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1 President Biden Signs Immigration Executive Order
With several mayors of cities near the border in attendance, President Joe Biden took action on immigration yesterday. Biden signed an executive order that will temporarily shut down asylum requests when the average number of daily border crossings goes over 2,500, meaning that a shutdown would be required immediately since that threshold has already been met. The shutdown will last until the number of encounters drops to 1,500 per day. “The border is not a political issue to be weaponized,” Biden said at the White House, calling out Republicans in Congress for not having dealt with the issues at the border. Republican backlash against the order was strong, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying the executive order didn’t go far enough and labeled it an “election year stunt.” A spokesperson for former President Donald Trump’s campaign said that an exception in the order for unaccompanied children would give a “green light to child traffickers and sex traffickers.” Immigration advocates weren’t happy with the order, and the Biden administration expects to fight court challenges against it.
2 Attorney General Merrick Garland Grilled By Congressional Committee
Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, and both he and the committee members had some harsh words for each other. Several Republican lawmakers have threatened to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for withholding information from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s classified documents case, particularly the audio recording of Hur’s interview with the president. A transcript of the interview has been released, but Republicans say that the audio recordings would show how Biden handled the questions. After hard questioning from various members of the committee about things including the Justice Department’s interactions with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in connection with the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s felony trial. Garland replied to those questions by saying the justice Department had no involvement in the case. Garland went on to criticize “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods…being spread about the FBI’s law enforcement operations.” In response to the threat of being held in contempt, Garland said, “I will not be intimidated.”
3 Hunter Biden Trial - Day Two
“No one is above the law.” That’s how the prosecution began its opening statements in the federal gun trial of Hunter Biden yesterday. Biden is accused of buying guns while using drugs, leading prosecutor Derek Hines to say “addiction may not be a choice, but lying to buy a gun is.” Biden’s defense team said in its opening argument that, to a drug user, there’s a difference on a form between the question “are you a drug user” and “have you been a drug user?” Testimony was given about text messages seized with a search warrant that seemed to show Biden arranging drug deals during the time the gun was purchased, as well as bank records showing cash withdrawals. Biden is charged with making false statements on a federal gun form about his drug use; he faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted.