Captain Obvious Stephanopoulos in trouble over honest answer
The most insane news cycle of the Biden presidency took another bizarre twist this week after ABC’s Chief Political Correspondent and anchor of “Good Morning America”and the Sunday political affairs program, “This WeekGeorge Stephanopolous, decided to respond to a random person’s question filming him on a cell phone while taking a stroll in Manhattan.
“Do you think Biden should step down?” the man asked. “You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.”
ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS ON BIDEN: ‘I DON’T THINK HE CAN SERVE FOUR MORE YEARS
But instead of ignoring the question or declining to comment, because this was a person he didn’t know pointing a camera at him, George actually responded.
“I don’t think he can serve four more years,” the 63-year-old said in a clip that has since gone viral.
He has since apologized for responding to the question, while ABC News was forced to put out a statement:
“George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News,” it reads.
So, instead of the titles of “anchor” or “Chief Political Correspondent,” perhaps Stephanopoulos could be billed as Captain Obvious instead.
Nearly three-quarters of American voters stand with Captain Obvious on this one, with 74% saying they do not believe Biden should run again. And this was a Wall Street Journal survey taken months . Other polls taken post-debate have similar results.
For example, a CBS survey post-debate shows just of the public believes Biden has the cognitive ability to do the job.
DEMS WHO HAVE CALLED FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OR RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT HIS HEALTH
So yeah, George, after what we saw on that debate stage on June 27 and the way he conducted himself in his interview with you, which was only 22 minutes because that’s what the president’s team insisted on, maybe Biden should trade in Air Force One for a golf cart.
It wasn’t long ago that Stephanopolous was offended at the mere prospect of Biden’s mental state being questioned. In June 2023, then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley appeared on his program to make the argument that Kamala Harris was going to be the party nominee because Biden wasn’t going to finish his first term, drawing the anchor’s ire.
“A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris,” Haley said at the time.
“There’s no way Joe Biden is going to finish his term,” she continued. “I think Kamala Harris is going to be the next president and that should send a chill up every American spine. But also think the fact that we have a primary…”
“Excuse me, excuse me,” Stephanopoulos interrupted, scowling. “How do you know Joe Biden’s not going to finish his term? What is that based on?”
“Ask Americans,” Haley replied. “We look at the decline he’s had over the last few years. You have to be honest with the American people, George: There’s no way that Joe Biden is going to finish out a next term. We can’t have an 81-year-old president.”
“Again, you didn’t answer the question,” an agitated Stephanopoulos shot back. “What evidence do you have that he’s not going to finish the term? What Americans feel has no basis on whether he’s going to finish his term or not?”
How does that defense look now, George?
The dam cracked even more on Wednesday, with major fundraisers like celebrity heavyweight George Clooney writing in The New York Times that Biden needs to go, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi running to MSNBC to imply the same on Wednesday morning.
The news cycle has never been the worst for any Democratic president going back to Jimmy Carter and the failed attempt to rescue American hostages held in Iran in 1980.
Since the debate, we’re talking about nearly two weeks of non-stop, blanket coverage talking about Biden’s mental acuity (or lack thereof), or if the president can survive his own party attempting to take him out, or if he has a neurological disorder like Parkinson’s.
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Nothing is going right for Democrats as the panic heads to DEFCON-1. And while all of this is happening, a disciplined Donald Trump has mostly stayed above the fray, instead allowing Biden to sink in his own quicksand.
As Napoleon once said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is destroying himself.”
It’s funny to think about the media coverage of Biden pre-debate: The best was when we heard about how sharp the president is behind closed doors by party allies and fans in the media.
“Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth,” Biden close friend and co-host Joe Scarborough said on MSNBC in March. “And F— you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever. Not a close second. And I have known him for years. The Brzezinskis have known him for 50 years. If it weren’t the truth I wouldn’t say it.”
Uh-huh.
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Yep. Close those doors and when the public can’t see him, Biden is actually doing quadratic equations. He’s explaining how the flux capacitor works. Basically, he’s Stephen Hawking.
George Stephanopolous thinks Joe Biden should not serve a second term. Another George of the Clooney variety agrees.
It’s hard to see how this bell unrings itself. And until there’s some kind of clear path forward for the Democratic ticket on the ballot in November, the insanity that is the Biden-led news cycle will continue to go unabated.
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Pelosi lashes out at reporter asking if Biden should drop out of the presidential race
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, grew testy with a reporter on Wednesday after being asked about whether she supports President Biden’s candidacy as he faces mounting pressure to drop out of the race.
ABC News reporter Rachel Scott caught up with Pelosi as she was walking in the halls of Congress and asked her if she had talked with Biden about her comments that morning calling on Biden “to decide” if he was going to stay in the race.
“I’m not having any discussions with you, or anyone else, about what I talk to the president about, with all due respect,” Pelosi told Scott in a video shared on X. “I’m not going to be making any comments today, in the hallway, about the fate of our nation, OK?”
Pelosi appeared to become more frustrated as Scott pressed her on whether she wanted Biden to stay in the race.
MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED AT BIDEN’S ‘BAD’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER’
“Are you concerned whether or not he can win in November?” Scott asked.
“I think he can win in November,” Pelosi responded.
However, the Democrat lost her cool when Scott asked if she believed Biden “should run for re-election.”
“I’m not —,” she said, stopping in the hallway. “Am I speaking English to you? I’m not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway.”
TRUMP ADDRESSES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: HE ‘DOESN’T WANT TO QUIT’
Fox News Digital reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Biden has said in multiple interviews this week and in a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday that he is committed to staying in the race and believes he can beat former President Trump.
However, while on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Pelosi suggested Biden hadn’t already made up his mind.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” Pelosi added later.
Arriving at her office, the former House Speaker told CBS News’ Jaala Brown that “there are some misrepresentations of what I have said.”
“I never said he should reconsider his decision,” Pelosi added.
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White House corrects KJP’s erroneous claim about Biden meeting with neurologist
The White House is playing cleanup after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that a meeting between White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor and Dr. Kevin Cannard, a renowned neurological and Parkinson’s disease expert, was not related to care for President Biden.
The White House now says the Jan. 17 meeting between O’Connor and Cannard at the White House was for a neurological exam of Biden, the results of which were later reported as part of his annual physical more than a month later. O’Connor reported the results on Feb. 28, stating that an “extremely detailed neurological exam” did not show Biden had signs of Parkinson’s or any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder.
At Tuesday’s White House press briefing, a reporter for The Associated Press asked for clarification on a letter sent Monday night by O’Connor.
“It didn’t seem to explicitly describe the nature of Dr. Cannard’s meeting with Dr. O’Connor. So can you say whether that one meeting was related to care for the president himself?” the reporter asked.
“I can say that it was not,” Jean-Pierre said.
PARKINSON’S DISEASE SPECIALIST MET WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PHYSICIAN IN WHITE HOUSE
Jean-Pierre insisted she had already confirmed from “behind this lectern” that three meetings occurred and that the doctor was a “neurologist,” though not Cannard’s name until O’Connor released it Monday.
Jean-Pierre said she needed permission from Cannard and also from the president before putting that information out.
“And the reason why is because we do not share private information. That is something that we respect. And we wanted to make sure that we protected our consultants here that work with the White House medical unit, their security as well,” she told reporters from the podium Tuesday.
In a later statement, Jean-Pierre said the question did not mention the date, which apparently caused her confusion. However, the question was about the meeting between O’Connor and Cannard, and according to the visitor logs, it was the only meeting between the two between July 2023 and this past March — a period that has come under scrutiny because Cannard had visited the White House eight times in that time frame.
The other seven visits by Cannard have Megan Nasworthy listed as the visitee.
“Because the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to be clear that the January 17th meeting between Dr. O’Connor and Dr. Cannard was for the President’s physical. It was one of the three times the President has seen Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical. The findings from each exam have been released to the public,” the statement said.
Fox News is told Jean-Pierre proactively followed up with the AP to volunteer the information.
That statement is not the first time in the days following Biden’s debate debacle — which triggered a new round of concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness to serve — that the White House has had to later clarify answers to questions about the president’s health.
WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS PRESS SECRETARY KARINE JEAN-PIERRE AMID INCREASING TENSIONS WITH REPORTERS
Last week, Jean-Pierre said Biden “did not get checked out by the doctor” for a cold that was noticeable during the June 27 debate. However, Biden later said in a private meeting with Democratic governors that he had been checked out by his doctor after the debate concluded. Jean-Pierre said she meant Biden did not get a full medical exam and that the president did indeed have a “check-in” with his doctor, which he does a couple of times a week.
Additionally, on Monday night, the White House released a statement from O’Connor describing the nature of Cannard’s visits to the White House after Jean-Pierre earlier in the day declined to confirm the name of the doctor or say why he was going to the White House. It also confirmed that Cannard had been the neurologist who had examined Biden in his three physicals during his presidency. Jean-Pierre contended on Tuesday that “a lot of the things I said right here in this briefing room” were later restated in the letter from O’Connor on Monday night.
Still, Jean-Pierre said this week that she and other White House press aides are doing “our best in this briefing to provide the information that we have.”
“I will be the first one to admit: Sometimes I get it wrong. At least I admit that,” she said. “And sometimes I don’t have the information. And I will always, always admit that.”
Jean-Pierre’s clarification also shows how parts of the president’s annual physical, which is generally conducted at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, can be performed over a longer period rather than just one day at the suburban Maryland hospital.
When O’Connor released the results of Biden’s physical on Feb. 28, he wrote that “an extremely detailed neurological exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy.” The letter had not stated when the neurological exam had been conducted or where it took place.
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The repeated presence of Cannard in the White House visitors logs also attracted attention because of the doctor’s expertise in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. However, Jean-Pierre definitively said this week that Biden has not been treated for Parkinson’s disease, nor is he being treated currently or taking medication for it.
Cannard has been the neurology consultant to the White House medical unit for a dozen years. O’Connor also said in a letter released Monday night that Cannard has held regular neurology clinics at the White House “in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations.”
Top Biden fundraiser issues dire warning to Dems targeting president
A top Democratic fundraiser said she is fully behind President Biden’s candidacy as others in her party have spent the last week remaining silent on their support.
Philadelphia-area activist Lindy Li, who recently raised more than $1 million for Biden’s candidacy, said he clearly had a bad debate night, but maintained that he remains both the best hope to defeat former President Trump and a true personification of a traditional Democrat.
“Honestly, what we think or what anybody thinks is irrelevant because he is the one who holds all the cards here, and he’s decided to stay in the race and hold onto his preponderance of delegates,” Li said of Biden. “We just have to get behind him.”
Li, a frequent political commentator on MSNBC and a member of the DNC’s National Finance Committee, had previously clashed with the progressive wing of her party, including supporters of democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Li describes herself as a “conservative Democrat,” but has long pledged her commitment to the president, despite his setbacks. She said that Biden has long been a consensus-minded politician.
PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND BIDEN, BLASTING PREMATURE JOSH SHAPIRO SPECULATION
“He has been a moderate his entire life, and that’s why he won the 2020 primary, because the majority of the party saw Bernie as not being able to defeat Trump. That’s why they chose Biden,” she said.
Li noted she is close to several Democratic figures floated as potential Biden replacements – such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore – and while she supports them, she said there is still tacit proof Biden remains the man for the job.
Quoting from HBO’s “The Wire,” Li chalked up the lack of Biden criticism from Democrats as proof of the line, “if you come for the king, you better not miss.”
“No one wants to be the person to knife Julius Caesar,” she said.
STATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS RALLY BEHIND BIDEN AFTER PARTY CHAIR SUGGESTS GOP PULL TRUMP’S NOM
As for the other names bandied about as replacements, Li said any one of them could have faced Biden in the primary but chose not to.
“These are all ambitious people. I know them all. I know Josh [Shapiro], in particular, very well. If they could have run against Biden and won, they would have. But they looked at the empirical data during the primary and noticed that none of them could beat him,” she said.
“This is not a matter of anyone being altruistic. They were being self-interested and realized that no one could beat Biden, and that’s why they didn’t dare to oppose him.”
However, at the same time, it has been a “Herculean effort” to keep Democrats publicly on the same page in support of Biden.
When she was on a call with Moore on Monday, Biden himself interrupted the Zoom and took questions from the assembled Democrats.
“A lot of people had reservations and concerns. And people asked him point-blank, ‘what happened, what are you going to do differently?’ And he said, ‘going forward, I’m just going to be more vigorously attacking Trump’.”
STATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS RALLY BEHIND BIDEN AFTER PARTY CHAIR SUGGESTS GOP PULL TRUMP’S NOM
“There were no softball questions, and he answered all of them. And I know he’s doing everything he can to alleviate concerns. And I’m actually impressed by how he was able to outmaneuver all of his opponents yesterday.”
Li also warned against a second Trump term, saying that all political issues aside, his behavior on and leading up to Jan. 6, 2021 disqualified him from office.
As an immigrant to the U.S., Li said, she understands what she saw as “authoritarian” tendencies from Trump, adding that the throngs who rioted at the Capitol on that day in support of him reflect the stakes this November.
Li, who was born in China but immigrated to the U.S. from England, said she lived under authoritarianism and that the U.S. must therefore “cherish” democracy at all costs.
She added that her life experience also conversely draws her to fully support Biden, who she said has taken recent steps to try to secure the border.
“The number of migrants coming down or coming over has certainly dropped because of his measures. But a lot of people in our party were really disgruntled by his actions,” she said.
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“But I actually am in support of the measures that he’s taken to secure our border. I’m in favor of legal immigration. My family waited years to come to the United States. My dad was a medical doctor who ended up at Harvard Medical School. And we brought useful skills to the country. So I’m all in favor of having a legal way of becoming an American.”
Li rejected claims the president is dealing with health concerns to the extent Republicans crow about.
“For somebody who is accused of being senile and in cognitive decline, he was quite clever. He dropped a letter which basically prevented any more hemorrhaging in the House. And then he went on ‘Morning Joe’ to dare his opponents to run against him.”
In that regard, she said Democrats must unite once again behind Biden as they had in the primary, continue pushing his agenda while preventing Trump’s return.
“I’m not here to gaslight anybody… I’ve had to reassure folks that Biden will remain in the race; that [Trump] is an existential threat to our country. We have to get on board. It’s a binary choice.”
Major ruling handed down for Arizona rancher charged in migrant shooting
An Arizona judge on Tuesday dismissed the case against rancher George Alan Kelly, who was charged with murder after being accused of shooting a Mexican national on his border property.
Kelly, 75, was accused of killing Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, on his 170-acre cattle ranch near Keno Springs outside Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 30, 2023.
Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said the State “has decided not to retry this case following mistrial because another jury would not convict the defendant based upon the same evidence.”
“At best, another hung jury would result. More likely, another jury would acquit,” Fink wrote.
ARIZONA RANCHER GEORGE ALAN KELLY DEFENSE SAYS ‘LONE HOLDOUT’ JUROR BLOCKED ACQUITTAL, STATE WEIGHS 2ND TRIAL
Santa Cruz County prosecutors in April decided not to retry Kelly after Fink declared a mistrial due to a hung jury. Jurors voted in favor of acquitting Kelly 7-1 of second-degree murder or the lower counts of manslaughter, negligent homicide or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In his decision, the judge cited a lack of physical evidence and witnesses despite the fact that the shooting occurred more than a year ago; the bullet that allegedly killed Ramirez was never located.
ARIZONA RANCHER DEFENSE CONSULTANT CLAIMS ‘CARTEL INFLUENCE’ IN MURDER PROBE, RIPS SHERIFF’S PAST COMMENTS
The judge also questioned whether the only witness named who came forward, Daniel Ramirez — a man who was walking with Cuen-Buitimea on the night he died — “would even be around for another trial.“
Ramirez testified that he has tried and failed to cross the border 10 times. “There is no assurance that his whereabouts would be known in the future,” Fink said.
ARIZONA RANCHER GEORGE ALAN KELLY’S WIFE TESTIFIES IN MURDER TRIAL, DESCRIBES ARMED MEN NEAR BORDERLANDS HOME
Prosecutors have said that jurors’ opinions about the border may have impacted their decision-making in Kelly’s trial, but Fink said that is only speculation.
The judge described the jury as “rational and diverse” in their 7-1 decision to acquit Kelly.
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“The court finds that the State is not able to articulate a reasonable basis for holding this case ‘open’ with a dismissal without prejudice. The interests of justice are not served by the dismissal without prejudice for a case that cannot and will not be re-tried,” Fink wrote. “The interests of justice are not advanced where the only thing to be accomplished by a dismissal without prejudice … is the harassment of the Defendant.”
SCOTUS justice ripped over ‘ironic’ gun rights views after bodyguards shoot suspect
Two armed U.S. Marshals on the protection detail for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor shot a would-be carjacker in self-defense last week, casting scrutiny on her co-signing a 2010 Supreme Court opinion that decried such firearm protection as a Second Amendment right.
Kentrell Flowers, 18, was shot Friday after he approached an unmarked Marshals vehicle near Sotomayor’s home. Flowers pointed a handgun at one of the two Marshals on duty through the driver-side window in an apparent attempt to carjack him, according to a police report.
Flowers was arrested at the hospital and faces charges of armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN FEDERAL BAN ON BUMP STOCKS
The incident sparked criticism of Sotomayor’s Second Amendment positions during her tenure on the high court, including one decision where she co-signed a dissent that said the Constitution does not protect “a private right of armed self-defense.”
In that case, McDonald v Chicago, decided in 2010, then-Justice Steven Breyer dissented from the majority which ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to own a gun against the regulations of state and local governments.
“In sum, the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self-defense,” Breyer wrote.
SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF NRA IN KEY FIRST AMENDMENT CASE
Ryan Petty, a school safety activist whose daughter was murdered in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, commented on the incident in a post on X, saying, “Defensive gun use.”
Parker Thayer of Capital Research commented on X, “Sotomayor is protected by the same guns she has repeatedly written that civilians do not need and should not own.”
Justice Sotomayor has aggressively opposed the individual right to self-defense in her dissenting opinions on several major Second Amendment cases over the years,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president for Gun Owners of America, told Fox News Digital.
“So it is incredibly ironic, even hypocritical, that her own private protective detail was forced to exercise this basic and universal right to protect themselves in a very dangerous situation. Hopefully, this incident will open her eyes, but we won’t hold our breath,” he said.
This term, Sotomayor penned a dissent in a case that ruled a ban on a firearm accessory known as a “bump stock” was unconstitutional.
WOULD-BE CARJACKER TARGETS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR SECURITY DETAIL OFFICER, SUSPECT SHOT
“Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress’s definition of ‘machinegun’ and seizes upon one that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose. When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck. A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle fires ‘automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.’ Because I, like Congress, call that a machinegun, I respectfully dissent,” she wrote.
Sotomayor, who was nominated to the Court by then-President Obama, took heat from lawmakers who were concerned about her Second Amendment philosophy.
In 2004, she joined an opinion that cited as precedent “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.”
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In 2009, she also joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states.
AOC files articles of impeachment against two Supreme Court justices
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., filed articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas on Wednesday, alleging “unchecked corruption.”
Ocasio-Cortez threatened to file the articles last week, raising arguments about undisclosed gifts Thomas has received from wealthy conservatives and recent controversies involving Alito’s home and personal politics.
“The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large,” Cortez wrote in a statement. “Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed.”
“Justice Thomas and Alito’s repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law. And their refusal to recuse from the specific matters and cases before the court in which their benefactors and spouses are implicated represents nothing less than a constitutional crisis. These failures alone would amount to a deep transgression worthy of standard removal in any lower court, and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation in the first place,” she argued.
CONGRESSIONAL DEMS BLAST RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY: ‘EXTREME RIGHT-WING SUPREME COURT’
Ocasio-Cortez’s Wednesday filing includes three articles of impeachment against Thomas and two against Alito. The charges against Thomas involve undisclosed gifts as well as his lack of recusal in cases allegedly involving his wife’s legal and financial interests.
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The charges against Alito also include failure to disclose gifts and his lack of recusal in cases in which he had “a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party” before the court.
Ocasio-Cortez first threatened an article of soft impeachment following the Supreme Court’s ruling in former President Trump’s immunity case. The ruling in question said a president has absolute immunity from prosecution for “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” and “presumptive immunity” for official acts in general. The court said there is no immunity for unofficial acts.
SCOTUS RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION FOR OFFICIAL ACTS IN IMMUNITY CASE
“The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X following the decision. “Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture. I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return.”
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The lawmaker argues that Alito was biased in favor of Trump and participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. She and other critics base the accusation on Alito flying an “appeal to heaven” flag at his home. The flag has been a symbol associated with American independence since before the Revolutionary War.
Alec Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin, appeared to make a subtle movement Wednesday for her husband to focus on his
involuntary manslaughter trial.
Hilaria, 40, clasped her hands over a bench in the New Mexico courtroom as Alec, 66, turned around for a quick glance during a break in the “Rust” testimony.
The yoga enthusiast then wiggled her fingers indicating Alec needed to turn back around and focus on his trial.
Alec and Hilaria recently celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. The couple has seven children together.
Earlier this month, Baldwin announced his family was diving into the reality realm with their own TLC show premiering in 2025, tentatively coined, “The Baldwins.”
Alec Baldwin, along with the cast and crew of “Rust,” eventually completed filming the movie
in May 2023. Production on the Western set was initially halted after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The team picked up filming again in April 2023 – with Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, serving as the movie’s executive producer.
The post-production process of “Rust” has since been completed, according to IMDB. However, a release date has not been revealed. The Western was expected to hit theaters sometime in 2024 or later.
Baldwin starred in the film as main character Harland Rust. The actor’s character goes on the run with his grandson after the 13-year-old boy accidentally kills a rancher.
The actor helped director Joel Souza come up with the concept of the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was just looking for something a little more cinematic with a little less talking,” he told the outlet. “There’s great dialogue, but the film is balanced by some really stunning cinematics.”
Alec Baldwin gathered two of the top lawyers when it comes to representing celebrities to work on his defense team and fight the
involuntary manslaughter charges waged against the “Rust” actor.
One of his lawyers, Alex Spiro, made a name for himself representing high-profile clients. Most notably, he represented Elon Musk during his acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, and also Megan thee Stallion, after she was shot in the foot in 2020.
Spiro graduated from Harvard Law School in 2008, and after initially working as a prosecutor, switched to a defense attorney practice a few years later.
Baldwin’s other lawyer, Luke Nikas, is also a Harvard Law graduate, and has a reputation for being “a leading commercial litigator with extensive experience representing clients in complex disputes,” as described by law.com.
Nikas was listed in Lawdragon’s 2018 index of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation’s “Under 40 Hot List,” and the New York Super Lawyers list.
He is best known for prosecuting and defending fraud, contract, negligence, and racketeering cases, revolving around forgery, and has recovered many stolen pieces of art, including some pieces by Picasso and Andy Warhol.
Fox News Digital’s Lori A. Bashian contributed to this report.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer cross-examined Nicholas LeFleur about Alec Baldwin’s state of being after the shooting on Oct. 21, 2021.
“When you got to the scene Mr. Baldwin walked up to you and said, ‘I was holding the gun,'” Alex Spiro asked. “He blurted it out, right?”
“Yes,” LeFleur said.
“And in fact, he was very shocked,” Spiro continued. “If you could picture Alec Baldwin in a pale state, you know, very unsure of himself, you could see an actor out of character there?”
Spiro went on to ask the responding officer if he thought Baldwin showed signs of intention that day.
“That you took it as a way how everybody was acting and the individual who claimed to have been holding the firearm was still there, that … the way he was, his demeanor, was that there wasn’t any intention behind the act, as you could say. Isn’t that true?” the attorney asked.
“I wouldn’t say there was no intention,” LeFleur explained. “I don’t know the individual’s intentions, but his demeanor was sad. Upset.”
Officers wanted Alec Baldwin to be kept separate from other crew in the immediate aftermath of the fatal “Rust” shooting.
However, Baldwin and other witnesses could be seen speaking to each other about the incident on Officer Nicholas LeFleur’s bodycam footage. The Santa Fe County Sheriff asked the actor questions about the shooting while he was sitting outside the perimeter of crime scene tape.
While Baldwin was being interviewed, assistant director Dave Halls approached and told officers that six or seven crew members were inside the church during the fatal shooting.
Three other crew members could be seen talking with Baldwin after the officer told them not to talk about the incident.
At one point, Baldwin smoked a cigarette.
A small demonstration began outside of the Santa Fe, New Mexico courthouse amid the first full day of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial.
The group was chanting, “Justice for Halyna.”
Halyna Hutchins died Oct. 21, 2021 on the set of “Rust” after a gun Baldwin was holding fired. The cinematographer was guiding Baldwin while they practiced a close-up shot of the actor cross-drawing his revolver.
The scene was off-script.
Baldwin was charged
with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting on Jan. 19, over two years after the on-set tragedy.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey called the state’s first witness after a short bathroom break.
Nicholas Lefleur, a former Santa Fe County Sheriff, took the stand first. He formerly worked with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department.
LeFleur was the closest officer to the scene at the time of the fatal shooting on Oct. 21, 2021. He told the jury he arrived at the scene first.
“Priority of life,” was the sheriff’s main concern when arriving on the film set.
“Make sure whoever needs help gets help, and that the threat is stopped,” LeFleur added.
The prosecution then began playing footage from the police officer’s body camera, having him walk them through the frantic scene after the shooting. In the video, LeFleur can be heard giving instructions as he attempts to give life-saving measures to Halyna Hutchins.
“Deep breaths. Deep breaths, Halyna,” someone can be heard saying.
The injured cinematographer was moved from the church into the back of an ambulance as they waited on a helicopter to arrive.
Alec Baldwin is on trial for involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust.”
There are no clear-cut set of regulations for the handling and use of firearms broadly established across the film industry. While the US Federal Workplace Safety Agency does not regulate the use of guns for safe handling on set, according to the Associated Press, there are suggested rules set by the Industry Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee.
These guidelines include:
Don’t point a firearm at anyone. Any object that has a gun pointed at it could be killed.
Unless you are prepared to shoot, do not place your finger on the trigger.
Know what you want to aim at and where your intended target is located.
Never discharge a gun if the barrel is clogged.
Do not “engage in horseplay” that involves a firearm.
Until the gun is ready to be used in a scene, it should have all safety devices intact.
Never allow a firearm to be unattended.
No one should be coaxed or required to handle a firearm with coercion.
Jamming of firearms or malfunctions must be reported immediately.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be issued and utilized by all near the line of fire.
The above, among others, are guidelines offered to avoid unnecessary tragedies on set.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer emphasized the fatal “Rust” shooting was not “foreseeable” as opening statements continued.
Alex Spiro explained that Baldwin did not know a live bullet even existed on the Western film set in Oct. 2021.
“No one had any idea that it was on that set or in that gun in that world,” he explained. “They were all in it together.”
Spiro focused on a few questions that remain unanswered, “Why there was a live bullet on set, why the armorer placed it in the gun, and of course, why the head of safety failed to detect it.”
“None of it speaks to whether Alec knew or should have known those things. He didn’t. No one on that set did,” Spiro added. “It was not foreseeable.”
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer played the 911 call that was made on the set of “Rust” during his opening statements.
Alex Spiro explained the actor’s reaction immediately after the gun went off to the jury. “He immediately says, I didn’t I didn’t mean to shoot. I didn’t pull trigger. Immediately.”
“Shock turns to panic,” he added. “911 is called.”
The audio of the call was then played.
“Out at Bonanza Creek Ranch right now, we’ve had two people shot on a movie set accidentally,” the caller told the operator. “You said someone was shot?” the operator asked.
“Two people accidentally, with gunshots … on movie set at Bonanza Creek Creek Ranch,” the caller repeated.
When connected with medical, the caller repeated: “Bonanza Creek Ranch has two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. We need help immediately.”
The caller then went on to blame the assistant director to someone else on set. The script supervisor can be heard saying, “That f—ing AD that yelled at me at lunch because something about revisions, this motherf—er.” She later adds, “He’s responsible.”
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro began the defense’s opening statements around 9:30 am local time.
“This was an unspeakable tragedy,” Spiro told the jury. “But Alec Baldwin committed no crime. He was an actor. Actor playing the role of Harlan Rust. An actor playing a character can act in ways that are lethal, that just aren’t lethal on a movie set. These cardinal rules, they’re not cardinal rules on a movie set.”
Spiro emphasized that Baldwin’s role on the “Rust” movie set was not to ensure safety.
“Those people failed in their duties, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime,” he claimed.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson revealed witnesses claimed Alec Baldwin put his finger “on or around” the trigger of the F.LLI Pietta Long Colt 45 Revolver he was holding before the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust.”
“The defendant takes [the gun] out quickly the first time pointed — and you will hear witness testimony who will tell you the first time he does it his finger is on or around the trigger,” Johnson told the jury. “He does it again. Takes it out very fast, points it, and once again you will hear testimony that his finger was on or around the trigger. And the evidence will show that that third and fatal time, he takes it out once again, fast, cocks the hammer, pointed straight at Mrs. Hutchins and fires that gun.”
However, Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun on Oct. 21, 2021.
“I didn’t pull the trigger,” the actor told George Stephanopoulos in Dec. 2021. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never.”
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson began the opening statements in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial at 9:14 am local time.
“It’s simple, straightforward,” she told the jury of the case. “The evidence will show that someone who played make believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety is the defendant, Alexander Baldwin.”
The trial began July 9 with jury selection following years of back-and-forth between the prosecution and Baldwin’s legal team. The prosecution has largely accused Baldwin of being “reckless” on the Western film set in the days leading up to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death.
Meanwhile, Baldwin’s lawyers accused Morrissey of only charging the actor to “humble” him because “she finds him ’arrogant’ and wants to give him a ‘teachable moment,'” in court documents previously obtained by Fox News Digital.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer began the court day by giving the jury instructions in the case.
The judge emphasized that Alec Baldwin’s trial is a public proceeding and there may be distractions.
“This is a public proceeding, so people may go in and out,” Sommer said. “You may find yourself looking at who goes in and out, but after a while, you’ll get used to it. But if there is anything that is distracting you from being able to listen and be involved in this case, please tell [the bailiff] immediately. He’ll let me know and I’ll do my best to get rid of the distraction.”
Jurors are allowed to ask questions, but they have to be written and presented to the judge. Judge Sommer will then decide if the question should be asked to the prosecutors or Alec Baldwin’s defense team.
The panel of jurors were told they are not allowed to discuss the case until they are a jury that is deliberating.
Alec Baldwin’s wife Hilaria
was seated next to his brother Stephen Baldwin for the first day of the involuntary manslaughter trial.
The two could be seen sitting side-by-side behind the actor.
Stephen wore an earpiece while sitting in the courtroom, although it’s not clear what it is for.
Both Hilaria and Stephen attended the jury selection, which took place Tuesday.
The opening statements in Alec Baldwin’s trial were slightly delayed due to Wi-Fi issues in the courthouse, Fox News Digital can confirm. Baldwin sat in the courtroom with his attorneys. They could be seen whispering as they waited for the jury to be brought in.
The courtroom is packed with all benches for the public full and all benches for media and attorney also full.
Baldwin’s legal team and the prosecution will both give opening statements. Afterwards, the prosecution will begin arguments, which are expected to last for multiple days.
Baldwin was holding a gun on the set of “Rust” in Oct. 2021 when it discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Gloria Allred, the attorney for Halyna Hutchins’ family, arrived to the courthouse after Alec Baldwin.
Allred held a mini press conference in which she emphasized that the late cinematographer was “killed by the gun that Alec Baldwin was holding.”
“We would like truth. We would like justice,” she added.
Allred plans to attend the majority of the actor’s trial as Hutchins’ family is based in the Ukraine. The lawyer also slammed Baldwin’s upcoming reality TV show.
“He has apparently signed up for a reality show,” Allred said during the press conference. “This is not a reality show. This is a trial for involuntary manslaughter of a young, talented cinematographer.”
She added: “I don’t care what his plans are. Except if he uses this trial or his children as part of a reality show, I think it’s sick.”
Alec Baldwin arrived Wednesday morning around 8 am local time for the first full day of his involuntary manslaughter trial.
“Mr. Baldwin, are you feeling confident in your arguments today?” a member of the media asked as he walked into the Santa Fe courthouse.
The actor remained silent as he passed the cameras and made his way into the courthouse. His wife Hilaria arrived with his lawyer, Alex Spiro.
A jury panel of 16, including four alternates was chosen yesterday after a two-hour delay in the morning. Baldwin did attend the jury selection as did his brother, actor Stephen Baldwin.
The prosecution and Baldwin’s legal team questioned the potential juror pool of 70 about how much press coverage of the case they had consumed, their views on gun regulation and if they were connected to the film industry.
Baldwin’s trial will begin Wednesday with opening statements and is expected to last until July 19.
“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March. The armorer’s trial, which began Feb. 21, saw testimony from weapons experts, FBI and Santa Fe County authorities and crew members who witnessed the fatal shooting.
The prosecution largely focused on Gutierrez Reed’s behavior as an armorer, saying she didn’t do her job correctly.
“Interestingly, it was Gutierrez Reed who presented the most evidence as to Baldwin’s culpability,” Kate Mangels, partner at Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP, told Fox News Digital. “Her attorneys presented Baldwin as failing in his role as part of the ‘Rust’ production team and as an actor.”
“This strategy could be used by the prosecution in Baldwin’s case
to increase the chances that a jury finds him culpable in one of those roles. The prosecution’s case against Baldwin will depend largely on whether the crew witnesses who testified against Gutierrez Reed testify similarly against Baldwin.”
Jury selection
in a high-profile case like Alec Baldwin’s trial for the involuntary manslaughter charge of Halyna Hutchins was complex because of all the considerations the jurors will need to make.
After nearly three years since the tragic shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust,” the selected jury will be expected to come to a resolution following a nine-day trial.
The jury will need to decide whether Baldwin will be put in jail for 18 months or let off. The decision will be dependent on two standards for proving the charge. The first standard is that of negligence while in possession of a firearm and the second is whether Baldwin acted with complete disregard or indifference for the safety of others, which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution will have the task of proving these elements to the jury.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed
, the armor during the time of the fatal shooting, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. One consideration that the jury in Baldwin’s case must make is whether he bore the same responsibility as the armorer. It is her specified job to ensure the safety of the guns. The jury must consider whether he bore the same level of responsibility since negligence is an attribute of the involuntary manslaughter charge.
Biden changes course on Trump golf challenge he was once ‘happy to play’
President Biden’s re-election campaign dismissed former President Trump’s challenge to a charity golf match as “weird antics” on Tuesday, just months after the president stated himself that he would be “happy to play.”
At a campaign rally at his Doral course in South Florida on Tuesday, Trump posed a challenge to Biden: a golf match with $1 million to a charity of Biden’s choice if the former president were to lose.
“I’m also officially challenging crooked Joe to an 18-hole golf match right here on Doral’s Blue Monster, considered one of the greatest tournament golf courses anywhere in the world, one of the great courses of the world,” Trump said. “It will be among the most-watched sporting events in history. Maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters.”
“I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes a side. Ten strokes, that’s a lot. That means 20 strokes, in case you don’t play golf. And if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity of his choice, $1 million. And I’ll bet you he doesn’t take the offer.”
TRUMP CHALLENGES BIDEN TO GOLF MATCH, SAYS HE’LL GIVE $1 MILLION TO CHARITY IF HE LOSES
Firing back at Trump’s comments, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement, “Donald Trump hasn’t been seen in public for 12 days, now he’s inviting fictional serial killers to dinner, teasing lil’ Marco Rubio, praising Project 2025 architect Tom Homan, and challenging the President of the United States to golf.”
“Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics – he’s busy leading America and defending the free world. Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself – par for the course,” Singer added.
Singer’s comments came a little more than three months after Biden signaled he would be willing to take on the former president in a round of golf.
“Donald, my offer to play golf still stands. I’ll let you take three strokes off your game if you carry your own bag,” Biden wrote in a March 30 post on X.
BIDEN’S GOLF HANDICAP EXPLAINED AFTER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE STIRS SKILLS CONTROVERSY
Included in the post was a clip of Biden telling comedian Stephen Colbert that he would be “happy to play” golf against Trump.
The possibility of a golf match between the former and current president was also highlighted during the first presidential debate on June 27 in Atlanta, where Trump said he won two club championships while discussing fitness and insisted Biden couldn’t drive a ball 50 yards.
Insisting at the time that he would be “happy to have a driving contest” with Trump, Biden alleged that he had gotten his golf handicap down to a six as vice president, and he later corrected it to an eight.
However, Trump, an avid golfer, was not buying it.
“That’s the biggest lie — that he’s a six handicap — of all,” he said. Trump’s handicap has been recorded as low as 2.5.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has also offered to settle the debate over which president is the better golfer by hosting a golf match between Biden and Trump on his YouTube channel.
“Let’s settle this whole handicap debate, I’ll host the golf match on my YouTube,” DeChambeau wrote in an X post after the debate.
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Trump owns several golf courses. Doral has hosted the LIV championship, while his course in Bedminster has also hosted the Saudi-backed tour.