Latest news with #BidenAdministration
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Rep. James Comer mocks NBC story equating his digital signature with Biden's autopen scandal
House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., ripped NBC News and one of its reporters on Tuesday for a story equating his use of a digital signature with the Biden administration's use of an autopen. NBC reporters Ryan Nobles and Melanie Zanona wrote that while Comer leads the investigation into former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen, they found evidence that letters and subpoena notices sent for the probe used Comer's digital signature. "He has sent 16 letters to former Biden White House officials requesting transcribed interviews," they wrote. "In all 16 of those letters, metadata reveals his signature was a digital picture inserted into the letter." The story was seen by many, including Comer himself, as a way of attempting to obfuscate the controversy surrounding the alleged cover-up of Biden's mental decline while in office. "There's still time to delete this, Ryan," Comer wrote on his congressional X account, adding an altered photo of Nobles reporting on the story on NBC News Live as a clown. Comer posted other comments on his personal X account similarly attacking the report. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Comer doubled down, calling NBC "Fake News" and "Democrat propaganda." "It's clear Fake News NBC is where journalism goes to die, and Democrat propaganda goes to thrive. We are closing in on one of the greatest scandals in American history. The fact that the NBC hacks don't know the difference between the authorized use of digital signature and the unauthorized use of autopen for executive actions is all you need to know," Comer said. The House Oversight Committee's X account added, "Ryan is out here cosplaying as a journalist while Biden's staff played Weekend at Bernie's with executive powers and an autopen. Imagine watching a constitutional crisis unfold and deciding your big scoop is Adobe Acrobat on cover letters. Touch grass, Ryan." NBC News didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Other X users mocked the story for making an "apples-to-oranges" comparison to spout Democratic talking points. "The scandal around Biden isn't that he simply used an autopen to sign pardons, it's that based on the reporting, he was UNAWARE of the people receiving pardons. So I'm struggling to see how this is newsworthy, outside of being a lame attempt at rapid response for Democrats," Republican strategist Andrew Surabian wrote. "The fact that NBC News doesn't know that this is an apples-to-oranges comparison is a HUGE problem. This isn't journalism; this is a shameless effort to launder Democrat talking points," conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote. He added, "Stories like this one are how people can know NBC is just a propaganda arm of the Democrat Party." National Journalism Center program director T. Becket Adams joked, "How did the press 'miss' the story of Biden's cognitive decline??" In a follow-up tweet, he added, "Contrary to what so many journalists seem to believe, you are not, in fact, morally or contractually obligated to publish every piece of oppo provided by a Democratic office." "You can actually say, 'No, thank you. This is a very stupid 'gotcha,' and publishing it under my name will make me look like a weapons-grade moron.' Be free, little ones. Be free!" Adams joked. Substack writer Jim Treacher commented, "Remember when they claimed they merely 'missed the story'? That was, of course, a lie." "@RepJamesComer has full control of his mind and staff. Biden did not. The distinction matters," Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote. Co-founder and CEO of The Federalist Sean Davis wrote, "Imagine being so stupid and corrupt as to write this article and think it's even remotely analogous to a cabal of White House staffers taking advantage of a president with dementia and using his mental infirmity as an excuse to commandeer the powers of the presidency." "I'm trying to understand why this was written, other than to push Democrat propaganda and avoid covering the investigation into Biden's decline. Is the argument from @ryanoblesand @MZanona that Comer doesn't know he's sending these letters/subpoenas he talks about all the time?" Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway asked. Republicans have attacked the Biden administration's use of an autopen on a number of executive orders and other official documents after years of concerns about Biden's declining mental acuity. Comer and other GOP members have accused staff members of using the autopen to sign off on orders without Biden's full consent. One example included Biden granting clemency and pardoning more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president. In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Biden defended the use of the autopen by insisting he "made every decision" on his own. However, the Times reported that Biden "did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people," according to the former president and his aides. Instead of repeatedly asking the president to re-sign updated versions of official documents, his staff used an autopen to put Biden's signature on the final version.
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has moved to detain far more people than before by tapping a legal authority to jail anyone who entered the country illegally without allowing them a bond hearing. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, wrote employees on July 8 that the agency was revisiting its extraordinarily broad and equally complex authority to detain people, and that, effective immediately, people would be ineligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Instead, they cannot be released unless the Homeland Security Department makes an exception. The directive, first reported by The Washington Post, signals wider use of a 1996 law to detain people who had previously been allowed to remain free while their cases wind through immigration court. Asked Tuesday to comment on the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, 'The Biden administration dangerously unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the country – and they used many loopholes to do so. President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem are now enforcing this law as it was actually written to keep America safe.' McLaughlin said ICE will have plenty of bed space after Trump signed a law that spends about 170 billion on border and immigration enforcement. It puts ICE on the cusp of staggering growth, infusing it with 76.5 billion over five years, or nearly 10 times its current annual budget. That includes 45 billion for detention. Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, began hearing from lawyers across the country last week that clients were being taken into custody in immigration court under the new directive. One person who was detained lived in the United States for 25 years. While it won't affect people who came legally and overstayed their visas, the initiative would apply to anyone who crossed the border illegally, Chen said. 'The Trump administration has acted with lightning speed to ramp up massive detention policy to detain as many people as possible now without any individualized review done by a judge. This is going to turn the United States into a nation that imprisons people as a matter of course,' Chen said. Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said the administration is adopting a draconian interpretation of the statute to jail people who may have lived in the US for decades, have no criminal history, and have US citizen spouses, children, and grandchildren. His organization sued the administration in March over what it said was a growing practice among immigration judges in Tacoma, Washington, to jail people for prolonged mandatory periods. Lyons wrote in his memo that detention was entirely within ICE's discretion, but he acknowledged a legal challenge was likely. For that reason, he told ICE attorneys to continue gathering evidence to argue for detention before an immigration judge, including potential danger to the community and flight risk. ICE held about 56,000 people at the end of June, near an all-time high, and above its budgeted capacity of about 41,000. Homeland Security said new funding will allow for an average daily population of 100,000 people. In January, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, named for a slain Georgia nursing student, which required detention for people in the country illegally who are arrested or charged with relatively minor crimes, including burglary, theft, and shoplifting, in addition to violent crimes.
Associated Press
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has moved to detain far more people than before by tapping a legal authority to jail anyone who entered the country illegally without allowing them a bond hearing. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, wrote employees on July 8 that the agency was revisiting its 'extraordinarily broad and equally complex' authority to detain people and that, effective immediately, people would be ineligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Instead, they cannot be released unless the Homeland Security Department makes an exception. The directive, first reported by The Washington Post, signals wider use of a 1996 law to detain people who had previously been allowed to remain free while their cases wind through immigration court. Asked Tuesday to comment on the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, 'The Biden administration dangerously unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the country — and they used many loopholes to do so. President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem are now enforcing this law as it was actually written to keep America safe.' McLaughlin said ICE will have 'plenty of bed space' after Trump signed a law that spends about $170 billion on border and immigration enforcement. It puts ICE on the cusp of staggering growth, infusing it with $76.5 billion over five years, or nearly 10 times its current annual budget. That includes $45 billion for detention. Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, began hearing from lawyers across the country last week that clients were being taken into custody in immigration court under the new directive. One person who was detained lived in the United States for 25 years. While it won't affect people who came legally and overstayed their visas, the initiative would apply to anyone who crossed the border illegally, Chen said. The Trump administration 'has acted with lightning speed to ramp up massive detention policy to detain as many people as possible now without any individualized review done by a judge. This is going to turn the United States into a nation that imprisons people as a matter of course,' Chen said. Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said the administration is 'adopting a draconian interpretation of the statute' to jail people who may have lived in the U.S. for decades, have no criminal history and have U.S. citizen spouses, children and grandchildren. His organization sued the administration in March over what it said was a growing practice among immigration judges in Tacoma, Washington, to jail people for prolonged, mandatory periods. Lyons wrote in his memo that detention was entirely within ICE's discretion, but he acknowledged a legal challenge was likely. For that reason, he told ICE attorneys to continue gathering evidence to argue for detention before an immigration judge, including potential danger to the community and flight risk. ICE held about 56,000 people at the end of June, near an all-time high and above its budgeted capacity of about 41,000. Homeland Security said new funding will allow for an average daily population of 100,000 people. In January, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, named for a slain Georgia nursing student, which required detention for people in the country illegally who are arrested or charged with relatively minor crimes, including burglary, theft and shoplifting, in addition to violent crimes.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has moved to detain far more people than before by tapping a legal authority to jail anyone who entered the country illegally without allowing them a bond hearing. Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, wrote employees on July 8 that the agency was revisiting its 'extraordinarily broad and equally complex' authority to detain people and that, effective immediately, people would be ineligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Instead, they cannot be released unless the Homeland Security Department makes an exception. The directive, first reported by The Washington Post, signals wider use of a 1996 law to detain people who had previously been allowed to remain free while their cases wind through immigration court. Asked Tuesday to comment on the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, 'The Biden administration dangerously unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the country — and they used many loopholes to do so. President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem are now enforcing this law as it was actually written to keep America safe.' McLaughlin said ICE will have 'plenty of bed space' after Trump signed a law that spends about $170 billion on border and immigration enforcement. It puts ICE on the cusp of staggering growth, infusing it with $76.5 billion over five years, or nearly 10 times its current annual budget. That includes $45 billion for detention. Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, began hearing from lawyers across the country last week that clients were being taken into custody in immigration court under the new directive. One person who was detained lived in the United States for 25 years. While it won't affect people who came legally and overstayed their visas, the initiative would apply to anyone who crossed the border illegally, Chen said. The Trump administration 'has acted with lightning speed to ramp up massive detention policy to detain as many people as possible now without any individualized review done by a judge. This is going to turn the United States into a nation that imprisons people as a matter of course,' Chen said. Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said the administration is 'adopting a draconian interpretation of the statute' to jail people who may have lived in the U.S. for decades, have no criminal history and have U.S. citizen spouses, children and grandchildren. His organization sued the administration in March over what it said was a growing practice among immigration judges in Tacoma, Washington, to jail people for prolonged, mandatory periods. Lyons wrote in his memo that detention was entirely within ICE's discretion, but he acknowledged a legal challenge was likely. For that reason, he told ICE attorneys to continue gathering evidence to argue for detention before an immigration judge, including potential danger to the community and flight risk. ICE held about 56,000 people at the end of June, near an all-time high and above its budgeted capacity of about 41,000. Homeland Security said new funding will allow for an average daily population of 100,000 people. In January, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, named for a slain Georgia nursing student, which required detention for people in the country illegally who are arrested or charged with relatively minor crimes, including burglary, theft and shoplifting, in addition to violent crimes.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill O'Reilly Corrected On-Air Over False Claim Biden Oversaw Epstein Conviction: ‘How Do You Convict a Guy That Is Dead?'
Bill O'Reilly falsely doubled down that Jeffrey Epstein was convicted under Joe Biden's administration. While appearing on NewsNation Monday night, host Leland Vittert had to correct O'Reilly multiple times after the former 'O'Reilly Factor' star asserted that the disgraced film financier was convicted under Biden's admin by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Epstein was both arrested and committed suicide in 2019 – a full year and a half before Biden took office. More from TheWrap 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 Release Schedule: What Time Are New Episodes Streaming? 'Superman' Breakout Edi Gathegi on His Comic Book-Accurate Mister Terrific – and Potential TV Spinoff Bill O'Reilly Corrected On-Air Over False Claim Biden Oversaw Epstein Conviction: 'How Do You Convict a Guy That Is Dead?' | Video Apple's Matt Cherniss Teases 'Very Bright' Future for 'Severance,' 'The Studio' and 'Shrinking' After Record Emmy Noms 'Epstein was convicted during the Biden administration,' O'Reilly said. 'Hold on, Bill,' Vittert interrupted. 'You said Epstein was convicted during the Biden administration. Epstein committed suicide during the Trump administration.' 'Yeah, so?' O'Reilly asked. 'How do you convict a guy that is dead?' Vittert responded. Bill O'Reilly doubled down: "Epstein was convicted under Merrick Garland's Justice Department."Leland Vittert: "He was arrested in 2019, and he committed suicide in 2019… So the Biden administration was not involved in a conviction or a trial of him."O'Reilly: "But he was… — Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) July 15, 2025 'I believe he was convicted under Merrick Garland's justice department,' O'Reilly said attempting to regain his footing. 'Then he was incarcerated. Then he committed suicide. The suicide thing is bull…' At that point, Vittert interrupted O'Reilly once more to clarify the timeline. 'Bill, I think this is important, he was arrested in 2019 and committed suicide in 2019, died August 10th of 2019. So the Biden administration was not involved in a conviction or a trial of him.' 'He was arrested and indicted under Merrick Garland,' O'Reilly continued to falsely claim. 'Who had all the information…' 'No! Under Trump,' Vittert corrected again. 'Epstein was arrested, indicted and committed suicide under Trump in 2019. Trump was president. Merrick Garland was not the attorney general.' A new fervor in Epstein and his purported client list arose after a new memo released by the DOJ and FBI released last week insisted the Trump-mandated investigation into Epstein's criminal past 'did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' This came mere months after Bondi told Fox News that she was in possession of a list of that very nature. The news – or lack thereof – about the Epstein list created a schism in Donald Trump's MAGA base with some passionate for information on one end and those ready to move onto the next topic on the other. For O'Reilly, it meant falsely breaking down the timeline of Epstein's conviction. 'I stand corrected,' O'Reilly finally conceded. You can watch the full exchange in the video above. The post Bill O'Reilly Corrected On-Air Over False Claim Biden Oversaw Epstein Conviction: 'How Do You Convict a Guy That Is Dead?' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
