawyer Cameron Silverberg told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich last month. 

That changed Monday evening, when Silverberg told Friedrich in a new court filing that Hur’s office did in fact have transcripts of some of Biden’s conversations with Zwonitzer. The biographer worked with Biden in 2007 and 2017 to compile memoirs, Politico reported. 

BIDEN ASSERTS EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE OVER RECORDINGS FROM CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS PROBE

Robert Hur delivers remarks

U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert Hur delivers remarks during Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s farewell ceremony at the Robert F. Kennedy Main Justice Building May 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“In the past few days, in the course of processing the portions of the Biden-Zwonitzer audio recordings that the parties agreed to (see June 25, 2024 Joint Status Report at 2-3, ECF No. 20), the Department located six electronic files, consisting of a total of 117 pages, that appeared to be verbatim transcripts of a small subset of the Biden-Zwonitzer audio recordings created for the SCO by a court-reporting service,” a court filing late Monday evening reviewed by Fox News Digital states. 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REBUKED FOR DELAY TACTICS IN BIDEN-HUR TAPES

The specific FOIA request related to the Biden-Zwonitzer transcripts was filed by the Heritage Foundation. 

President Joe Biden closeup shot from lectern

President Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The court filing Monday evening also revealed that while fielding the various FOIA requests related to the bombshell Hur report, DOJ officials contacted an unnamed person with knowledge of the transcripts, but the individual was unable to weigh in. After resisting reaching out to Hur directly for information pertaining to what documents he relied upon for his final report, the DOJ did in fact reach out to Hur. 

Hur confirmed the Biden-Zwonitzer transcripts and said he relied on the documents, as well as a note handwritten by Biden related to Afghanistan, for his final report. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SUBPOENA DOJ MATERIALS RELATED TO SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW WITH BIDEN

Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified materials after his eight years as vice president was released in February, and stated Hur would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Robert Hur, Joe Biden in left-right photo split

Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report described President Biden, right, as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” mirroring the impression he left on viewers of the debate. (Getty Images)

“Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote in his report. 

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON’S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime yet could still serve as president.

In May, the White House asserted executive privilege over audio and video recordings related to Hur’s investigation, including the interviews between Biden and Zwonitzer. 

documents in boxes shown in storage at Penn Biden center

This image from special council Robert Hur’s investigation released by the Department of Justice on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 shows the storage closet inside the Penn Biden Center in March 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice)

“The audio recordings of your interview and Mr. Zwonitzer’s interview fall within the scope of executive privilege. Production of these recordings to the Committees would raise an unacceptable risk of undermining the Department’s ability to conduct similar high-profile criminal investigations–in particular, investigations where the voluntary cooperation of White House officials is exceedingly important,” Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote to Biden in a letter obtained by Fox News at the time. 

FOREIGN OUTLETS PULL NO PUNCHES OVER BIDEN ‘CONFUSION’ AND ‘RAGE’ AFTER SURPRISE PRESS CONFERENCE

Silverberg said in his Monday court filing that he will confer with the relevant parties regarding processing the documents for potential release. 

The court filing comes one day after Biden dropped out of the presidential race following mounting pressure from Democrats to bow out and let another candidate take the mantle to run against former President Trump. The pressure was amplified following Biden’s botched debate performance, which opened the floodgates to criticism and concern surrounding the president’s mental fitness and age. 

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Vice President Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election following Biden’s departure from the race. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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‘Extreme agenda’: Harris’ past record on illegal immigration resurfaces after Biden drops out


Vice President Kamala Harris will face increased scrutiny in the months ahead after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee on Sunday — with conservative critics already zeroing in on past comments she has made about immigration and the border crisis.

Harris was thrust into the spotlight on Sunday after President Biden said he would not seek re-election in November and endorsed his vice president.

Harris’s most high-profile role on immigration came when she was tasked by President Biden in 2021 with leading the diplomatic outreach to tackle the “root causes” of migration in the Northern Triangle countries. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar” by Republicans, although the White House has rejected that description.

HARRIS NOT SPOKEN TO BORDER PATROL CHIEF DESPITE ONGOING MIGRANT CRISIS, ‘ROOT CAUSES’ PUSH 

Kamala Harris dressed in all black holds mic during event

Vice President Kamala Harris has been going around the country on her Economic Opportunity Tour. (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Harris would visit Mexico and Guatemala in 2021 as part of that assignment, and she also paid a visit to the southern border in El Paso, Texas. A project to rally private-sector investment in the region via a call to action has seen more than $5.2 billion committed since May 2021 from over 50 companies and organizations. The number of encounters from those three countries has since fallen from over 700,000 in FY 21 to over 330,000 this fiscal year so far, although it is not clear to what extent it is connected to her efforts.

However, with the crisis at the border still an ongoing issue, Republicans and conservatives have already resurfaced Harris’ broader stances on immigration outside of her role as vice president. The Republican National Committee, within an hour of Biden stepping aside, posted a clip of Harris talking in 2018 about considering abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically re-examine ICE and its role and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing,” she told MSNBC. “And we need to probably think about starting from scratch.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a memo obtained by Fox News, pointed to those remarks, as well as a previous pledge to decriminalize border crossings. It also described her as the “border czar” and pointed also to her past support of the Biden administration’s efforts to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The Biden-Harris campaign did not respond to questions about her record.

“Candidates should not be shy about aggressively tying their opponents to Kamala Harris’ extreme agenda,” the memo said.

Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf tied her record to that of the Biden administration in general.

migrants processed at the border

Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on June 13, 2024 in San Diego. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

“Important to remember that VP Harris has only visited the border one time in the last 3.5 years. The Biden-Harris Administration does not take this issue seriously and their policies have left the American people less secure and more vulnerable,” he said in a post on X.

FLASHBACK: KAMALA HARRIS COMPARED ICE TO KKK IN SENATE HEARING 

Others pointed to a testy exchange in the November 2018 confirmation hearing of Ronald Vitiello — who was President Trump’s nominee to lead the agency — if he was “aware of the perception” of a similarity between ICE and the Ku Klux Klan.

“Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the laws and do you see any parallels?” she asked.

Vitiello pushed back, saying “I do not see any parallels” between the immigration enforcement agency and the White supremacist group.

During her presidential campaign, Harris had also promised to “shut down all government contracts with private prisons” for ICE enforcement. 

Numbers USA, a group which calls for lower levels of immigration overall, highlighted that it had given Harris an F- as a grade on her immigration voting record as a California senator.

“Kamala Harris was put in charge of the destruction of immigration enforcement. She has worked to abolish ICE since her first day in office,” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement and a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “Everything Kamala Harris has said and done in her career proves that she bows to the demands of far left, open-borders activists. The American people will have a clear choice in November — mass deportation or mass release of illegal aliens and violent criminals into American communities.”

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The scrutiny of Harris comes a week after Republicans took an aggressive stance toward immigration enforcement at the RNC, with attendees wielding placards declaring “Mass Deportation Now!”

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.





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Top Dems threatened to forcibly remove Biden from office: Sources


Operatives at the very highest levels of the Democratic Party threatened Joe Biden with forcibly removing him from office unless he stepped down, sources told The Post.

The well-orchestrated “palace coup” to stop the faltering president seeking re-election has been in place for weeks, but stubborn Biden fought against it every step of the way, a source close to the Biden family told The Post Monday.

The insider also made clear the anger, paranoia and frustration Biden displayed as the party elite circled around him and piled on the pressure.

AFTER BIDEN DROPS OUT OF RACE, DOCTORS REVEAL WHY THE DECISION MAY HAVE BEEN BEST FOR HIS HEALTH

Part of the “elaborate” strategy to remove Biden from the race – as he announced in a shock letter posted on X Sunday – was allowing him to debate Republican candidate Donald Trump last month on live TV in Atlanta.

Biden speaks

President Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on July 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

During the car crash 90-minute debate, Biden appeared confused, slack-jawed and at one point he froze up, with his shocking performance turning the tide against him.

“That debate was a set-up to convince Democrats that he couldn’t run for president,” the source said Monday.

As calls for him to bow out mounted, Biden insisted he would continue, but party bigwigs threatened to invoke the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The amendment allows for the vice president and members of the cabinet to declare he is unfit to serve and force him to step down, the source added.

BIDEN MAKES BIZARRE CALL IN TO HARRIS HEADQUARTERS HOURS AFTER DROPPING OUT OF RACE

The White House and representatives from the Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

Although Biden immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for president, the source said Democratic delegates will be strongly encouraged to instead back Arizona senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Harris speaks

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an NCAA championship team celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Some holdouts have still yet to endorse Harris as Biden’s successor, despite less than a month until the convention and only four months until election day. Most notable among them is former President Barack Obama.

“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said Sunday.

Obama speaks

Former President Barack Obama speaks at a Democracy Forum event held by the Obama Foundation at the Javits Center on Nov. 17, 2022, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Following the debate, first son Hunter Biden suddenly became more involved in his father’s day-to-day business and insisted upon attending every official and unofficial meeting, the source said.

“Hunter felt he [Joe Biden] was being set up and he was very concerned about his father,” the source said. “These people, these officials were not on Joe’s side.”

Biden’s own staff did not have any forewarning about the bombshell decision to pull out of the race, which was known since at least Tuesday, the source said.

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Many were also shocked by the letter posted to Biden’s X account itself, as it was typed on his private letterhead rather than White House notepaper and signed electronically, the source said.

“Everyone was totally shocked,” the source said. “It was pretty telling that Jill Biden tweeted a heart emoji and nothing else.”

Democratic Party insiders have also known for at least two years how Biden was in decline, said the source.

“When I saw him a couple of years ago, it was frightening,” said the source. “He was just repeating slogans and had no idea who I was.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.



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GOP senator demands Cabinet invoke 25th Amendment against Biden after suspending his re-election campaign


EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Eric Schmitt is urging all members of the Cabinet, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to invoke the 25th Amendment against President Biden, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Schmitt sent letters to every member of Biden’s Cabinet Monday afternoon, just a day after the president suspended his re-election campaign amid pressure from within his own party about his age and fitness to serve another term. 

BIDEN ENDS BID FOR SECOND TERM IN WHITE HOUSE AS HE DROPS OUT OF HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH TRUMP

Biden, instead, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as the 2024 Democratic nominee in his place. 

Eric Schmitt speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention

Sen. Eric Schmitt speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

While he has dropped out of the race, the White House has maintained that the president will finish his first term, which concludes Jan. 20, 2025. 

But Republicans, including his GOP opponent, former President Trump, are questioning his ability to serve for the remainder of his term. 

Schmitt, on Monday, sent letters to the Cabinet, including Harris, urging them to invoke the 25th Amendment. While many have suggested the invocation of the 25th Amendment, Schmitt is the first to officially take action. 

Kamala and Joe

President Biden delivers remarks on the assassination attempt on former President Trump at the White House on July 14, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Joe Biden has decided he isn’t capable of being a candidate; in so doing his admission also means he cannot serve as President,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital. “Therefore, it is in the best immediate interest of the safety of the United States for Joe Biden to resign from office or face removal under the 25th Amendment.” 

Schmitt said that under the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans have “fought to stay afloat financially, have seen America’s standing on the world stage diminished, and have been pushed aside in favor of illegal aliens flooding across our southern border.” 

TRUMP SAYS BIDEN ‘IS NOT FIT TO SERVE’: ‘WHO IS GOING TO BE RUNNING THE COUNTRY FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS?’

“If Joe Biden is incapable of running for office, he is incapable of serving in office,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital. “It is that simple.” 

Fox News Digital obtained letters Schmitt sent to members of the Cabinet Monday evening. 

“If President Biden is willing to admit he is unable to continue to stand as the Democratic Party nominee for President after the primary process due to his health, he is unable to continue to serve as President until January 20, 2025,” Schmitt writes in the letters to members of the president’s Cabinet. 

“As the Democrats scramble to find a new nominee, it is with a sober awareness of the gravity of my request that I ask that you, as a principal officer of the executive department, discharge your constitutional duty under the 25th Amendment, working with Vice President Harris and rest of the Cabinet to submit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration of the truth we now all see—President Biden is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” he continues. “If President Biden is unwilling to resign, for the sake of our great nation, you must do your duty to relieve him of his constitutional powers and duties.” 

KAMALA HARRIS’ PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RAISES NEARLY $50 MILLION SINCE BIDEN ENDORSEMENT

The U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment states that “whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on July 17, 2024, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Chris duMond/Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on July 17, 2024, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Chris duMond/Getty Images)

Schmitt wrote to members of the Cabinet that “while Vice President Harris may have deficiencies to effectively serve as the Acting President in any way that benefits the American people, she has not displayed a medical, incurable inability to discharge the powers and duties of the Presidency, unlike President Biden.” 

Schmitt wrote that “the same Democrat elites that forced President Biden’s hand over the past several weeks did so long after the American people could see his inability to discharge his powers and duties.” 

“He should have never stood for reelection through the primaries. Rather than allow the voice of the people to speak through the democratic process of primary elections, the Democratic party insiders and megadonors will now have the opportunity to pick a new candidate in a crony-filled backroom of their convention,” he wrote. “In 2024, the Democratic Party is anything but democratic.” 

President Biden and Jill Biden

First lady Jill Biden and President Biden (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Schmitt urged the Cabinet secretaries to take action “for the sake of our nation.” 

“We cannot wait until January 20, 2025 for a mentally capable President,” Schmitt wrote. “The stakes are too important given the domestic and foreign challenges the United States is currently facing.” 

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Schmitt said Americans “cannot afford a part-time President.” 

“I urge you to fulfill your constitutional duty and relieve President Biden of his constitutional powers and duties,” he wrote. “If he is medically unable to be a candidate for Presidency (after he won the primary), then he is unable to unable to discharge the powers and duties of the Presidency today.” 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News digital’s request for comment.



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Kamala Harris doesn’t answer whether Biden is fit for office


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Vice President Harris will not say whether she is confident President Biden is currently capable of serving as commander in chief amid calls by lawmakers to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Biden withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday after his performance at the first presidential debate sparked concerns over his fitness and mental competency. After the sudden announcement, several lawmakers began to question the president’s ability to serve the remainder of his term if he is not able to seek re-election. 

After the announcement, Harris was quickly positioned as the Democrat replacement for Biden on the 2024 ticket, but some lawmakers – including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. – don’t want to wait until January for Biden to leave office.

Fox News Digital asked Harris whether she believes Biden is able to serve as president but did not receive a response despite several attempts to reach her office.

GOP SENATOR DEMANDS CABINET INVOKE 25TH AMENDMENT AGAINST BIDEN AFTER SUSPENDING HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Kamala Harris speaks

Vice President Harris (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Biden has not made any public appearances since testing positive for COVID-19 last week and suddenly ending his re-election campaign just days later via a written statement. Fox News Digital also asked if the vice president knew where Biden has been the past several days and if they were in contact but did not receive a response by press time.

AFTER BIDEN DROPS OUT OF RACE, DOCTORS REVEAL WHY DECISION WAS BEST FOR HIS HEALTH

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., sent a letter to Harris on Monday stating that Biden is unfit to serve and demanding she invoke the 25th Amendment.

President Biden in Washington, D.C.

President Biden (AP/Evan Vucci)

“Joe Biden has decided he isn’t capable of being a candidate; in so doing his admission also means he cannot serve as President,” Schmitt wrote. “Therefore, it is in the best immediate interest of the safety of the United States for Joe Biden to resign from office or face removal under the 25th Amendment.” 

Over the weekend, Mace also said she was going to propose a similar resolution.

“If Joe Biden does not have the cognitive ability to seek reelection, he does not have the cognitive ability to serve the remainder of his term,” Mace wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. “Tomorrow I will introduce a resolution calling on Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment and assume the duties of acting President.”

Eric Schmitt speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

Before Biden announced his exit from the 2024 presidential race, vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, suggested Congress should consider the amendment if the president decided to suspend his re-election bid.

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“If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president. And if they want to take him down because he’s mentally incapable of serving, invoke the 25th Amendment,” Vance told Fox News in a sit-down interview with running mate and former President Trump.

Biden endorsed Harris for the Democrat nomination, and the vice president is reportedly seeking to solidify her name on the ballot as soon as this week.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.



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Kamala Harris visiting Milwaukee for first campaign rally since launching presidential bid


Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, the first rally since launching her bid for the presidency.

Harris announced her presidential campaign Sunday night, shortly after President Biden announced he was suspending his re-election effort. The president subsequently endorsed Harris.

On Monday, Harris secured enough delegates for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, although the Democratic National Convention formally selecting the party’s nominee will not be held until next month in Chicago.

The rally in Milwaukee will be Harris’ ninth visit to Wisconsin since she was sworn in as vice president in 2021 and her fifth visit to the state so far this year, according to her campaign.

HARRIS HAULS IN $81 MILLION IN FIRST 24 HOURS SINCE BIDEN BOWED OUT

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign stop on May 15, 2019, in Nashua, New Hampshire. (Getty Images)

“We’re proud to welcome Vice President Harris to Wisconsin, a state she once called home, where she will rally excited supporters after announcing her presidential campaign,” the Harris campaign’s Wisconsin Communications Director Brianna Johnson said in a press release.

Every major Democratic elected leader in Wisconsin has endorsed Harris’ presidential campaign, according to her campaign. This includes Gov. Tony Evers and every Democratic statewide elected official, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan, both state legislative Democratic leaders, the mayors of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and other cities across the state, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and more than 90% of Wisconsin delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Democrats established a coordinated campaign in Wisconsin to support Harris’ White House bid, according to Johnson. There are 48 coordinated offices across 43 counties throughout the state with about 160 full-time staffers on the ground who have already started knocking on doors, making phone calls and contacting their friends and neighbors urging them to vote for Harris and Democrats in November.

“We’ll continue to build on this success with events in every corner of the state this week, harnessing the grassroots energy for Kamala Harris that we’ll see on display in Milwaukee tomorrow,” Johnson said.

Kamala Harris speaks

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Harris is prepared to “prosecute” the case against former President Trump, Johnson said in an apparent reference to Harris’ experience as a prosecutor, adding that there is “no better place to drive this contrast” than Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Last week, Republicans, including Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, were in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where Johnson said the former president highlighted “his Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion nationwide, raise taxes for middle-class families, cut Social Security and Medicare, and give Trump virtually unchecked power.”

“In Milwaukee, Trump paraded out JD Vance – a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda – the architect of Trump’s family separation policies, authors of Trump’s Project 2025, and governors who have signed dangerous and extreme abortion bans,” Johnson continued.

KAMALA HARRIS SAYS TRUMP PICKED JD VANCE TO BE ‘RUBBER STAMP’ FOR FORMER PRESIDENT’S ‘EXTREME AGENDA’

Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Women’s Economic Participation in the Industries of the Future meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, California, on November 16, 2023. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Project 2025 is a controversial initiative organized by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation that was authored by a number of conservatives, including some former Trump administration officials.

The initiative offers right-wing policy recommendations for Trump should he win the presidency, including replacing civil service employees with Trump loyalists, abolishing the Department of Education, criminalizing pornography, eliminating DEI programs, cutting funding for Medicaid and Medicare, rejecting abortion as health care and infusing the government with Christian values.

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Trump has sought to distance himself from the initiative, which has been criticized as an authoritarian and Christian nationalist plan that would undermine civil liberties, saying he knows nothing about it, that parts of it are “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal” and “extreme” and that its backers are on the “radical right.”

During her visit to Milwaukee, Harris plans to highlight the choice between Trump, the “convicted felon who would drag this country backwards,” and Harris’ “brighter vision for the future, where our freedoms are protected and every American has a fair shot,” Johnson said.



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Top five moments from Secret Service director’s hours-long grilling after Trump assassination attempt


U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified for hours on Capitol Hill Monday, facing a grilling from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the agency’s lapse in security that enabled the assassination attempt on former President Trump. 

Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., after he subpoenaed her to appear.

REP. MACE CALLS ‘BULLS—‘ ON RESPONSE FROM SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE

Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday, just over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. 

Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.

Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee

United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. Cheatle has vowed cooperation with all investigations into the agency following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others. 

Cheatle admitted under oath that the Secret Service “on July 13th, we failed.” 

Here are the top five moments from the highly-anticipated hearing: 

Cheatle admits Secret Service ‘failed’ on July 13

Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee that “on July 13th, we failed” when it came to her agency’s handling of the assassination attempt on the former president and the shooting at his Butler, Pa. rally. 

“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” she continued.

“We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again,” Cheatle also said. “Our agents, officers and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no fail mission.”

Democrats and Republicans call on Cheatle to resign 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called on Cheatle to resign, along with other Republican lawmakers. 

But Democrats called for her resignation as well, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who said, “If you have an assassination attempt on a president or a former president or a candidate, you need to resign.”

Cheatle has maintained that she will not resign, and said she is committed to getting answers on the massive security failure for the American people. 

TIMELINE: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., says he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against her.

“In light of Kimberly Cheatle’s unacceptable handling of the Trump assassination attempt, her disastrous appearance before the House Oversight committee today, and her refusal to resign, we have no choice but to impeach,” Steube said in a post on X. “I will be filing articles of impeachment against Kimberly Cheatle this afternoon.”

Kimberly Cheatle departs after testifying during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing

Kimberly Cheatle, Director, U.S. Secret Service, departs after testifying during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump, on Capitol Hill, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., accused Cheatle of perjuring herself and stonewalling members of the House Oversight Committee, telling her protectees are “sitting ducks” with her in charge.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace calls ‘bulls—’ on Cheatle response 

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday that her response that she had “no idea” how her opening statement for today’s House Oversight Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting got leaked to media agencies is “bulls—.” 

The fiery remark from the South Carolina lawmaker came after Cheatle was directed by Mace to answer a series of yes or no questions on the Secret Service’s response to the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Pennsylvania, in which Cheatle said “yes” to it being a “colossal failure,” and a tragedy that could have been prevented. 

“Would you say leaking your opening statement to Punchbowl News, Politico’s Playbook and Washington Post several hours before you sent it to this committee as being political? Yes or no?” Mace asked Cheatle. 

“I have no idea how my statement got out,” Cheatle responded. 

Split of Rep. Nancy Mace and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle

Rep. Nancy Mace said Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was “full of s—” at a Monday, July 22, 2024, House hearing. (Associated Press)

Mace fired back: “Well that’s bulls—.” 

Mace started mentioning news articles published between 5 and 7 a.m. ET, about three to four hours before she said the House Oversight Committee received Cheatle’s statement.

Mace then asked Cheatle, “Have you provided all audio and video recordings in your possession to this committee, as we asked on July 15? Yes or no?”  

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR OPENS TESTIMONY WITH FRANK ADMISSION: ‘WE FAILED’ — BUT WON’T RESIGN 

“I would have to get back to you,” Cheatle said. 

“That is a no. You’re full of s– today. You’re just being completely dishonest,” Mace told Cheatle, before being interrupted with a call for decorum inside the hearing room at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Cheatle unable to answer how many times Trump team made extra security requests

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday said that “for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied” from former President Trump’s team. 

“They asked for additional help in some form or another. You told them no. How many times did you tell them no? And what’d you tell them no to?” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked Cheatle, referencing comments made by Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. 

Donald Trump is moved from the stage at a campaign rally

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is moved from the stage at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“What I can tell you is that in generic terms, when people when details make a request, there are times that there are alternate ways to cover off on that threat or that report,” Cheatle responded. 

Cheatle tells House Oversight Committee she called Trump after shooting to apologize

Cheatle testified Monday that she called former President Trump after the shooting to apologize. 

She also attempted to explain to the committee that her agency was unaware of a suspicious threat during the rally, despite the public pointing to a man on a roof minutes before former President Trump was shot.
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She stressed, though, that the Secret Service and “the people that are in charge of protecting the president on that day would never bring the former president out if there was a threat that had been identified.” 

Trump told “Jesse Watters Primetime” in an interview that aired Monday night that Cheatle came to see him in the days following the assassination attempt.

“It went very nicely. She was very nice, I thought. But, you know, somebody should have made sure there was nobody on that roof,” he said. 

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.



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The race to define Kamala Harris, as Pelosi endorses her and no challengers emerge


Kamala Harris may well be unstoppable as the Democratic nominee – no one has emerged to run against her – but an ugly brawl over defining her will not be so easily won.

The vice president has been a nationally known figure for nearly four years, but has never had to operate under the searing scrutiny of a presidential nominee, and with just a month to go before her party’s convention. Even with Joe Biden’s endorsement, she faces an uphill battle against Donald Trump, who’s just come off a hugely successful convention and the miraculous survival of an attempted assassination.  

The Trump narrative: Kamala is weird, with a strange laugh, an awkward speaking style and a foreign-sounding name (which some Republicans insist on mispronouncing, like Democrat Party).

She is a radical left-winger from San Francisco who makes Biden look like a raging moderate.

Harris speaks at the White House

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024, during an event with NCAA college athletes. This is her first public appearance since President Joe Biden endorsed her to be the next presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Harris owns the failures of the Biden administration, especially at the border, where Biden nominally put her in charge. And she shares the blame for rising inflation.

She was complicit in a coverup of the president’s frailty and declining mental acuity, helping hide that from the public.

Harris ran an abysmal campaign in 2020, not even making it to Iowa, a true measure of her political incompetence.

The Harris narrative: She is a former prosecutor taking on a crook.

AS CAMPAIGN LEAK PUSHES BIDEN OUT, WILL DEMOCRATS ANOINT KAMALA HARRIS?

(This is an actual example. I got an email from the Harris campaign – which has obviously taken over the Biden mailing list – saying “Kamala Harris stands up to fraudsters and criminals. Donald Trump is a convicted felon.”)

The real issue is Trump, who is a danger to democracy, consumed by personal grievance and would return the White House to the days of constant chaos.

Harris would bring energy and vigor to the presidency. At 78, Trump, some Democrats are saying, perhaps with tongue in cheek, he’d be the oldest person ever elected to the White House.

Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention

Republican presidential candidate and former president, Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.  (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Trump’s idea of dealing with a porous border was to cruelly separate children from their families. 

The former president could pull out of NATO and abandon Ukraine, boasts of his relationship with Vladimir Putin, and speaks admiringly of such authoritarians as Kim Jong-un and Viktor Orban. 

Harris has consistently been underestimated in her rise to the top of California politics

My take: Kamala Harris is a bit odd, but that also makes her interesting.

VP HARRIS EXPOSED FOR NEVER MEETING WITH KEY BORDER OFFICIAL AS CRISIS RAGES

She is definitely to the left of Biden, having endorsed Medicare for All during the last campaign.

Harris did run a lousy campaign last time.

The rate of inflation has slowed, but people don’t perceive it that way, so the economy (remember Bidenomics?) does hurt her.

The airwaves will be filled with Harris’ circuitous “word salad” answers, but those are mostly from her first two years and she is sharper now, especially since she became the administration’s point person on abortion rights. Still, that first impression may prove indelible.

The question of whether she hid Biden’s infirmities from the public is definitely fair game, and undoubtedly true, but she can just say she was being a loyalist.

Trump would probably not leave NATO but would likely seek a quick settlement that would allow Russia to keep part of Ukraine. He almost never criticizes Putin.

He was convicted in that flimsy Stormy Daniels case, but has successfully portrayed all four indictments as the administration’s weaponization of law enforcement, which only boosted his poll numbers.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speak during a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, on July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Harris went to Wilmington yesterday to thank the campaign staff, and Biden called in with rambling remarks. I think that was a mistake.

When the vice president got around to going after Trump, she tied it to her record as a prosecutor.

Harris said she took on predators who abused women, and “Donald Trump was found guilty of sexual abuse.

“I took on the big banks,” while Trump was found guilty of “34 counts of fraud.”

She also took pains to lay out an agenda. “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” while Trump gave “huge tax cuts to big corporations….We are not going back.” She spoke of the freedom to vote and to live safe from gun violence.

But Harris said some things that were either exaggerations or simply not true.

She said Trump put Social Security and Medicare “on the chopping block,” whereas he said as early as 2015, in interviews with me and others, that he would protect those programs.

In talking about reproductive rights, she said Trump would “sign a national abortion ban.” He’s specifically denied that and said under the Dobbs ruling it should be left to the states.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi, who is more responsible than anyone for the leak campaign that led Biden to step aside, endorsed Harris yesterday, and the president remains furious with the former speaker.

TED CRUZ ISSUES WARNING AGAINST UNDERESTIMATING KAMALA HARRIS

Joe Manchin also said yesterday he won’t get into the race. Gretchen Whitmer, who had been considered a possible contender because she runs Michigan, said yesterday she’ll be co-chair of the Harris campaign.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who would be the second Jewish nominee on a major-party ticket, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also backed the VP.

So who’s left to challenge her? What Democrats would want to risk their career for a likely loss, especially given the racial and sexist repercussions if the first black woman and first of Asian-American descent were to be passed over. One of the oldest sayings in politics is you can’t beat someone with no one.

That has shifted attention to the newest veepstakes, the search for Kamala’s running mate. It can’t be Gavin Newsom because they’re from the same state. The choice of Whitmer would ask voters to accept an all-female ticket, and she says she doesn’t want to be VP.

Besides, as Trump has told me and others, people vote for the top of the ticket. While it doesn’t hurt to have a No. 2 from Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin – Harris will be in Milwaukee today – it hardly guarantees a win in those make-or-break states.

A mere taste of the coming media environment comes from Axios:

“Harris’ time as vice president has been occasionally rocky, defined in part by large staff turnover…Of the 47 Harris staffers listed in 2021, only five still worked for her as of this spring…

“Former Harris aides told Axios the high turnover is partly because of how the vice president treats her staff.”

What Harris will probably do is generate more enthusiasm among black voters, many of whom had abandoned Biden, or among independent women who are wary of Trump. And her camp says she raised $81 million online in the 24 hours after the announcement.

But Harris fares about as well as Biden when matched against Trump, who still has to be considered a strong favorite.

Oddly, some on the right – including the editors of National Review – say if Biden is unfit to campaign for reelection, he shouldn’t be in charge of nuclear weapons now and should resign. That, of course, would give Harris a four-month head start as president.

Trump says he wants to move the planned September debate with Biden on ABC to a Kamala debate on Fox News, which I don’t see happening. But it may be that the VP sees no benefit at all to debating Trump.

It was a peculiar situation yesterday when Harris’ first event since the announcement was filling in for the Covid-stricken president at the annual honoring of collegiate sports champions. She dealt with the official event by praising Biden and his record of accomplishment.

Her team soon realized that wasn’t much of a reintroduction to America and quickly scheduled the Wilmington visit.

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Unsolicited advice: Kamala shouldn’t appear with Biden at all, except at the convention, because he’s very unpopular. She’s got to carve out her own identity over the next 105 days to get out of his shadow. It doesn’t matter how much she loves him, she’s at the top of the ticket now and has to stop deferring to him.

Kicker: Donald Trump donated $6,000 to Harris between 2011 and 2013, when she was state attorney general, USA Today reports. Trump said in 2016, “I’ve given to Democrats. I’ve given to Hillary. I’ve given to everybody! Because that was my job.” Which is true. 



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