Donald Trump orders inquiry into Joe Biden's actions as president
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden's actions during his presidency, accusing aides of a "conspiracy" to "deceive the public about Biden's mental state".In this latest move to discredit his predecessor, Trump took aim at the aides' use of an autopen - a device that replicates signatures which presidents, including Trump, have used for decades - to sign executive actions."This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump said on Wednesday.Biden slammed Trump's move as "ridiculous", saying his claims are aimed at distracting Americans as his administration works to extend tax breaks for the wealthy.
Trump and his Republican allies have long questioned Biden's mental acuity and have attempted to overturn some of the presidential pardons and federal rules issued at the end of his term in office.A Republican-led panel in the House of Representatives has sought testimony from some of Biden's closest aides, including his first chief of staff, on his "mental and physical faculties" while he was leading the country. In a statement on Wednesday, Trump, 78, said the American public had been "purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power" while Biden's signature was used to endorse documents Trump described as leading to "radical policy shifts". Biden, now 82 and fighting advanced prostate cancer, has hit back at Trump."Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations," he said."Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false," Biden said in a statement on Wednesday night.Scrutiny over Biden's mental and physical capacity has intensified in recent weeks as a new book accused an inner circle within the former administration of covering up his "physical deterioration" during his ill-fated re-election campaign last year. Original Sin, written by Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, alleges Biden's condition during the campaign was said to be so poor that aides discussed giving him a wheelchair.Biden abruptly ended his re-election campaign last July shortly after weeks of pressure following his disastrous debate performance against Trump.Some Democrats, including former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have publicly blamed Biden for not exiting the race sooner, which would have given his party more time to anoint a popular replacement.Early last month, Biden gave his first interview since leaving the White House to the BBC, maintaining he "[did not] think it would have mattered" if he had left the race sooner.Shortly after, he announced that he's been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones - which has led to more accusations from the Trump White House that those closest to the former president, including his wife Jill, would have known of his condition earlier.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
Fed's Musalem estimates ‘50-50' chances on tariffs triggering prolonged US inflation, FT reports
June 6 (Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem has put the likelihood of Donald Trump's trade war causing a prolonged surge in inflation at "50-50," warning that U.S. policymakers would face uncertainty "right through the summer," the Financial Times reported on Friday. Musalem told the newspaper that while U.S. President Trump's tariffs could boost inflation for "a quarter or two," there was "an equally likely scenario where the impact of tariffs on prices could last longer." Trump's tariff hikes and a $2.4 trillion budget bill have shaken markets, prompting a wait-and-see stance from the Fed after last year's rate cuts. Musalem said he believes officials could benefit from a favorable scenario where uncertainty over trade and fiscal policy "goes away in July," which would put the Fed back on track to cut interest rates in September, according to the FT. He also highlighted, however, the possibility of a scenario "where inflation begins to rise materially and we will not know whether that is a temporary, one-off increase in the price level or whether it has more persistence," the report said. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its mid-June meeting, when it will release updated economic projections.
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chaos breaks out as ICE raids business in downtown Los Angeles and locals revolt: 'We will not stand for this'
Federal immigration officials clashed with protesters as they raided several downtown Los Angeles locations on Friday. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were spotted at a Home Depot, an apartment complex, federal courts and even in the fashion district. The raids come just days after Donald Trump 's watch dog Stephen Miller demanded ICE crackdown on migrants at popular shopping destinations to bolster their arrest numbers. Crowds of protesters swarmed the officers on Friday in an attempt to stop the detentions, reported KTLA. However, there efforts were unsuccessful and at least 45 people across seven locations were detained, according to Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Executive Director Angelica Salas. One of those detainees has been identified as Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta, who was pepper-sprayed and injured while being taken into custody, Mayor Karen Bass told NBC Los Angeles. 'He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated,' said Bass. 'He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon.' Footage from local news station KABC showed officers throwing smoke bombs or flash bangs on the street to disperse the people so they could drive away in SUVs, vans and military-style vehicles. In one video, a person was seen running backward with their hands on the hood of a moving white SUV in an effort to block the vehicle. The person fell backward, landing flat on the ground. The SUV backed up, drove around the individual and sped off as others on the street threw objects at it. Other video showed people being handcuffed by federal authorities in a Home Depot parking lot. At one of the spots, immigrant-rights advocates used megaphones to speak to the workers inside a store, reminding them of their constitutional rights and instructing them not to sign anything or say anything to federal agents, the Los Angeles Times reported. The advocates also told the federal agents that lawyers wanted access to the workers, and sometimes yelled out specific names. Mayor Bass said neither her nor the Los Angeles Police Department were warned about the activity. 'As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,' Bass said. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this. Police Chief Jim McDonnell released a statement claiming the department is not involved in 'civil immigration enforcement.' 'We will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual's immigration status,' McDonnell said. 'I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there for you without regard to one's immigration status.' The Los Angeles raids come as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly demanded ICE agents raid Home Depots and 7-Elevens as part of his lofty new target for arrests of illegal migrants. Miller, one of Donald Trump's biggest hawks on immigration, said last week that Trump wants the agency to conduct 3,000 arrests every single day in an ambitious effort to ramp up his deportation agenda. He and 'border czar' Tom Homan have both suggested that the numbers are not currently where they want them. Homan backed the ambitious new benchmark on Thursday morning, insisting: 'We've gotta' increase these arrests and removals.' 'The numbers are good, but I'm not satisfied. I haven't been satisfied all year long.' During Trump's first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants.
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
The World Tonight No sign of reconciliation between Trump and Musk
US President Donald Trump is "not particularly interested" in speaking to Elon Musk after the tech billionaire and former close political ally turned on him in a bitter and public war of words. Initial reports that the pair had scheduled a phone call came to nothing. With some among the MAGA branch of Trump's supporters rounding on Musk, we explored the factional infighting and what impact it might have on the Big Beautiful Bill which Trump wants the Senate to pass, but which Musk opposes. Also on the programme, can supporters of the European Convention on Human Rights head off criticism by adapting the treaty? That's what the Secretary General of the Council of Europe seems to suggest. We hear from former Attorney General Dominic Grieve. And we speak to the Hollywood actor turned cryptocurrency sceptic about his new documentary on the phenomenon, premiering at the SXSW festival in London.
