Former President Trump’s deposition in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit has been unsealed after an order from a federal judge on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplin said wrote Friday in his order to unseal the deposition that Trump’s arguments to keep the deposition sealed ‘are entirely baseless.’

Carroll alleged in her lawsuit that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in New York City in the mid-1990s, and said that her reputation was damaged in 2019 when Trump denied raping her.

In October, Kaplin ordered Trump to sit for a deposition on October 19, 2022.

Carroll is known for her ‘Ask E. Jean’ column which ran in Elle Magazine.

In an email to supporters in October, Trump said that Carroll’s claims are a lie.

‘E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, is a woman who I had nothing to do with, didn’t know, and would have no interest in knowing her if I ever had the chance,’ Trump wrote in the email. ‘I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event.’

‘She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her,’ Trump added. ‘It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.’

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard, Brooke Singman, and Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.

In light of freshman Rep. George Santos’, R-N.Y., lies about his background, two New York Democrats introduced a bill on Thursday that would require future congressional candidates to file information about their education, military and education with the Federal Elections Commission. 

Under the bill, any candidate who lies about their background could face a year in jail or a $100,000 fine. 

Santos has admitted to a number of lies during his congressional campaign, including two colleges he claimed to have graduated from and having Holocaust-survivor grandparents, among other falsehoods. 

‘I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning,’ Santos told the New York Post late last year. ‘I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume. I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.’

GEORGE SANTOS EXPLAINS CRYPTIC ANSWER TO RESIGNATION QUESTION 

The bill, known as the Santos Act or the Stopping Another Non Truthful Office Seeker Act, was introduced by Reps. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. 

‘The web of lies George Santos used to defraud his voters is a threat to our free and fair elections, and we have an obligation to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,’ Goldman said in a statement. ‘His entire candidacy for Congress was predicated on a campaign of disinformation designed to deceive the voters. Santos lied about his entire biography and resume, including religion, family history, education, and professional experience. I am proud to join my fellow New York Congressman Ritchie Torres to introduce this critical piece of legislation to safeguard the democratic process.’

WHAT THE HOUSE GOP CAN DO TO REP GEORGE SANTOS – IF THEY WANTED TO 

Torres said in a statement that he was ‘appalled at the level to which George Santos has purposefully and continually lied to the American public about every facet of his professional and personal life. 

He called Santos’ deception a ‘stain on our Democratic process and threatens to corrupt the very institution in which I am deeply humbled and proud to serve. We must work to ensure that our elected leaders are being truthful and transparent with voters, and I remain as committed as ever to doing just that.’

A large number of Democrats and even some Republicans have called on Santos to resign, although a special election loss in his district could further narrow Republicans’ small majority in the House of Representatives. 

Santos has said he won’t resign. 

A New York Democrat called on voters to make embattled Long Island Republican Rep. George Santos’ life a ‘living nightmare’ at a protest rally in Queens on Friday.

Nassau County legislator Josh Lafazan led an organized protest outside Santos’ office in Douglaston, Queens, where residents of New York’s 3rd Congressional District gathered to demand that Santos resign from the House after he lied about his background before being elected to Congress in November. Santos was found to have fabricated his résumé, lying about where he worked and went to school, as well as his purported Jewish heritage and even his mother’s supposed death on 9/11. 

‘He thinks that this will just die down. We are here to remind George Santos that we are not going anywhere, that the citizens in this district will not be silenced, will not just accept this. We will rise up, and we will hold him accountable every single day,’ Lafazan told reporters Friday. 

Formerly a Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, Lafazan is now the ringleader of the ‘Where’s George?’ campaign, which calls on people to take pictures of the GOP congressman if they see him in public and post them on social media. 

‘If George Santos won’t come to the voters who elected him, then the voters in this district will come to George Santos, and we will make every single day a living nightmare until he does the right thing and resigns,’ he said. 

Lafazan’s office did not answer the phone when contacted by Fox News Digital for further comment. 

Santos has so far refused all calls to resign.

‘I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living,’ he tweeted Wednesday. ‘I will NOT resign!’

He doubled down on Thursday and explained to Fox News Digital that the only condition under which he will leave Congress is if the 142,000 people who voted for him all demand that he do so.

Five of Santos’ fellow House Republicans have called on the embattled freshman to resign.

First-term GOP Reps. Brandon Williams, Anthony D’Esposito, Nick Langworthy and Nick LaLota all called on Santos to leave Congress amid the massive scandal. Santos is facing calls for investigations from the federal to the local level for his duping of voters and allegations that he possibly violated federal campaign finance laws. Rep. Mike Lawler joined them on Thursday.

The campaign finance allegations so far center on $705,000 that Santos donated to his own campaign from purported income earned through Devolder, LLC, a consulting business he founded in 2021, suggesting that he could have disguised campaign contributions made by unknown individuals or corporations, according to a federal watchdog complaint. 

Santos has also faced calls to resign from the Nassau County Republican Party.

Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.

A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held together next month, with partisan control of the chamber at stake.

A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel sided with the House’s Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who had moved to fill all three Allegheny County seats together on Feb. 7.

The decision was a loss for Rep. Bryan Cutler, the Lancaster Republican who heads up his caucus in the House, and whose lawsuit sought to delay two of the special elections until the May primary.

The order signed by Democratic Judge Michael Wojcik, which did not come with an opinion fully detailing its reasoning, said Cutler did not prove he has a clear right to what he was seeking or that the injunction he wanted was in the public interest.

Wojcik wrote that he agreed with McClinton’s argument that Cutler was asking the court to take up issues that are not appropriate for the courts.

The judge said Cutler sought rulings on ‘nonjusticiable political questions regarding which party in the House of Representatives has the majority and, concomitantly, who in the House of Representatives has authority to act as Majority Leader’ and issue writs of election in the interim period between the end of the last two-year legislative session on Nov. 30 and the start of the current session earlier this month.

Cutler released a statement that accused the court of ignoring basic math and prior law.

‘Instead of resolving a dispute where the answer was self-evident based on the numbers, the court took the path of least resistance and thereby weakened the foundations of our republic and faith in the rule of law,’ he said.

McClinton’s press secretary issued a statement calling the decision ‘good news for the nearly 200,000 Allegheny County residents currently without representation in the state House.’

Democrats won 102 seats in the November election, but one of their reelected incumbents died of cancer in October and two others resigned in December because they were also elected to higher offices.

In an argument session this week, Allegheny County officials told the judges that preparations were well underway to conduct the three special elections on Feb. 7, with ballots ready to be printed and most polling places and elections workers in place.

Cutler had previously consented to fill the late Rep. Tony DeLuca’s seat on Feb. 7, but wanted to wait several months to hold special elections for districts most recently represented by former Rep. Austin Davis, who will be sworn in as lieutenant governor next week, and by now freshman U.S. Rep. Summer Lee.

The three vacancies have left Republicans with a temporary 101-99 majority, but the GOP may lose a member later this month. Republican state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver of Northumberland County hopes to win a state Senate special election and fill a seat held most recently by John Gordner, a Republican who resigned mid-term to become a Senate lawyer.

The narrow partisan breakdown in the House led members last week to elect Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, as a self-styled independent speaker, on the strength of all Democratic votes and 16 Republicans.

Rozzi announced Thursday the makeup of a group of six state representatives, three from each party, who will advise him on potential rules for the 2023-24 session. The Speaker’s Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward will seek ‘a bipartisan agreement to end gridlock in the House,’ Rozzi’s office said in announcing it will begin work Tuesday.

President Biden will spend at least part of his weekend at his Wilmington, Delaware residence where lawyers recently found classified documents in the garage.

Biden departed for the Wilmington residence on Friday afternoon on the White House South Lawn and didn’t answer any questions from reporters.

The trip to Wilmington comes after his personal lawyers found Obama-era classified documents at the Wilmington residence’s garage this week.

White House special counsel Richard Sauber said in a statement on Monday that Obama-era classified documents were also found at the Biden’s private office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. Those documents were found in November.

‘The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives,’ Sauber said. ‘Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in the process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.’

When asked about the documents on Thursday by Fox News’ Peter Doocy, Biden said that the documents were in a locked garage.

‘I’m going to get the chance to speak on all of this, God willing it’ll be soon, but I said earlier this week — and by the way my Corvette is in a locked garage. It’s not like it’s sitting out in the street,’ Biden responded.

‘So the documents were in a locked garage,’ Doocy asked.

‘Yes, as well as my Corvette. But as I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously,’ Biden said. ‘I also said we’re cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department’s review.’

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday that a special counsel has been appointed to investigate Biden’s handling of Obama-era classified documents.

When explaining the classified documents found in Biden’s Wilmington garage, Sauber said that the documents were ‘misplaced.’

‘As the President said, he takes classified information and materials seriously, and as we have said, we have cooperated from the moment we informed the Archives that a small number of documents were found, and we will continue to cooperate. We have cooperated closely with the Justice Department throughout its review, and we will continue that cooperation with the Special Counsel. We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake,’ Sauber said.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

After the coronavirus vaccine mandate was rescinded for members of the military this week, the Pentagon may consider back pay for troops who were discharged for refusing to get it. 

‘All Service members and Veterans may apply at any time to the appropriate Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction for Military/Naval Records if they believe that there is an error or injustice in their records-to include those that were separated by the vaccine mandate,’ Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz told Fox News Digital in a statement Friday.

‘Regarding back pay, the Department is still exploring this and will provide its views on legislation of this nature at the appropriate time and through the appropriate process,’ he added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin officially repealed the pandemic-era policy on Tuesday after Congress included it in the annual defense spending bill in December. 

Republican congress members are seeking to help discharged troops get reinstated or an honorable discharge.

SERVICE MEMBERS TERMINATED OVER UNVAXXED STATUS COULD BE REINSTATED IN MILITARY WITH GOP-LED BILLS 

Former Vice President Mike Pence called the mandate ‘unconscionable’ in an interview with The Hill on Wednesday adding that he thinks all troops discharged for refusing the vaccine should get full back pay. 

‘I think now that Secretary Austin has implemented what Congress passed into law, lifting the vaccine mandate on members of our armed forces, now I’m calling on the Biden administration and the Pentagon to reinstate every man and woman that was discharged from our armed forces because they refused to take the vaccine, and give them 100 percent back pay for the time after they were discharged,’ he said.

Nearly 8,500 military members were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine while it was mandated but the vast majority, 96%, are vaccinated. 

Florida has hired more than 1,000 officers since last summer, awarding all of those who joined the Sunshine State’s law enforcement ranks with bonuses totaling more than $5 million.

The news was announced online Friday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis, who said she was ‘thrilled’ about the law enforcement hiring spree and bonuses.

‘[Gov. DeSantis] and I are thrilled to announce more than 1,000 new law enforcement officers have joined Florida’s ranks since July 2022 & each has received a $5,000 bonus,’ DeSantis wrote in a tweet.

‘We couldn’t be more thankful for our brave law enforcement who keep our communities safe,’ she added.

Since taking office at the helm of Florida in 2019, DeSantis has worked on initiatives to support first responders in the state.

In November 2021, DeSantis proposed a $400 million initiative to increase salaries and provide bonuses to law enforcement officers and other first responders across the state. Specifically, the proposal aimed to increase salaries for law enforcement officers, correctional officers and special risk firefighters.

‘While other states have turned their backs on law enforcement, even calling to ‘defund the police,’ in Florida we continue to support the men and women in law enforcement,’ DeSantis said in a statement at the time. ‘I am proud to propose larger and longer-lasting measures to help our state recruit and retain the best law enforcement officers in the nation and to provide $1,000 bonuses for first responders and law enforcement officers…’

As part of his efforts to amplify support for first responders throughout the state, DeSantis also hand-delivered $1,000 bonus checks to first responders last October who worked through the Hurricane Ian response.

The checks were a part of the state’s ‘Freedom First Budget,’ which DeSantis signed on June 2 and includes a $1,000 bonus payment for local government first responders in the state, according to a press release at the time.

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the White House has long been a fixture of American politics and culture and is one of the most recognized pieces of architecture in the country. 

First constructed in 1800 as a somewhat modest residence for President John Adams, the White House has since been renovated, transformed, and revitalized by nearly every president since on its path to becoming the icon of presidential luxury we know it as today – it wasn’t even called the White House until President Theodore Roosevelt adopted the name in 1901.

The 54,900-square-foot White House has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms on six levels. This tour in pictures showcases a few of the best-known locations within its interior – the Oval Office, the West Wing, and the Situation Room, as well as parlors, dining rooms, and kitchens in the Executive Residence – as well as its exterior, with the iconic Rose Garden and South Lawn encased within Washington’s unique urban landscape.