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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is accused of lying about the timing of her alleged “improper” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in a new court filing.

Michael Roman, who is a co-defendant in the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump, made the new allegation in a filing with the Superior Court of Fulton County on Friday. Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, informed the court that Wade’s former law partner will testify that Wade and Willis began their affair before she appointed him to prosecute Trump and his 18 co-defendants. 

“Willis and Wade claim they did not have a personal, romantic relationship before Willis appointed Wade as a special prosecutor, but Terrence Bradley (“Bradley”) will refute that claim,” Merchant wrote.

Georgia attorney Terrence Bradley is a friend and former business partner of Wade, according to the filing. He will testify that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began before Willis was sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County in January 2021, Merchant wrote.

EMBATTLED DA FANI WILLIS FACES 4TH ACCUSATION TO DISQUALIFY HER FROM THE TRUMP CASE

“Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade’s claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022,” the filing states.

Roman, a Republican operative who worked on Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, has asked the court to disqualify Willis from the election case, alleging that her personal relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest.

In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. 

According to the court documents, Wade, who has no Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.  

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing earlier this month and admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. 

In the filing, Willis denied having a personal relationship with Wade at the time of his appointment to the Trump case in November 2021. 

Roman’s attorneys claim Bradley will “refute” that claim. The filing states that Bradley learned of the affair directly from Wade prior to Wade’s decision to file for divorce from his wife of 26 years. 

“Bradley also has personal knowledge that Wade and Willis regularly stayed together at her home until Willis’ father moved into her home sometime in 2020,” Merchant wrote.

GEORGIA WHISTLEBLOWERS LINING UP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS, STATE LAWMAKER SAYS

Roman also added new details to his claim that Wade spent thousands of dollars on vacations he took with Willis, including a Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas cruise to the Bahamas in October 2022; a trip to Aruba in November 2022; a Norwegian New Year’s cruise from December 2022-January 2023; a trip to Belize in March 2023; and a Napa Valley getaway in May 2023. 

“If, as Bradley confirms, Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship before she even took office, Wade likely provided Willis with significant other gifts and benefits,” the filing asserts.

“Of course, the State and Wade have now filed motions to quash Mr. Roman’s lawful subpoenas in an attempt to prevent discovery of these facts.”

In her response last week, Willis claimed she and Wade split travel expenses, but she only provided receipts for one flight from Atlanta to Miami. 

GOP REP SENDS MESSAGE TO TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS WITH CHEEKILY NAMED NEW BILL

The new allegations come two days after Willis’ office filed a motion seeking to block Roman’s subpoenas for Willis, Wade and others to testify at a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing presided by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

Roman also claims in the filing that Willis intentionally gave statements to the media to “enhance her own public image” and “poison the jury pool” against Roman, echoing allegations made last week by fellow Trump co-defendant David Shafer, the former Georgia GOP chairman and a GOP presidential elector for the Peach State during the 2020 election.

Shafer accused Willis of a “pattern of prosecutorial, forensic misconduct” in a court filing arguing she and her entire office and staff should be disqualified from the election interference case. He claimed that Willis has a “pattern of prejudicial public statements” about the case through various media interviews and public speeches, and claimed that in making such statements, she intended to “inject and infect the jury pool.”

Roman’s attorney made similar arguments in his filing. 

“When the lines get blurred between a prosecutor’s interest in her personal fame and publicity and her public duty, the system breaks down, as does the public’s confidence in the process itself, which threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in the outcome,” Merchant wrote.

Trump, represented by attorney Steve Sadow in the Georgia case, has joined Roman and two other co-defendants in calling for Willis to be disqualified.

Willis also faces a separate lawsuit from Merchant over claims she failed to turn over records in compliance with the Georgia Open Records Act and that she is “intentionally withholding information” ahead of the hearing.

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Additionally, the district attorney is under investigation by both Georgia Republicans and the House Judiciary Committee over whistleblower claims that her office has misused taxpayer funds.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fox News’ Brianna Herilhy and Claudia Kely-Bazan contributed to this report.

Former President Trump is reportedly expected to appear in person Monday for a hearing in the classified documents case against him to be held in a specially equipped secure room in Florida. 

Trump is to be present for the hearing presided over by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that will be under seal and held in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility or SCIF, designed for viewing classified documents, in Fort Pierce, Florida, ABC News reported, citing court documents. However, Trump’s co-defendants, aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, are not expected to be in attendance because they do not have the necessary clearance to access classified information. 

A court filing detailing the schedule said that Cannon, of the Southern District of Florida, will hear arguments Monday from attorneys for Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira on “defense theories of the case” and how “any classified information might be relevant or helpful to the defense,” according to the outlet. Special Counsel Jack Smith will then present arguments to Cannon when Trump’s attorneys are no longer present. Cannon requested that both parties set aside Tuesday for further proceedings “as necessary.”

Trump and Smith’s legal teams have frequently disagreed during pretrial hearings over how much discovery should be redacted or entirely shielded from public view in court filings. Last week, Smith filed a motion urging Cannon to reconsider her prior ruling requiring that his team file a cache of documents on the public docket. 

TRUMP DEMANDS DOJ ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION

Smith said in the motion last week that federal authorities were looking into a series of threats made online to a potential witness connected to the classified documents investigation and asked the judge to allow his team to file an exhibit under seal. 

“The exhibit describes in some detail threats that have been made over social media to a prospective Government witness and the surrounding circumstances, and the fact that those threats are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation being handled by a United States Attorney’s Office,” the filing said. “Disclosure of the details and circumstances of the threats risks disrupting the investigation.” 

Trump told Fox News Digital last week that Smith needs to “immediately” drop all charges against him in his classified records case following the decision not to bring charges against President Biden for his retention of sensitive national security documents.

Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report was made public last week. Hur did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents and stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS HUR REPORT: ‘GRATUITOUS AND INAPPROPRIATE CRITICISMS OF THE PRESIDENT’

Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

The Hur report also sparked further concern over Biden’s age and mental faculties, as the special counsel noted serious discrepancies in the 81-year-old president’s memory.

Trump, on the other hand, was charged out of Smith’s investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial is set to begin on May 20.

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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by the FBI in August 2022. Federal agents seized documents and records dating back to Trump’s presidency.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized to members of his family for a surprise Super Bowl ad that heavily featured his connection to his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.

RFK Jr. argued that the group responsible for the ad, the American Values Super PAC, did not consult with him or his campaign when making the ad. RFK Jr., who is running for president as an independent, nevertheless pinned the video to the top of his profile on X.

RFK Jr.’s cousin, Bobby Shriver, first complained about the ad in a post Sunday night, writing that his uncles and mother would never have approved of RFK Jr.’s “deadly health care views.”

“My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views. Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA. She strongly supported my health care work … which he opposes,” Shriver wrote.

BIDEN LASHES OUT AT REPORTERS ASKING ABOUT AGE CONCERNS AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT: ‘THAT IS YOUR JUDGMENT!’

“Bobby. I’m so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign. Federal rules prohibit Superpacs from consulting with me or my staff. I send you and your family my sincerest apologies. God bless you,” RFK Jr. replied.

RFK Jr. followed up the statement with a more general apology to any of his family members who were hurt by the ad, stating once again that “FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff.”

American Values 2024 ran the 30-second ad for $7 million. The clip is a throwback to an ad used by his uncle, JFK, in the 1960 presidential campaign.

TRUMP TEAM MADE ‘EARLY ON’ ATTEMPTS TO RECRUIT RFK JR. AS FORMER PRESIDENT’S RUNNING MATE: REPORT

The ad, replacing JFK’s face with that of RFK Jr., implores viewers to “Vote Independent.”

“The panicked DC power brokers are working overtime to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they know he can and will end their culture of greed and corruption,” American Values 2024 co-founder Tony Lyons said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

“They offer us soaring inflation, forever wars, and chronic disease. RFK Jr. offers us real change along with freedom, trust and hope. Like his uncle and his father, Kennedy is a corruption fighter, and it’s no wonder the DNC is trying every old trick and inventing new tricks to stop him.  The public sees through it all and won’t stand for it.”

Kennedy initially sought to challenge President Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, but the DNC said it would not hold primary debates and stood behind the incumbent president.

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He declared himself as an independent candidate in October and has seen support in polls from a sizable number of Democrats — and even some Republicans.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Wisconsin – a major battleground in the 2024 presidential election – is currently a battleground over a refugee resettlement controversy. 

Wisconsin officials have sought to meet with officials from the Department of Homeland Security about the first group of Somali refugees to settle in the Eau Claire County area of the state. The issue has even garnered interest from members of Congress. 

State legislators are set this week to advance a bill requiring greater transparency on resettlement decisions. Federal law already requires federal officials to “consult regularly (not less often than quarterly) with state and local governments” before settling the refugees to an area. The state legislation would specifically require consulting with “elected officials” accountable to the public – rather than just appointed officials – as well as a requirement for public comment. 

State Rep. Karen Hurd, a Republican, introduced the bill, and noted the area is already stressed after the closure of two hospitals and strained school districts.

ELON MUSK CALLS OUT $2.3 BILLION ALLOCATED TO NGO PERSONNEL FACILITATING ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’ IN BORDER BILL

“Wisconsin citizens are the most generous, giving, kind, and practical people. This is not about that. This is because we didn’t even know,” Hurd told Fox News Digital. “We are practical. We need to evaluate whether we can do this or not. We don’t care about the color of someone’s skin. This is about infrastructure.”

Hurd said she expects the Republican-controlled legislature will pass the bill but is uncertain about what Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will do when it lands on his desk. 

The DHS is working with World Relief, a Christian nonprofit associated with the National Association of Evangelicals, to bring 75 Somalian refugees to the Eau Claire area in the Chippewa Valley by Sept. 30. Some residents, lawmakers and advocacy groups are concerned the federal family reunification policy could lead to a much larger influx of refugees.

Wisconsin’s neighboring Minnesota Somali refugee settlements ballooned into millions within two decades, noted Restoration of America, which first reported the Wisconsin issue. Minneapolis, located about 100 miles from Eau Claire, has the nation’s largest Somali population. The FBI reported in 2019 that dozens of military-aged men in the city joined terrorist organizations.

FOX NEWS POLL: BIDEN AND TRUMP TIE IN WISCONSIN HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUP

“The refugee resettlement plan won’t end with 75 Somalis, but potentially thousands, as each refugee will later be permitted to import close and extended family members – think cousins and grandparents – to Wisconsin under federal family reunification policy,” Hayden Ludwig, director of policy research for Restoration of America, told Fox News Digital.

“In just a few years, locals could find their communities, schools, and emergency services swamped with refugees from failed countries, likely including Syria – though even World Relief officials won’t tell us from which,” Ludwig said. 

Hurd said Eau Claire City Manager Stephanie Hirsch, an appointed official, made the deal with World Relief for the resettlement without consulting the elected Eau Claire County Board. Eau Claire County and the City of Eau Claire have separate governments. Hurd said the county, school districts and emergency services will shoulder the costs.

Hirsch told Wisconsin Public Radio she notified members of the Eau Claire City Council, and that “it wasn’t the kind of thing that required a formal process at all.”

World Relief Wisconsin did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story. But it posted a “frequently asked questions” about the planned refugee resettlement on its website that says the 75 refugees includes 15-20 family units. The FAQ says DHS thoroughly vets all refugees, and further contends they are a long-term net economic benefit for communities. 

IMMIGRATION HAWKS WARN CONGRESS THAT SENATE DEAL WITH HANDCUFF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS ON SECURING BORDER

Under the question, “What countries will the refugees resettled to the Chippewa Valley be from?” the organization answers: “We do not know with certainty which countries the refugees resettled to the Chippewa Valley will be from, but the top two countries of origin for refugees resettled to Wisconsin last year were Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 80% of refugees resettled to Wisconsin in Fiscal Year 2023 came from one of these two countries, and we anticipate receiving individuals and families from these two countries in the coming year.”

Two GOP members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden, also weighed in. 

In an October letter to Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge, Tiffany complained the community was “kept in the dark” about the matter. 

Tiffany’s letter said Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley taxpayers should have the chance to submit public comment about a “large number of refugees – potentially from Somalia, Syria and other unstable countries.” 

“Even more frustrating, representatives of this NGO reportedly met with the city manager well in advance of this announcement – but the city manager did not share this information with local officials or the public,” Tiffany wrote. He later added, “Given the dangerous conditions in these countries, and the Biden administration’s alarming track record when it comes to vetting newcomers, it is inconceivable that the local community would be kept in the dark in this way. I hope you will investigate these troubling allegations and take appropriate action.” 

Replying to Tiffany’s letter, Berge wrote “immigrants are a part of the Eau Claire story,” and accused Tiffany of not understanding the federal refugee law. 

“World Relief has held a number of public meetings,” Berge’s letter says. “The Refugee Act requires U.S. agencies to consult and coordinate with state and local authorities and to financially support resettlement. This has happened and is ongoing in a transparent manner,” Berge said refugee resettlement is a federal, not local, responsibility. 

“It is the responsibility of the U.S. government to safely and properly locate, integrate, and support immigrants in communities such as Eau Claire,” Berge wrote. 

“As a member of Congress, Congressman Tiffany is a part of the U.S. government. We expect and rely on him to do that work. Communicating to the public in a way that demonstrates knowledge, embraces one’s own responsibilities, and links those actions to our shared values, furthers trust.” In November, Van Orden said he had conversations with Berge, World Relief, and the State Department about the vetting of the refugees.  

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“To ensure the safety of the citizens of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and the nation, I have urged the Department of State to provide me with a detailed report of the vetting procedures they have conducted, including who these individuals are, documentation that the proper inquiries and investigations for refugee resettlement were thoroughly conducted, as well as the information that was available, collected, and considered on each individual,” Van Orden said in a statement.

FIRST ON FOX – Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is unveiling his endorsement criteria for other political hopefuls he dubs “The American Truth Pledge.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Ramaswamy said he has received “a flood of inbound requests for endorsements” after he suspended his 2024 campaign last month and threw his support behind former President Trump. But in order for them to earn his endorsement, they must share “some basic ideals” that were major themes of his presidential bid in putting “America First.” 

“I don’t want to be making these decisions in a one-off manner,” Ramaswamy said in an interview. “I want to be making them in a systematic manner to say that if somebody gets endorsement, for me, it means that we are jointly endorsing some basic ideals that we stand behind.”

RAMASWAMY SAYS DEMS MAY SWAP BIDEN WITH MICHELLE OBAMA FOLLOWING DAMNIMG SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT

The “American Truth Pledge” has four broad categories. The first reads “The people we elect to run government should actually run the government,” the second being “The first and only moral duty of US leaders is to US citizens,” the third being “Public service is about serving the public, not oneself,” and the final one reading “The absence of national pride is an existential threat to our nation’s future — we must fill that void.” 

RAMASWAMY: ‘SINISTER FORCES AT PLAY’ IF HALEY DOESN’T DROP OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE: ‘THAT GETS UGLY’

Within the categories are bullet points of things Ramaswamy campaigned on like reducing the size of the federal government by 75% and backing a requirement for high school seniors to pass a civics test in order for them to vote. 

“If people are on board with the planks of a lot of the vision of what I shared across my campaign for president, that’s going to be the basis for the endorsements that I make,” Ramaswamy said. 

He continued, “And so when I do endorse people in races across this country, large and small, that way people across this country can know what that means. It’s not just that I have a pal or a friend who I think is a good guy or gal. It means that we stand for a shared set of ideals, by the way, which happened to be the ideals that this country was founded on in 1776.”

RAMASWAMY PROPOSES DEBATE WITH HARRIS ON AI AS SPECULATION SWIRLS OVER TRUMP’S RUNNING MATE

The biotech entrepreneur defied expectations when he first joined the race in February 2023 with virtually zero name recognition, outlasting big name Republicans like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence. 

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Ramaswamy suspended his campaign following a disappointing performance at the Iowa caucus and quickly endorsed the GOP frontrunner. 

During a campaign rally last month, Trump teased a potential role for Ramaswamy on his team.

“He’s going to be working with us and he’ll be working with us for a long time,” Trump told his supporters. 

President Biden took a setback and turned it into a debacle.

It’s not like it had never occurred to anyone that an 81-year-old president seeking a second term was problematic. There has been a growing debate about whether Biden has the mental acuity and physical stamina for the job. Even a majority of Democrats say in polls that he shouldn’t run again.

I have been saying for a couple of years now, every chance I get, that it’s a mistake for the president’s advisers to shield him from the media. It makes him look disengaged. It takes him out of the news cycle. It leaves a void that is filled by Donald Trump. It’s a surrender of the world’s biggest bully pulpit.

The guy even turned down a Super Bowl interview for the second straight year, passing up a massive audience.

MEDIA BUILDS UP AROUND TAYLOR SWIFT, SUPER BOWL LVIII AS BIDEN SEEKS SWIFT’S ENDORSEMENT

What Biden’s inner circle is doing, of course, is protecting him from making gaffes (which he has done his whole life). Instead, he puts out statements, which get little play. Even when the military launched retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the commander-in-chief remained silent.

My view is that making mistakes is a small price to pay for being on camera, providing video that drives television and the web. Biden may be working hard behind the scenes, but if voters don’t see you out there leading, they will wonder why you vanished – especially with your likely opponent constantly engaging with journalists.

Taking a couple of questions from reporters and providing terse answers, often over the roar of a helicopter, just doesn’t cut it.

Biden had a tough time on the memory front last week. He spent 30 painful seconds trying to think of “Hamas” until a reporter supplied the name. He mixed up Emmanuel Macron and the late Francois Mitterand. Then, telling the same anecdote, he described what German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had told him in 2021, except the leader died four years earlier.

Then came the special counsel’s report.

The good news – no indictment for mishandling classified documents – was immediately overshadowed by Robert Hur’s description of the president. The most stinging quote: “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” So poor that no jury would convict him.

INFIGHTING CONTINUES AT NEW YORK TIMES AS STAFFERS COMPLAIN ABOUT LGBTQ COVERAGE

Biden, said Hur, couldn’t remember what years he had served as VP or the year that his son died. The president, Kamala Harris and the White House all said that Hur, originally a Trump appointee, had no business including such gratuitous insults. Attacking the prosecutor is a well-worn tactic, also practiced by the likes of Trump and Bill Clinton.

No matter. A special counsel had given an official stamp of approval to public concerns and anxieties about the president’s mental fitness and his staff had no business letting the boss do five hours of interviews on the two days after Hamas massacred Israelis.

But this is when Biden made things far, far worse. Privately cursing and furious, according to several media accounts, he decided to hold a rare news conference – the press was given a 20-minute warning – and poured kerosene on the fire.

Biden sounded angry, petty and defensive – a “crotchety grandpa,” in the words of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. He expressed outrage: “There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How dare he raise that?” 

And he turned his ire against the press, by turns combative and mocking.

“I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet,” Biden said.

As for his memory, “take a look at what I’ve done since I became president. None of you thought I could pass any of the things I got passed. How’d that happen? You know, I guess I just forgot what was going on.” 

NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERTS SUGGEST BIDEN’S MEMORY COULD BE HUGE FACTOR IN FUTURE CRISIS

CNN’s M.J. Lee uncorked a long and confrontational question before being cut off by the president: “While many American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age –” 

“That is your judgment,” Biden snapped. “That is your judgment. That is not the judgment of the press.” But it certainly showed up in poll after poll.

“They expressed concerns about your mental acuity,” Lee said. “They say that you are too old. Mr. President, in December you told me that you believe there are many other Democrats who could defeat Donald Trump. So why does it have to be you now? What is your answer?”

“Cause I’m the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started,” he shot back.

Oh, and he described Egyptian leader Abdel al-Sisi as the president of Mexico.

It was a train wreck. His worst traits were on display. What might have been a two-day flap over the report turned into a chaotic melodrama, with reporters shouting to be recognized.

This has the feeling of a turning point. Even though the 77-year-old Trump has had his missteps, confusing Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi, Biden seems more frail in the way he walks and talks, but it is too late for the Democrats to change horses now. The president has nine months to convince the country that he’s up to the job.

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Footnote: Politico says in a report that “top party operatives are warning Biden aides that the president cannot retreat in response to the special counsel report that fueled concerns over his age and mental faculties. They say President Joe Biden, having largely [shielded] away from interviews and press conferences, needs to be out in public far more.

“They want to see him engage with the press and voters in the off-script and punchy exchanges he’s been known for in the past, which they believe will help chip away at concerns about the president’s mental acuity. They say that it’s worth the risk of potential slip-ups that could reinforce the image that he’s declining.”

Welcome aboard to everyone who thinks Biden should do more media. I wonder if he’ll take the advice.

A super PAC aligned with independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. dropped a surprise commercial during the Super Bowl on Sunday, eliciting mixed reactions from viewers. 

American Values 2024 ran the 30-second ad for $7 million. The clip is a throwback to an ad used by his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in the 1960 presidential campaign. 

The ad, replacing JFK’s face with that of RFK Jr., implores viewers to “Vote Independent.” 

“The panicked DC power brokers are working overtime to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they know he can and will end their culture of greed and corruption,” American Values 2024 co-founder Tony Lyons said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.  

“They offer us soaring inflation, forever wars, and chronic disease. RFK Jr. offers us real change along with freedom, trust and hope. Like his uncle and his father, Kennedy is a corruption fighter, and it’s no wonder the DNC is trying every old trick and inventing new tricks to stop him.  The public sees through it all and won’t stand for it.” 

Google Trends showed searches for RFK Jr. skyrocketing after the ad aired. 

TRUMP TEAM MADE ‘EARLY ON’ ATTEMPTS TO RECRUIT RFK JR. AS FORMER PRESIDENT’S RUNNING MATE: REPORT

The ad elicited mixed reactions. One X user implored “Robert” not to “give us this during the halftime.” To which someone responded: “This commercial is better than the halftime performance.” 

Another X user wrote they were “struggling to process how this makes me feel in awe of who we used to be as a country and as a people, while also feeling sick at who we have become and how far we’ve strayed.” 

The ad comes after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday accused RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign of illegally coordinating with American Values 2024. 

The DNC filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), alleging that Kennedy’s campaign received $15 million worth of unlawful in-kind contributions from the super PAC to help him secure ballot access as an independent candidate in several states.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is flouting campaign finance law by outsourcing a critical campaign function —  the collection of signatures required to appear on the ballot – to an outside Super PAC that is funded by Donald Trump’s top donor this cycle. This scheme between American Values 2024 and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign requires significant — and plainly illegal — coordination, to the tune of a $15 million in-kind contribution” DNC senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said in a statement. 

A Kennedy campaign spokesperson told Fox the allegations were a “nonissue being raised by a partisan political entity that seems to be increasingly concerned with its own candidate and viability.” 

Kennedy initially sought to challenge President Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, but the DNC said it would not hold primary debates and stood behind the incumbent president.

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He declared himself as an independent candidate in October and has seen support in polls from a sizable number of Democrats — and even some Republicans.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday said President Biden and former President Trump should take mental acuity tests to show the American people whether “they’re at the top of their game,” adding that she’d have “no problem” taking such a test herself.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former United Nations ambassador, made the remarks during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked when she planned to take a cognitive assessment after she made mental fitness a signature issue of the 2024 presidential election.

“I have no problem taking it,” Haley responded. “And what I’ve said is we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75. I don’t care if we do it for 50 and up.”

Haley said Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, and his blunders that followed in the wake of the report suggest that the president is “diminished.” Haley suggested Trump has had similar memory issues but did not give any specific examples.

BIDEN’S BRUTAL WEEK: PRESIDENT BATTERED BY GAFFES, DAMAGING SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT

“But what happened with Joe Biden this week, and what we’ve seen with Donald Trump is another example of why we have to face the reality of the fact that when you get to those ages, you get diminished,” she said. “These are people making decisions on our national security. These are people making decisions on the future of our economy. We need to know they’re at the top of their game.”

Biden, who is America’s oldest sitting president, is 81 years old and Trump is 77.

NIKKI HALEY CALLS ROBERT HUR REPORT ‘UNBELIEVABLY DISTURBING’

According to Hur’s report released Thursday, Biden could not remember key details of his own life – such as when he was vice president – during interviews with investigators. 

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The investigators, who regarded Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” recommended no criminal charges against the president. 

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

A large majority of Americans believe both President Biden and former President Trump are too old to serve another term in the White House.

Eighty-six percent of Americans think Biden, 81, is too old to serve another term as president, while 62% think the same of Trump, 77, according to the results of a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.

Concerns about the ages of Biden, who is seeking a second consecutive term as president, and Trump, the Republican frontrunner looking to return to the White House after losing his 2020 re-election bid, have been growing. An ABC report on the poll notes, citing an ABC News/Washington Post poll in September, that 74% believed the president was too old to service another term and 49% believed the same about the former president.

BIDEN LEAD OVER TRUMP SHRINKS WITH THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES ADDED 

That trend became even more clear in the most recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, which found that 59% of Americans believe both candidates are too old, the report notes.

But there was also a partisan difference in how voters viewed candidates from their own party, with 73% of Democrats believing Biden is too old to serve another term compared to just 35% of Republicans who believe the same thing about Trump.

Trump bested Biden on which candidate was better suited to handle immigration and the border, with 44% of respondents favoring Trump, compared to 26% who believe Biden is more trustworthy with that task. Voters also gave the edge to Trump in handling crime (41%-28%), the economy (43%-31%), and inflation (41%-31%).

HALEY ARGUES TRUMP AND BIDEN ARE ‘GRUMPY OLD MEN’

Meanwhile, Biden had an edge over Trump when it comes to which candidate respondents trust more with issues such as abortion (37%-28%), health care (38%-28%), and climate change (39%-22%).

Neither campaign immediately responded to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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The poll was conducted between Feb. 9-10 and surveyed a random sample of 528 U.S. adults, with a margin of sampling error of 4.5 points.

In a rare Super Bowl Sunday vote, the Senate voted to push forward an aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies, clearing a key hurdle as 18 GOP lawmakers have signed on. 

The package would provide $60 billion for Ukraine, mostly to purchase U.S.-made defense equipment, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say it desperately needs as Russia batters the country. It includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.

It would also provide $14 billion for Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Senate leaders argued that the money was crucial to pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin and maintaining America’s global standing.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky warned about the consequences of abandoning longtime U.S. allies in Europe.

McConnell said in his opening remarks that “American leadership matters, and it is in question.” Schumer said Putin is “all too likely to succeed” if America doesn’t assist Ukraine. 

The 67-27 test vote Sunday on the $95.3 billion foreign aid package comes as former President Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, is trying to kill the assistance and has escalated his attacks on the NATO military alliance.

The day before the vote, Trump said at a campaign rally in South Carolina that Russia should be able to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who do not meet their defense spending targets. 

MODERATE DEMS SILENT AS BIDEN SKIRTS SENATE CONFIRMATION FOR JOHN KERRY’S REPLACEMENT

While McConnell has made Ukraine a top issue, an increasing number of members in his GOP conference have followed Trump’s lead in opposing the aid. 

The Senate is pushing through several procedural votes on the slimmed-down package after an attempt to pair it with legislation to stem migration at the U.S. border collapsed. Objections from Republicans adamantly opposed to the aid have delayed quick action, forcing the weekend votes as negotiations continue over potential amendments to the legislation.

Schumer has said he is open to amendments -– most of which would be likely to fail -– but he forced senators to stay in session through the weekend to try and speed up the process.

“I can’t remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday,” Schumer said as he opened the session. “But as I’ve said all week long, we’re going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.”

In a key vote last week, 17 Republican senators agreed to start debate on the bill and 31 voted against it, giving McConnell and other Republican supporters of the aid new hope that it could pass. 

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But even if the Senate does pass the package, its future is deeply uncertain in the House, where a large majority of GOP lawmakers are firmly allied with Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump took to social media on Superbowl Sunday to claim some responsibility for Taylor Swift’s financial success and praise Travis Kelce, despite stressing that he and the music industry-meets-NFL power couple might not be politically aligned. 

“I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money. Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis, even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me!” 

Swift endorsed Biden for president in 2020, and his aides are reportedly courting another possible Swift endorsement in the 2024 race. 

ADELE TELLS TAYLOR SWIFT HATERS TO ‘GET A F—ING LIFE,’ ADDS THAT SHE’S MADE FOOTBALL ‘MORE ENJOYABLE’

The 14-time Grammy winning artist has been acknowledged by Republicans and Democratic players alike for her potential political influence on the race. 

Kansas City Chiefs’ Kelce, currently one of the most celebrated tight ends in the NFL with two Super Bowl wins already under his belt, has received criticism from fans and conservatives for a reported multi-million deal to appear in a Pfizer commercial for the COVID-19 vaccine. He and Swift have reportedly been dating since at least September.

LAS VEGAS CHAPEL OFFERING FREE WEDDINGS TO COUPLES NAMED TAYLOR AND TRAVIS ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

In 2018, Trump signed the Music Modernization Act into law, enacting sweeping new reform to U.S. copyright law in the digital streaming era. 

“They’ve been working on this for years and years and years,” Trump said in a prepared statement at the time from the White House, according to Forbes. “(The MMA) closes loopholes in our digital royalty laws to ensure that songwriters, artists, producers and providers receive fair payment for the licensing of music.”

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Trump’s post came hours before the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will go head-to-head in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. 

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania – President Biden is not mentally “competent” and should not be the commander in chief, Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry told Fox News Digital following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report. 

“He could have never been, and he should never have been and he should never be [president],” Perry told Fox News Digital on Friday evening in an interview in Harrisburg when asked about concerns surrounding Biden serving as commander in chief after the Hur report described the president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

“It’s abusive… what’s being done, using him to be the president. And I don’t know that he’s making many decisions. There’s a lot of people around him that I fear are making the decisions,” Perry continued. 

Perry, who is up for re-election in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, attended the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show on Friday when former President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address during the event’s Presidential Forum. 

CONSERVATIVES RIP BIDEN AFTER CLASSIFIED DOCS PROBE DOESN’T CHARGE HIM, CITING ‘POOR MEMORY’: ’25TH AMENDMENT’

The Pennsylvania Republican was reacting to the special counsel’s report released Thursday, which followed a months-long investigation into Biden’s possession of classified documents. Hur ultimately decided against criminally charging the president following the investigation, while describing Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” 

“We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” the report states. “We would reach the same conclusion even if the Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.”

Perry, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, said point-blank that Biden is “not competent,” “not capable” of serving as president and commander of America’s armed forces. 

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

“He should not be there. He should never have been there. And let me just say this, for the allegations that are against him, we need to pursue those because America needs to know whether their president is a criminal or not,” Perry said. “And you would think that the person that most wants his name to be cleared, and remove any doubt whatsoever would be Joe Biden. If they continue to stonewall, refuse to give us information, the agencies refuse to give us information, we can’t finish and conclude our work of oversight in Congress unless they’ll cooperate.”

Biden held a press conference Thursday evening where he fielded questions from the media regarding his mental clarity, memory and age following Hur’s report. Amid Biden defending his mental state, he confused Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico,” sparking concern stateside as well as abroad. Critics lampooned the president for the gaffe, as some called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which stipulates the presidential order of succession if a commander in chief is unable to fulfill their duties, dies, resigns or becomes incapacitated. 

Biden defended his mental state during the press conference, saying his “memory is fine,” after the report described the president’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor,” and suggested Biden did not remember when his son Beau Biden died. 

The White House released a memo Saturday, titled “We don’t blame Republican officials for their desperation to forget the Biden presidency,” which detailed Biden’s successes as president, including helping “secure the release of over 100 of the hostages taken by Hamas,” and how Republicans and Democrats have previously lauded Biden for his mental sharpness. 

“President Biden’s experience, character, and drive have made him the most successful president in modern history, getting the country back on its feet after inheriting a nation in crisis and going on to achieve goals that eluded his predecessors for decades,” the memo reads. 

TRUMP TAKES FAMILIAR DIG AT JUSTICE SYSTEM AFTER BIDEN DOCUMENTS REPORT: ‘SICK’

Perry said that following three years of the Biden administration and subsequent “persecution of people based on their political beliefs,” Republicans should “not only talk about” the erosion of rights witnessed since 2021, but also “do something about it.”

“Especially as legislators, we’re not the police. We’re not investigators. We’re not prosecutors. We’re not judges. But we do have the power of the purse. That’s Congress’s duty, not only the duty of oversight, but to make sure that policies that are going awry aren’t funded. And that’s what we should be doing, because it’s right in front of us. That’s our primary role, and unfortunately, too many Republicans are willing to continue to fund a government that is weaponized against the American people,” he continued. 

‘BIDEN SEEMS LIKE THE DANGER,’ SAYS LIBERAL PROTESTER OUTSIDE PRESIDENT’S ELITE NYC FUNDRAISER

When asked if there appears to be a lack of cohesion within the Republican Party, Perry said the matter boils down to a lack of “fortitude” and “courage” from the GOP – not cohesion. 

“They all run on the same things. You can go to a campaign rally for any Republican, you’re going to hear, generally speaking, the same things. But yet, when given the opportunity to actually implement [and] say, ‘We’re actually not going to give you money for a DOJ that is weaponized against the American people. We’re not going to give you more money for a military that is being hollowed out by cultural Marxism. We’re not going to pay for that anymore.’ When given that opportunity, they refuse to do it. That’s a problem,” he said. 

Conservative voters are tired of hearing “lip service” from Republican lawmakers and candidates, and are well aware that what they hear on campaign trail often does not result in action on Capitol Hill, Perry said. 

“We need a Republican Party that doesn’t just talk the talk, but actually walks the walk. And the American people understand the urgency of the circumstances. They don’t want to wait because we can’t wait. Something has to be done now,” he said. 

Perry has long been an ally of Trump, and has personally been caught in the crosshairs of the DOJ, including the FBI seizing his phone in 2022, one day after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago during an investigation into whether Trump took classified records from the White House when he was president. 

BIDEN LASHES OUT AT REPORTERS ASKING ABOUT AGE CONCERNS AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT: ‘THAT IS YOUR JUDGMENT!’

Perry first assumed office as a U.S. congressman for Pennsylvania in 2013, and serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Throughout his political career and before, Perry has been a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, including serving as a member of the House Second Amendment Caucus. 

“We believe in the Constitution in Pennsylvania,” Perry said when asked about his support of the Second Amendment. “The foundation of much of what was done during the Revolutionary War happened in Pennsylvania. So the Constitution, but more importantly what’s in it, is really important to us. And of course, our rights, ordained by God, but enumerated in the Constitution. And all of those are protected by the Second Amendment. So if you love the First Amendment, God bless you. The Fourth Amendment, God bless you. Any one of them. If you love the document and what it says and the freedoms you have, back to the Second Amendment, because that’s what preserves it. That’s what it means to us,” he said. 

BILL MAHER SAYS BIDEN CAN BE SWITCHED OUT AT THE DNC CONVENTION: HE SOLD HIMSELF AS A ‘ONE TERM’ PRESIDENT

Perry is up for re-election this year in the 10th District, which encompasses cities such as the state’s capital of Harrisburg as well as York, and said his constituents are focused on “two-fold” issues heading into election year: economic vitality and immigration under the Biden administration. 

“They see this random crime, drug cartels, fentanyl rampaging across their communities. They want it to end. And also, they can’t afford to live their life under this Biden regime. So it’s kind of twofold… It’s the border security, and it’s their economic vitality. All of that has been taken away from them in three quick years. They would like to have that back,” he said. 

Trump gave Perry a shout-out during his speech in Harrisburg on Friday evening in the packed venue, calling him a “brave man” and “fantastic,” after the 45th president vowed to the audience that if re-elected, “no one will lay a finger on your firearms.” Perry said he anticipates Trump to make many returns to the Keystone State this year, arguing if Trump wins Pennsylvania, he will “win the rest of the country.”

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“The president, I think, is going to spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania. It’s a battleground state. He needs to win Pennsylvania to win the rest of the country. He can win it. He’s won in the past, and we’re going to welcome him… There’s a lot of gun owners in Pennsylvania, we understand where our rights come from and what protects them. So it’s important to us,” he said.

The White House on Saturday criticized former President Trump’s “appalling and unhinged” comments in which he encouraged Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members that did not meet spending guidelines on defense.

Trump made the comments during a campaign speech Saturday in Conway, South Carolina.

“NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.”

The former U.S. president said “one of the presidents of a big country” once asked him whether the U.S. would still defend their country if they were invaded by Russia, even if they did not pay.

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“No, I would not protect you,” Trump recalled telling that country’s leader. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”

The White House responded later on Saturday to Trump’s remarks, saying they were “appalling and unhinged” while also citing President Biden’s efforts to strengthen the alliance.

“President Biden has restored our alliances and made us stronger in the world because he knows every commander in chief’s first responsibility is to keep the American people safe and hold true to the values that unite us,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “Thanks to President Biden’s experienced leadership, NATO is now the largest and most vital it has ever been. Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home.”

“Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership and stand up *for* our national security interests – not against them,” Bates continued.

NATO states that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all the nations in the alliance. Trump has previously taken issue with the smaller amount of money other NATO countries spend on defense compared with what the U.S. pays. He has also threatened multiple times in the past to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.

TRUMP TAKES FAMILIAR DIG AT JUSTICE SYSTEM AFTER BIDEN DOCUMENTS REPORT: ‘SICK’

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The alliance’s guidelines have a target that each member country commits to a minimum of 2% of gross domestic product on defense spending to ensure the alliance’s military readiness, a target most countries are failing to meet. However, the figure is only a guideline rather than a legal mandate and member countries have not been failing to pay their share of NATO’s common budget to run the organization.

According to NATO’s website, allies whose current proportion of GDP spent on defense is below this figure will “halt any decline; aim to increase defense expenditure in real terms as GDP grows; and aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO’s capability shortfalls.”

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

America’s illegal immigration problems came to a head last week when Republican senators killed a bill intended to address some of the major problems contributing to the crisis at the southern border after months of bipartisan negotiations. 

The White House touted the measure as “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve had in decades.” But Republicans in the House and Senate said the bill failed on multiple fronts. 

“It fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and would actually incentivize more illegal immigration,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said.

“Among its many flaws, the bill expands work authorizations for illegal aliens while failing to include critical asylum reforms. Even worse, its language allowing illegals to be ‘released from physical custody’ would effectively endorse the Biden ‘catch-and-release’ policy.”

REPUBLICANS ATTEMPT TO GET HARDLINE BORDER SECURITY BILL INTO FOREIGN AID PACKAGE

That policy, which has been challenged by Republican attorneys general, refers to the idea of letting immigrants await asylum processing into the interior as opposed to being sent to a detention facility. 

Critics of the bill, like Gene Hamilton, vice president and counsel for America First Legal, said the Biden administration “is already flouting the laws on the books for ideological ends” and that the Senate bill would have given Biden “top cover to continue his catch-and-release policies to an even greater degree.”

“Process on top of process, mandatory catch and release for some aliens instead of the current requirement to catch and detain. The list goes on and on. The net result would be a bureaucratic quagmire that grinds immigration enforcement to even more of a stop, would legitimize Biden’s insane policies and would result in a far weaker border than we even currently see,” Hamilton said. 

But Erin Corcoran, executive director for the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at Notre Dame, said the nation’s current asylum process is not as cut and dried. 

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“The thing to think about right now is that this has been a problem, not just with the Biden administration. This was the problem with the Trump administration, the Bush administration. So you have asylum seekers, but then you also have people who are in the United States who are crossing the border who don’t have valid immigration status,” Corcoran explained. 

“And they may get caught, and then the question is, how do we deport them? And it’s very clear that, under our current system, the number of people who don’t have valid immigration status in the United States — so, these aren’t people that are necessarily waiting for their asylum applications — exceeds the resources we have to support all of them.”

Corcoran explained that the way the Department of Homeland Security operates is similar to police departments in big cities that have to prioritize which crimes to prosecute based on severity of the crime and available law enforcement resources. 

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“They have limited resources. It’s the same thing with law enforcement. They have limited resources. They can’t deport every single undocumented immigrant in the United States,” Corcoran said.

“Someone who is a criminal or someone who’s a threat to secure national security, those are who we’re going to prioritize for deportation.” 

Corcoran noted that one of the biggest challenges to the immigration system is the asylum backlog. 

The Senate bill, Corcoran says, wouldn’t necessarily have provided mechanisms to enforce existing laws as much as it would have changed some things about asylum law that make it possible to adjudicate asylum claims at the border and create a more stringent standard by which people get admitted to the country. 

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Josh Blackman, law professor at South Texas College of Law, questioned whether, without the Senate passing the bill, the president “is using all of the resources at his disposal to vigorously enforce the law.” 

“It seems that Mayorkas is using broad conceptions of prosecutorial discretion to not prioritize removal as did the Trump administration,” he said. 

Special counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, which described the president as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” has led some to question how he may react in a future crisis.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, several national security experts shared their thoughts on whether Biden has the ability to serve strongly and decisively as president should a threat to the nation arise during his tenure in the White House.

Staking the claim that “Biden’s dementia is plain for all to see, but especially for foreign leaders,” former Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland suggested the “dangerous” reality surrounding Biden’s “irreversible decline” and ability to lead the nation is projecting weakness on the world stage.

“That’s dangerous for two reasons. First, if amplifies the claim that America is a spent power. Chinese leaders have been telling the world for years that America is in irreversible decline, that the future belongs to China. Biden is the embodiment of irreversible decline, giving credence to the idea that America’s supremacy on the world stage is over,” said McFarland, who served during former President Donald Trump’s administration. 

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN ‘SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,’ BRINGS NO CHARGES

“Second, because foreign leaders know now is the time to press the U.S., to take advantage of a leader who is not only weak but confused,” McFarland said.

Asked about Biden’s ability to lead the nation amid his purported memory problems, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg took aim at the Biden administration as a whole, suggesting the president has always taken “a long time to make decisions or to do something” when dealing with adversaries.

“When it comes to national security, you know, it all really comes down to the commander in chief, the president of the United States,” said Kellogg, a Fox News contributor. “You always want your commander in chief to be, obviously, very informed, which the advisers are supposed to do, but able to make very quick, rational, understandable decisions.”

Kellogg noted that short delays are typical, but insisted that long delays in dealing with national security issues usually lead to problems.

“Frankly, in this administration, you see the latter, not the former,” he said. “They take a long time to make decisions or to do something, and that always lets your adversary get inside your ability to do something.

“Years ago, in the military, there was a term that was actually used that was called the OODA loop. The OODA loop [stood for] observe, orient, decide, act. What that meant is, frankly, get inside your opponent’s decision cycle. That’s what presidents need to do.

“So, if you’ve got a diminished capacity, your ability to make rapid decisions is, of course, questionable. And that’s where you get into trouble with national security.”

Recognizing that the Biden administration is “very risk-averse,” Kellogg said, “When you look at the Middle East, look how long it took us to react to the attack on the Americans or what we’ve done to try to reestablish deterrence. It’s slow decision-making.

“The reason that’s important is because you force the adversary to do something different,” Kellogg added. “And the one that makes those decisions is always, ultimately, the president of the United States, who is commander in chief. Is it an issue? Of course it is, but it’s an issue that has just lived with this administration since day one. That is a concern that you have to have when it comes to decision-making and mental acuity.”

Splintering from comments made by McFarland and Kellogg, Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said he’s more concerned with Biden’s “intellectual flexibility and the ability to take in new information.” He pointed to past events related to Afghanistan referenced in the special counsel report.

“On the one hand, much of the discussion seems to focus on Afghanistan, and then-Vice President Biden’s role in the debate about what to do in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. There, Biden lost out to advocates of a large surge and probably felt vindicated when that surge did not achieve the desired results,” O’Hanlon said. “That said, in my view, he remained a bit stuck in his vision of where Afghanistan was when he mistakenly ordered our withdrawal in the opening months of his presidency.

BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS

“That was a mistake he shared with former President Trump. Both failed to take stock of more recent information — that, in fact, even with all the flaws and mistakes, Afghanistan was still on its feet as late as 2020. And only a very modest U.S. military presence was needed (along with small forces from American allies) to help its government retain control at least of the cities. So, I’m less concerned about memory, per se, and more concerned about intellectual flexibility and the ability to take in new information.”

On Ukraine, however, O’Hanlon insisted Biden “did well with a rapidly changing and demanding situation” as the country defended itself from Russian aggression.

“He helped Ukraine survive the original Russian attack. He publicized to the world that the attack was imminent so that Putin couldn’t blame it on us or the Ukrainians. He continued to provide more weaponry to Ukraine yet did so without triggering a war with Russia. These are no mean feats, and they took intellectual flexibility and adaptability,” O’Hanlon said. 

“Bottom line is that while I wish an 81-year old man weren’t running for president again, I think Biden’s memory and brain are stronger than the recent report alleges.”

Biden told Americans from the White House Thursday evening his memory is “fine” and defended his re-election campaign, saying he is the “most qualified person in this country to be president.”

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Biden’s address to the nation came just hours after Hur released his report, which did not recommend criminal charges against the president for mishandling classified documents. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”

A Monmouth University poll released in October found 76% of voters agreed Biden, who was 80 at the time, was “too old” to serve another term, compared to just 48% who said the same about Trump, 77.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Hillary Clinton weighed in on concerns surrounding President Biden’s age, saying it’s a “legitimate issue.”

“I talked to people in the White House all the time, and you know, they know it’s an issue, but as I like to say, ‘look, it’s a legitimate issue,’” Clinton told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Wednesday. 

The former Democratic presidential nominee noted that it is also a “legitimate issue” for former President Donald Trump in his campaign for the Republican nomination.

“It’s a legitimate issue for Trump who’s only three years younger, right?” Clinton said. “So it’s an issue.”

FLASHBACK: DEMS RAN DEFENSE ON BIDEN’S AGE BEFORE SPECIAL COUNSEL PUT DAMNING SPOTLIGHT ON HIS ‘POOR MEMORY’

The former first lady continued, saying that she is for Biden because of his “merits.”

“Once you say that, you need to also talk about what is at stake in this election,” Clinton continued. “And I’m for Joe Biden because of the merits.”

“I think he has done a really good job as president,” she added.

Clinton suggested that the president should focus more on the wisdom he has gained over the years and “kid” about his age.

“I think Biden also should lean into the fact that he’s experienced, and that experience is not just in the political arena,” she said. “It’s like, the stuff of, you know, human experience, character, wisdom.

EX-CLINTON AIDE SAYS HE ‘WET THE BED’ OVER SPECIAL COUNSEL’S REPORT ON BIDEN: ‘TERRIBLE FOR DEMOCRATS’

“I think he should be willing to really pull that out … and I think he should kid more about it,” Clinton said.

Hillary’s comment came as former President Bill Clinton’s lead strategist, James Carville, argued Saturday that the White House has little confidence in President Biden after he turned down a Super Bowl Sunday interview.

Carville, a long-time Democrat, gave his take on the situation while being interviewed on CNN on Saturday.

“It’s the biggest television audience, not even close, and you get a chance to do a 20-25-minute interview on that day,” Carville began.

“And you don’t do it? That’s a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you,” Carville continued. “There’s no other way to read this.”

JAMES CARVILLE SAYS BIDEN SKIPPING SUPER BOWL INTERVIEW IS A ‘SIGN’: ‘NO OTHER WAY TO READ THIS’

Earlier this week, former Bill Clinton strategist and CNN political commentator Paul Begala admitted that Special Counsel Robert Hur’s indictment of President Biden’s memory and Biden’s response was “terrible for Democrats.”

“Oh yeah. Look, I’m a Biden supporter, and I slept like a baby last night: I woke up every two hours crying and wet the bed,” Begala quipped on CNN last Friday.

“This is terrible for Democrats. And anybody with a functioning brain knows that,” he declared. 

The top democratic strategists’ comments came after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report revealed that Biden willfully retained classified U.S. documents as a private citizen.

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The report recommenced no charges against the 46th president over his actions, partly because he would have a defense at trial as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

Legendary political strategist James Carville argued Saturday that the White House has little confidence in President Biden after he turned down a Super Bowl Sunday interview.

Biden recently declined to take part in the Super Bowl Sunday interview for the second year in a row. The interview is a tradition that began in 2009 with President Obama.

The interview is generally seen as a way for the president to connect with a massive audience that doesn’t usually tune into political conferences. Last year, the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles saw 115 million viewers.

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Carville, a long-time Democrat, gave his take on the situation while being interviewed on CNN on Saturday.

“It’s the biggest television audience, not even close, and you get a chance to do a 20-, 25-minute interview on that day,” Carville began.

“And you don’t do it? That’s a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you,” Carville continued. “There’s no other way to read this.”

Biden is not the first president to turn down the chance to speak to Super Bowl audiences. In 2018, President Trump declined to sit down with NBC for a Super Bowl interview.

The consultant also opined about Biden’s advanced age, days after the president held a press conference about his mental competence. 

JAMES CARVILLE ADVISES DEMOCRATS NOT TO ‘TELL PEOPLE HOW GREAT THIS ECONOMY IS’

“And he’s not going to do debates,” Carville said. “He is old, I know what it is because I’m almost as old as he is, and it’s never going to get better.”

On Thursday, Biden lashed out at reporters in a press conference after the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report doubting the president’s mental acuity.

“I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing,” Biden said to a question asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy. “I’ve been president and I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation.”

“How bad is your memory? And can you continue as president?” Doocy asked. 

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“My memory is so bad [that] I let you speak,” Biden fired back. 

Fox News Digital’s David Rutz and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump mocked fellow Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley during a speech Saturday by asking why her husband hasn’t been on the campaign trail — even though he is deployed.

Michael Haley, who serves in the South Carolina Army National Guard, began his year-long deployment to Africa in June. He serves as a staff officer with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

Trump was seemingly unaware of his deployment when he started questioning his whereabouts during a campaign stop in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday.

HALEY CHARGES NEVADA GOP CAUCUS ‘RIGGED’ FOR TRUMP

The former president began his rant by calling Haley a “birdbrain.”

“Birdbrain loves mass asylum,” Trump said, prompting laughter from the audience. “There’s nothing nice about her.”

“‘I will never run against President Trump. He’s a great president, the greatest president in my lifetime,'” Trump quoted Haley as saying. “She said, ‘I will never run against him.’”

“Then she comes over to see me at Mar-a-Lago…’Sir, I will never run against you.’ She brought her husband.”

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY’S LEFT COAST FUNDRAISING HAUL

The Trump Organization founder then turned his attention to Haley’s spouse.

“Where’s her husband?” Trump questioned. “Where is he? He’s gone. He knew, he knew.”

Haley did not mince words when she shot back at Trump two hours later in a social media post.

“Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about,” the former South Carolina governor wrote on X. 

“Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump and Haley campaigns for comment, but has not heard back.

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