Former President Joe Biden lashed out against special counsel Robert Hur over a report in which he described the longtime lawmaker as a ‘sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

The part of Hur’s report that most angered Biden was the suggestion that the then-president could not remember when his son, Beau, died. However, new audio obtained by Axios sheds light on Biden’s lapses in memory.

In February 2024, Biden and several high-profile Democrats — as well as media personalities — attacked Hur. During a press conference on Hur’s report, Biden said, ‘There’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that?’

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Hur in February 2024, saying his report was ‘gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate.’ She also suggested that it was ‘clearly politically motivated.’ Harris recalled Biden’s alleged sharpness at the time, noting that Hur’s interview took place on Oct. 8, 2023 — just one day after Hamas’ attack on Israel. Harris said she was ‘in almost every meeting’ with Biden and that he was ‘in front of and on top of it all.’

Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., grilled Hur when he testified on Capitol Hill in March 2024. Both lawmakers attempted to get Hur to say that his report ‘exonerated’ Biden — which he did not do. Then–Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also criticized the special counsel, suggesting that Hur knew his description of Biden would ‘ignite a political firestorm,’ something Hur denied.

Former Obama advisor David Axelrod also criticized the report, calling it a ‘shiv the special counsel stuck into the Biden reelection campaign,’ according to CNN.

On Friday, Axios published a bombshell report that included audio recordings from Biden’s interview with Hur, something the previous administration refused to release. The audio includes long pauses in which Biden struggled to recall the dates of several major events, including when President Donald Trump was elected to office for his first term, his son’s death or his exit from office as vice president.

Since his report was released, Hur has seen two key moments of vindication aside from Friday’s report. The first came when the transcript of his interview was released in March 2024. At the time, the White House refused to release the audio, citing fears of AI deepfakes. Hur appeared to receive further vindication when Biden had his disastrous debate against then-candidate Trump in June 2024. Less than a month after the debate, Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris.  

The top tax-writer in the House of Representatives is arguing that President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ will be ‘big’ for American taxpayers as well – including seniors.

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and other Republicans on the panel spent months negotiating behind closed doors on how to enact Trump’s tax policies.

Among those is an added $4,000 deduction for Americans aged 65 or older. Seniors with income of less than $75,000 as single filers, and less than $150,000 as joint filers, would be eligible for the full deduction, which then would begin to phase out.

‘So, that’s on top of their guaranteed deduction, and that’s per person . . . anyone who has total earnings of $75,000 a year or less is going to be made completely whole, so all the low-income and middle-income seniors on Social Security will be paying zero on Social Security in the long run,’ Smith told Fox News Digital, while adding of others, ‘most of them will be paying much less.’

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process, which lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51 for certain pieces of fiscal legislation, to advance a vast bill full of Trump’s priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.

Because the House already operates under a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping legislation while sidelining the other side, in this case, Democrats.

Trump has directed congressional Republicans to permanently extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ Social Security.

But the law that established the reconciliation process, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, also specifically forbade direct changes to Social Security via the process.

Smith said Republicans’ had added $4,000 tax deduction as a way to make them ‘completely whole.’

Rather than seeing that tax relief month-to-month, however, Smith said it would come in people’s yearly tax returns.

He argued that it was more beneficial for lower-income seniors as well, giving added relief to those whose incomes were too low to pay Social Security taxes in the first place.

‘Under the rules of reconciliation, you cannot touch Social Security directly. What we did is to make sure that they get . . . tax relief for any senior who makes less than $75,000 per year,’ Smith said. ‘It’s not that we didn’t want to do it, it’s that it cannot be done under the rules of reconciliation, or you wouldn’t qualify for the 51-vote threshold over in the United States Senate.’

‘But the tax relief they will receive is an added tax cut, and that will make up for what they have paid in Social Security tax.’

The White House also endorsed Smith’s plan despite its departure from Trump’s initial campaign pitch.

‘The One, Big, Beautiful Bill not only delivers permanent tax cuts and bigger paychecks, but it secures a historic tax break for seniors on Social Security,’ White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. ‘This is another promise made, promise kept to our seniors who deserve much-needed tax relief after four years of suffering under Bidenflation.’

The $4,000 tax deduction, which would be in effect from the 2025 through 2028 tax years, would be on top of the higher standard deduction that people above age 65 already receive. 

It would not be a tax credit, reducing tax liability directly regardless of tax brackets. A deduction reduces taxable income and is dependent on the taxpayer’s rate.

But for single seniors making up to $75,000, and married seniors making less than $150,000, qualifying for the $4,000 deduction, it would likely provide some relief for millions of taxpayers across the country.

‘It’ll be a wash of what their Social Security tax would’ve been,’ Smith said, adding later in the interview: ‘Failure’s not an option. We’re going to get this done.’

President Donald Trump spent his 17th week as commander-in-chief visiting the Middle East, marking his first major overseas trip of his second term. 

The president left Washington, D.C., Monday for Saudi Arabia, followed by a visit in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

The president’s trip comes amid the continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and his plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates. 

Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early Tuesday morning, with the nation sending fighter jet escorts to welcome Air Force One to the ground and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeting Trump on the tarmac, which was adorned with a lavender-colored carpet.

Upon his arrival to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump was also met with a mobile and operational McDonald’s truck. 

The president, during a speech in Riyadh shortly after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, vowed to continue America’s partnership with the Saudi Arabian government, but also called for peace in the Middle East, urging the region to pursue economic development rather than Iran’s ‘self-destructive’ path. 

‘If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you, then all humanity will soon be amazed at what we will see here in the geographic center of the world, and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths,’ Trump said.

‘Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other,’ he added.

Trump’s speech came after he and Salman signed several economic agreements totaling $600 billion in trade deals. The agreements could help create up to two million U.S. jobs, Trump said.

Several of the agreements tracked with previously stated ambitions by both Washington, D.C., and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, particularly when it comes to defensive deals. 

But as for Iran, Trump, during his Saudi Arabia speech, also warned the Islamic Republic of a ‘massive maximum pressure’ campaign if it did not come to a nuclear agreement with the U.S. 

‘As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,’ Trump said. ‘If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero.’

‘Iran can have a much brighter future, but we will never allow them to threaten America and our allies with terrorism or a nuclear attack,’ Trump said. 

Trump had announced a 60-day time frame to reach an agreement with Iran over its illegal atomic weapons program. The first U.S. negotiating session with Iran commenced April 12. 

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian officials for a fourth round of nuclear talks over the weekend. 

The nuclear talks were ‘difficult but useful,’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, offered more, describing the talks as being both indirect and direct, The Associated Press reported.

An ‘agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements,’ the U.S. official said. ‘We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future.’

The Trump administration has said the flawed 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. 

Trump, throughout his visit, made stark warnings to Iran — verbally, and through sanctions. 

Just shortly after dangling a carrot of a ‘brighter future’ for Iran, the Treasury Department gave a taste of Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign and sanctioned more than two dozen firms operating in Iran’s illicit international oil trade. 

Trump said Iran has the nuclear ‘proposal.’ 

‘But more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad is going to happen,’ the president said. 

Next, the president traveled to Qatar, where he signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha.

Trump and his motorcade were greeted by dozens of mounted camels after his plane landed in Qatar Wednesday morning as he continues his four-day trip to the Middle East. 

The agreements there involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and ‘joint cooperation’ between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft.

Al Thani said he had a ‘great’ conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to ‘another level.’

The president then met with U.S. service members at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and cited ‘substantial pay raises’ for U.S. troops in his 2026 budget. 

‘You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world,’ Trump said. ‘And as your commander-in-chief, I’m here to say that America’s military will soon be bigger, better, stronger and more powerful than ever.’ 

Next, the president traveled to the United Arab Emirates for his final stop — a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, was illuminated in red, white and blue in honor of President’s historic UAE visit. 

Trump visited the Grand Mosque, a rare visit for a U.S. president, and was gifted the UAE’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Zayed, by UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

The president wrapped up his visit to the United Arab Emirates with a visit to the Abrahamic Family House, which encompasses a mosque, a church, a synagogue, and a forum, and served as a community for inter-religious dialogue and peaceful co-existence.  

As of this week, Trump has signed 148 executive orders since his inauguration in January, including a whopping 143 within his first 100 days as president, dwarfing the number of executive orders signed by his predecessors stretching back to at least President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton, Morgan Phillis and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

‘For posterity’s sake.’

Those words from President Joe Biden sum up the crushing impact of the leaked audiotapes from the interview between him and Special Counsel Robert Hur. Not only did they remove any doubt over Biden committing federal crimes, but they also constituted what is akin to a political racketeering indictment against much of the Washington establishment, from the White House staff to Democratic politicians to the media.

The interview, conducted from Oct. 8-9, 2023, has long been sought by Congress, but was kept under wraps by Biden’s Justice Department even as Biden campaigned for a second term.

Many of us balked at the conclusion of Hur that no charges were appropriate despite the fact that the president had removed classified documents for decades, stored them in grossly negligent ways, and moved them around to unsecure locations, including his garage in Delaware.

Given President Donald Trump’s indictment for the same offenses, it was hard to imagine how the special counsel could not recommend the same criminal charges (presumably after he left office).

Instead, Hur declared it would have been hard to get a jury to convict Biden because he was ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

It appears that Trump, on the other hand, was presumptively not sympathetic or well-meaning and possessed a good enough memory to face prosecution.

The contrast was glaring and only reinforced the view of many citizens that there are two tracks for justice in Washington.

Soon after the report’s release, Biden gave an irate press conference at which he lied about the findings of his culpability and lashed out at any suggestion that he had gapped or stumbled in the interview.

For example, when reporters raised Hur’s assertion that Biden had forgotten when his son Beau died, Biden angrily responded, ‘How in the hell dare he raise that?’ Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their damn business.’

However, it was not Hur but Biden himself who raised the death of his son, and he forgot a wide array of dates, including when he served in office.

The interview shows that in 2023 it was clear that Biden was mentally diminished despite claims from many allies and former aides that there was a sudden loss of capacity just before the disastrous debate in 2024. It is now undeniable that the White House staff actively hid the president’s incompetence from the American public. That includes the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (who left her post in May 2022) and her successor, Karine Jean-Pierre, who insisted that Biden was sharp and ‘running circles’ around the staff.

Of course, the media is now covering the story after the public saw the truth in the debate. Figures like CNN’s Jake Tapper have even written books that belatedly pursue the question despite previously insisting that there was no evidence of a diminishment in Biden’s mental state.

Tapper repeatedly dismissed the claim and even excoriated Lara Trump for raising it. In one interview, he pushed a White House talking point that such suggestions were mocking Biden for a childhood stutter.

‘It’s so amazing to me- a ‘cognitive decline,’’ he told the president’s daughter-in-law. ‘I think you were mocking his stutter. Yeah. I think you were mocking his stutter and I think you have absolutely no standing to diagnose somebody’s cognitive decline. I would think somebody in the Trump family would be more sensitive to people who do not have medical licenses diagnosing politicians from afar.’

When Lara Trump insisted that this was clearly evidence of a ‘very concerning’ cognitive decline, Tapper dismissed her statement by saying, ‘Thank you, Lara. I’m sure it’s from a place of concern. We all believe that.’

Keep in mind that others beyond Lara Trump were raising this issue and there were tapes showing obvious physical and mental decline. The media simply refused to seriously pursue the story until the cover-up no longer mattered after the debate.

Over on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough was equally apoplectic at those raising the issue and stated

‘Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. And eff 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…If it weren’t the truth, I wouldn’t say it

This media effort continued all the way up the debate itself. On CNN.com, Oliver Darcy wrote ‘Right-wing media figures are desperately pushing conspiracy theories about Biden ahead of the debate.’

Once the public found out, the media was ready to tell the story when it became impossible, and no longer politically beneficial, to deny it. Articles began to appear with the same realization of, ‘Oh you meant THAT mental decline. Well sure.’

It was the same belated acknowledgment that came, after the election, with Hunter Biden’s laptop. The media just moved on with a shrug and a collective ‘our bad’ concession.

As for the then-president himself, the one moment of clarity in the interview may have been his most incriminating line. When asked why he removed classified material on Afghanistan, Biden admitted ‘I guess I wanted to hang on to it for posterity’s sake.’

That is precisely what critics on CNN and MSNBC accused Trump of doing: removing material as types of keepsakes or trophies.

One president was indicted for that and one was sent along his way to pursue a second term in office.

The real indictment that comes out of these tapes is a type of political racketeering enterprise by the Washington establishment. It took a total team effort from Democratic politicians to the White House staff to the media to hide the fact that the president of the United States was mentally diminished. It there were a political RICO crime, half of Washington would be frog marched to the nearest federal courthouse.

Of course, none of this complicity in the cover-up is an actual crime. It is part of the Washington racket.

After all, this is Washington where such duplicity results not in plea deals but book deals.

Former President Joe Biden joked that he was a ‘young man’ during an October 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur over his mishandling of classified documents, newly released audio shows.

Axios released audio on Friday from Biden’s interviews with Hur in which the then-president appeared to struggle to remember when his son Beau died, when he left office as vice president, what year President Donald Trump was elected to his first term or why he had classified documents that should not have been in his possession.

In addition to Biden’s memory lapses, the recordings showed him slurring his words and muttering when speaking to Hur.

Transcripts of the interviews — conducted on Oct. 8 and 9, 2023 — were released on March 12, 2024.

On the first day of the interview, Hur stressed the importance of answering truthfully and urged Biden to make his best effort to recall the events in question, which the prosecutor acknowledged happened years ago.

‘I’m a young man, so it’s not a problem,’ Biden, now 82, jokingly responded.

‘Okay, great. Glad to hear it,’ Hur replied. 

Hur, who was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents, said in his report, released on Feb. 5, 2024, that he declined to bring charges against the president, in part, because a jury would find him a ‘sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.’ The report acknowledged that the documents were ‘willfully’ obtained by Biden during his time as vice president and as a senator.

‘I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been president, and I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation,’ Biden said when questioned by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy days after Hur released his report. 

The special counsel’s report, in addition to Biden’s gaffe-prone public appearances, amplified pressure from Republicans who said he lacked the mental fitness needed to serve as president.

Democrats and Biden’s White House initially criticized Hur for his report, insisting the then-president was ‘sharp’ and that the special counsel was politically motivated.

Later in 2024, during Biden’s re-election campaign, Democrats urged him to drop out of the race over his performance in the June presidential debate against Trump, citing his age and mental acuity. Biden formally dropped out of the presidential race in July and finished his term. His vice president, Kamala Harris, was defeated by Trump in November’s general election.