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Jill Biden Responds to the Hur Report and It's as Bad as You Expected

On Friday‚ PBS NewsHour followed up its ridiculously supportive story Thursday evening on mentally declining President Joe Biden‚ who held a presser to lash out at a damning special counsel report documenting his false statements about how he treated classified documents‚ as well as documenting his problems remembering important events. Thursday night's program featured‚ as its expert witness defending Biden‚ a Yale Law professor who was also a longtime Democratic donor‚ including a donation to the 2020 Biden presidential campaign! PBS somehow left that out.     On Friday evening’s edition‚ the partisan call was coming from inside the house‚ as the show’s own White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez‚ perhaps the most ideologically unbalanced of PBS’s contingent of reporters‚ defended bitter old blame-spreader Biden’s disastrous press conference and condemned special counsel Robert Hur‚ while playing "whataboutism" with Trump regarding memory gaffes. Anchor Amna Nawaz asked Barron-Lopez about Biden’s “very heated press conference” and she replied with Biden talking points‚ including a lie: Laura Barron-Lopez: Sources inside the White House told me that the president felt compelled to respond‚ that he wanted to highlight that there were no charges‚ remind people of that‚ and point out the differences between the way he handled his classified documents and the way former President Donald Trump handled the classified documents‚ basically that he cooperated and immediately gave them back. Former President Trump didn't. They also wanted to dispute what they called editorializing about his memory and age. And they thought that it would be a good time for him to take questions. Barron-Lopez noted the president was “angered by” and “got emotional” about the report’s references to his late son Beau Biden. She even enlisted the special counsel into the “MAGA” corps: Barron-Lopez: ….The White House basically universally felt‚ everyone in there‚ the White House official that I spoke to told me‚ that the special counsel -- they felt as though the special counsel was performing for -- quote -- "MAGA Republicans‚" and that it was time for the president to respond to that. As conservative legal experts have pointed out‚ Hur had an obligation to explain why he wasn’t charging President Biden‚ even though Biden knew he had boxes of classified documents as early as 2017. Nothing “MAGA” about it. Hur’s reason‚ now famous:  Barron-Lopez: Democrats were quick to point out that the mental fitness and misspeaking is not just a President Biden problem‚ that it is something that is also a problem for former President Donald Trump‚ who has frequently mixed up foreign leaders. Conveniently‚ PBS then aired a clip to confirm those Democratic talking points‚ running a Trump gaffe when he confused the leader of Hungary with the leader of Turkey. They didn’t even air Biden’s own presser gaffe when he mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt! Barron-Lopez rubbed it in‚ noting “President Trump has also frequently mixed up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi‚” before pivoting back to the important takeaway: “Upset” feelings among Democrats. Barron-Lopez: Overall‚ Amna‚ Democrats are really upset about this report. I spoke to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from the swing state of Michigan‚ who said that she was so upset that she wanted to share with me this personal detail that the President Biden always checks in with her this week every year‚ because it's the anniversary of her husband's death. She now occupies his seat in Congress. And it's also very close to Beau Biden's birthday. Nawaz finally admitted the political saliency of the age and memory issue “that has been plaguing the president‚ will likely continue to plague him through his reelection campaign.” Barron-Lopez agreed‚ concluding with the closest thing to actual journalism (as opposed to reverse “gotcha-ism”) in the piece Barron-Lopez: ….I also spoke to a Democratic state party chair who told me that every time that they knock on doors to talk to voters‚ voters ask them questions like‚ ‘Why didn't Joe Biden retire and pass the torch to the younger generation?’ Saying the Democrats plan to take the issue of the president’s age “head on‚” Barron-Lopez ended with the Democratic angle. Barron Lopez: And when they take that head on‚ they tend to pivot to‚ with age comes experience‚ Amna. A transcript is available. Click “cxpand” to read: PBS NewsHour 2/9/24 7:02:52 p.m. (ET) Amna Nawaz: On Thursday‚ special counsel Robert Hur's report concluded that no criminal charges were warranted against President Biden for his handling of classified documents. However‚ the report made several references to President Biden's age and called his memory into question. The president shot back last night. Joe Biden ‚ President of the United States: I'm well-meaning‚ and I'm an elderly man‚ and I know what the hell I'm doing. I have been president. I put this country back on its feet. Amna Nawaz: White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez has been following all this and joins me now. Laura‚ the president spoke directly to the nation last night about this report in a very heated press conference. Why? Laura Barron-Lopez: Sources inside the White House told me that the president felt compelled to respond‚ that he wanted to highlight that there were no charges‚ remind people of that‚ and point out the differences between the way he handled his classified documents and the way former President Donald Trump handled the classified documents‚ basically that he cooperated and immediately gave them back. Former President Trump didn't. They also wanted to dispute what they called editorializing about his memory and age. And they thought that it would be a good time for him to take questions. Amna Nawaz: And he's not being criminally charged. So what did the president highlight from the report‚ and what's the White House challenging in there? Laura Barron-Lopez: Specifically‚ the president wanted to talk about the parts of the report where Robert Hur‚ the special counsel‚ said that he did not willfully retain classified documents‚ talking about classified Afghanistan documents‚ as well as others‚ and that they felt as though there was no real evidence to say that the president intentionally did this. He also got emotional about the parts of the report that had to do with his son Beau Biden‚ specifically that the report said that the president did not remember‚ even within several years‚ when his son Beau died. And so the White House was really angered by that. The president was angered by that. And you saw that in his remarks. The White House basically universally felt‚ everyone in there‚ the White House official that I spoke to told me‚ that the special counsel — they felt as though the special counsel was performing for — quote — "MAGA Republicans‚" and that it was time for the president to respond to that. Amna Nawaz: A very strong emotional response from the president on that. Well‚ the White House did continue to respond today‚ and they're announcing a task force‚ right? What will that do? Laura Barron-Lopez: So‚ this task force is going to review the presidential transition process and specifically how classified documents are handled during that transition. Transitions can get messy. They can get speedy. People can make mistakes. And so Biden is going to appoint a senior government official to oversee that new task force that will make recommendations. Amna Nawaz: And what about from the wider Democratic Party? What's been the response among them? Laura Barron-Lopez: Democrats were quick to point out that the mental fitness and misspeaking is not just a President Biden problem‚ that it is something that is also a problem for former President Donald Trump ‚ who has frequently mixed up foreign leaders. Donald Trump ‚ Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Viktor Orban‚ did anyone ever hear of him? He's probably like one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world. And he is the leader of — right? He's the leader of Turkey‚ fronts on both Russia. Laura Barron-Lopez: So Viktor Orban is not the leader of Turkey. He is the leader of Hungary. And President Trump has also frequently mixed up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi. Overall‚ Amna‚ Democrats are really upset about this report. I spoke to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from the swing state of Michigan‚ who said that she was so upset that she wanted to share with me this personal detail that the President Biden always checks in with her this week every year‚ because it's the anniversary of her husband's death. She now occupies his seat in Congress. And it's also very close to Beau Biden's birthday. Amna Nawaz: This is an issue that has been plaguing the president‚ will likely continue to plague him through his reelection campaign. How is this impacting or resonating among voters? Laura Barron-Lopez: So‚ Democrats admit that this is going to be something they have to confront head on. I spoke to Jim Messina‚ who ran former President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign‚ and he said that voters need to see more of Biden. Jim Messina‚ Former Obama White House Deputy Chief of Staff: Americans are going to have questions about this. Age is an issue for both candidates. And part of how you address it‚ as a former presidential campaign manager‚ my advice to them is always‚ transparency is important here. People need to see the president doing his job. Where Joe Biden is the best is talking to average Americans. And the more he can do that‚ the better off he is. And I think some of the problem has been‚ it's always these kind of scripted moments or these sort of White House moments. And voters want to see him out with them talking about these things. And I think the campaign's got to do more of that. Laura Barron-Lopez: But I also spoke to a Democratic state party chair who told me that‚ every time that they knock on doors to talk to voters‚ voters ask them questions like‚ why didn't Joe Biden retire and pass the torch to the younger generation? So‚ across the board‚ the Democrats that I spoke to said that the campaign‚ that they themselves need to take it on‚ take it head on‚ the president's age. And when they take that head on‚ they tend to pivot to‚ with age comes experience‚ Amna. Amna Nawaz: Laura Barron-Lopez‚ thank you‚ as always. Laura Barron-Lopez: Thank you.

The media warn‚ “Artificial intelligence will replace millions of jobs.” In San Francisco‚ Teamsters protest‚ demanding the government “protect” their jobs. In my new video‚ they chant‚ “Do not have these self-driving vehicles on San Francisco streets‚ taking jobs!” They’re complaining about the Waymo driverless taxis already in use in part of San Francisco (and Phoenix). The union is right to worry. Robot cars don’t get tired. They don’t take lunch breaks. They don’t drink or get distracted. Self-driving cars will replace many delivery-driver jobs‚ taxi jobs‚ Uber jobs and truck driver jobs. Texas is building a special highway with a lane just for self-driving trucks. The idea isn’t just to save money by having machines do what people do now‚ but to get human drivers off the road entirely. Safety advocates want that‚ because despite publicity over occasional robot-car crashes‚ we humans make many more mistakes. Robo-cars will save thousands of lives. But when I said that in this column last month‚ some of you said government officials will soon use “safety” as an excuse to outlaw human driving. “Regulators will try to ban traditional cars‚” writes orangecrate26. “You’re not taking my Mustang‚ or my guns.” Government will have “total control of your movement‚” writes another. “No movement at all if you think the wrong way.” It’s a threat I hadn’t considered. Because lots of you like driving‚ and politicians fear upsetting big voting groups‚ I assumed government wouldn’t ban human driving altogether. But I’ve been wrong about state intrusions before. What I haven’t been wrong about is the job loss. Some people will lose jobs because of AI. But history suggests that most will find better jobs. More than 90% of America’s workers once worked on farms. Better farm equipment replaced most of those jobs. Today‚ only about 1% of Americans work on farms. Are the former farmers out of work? No‚ most found other jobs‚ better jobs -- jobs less demanding and dangerous than farming. There were once half a million typists in America. Nearly all those jobs are gone. So are thousands of phone and elevator operator jobs. Bank tellers were replaced by ATM machines and online banking. Video rental stores were killed by streaming services. But after those people lost jobs‚ there was no surge in unemployment. In fact‚ over the past 15 years‚ unemployment has dropped. Wages‚ adjusted for inflation‚ are up. No union predicted that. It happened because‚ as machines took jobs that humans once did‚ people searched for different‚ better work. Most found it. Thousands found better paying jobs in fields like education‚ hospitality and health care. This creative destruction makes almost everyone better off. Although you won’t convince the unions. Stossel TV Executive Producer Maxim Lott asked the Teamster boss‚ “In the future‚ there’ll be new jobs we can’t even imagine. You buy that?” “I don’t‚” he replied‚ “because AI’s scary‚ and it’s here to stay.” It is scary and here to stay. Fortunately‚ many people Lott interviewed see the benefit of that. One points out‚ “We got machines that pick things up. We no longer needed strong people to pick things up. We don’t say‚ let’s not develop the forklift!” AI will create lots of disruptive job change‚ probably more drastic than anything in the past. But history suggests that this change is probably good news. As former AI executive Alex Roy points out‚ “For every new technology‚ there has been someone who said‚ ‘stop this.’ But it can’t be stopped!” That’s a good thing‚ he says. “Think about how many businesses don’t exist yet that could and will‚ when Robo-taxis are ubiquitous.” My brain is too small to know what those jobs will be. But they will come. Of course‚ it’s possible that AI robots decide that we humans are in their way and just kill us. That does worry some AI researchers. Then all bets are off. But short of that‚ the AI job change will mostly be a good thing.

Former President Donald Trump attacked the deployed husband of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley during a rally on Saturday in Conway‚ South Carolina. However‚ Haley fired back at her GOP opponent and accused him of insulting military families or being confused. While at his rally outside of Myrtle Beach‚ Trump told an alleged story of Haley visiting him at Mar-a-Largo. Trump claimed of Haley‚ "Then she comes over to see me at Mar-a-Lago. ‘Sir‚ I will never run against you.’ She brought her husband. Where’s your husband? Oh‚ he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone! He knew. He knew."Haley’s husband‚ Maj. Michael Haley‚ is deployed in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard in support of the United States Africa Command."Haley is being deployed as a staff officer with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade‚ which the National Guard says is providing support in the Horn of Africa‚" according to the Associated Press. Haley has been deployed since June‚ and it is his second deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard in Africa.Nikki Haley responded to Trump's assertions during her own rally in Gilbert‚ South Carolina. "I need to start with the fact that Donald Trump had a rally today‚ and in that rally‚ he mocked my husband’s military service‚" Haley retorted. Haley then slammed Trump for dodging all of the Republican primary debates. "And I'll say this: Donald‚ if you have something to say‚ don't say it behind my back‚ get on a debate stage and say it to my face."She added‚ "I am proud of Michael’s service. Every military spouse knows it’s a family sacrifice.""I have long talked about the fact that we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75. Donald Trump claims that he would pass that — maybe he would‚ maybe he wouldn’t. But if you mock the service of a combat veteran‚ you don’t deserve a driver’s license‚ let alone being president of the United States.”Trump turns 78 in June‚ and former President Joe Biden is 81 years old.Haley wrote on the X social media platform on Sunday‚ "Either Donald Trump is openly insulting military families‚ or he got confused again and doesn’t know my husband is deployed. Either way‚ he isn’t up to the task of leading the greatest fighting force in the world." — (@) Michael Haley also responded to Trump's criticism of him not being on his wife's campaign trail because he is deployed overseas. He posted a photo of a wolf with the caption: "The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack."Former first lady Melania Trump appeared with her husband on Sunday during an event at Mar-a-Lago with pharmaceutical entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy.However‚ Melania has not appeared with her husband on the campaign trail or at his notorious court appearance since Election Day November 2022 – when he launched his third bid for the White House.Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly fired a female employee who claimed she was sexually assaulted in a stairwell of the agency‚ according to NBC News. She accused the governmental agency of trying to dissuade her from filing a criminal complaint about the incident.The woman's attorney‚ Kevin Carroll‚ claimed that the CIA's termination of the unnamed woman was a clear example of brazen retaliation. Her case has motivated at least two dozen more to come forward‚ claiming that they had also been sexually assaulted by those within the agency. The development has led to an inquiry from the CIA Office of Inspector General. Carroll went on to suggest that his client's termination was a case of "unlawful retaliation against a whistleblower to Congress‚ the inspector general and law enforcement about workplace sexual violence at the agency."“The only reason to terminate her is to intimidate all the other women from coming forward (about alleged sexual misconduct).”However‚ the CIA has pushed back against Carroll's claims. "This statement is factually inaccurate. To be clear‚ CIA does not tolerate sexual assault‚ sexual harassment‚ or whistleblower retaliation‚” spokesperson Tammy Thorp said.Carroll said the situation began after his client failed the CIA's clandestine officer training program. When this has happened in the past‚ employees are free to apply to other positions within the agency. However‚ Carroll's client applied for another job but was not selected. She was subsequently dismissed on Monday‚ according to the Associated Press.The agency said the woman did not pass the clandestine training due to her poor writing skills. But Carroll — who said he had communicated with his client for months — claimed she was an excellent writer and that it was alarming that the agency arrived at a different conclusion.But the agency did not give in.“Regarding allegations related to the agency’s rigorous training‚ as you would expect‚ CIA uses consistent processes to ensure the fair and equal treatment of every officer going through training. Our mission demands no less‚” Thorp said.Former CIA officers chimed in on the issue. They suggested that a significant portion of those who go through the clandestine training do not pass‚ and they are not guaranteed another job within the agency if they fail.Ashkan Bayatpour — who the woman accused of wrapping a scarf around her neck and threatening her — was convicted of a state misdemeanor charge of assault and battery in a court in Virginia last year.The investigation is still ongoing. Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Law enforcement officers responded to a "possible shooter" at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Texas on Sunday afternoon. The shooting suspect is reportedly dead‚ but a man and a child were shot. KTRK reported‚ "The 2 p.m. Spanish-speaking service was about to begin when chaos erupted."A witness told the outlet‚ "The whole church started praying and declaring Jesus' name. I was like‚ 'This might be the last time I get to pray‚ that I get to glorify the name of Jesus‚ so I'm going to do this.'"A man told KTRK that he ran out of the megachurch in southwest Houston with his three young daughters after hearing between 20 to 30 gunshots. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote at 3:10 p.m. EST on the X social media platform‚ "Receiving initial reports of possible shots fired at/or around Lakewood Church." The Lakewood Church later stated‚ "There is an active situation involving shots fired at Lakewood. Law enforcement is on the scene."Gonzalez said‚ "Shooter is down. But it does not appear that @HCSOTexas deputies fired shots; other agencies fired. We continue to assist in a methodical/thorough search of the complex."Houston Police Department said that the suspect was a 30 to 35-year-old woman‚ who entered Lakewood Church with a long rifle‚ trenchcoat‚ and a backpack. She was accompanied by a child‚ who is approximately 5-years-old. HPD Chief Troy Finner said the shooter at the Joel Osteen's Lakewood was shot by off-duty Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officers. The TABC officers were reportedly working at Lakewood Church. However‚ a 5-year-old was also shot‚ and is in critical condition. A 57-year-old was shot in the leg.The shooter allegedly threatened to have bombs‚ but law enforcement has not found any explosives. She was also allegedly "spraying some kind of substance‚" according to Finner. A police spokesman said‚ "She had a long gun and it could've been a lot worse." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released the following statement:Our hearts are with those impacted by today's tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred. I have been in contact with Mayor Whitmire and offered the full support and resources of the State of Texas‚ including Department of Public Safety officers and Texas Rangers‚ to help this community and help bring swift justice to the criminal who committed this heinous act. Join Cecilia and me in praying for this community during this difficult time and for the brave men and women in blue who acted quickly to respond to this tragedy.This is a developing story and will be updated when new details arrive. — (@) Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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