The White House has still not released its visitor logs for July, the month President Biden gave up his re-election bid, leaving questions about who was seeing and advising the president before he made the historic decision to drop out. 

Despite consistently releasing visitor records at the beginning of each month throughout Biden’s term, the White House as of mid-November is far past its usual timeline for releasing guest records.

It released its most recent logs on Oct. 4. These records covered visits to the White House until June 26.

At the beginning of Biden’s presidency, media outlets praised the Biden administration for resuming the release of visitor logs after the Trump administration stopped the practice during his term. The New York Times spoke highly of the practice as ‘part of an effort to restore transparency to government.’ 

This practice revealed that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a top Parkinsons disease expert, made several visits to the White House in 2024, increasing anxieties about the 81-year-old president’s health and physical fitness.

After Biden’s poor debate performance on June 27, pressure for him to resign quickly mounted. But Biden did not drop out of the race until July 21. White House visitor logs would reveal who was close to the president in that critical month.

This has led some, such as Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of the right-leaning government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, to question the Biden administration’s reason for delaying publishing its records. 

Sutherland criticized the Biden administration for failing to deliver on its promise and leaving the American people in the dark. 

‘The American people still don’t know who was coming and going from the seat of power in the lead-up to Joe Biden’s ouster and Kamala’s coronation,’ Sutherland told Fox News Digital. 

‘At the outset, the Biden-Harris administration promised truth and transparency,’ she added. ‘Now, in the dwindling days of their term, their refusal to release White House visitor logs from such a tumultuous period illustrates just how hollow that promise was.’

Andrew Bates, a White House representative, responded to these criticisms by calling Americans for Public Trust a ‘dark money group’ and pointing to the fact that the Trump administration did not publish any of its visitor records for the entirety of his term.

‘It’s intriguing that this right-wing dark money group was silent for years as the Trump administration stopped sharing White House visitor logs with the public, but they have now abruptly developed an interest in transparency about records that we’ll be releasing in the near future,’ he said. ‘We appreciate them inadvertently highlighting that Joe Biden leads the most transparent administration in American history.’

Bates did not comment on when the White House plans on releasing its July visitor records or what has been the cause of the delay.

If President-elect Donald Trump has his way, Tulsi Gabbard will be at the helm of U.S. intelligence and Matt Gaetz will be leading the Justice Department, giving whistle-blower Edward Snowden his best chance yet at a life of freedom in the U.S.

Both Gabbard, a former Hawaii House Democrat, and Gaetz, a former House Republican from Florida, will have to be confirmed by the Senate — an uphill battle that may be made more difficult by their anti-establishment beliefs that Snowden should not be punished for revealing information about classified surveillance programs.

As members of Congress, both Gabbard and Gaetz co-sponsored legislation that called on the federal government to drop all charges against Snowden. During her 2020 presidential campaign, Gabbard promised to protect Snowden and people like him, if elected. 

‘If it wasn’t for Snowden, the American people would never have learned the NSA was collecting phone records and spying on Americans,’ she said on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast at the time.

‘As president, I will protect whistle-blowers who expose threats to our freedom and liberty,’ Gabbard added.

On Sept. 3, 2020, Gaetz posted to X: ‘Pardon @Snowden.’

In 2013, Snowden was working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency when he traveled to Hong Kong to meet with three journalists and transferred them thousands of pages of classified documents about the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens. 

He then traveled to Russia and planned to head on to Ecuador, but federal authorities canceled his passport before he could get there — and indicted him for espionage.

He attempted to gain asylum elsewhere, but ultimately remained in Russia and became a naturalized citizen in 2022.

The documents he made public revealed previously classified intelligence-gathering programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.K.’s intelligence organization, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), that were conducting surveillance on their own citizens. 

In 2019, Snowden told NPR the U.S. government was ‘collecting [data] on everyone, everywhere, all of the time, just in case, because you never know what’s going to be interesting… And so what happened was every time we wrote an email, every time you typed something into that Google search box, every time your phone moved, you sent a text message, you made a phone call… the boundaries of the Fourth Amendment were being changed.’

At the time of the leak, the NSA claimed mass surveillance stopped terrorist attacks.

Sue Gordon, deputy director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration, issued a warning about Gabbard’s push for Snowden to be pardoned on CBS this week. 

‘Unauthorized disclosures of intelligence are always bad. Don’t go with the good or bad, any good outcome or whether he was right or wrong. He had no authority, and he had different paths, and he harmed America,’ she said. 

‘He not only harmed intelligence, he harmed our allies and partners, and he harmed our businesses by what it allowed China to assume about that. There is nothing justifiable about what he’s done. None. And so if they vacate it, what they’re basically saying is all those rules you follow in order to be able to serve America, they don’t matter anymore.’

In 2013, Trump was asked about Snowden. ‘This guy is a bad guy and there is still a thing called execution!’ he said. 

But on the campaign trail in 2020, he struck a more sympathetic tone, saying he’d ‘look at’ giving Snowden a pardon.

Snowden, in 2019, said he is not searching for a pardon, but rather a fair trial in order to return to the U.S. 

‘One of the big topics in Europe right now is — should Germany and France invite me in to get asylum?… And of course, I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal,’ he said.

‘But if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that’s the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense,’ the whistleblower said.

‘I’m not asking for a parade. I’m not asking for a pardon. I’m not asking for a pass. What I’m asking for is a fair trial. And this is the bottom-line that any American should require.’

The once solidly ‘neutral’ Nordic nations in Northern Europe are taking precautions to ready their citizens to be able to cope under war-like conditions as the security apparatus on the continent continues to deteriorate amid the war in Ukraine. 

Sweden on Monday issued pamphlets to millions giving directions on what to do in the event that war breaks out or the nation is hit with an unexpected crisis. 

The booklet, dubbed ‘In case of crisis or war,’ has not only been updated from its previous version six years ago due to the worsening security situation in Europe, but it was also expanded and is nearly twice the size, reported the BBC.

Issuing preparedness booklets out to its citizens is not new for Sweden, which has followed this practice since World War II when its first version titled ‘If War Comes’ was reportedly distributed.

The guidance was updated during the Cold War, but one directive apparently highlighted in the middle of the booklet has been pushed forward noting that, ‘If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.’

Sweden, like Finland before it, joined NATO earlier this year after first announcing its bid to do so in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin has also been sounding the alarm that ‘there could be war in Sweden’ in a move to urge officials to bolster Stockholm’s defenses faster.

Unlike Sweden, neighboring Finland maintained a stronger defensive posture given its shared border with Russia, despite maintaining a decades-long neutrality status following World War II.

But Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, also distributed its crisis preparedness on Monday, though its guidance was released by means of a digital copy for its citizens due to the cost of printing the booklets, noted the BBC.

The Finnish government said it is ‘well-prepared for self-defense’ and assured its citizens that hostile parties threatening Helsinki does not necessarily mean it will be presented through direct military force, noting that in the event of an emergency the Finns should be prepared in case of long power or water outages, as well as disruptions to banking or internet services.

Similarly, Norway, which was a NATO founding member in 1949, released a pamphlet urging Norwegians to be prepared to cope for up to a week in the event of war, crises or extreme weather.

Over 2 million copies were sent out, urging citizens to have canned foods, pasta, pet food, water, matches, candles, first aid kits and medicines in store, including iodine tablets.

‘The tablets can protect against radioactive iodine in the event of nuclear accidents and must only be taken on instruction from the authorities,’ the Norwegian government said in its instructions.

Denmark also encouraged its citizens over the summer to ensure they had three-days’ worth of essential items in store to help get through a crisis situation.

Western leaders continue to monitor Russia’s war in Ukraine very closely, and have warned Moscow that any attack on a NATO nation will result in a united response from all 32 nations. 

President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday that he will nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator in January.

‘America is facing a Healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again,’ Trump said in a statement posted on Truth Social. ‘He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor, and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades.’

Trump wrote that he plans for Dr. Oz to ‘work closely’ with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who the president-elect appointed to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The CMS operates within the HHS, with the CMS controlling Medicare and Medicaid, among other programs. The agency’s website notes that it ‘works in partnership with the entire health care community to improve quality, equity and outcomes in the health care system.’

Trump wrote that Oz and Kennedy will ‘take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.’

‘Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country’s budget,’ the statement read. ‘Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country.

The Republican also wrote that Oz ‘will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend[ing], and a quarter of our entire National Budget.’

Oz, who regularly appeared on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ before hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ from 2009 to 2022, holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania. Oz ran for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, and lost to now-Senator John Fetterman.

Trump wrote that Oz ‘taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices, and gave a strong voice to the key pillars of the MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] Movement.’

‘I have known Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America receives the best possible Healthcare, so our Country can be Great and Healthy Again!’ the statement concluded.

The current CMS Administrator is Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. The agency’s website notes that the Administrator ‘directs the planning, coordination, and implementation of the programs under Titles XI, XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act and related statutes,’ as well as ‘directs the development of effective relationships between these programs and private and federally supported health-related programs.’

Some Capitol Hill Republicans are already starting to deliberate whether President-elect Trump has a constitutional pathway to adjourn Congress himself in order to clear any possible resistance to his Cabinet appointments.

Trump argued earlier this month in a post on Truth Social that ‘recess appointments’ would enable his new administration ‘to get people confirmed in a timely manner.’

The Constitution grants the president authority to appoint Cabinet officials when the Senate is out of session, a period of time known as ‘recess,’ bypassing the traditional Senate confirmation process. 

Trump allies are exploring whether a constitutional clause would enable House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to work with Trump to shut down Congress even if the Senate objects – clearing the way for his recess appointments.

The passage in question would allow the commander in chief to ‘on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.’

If Johnson proposes to take the House and Senate out of session and the Senate resists, then there is ‘disagreement,’ the theory goes, and Trump could send everyone home for as long as he wants.

‘We’re still looking at that,’ Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, told Fox News Digital. ‘I’m actually talking to a bunch of folks who have been a part of litigating this in the past… reviewing it to kind of figure out the history and the contours of that particular provision, because that’s kind of in the zip code of unprecedented.’

He said there was ‘zero question that the House and Senate can choose to adjourn,’ at which point Trump could make his recess appointments. 

‘We just kind of gotta work through what is the position of the House and the Senate on adjourning and then figure out… that specific question,’ Roy said.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital, ‘I have heard that there were some discussions about that, whether it is already currently allowed or procedurally correct, but not that much.’

‘I think basically, what we’re really, really talking about is, should the president be able to have the people confirmed that he has selected to help him pursue and pass his agenda?’ Rosendale said.

‘I think that he should be allowed to have the people confirmed that are going to help him pass his agenda… I do also believe that we have to be very careful of breaking norms, because we saw [ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.] do that on many occasions, and it does hurt the institutions.’

There’s currently disagreement among legal experts over whether the move is even possible.

‘The whole idea that a president could conspire with the House to eviscerate the Senate’s advice and consent for a nomination is outrageous,’ Edward Whelan, a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told Fox News Digital.

‘The mechanism that they have in mind to do that would not work… the House of Representatives has no authority to try to prevent that same thing in session. And its objection to the Senate doing so cannot plausibly create the sort of disagreement that would trigger a presidential authority to adjourn both houses.’

Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project and a former senior aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital he believed the clause was there specifically for such a time.

‘The Senate’s job is to provide advice and consent. The American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump in a landslide victory. The American people expect the Senate to confirm all of President Trump’s qualified nominees,’ Davis said.

‘If the Senate refuses to do that, the Constitution provides a mechanism for the president and the executive brand to [sidestep] them.’

The idea has struck some within the House GOP as preposterous – particularly in relation to former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination by Trump for attorney general.

‘The speaker should not do that. And my hope is that the Senate president will have more of a backbone,’ one Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital when granted anonymity to speak freely.

‘If he wanted recess appointments, nominating Matt Gaetz was the worst thing he possibly could have done… when you throw him in there, you just kill it easily because you just scared the crap out of, I don’t know, probably 30 or 40 Republican senators.’

But Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who told Fox News Digital she’s heard ‘multiple strategies’ for helping the president-elect get recess appointments through, said, ‘Yes, we’re going to get the appointments done,’ even if Senate Republicans don’t fully comply.

‘I’ll just tell you this. If these senators oppose President Trump’s appointments, they are openly declaring war on President Trump and his incoming administration,’ Greene said. ‘They need to sit down and get out of the way, because it’s not going to be tolerated.’

Johnson himself appeared to leave the door open to such a strategy during an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’ when asked about the constitutional theory.

‘I wish the Senate would simply do its job of advice and consent and allow the president to put the persons in his Cabinet of his choosing. But if this thing bogs down, it would be a great detriment to the country, to the American people,’ Johnson said.

‘They have sent the message that America First policies should be the rule of the day… So we’ll evaluate all that at the appropriate time and we’ll make the appropriate decision. There may be a function for that, and we’ll have to see how it plays out.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for further comment.

Republican Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno issued a statement in defense of Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointments, including attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, arguing that the president-elect has a ‘mandate’ from the American people. 

‘The American people delivered President Trump a mandate, and it is crucial that Senate Republicans confirm his nominees quickly,’ Moreno said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘Our Republican majority must unite and deliver a strong cabinet so we can begin implementing the American First agenda as soon as possible.’

Moreno also issued a statement in defense of Gaetz, becoming the first freshman GOP senator to do so. 

‘Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Justice has been weaponized against President Trump and other Republicans,’ Moreno said. ‘Matt Gaetz is exactly the type of leader to clean up the corruption and return the DOJ to following the rule of law.’ 

Trump nominated Gaetz for attorney general last Wednesday, coming as a surprise to both conservatives and liberals alike. Democrats have notably slammed the choice, citing the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Trump transition team said they are confident the Senate will confirm Gaetz. 

‘I know Matt personally. He is a great person. He’s a man of integrity. He also is a brilliant litigator. He served on the House Judiciary Committee for eight years. Anyone who has watched him in those hearings knows that he’s incredibly impressive,’ Karoline Leavitt, the transition team’s spokesperson and Trump’s recently announced pick for press secretary, said on Fox News last week. 

Many Democrats and media pundits have issued blistering critiques of many of Trump’s appointments, including Gaetz, Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, HHS secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard. 

‘President Trump made a brilliant pick in Tulsi Gabbard, a fierce voice who has been brave in speaking out against corruption,’ Moreno said. ‘Tulsi’s military experience and commitment to our Constitution make her a fantastic pick to lead as the Director of National Intelligence.’

Moreno also told Fox News Digital that Kennedy is the right choice at Health and Human Services.

‘After Americans have been misled for years by the ‘experts’ who are beholden to Big Pharma, RFK Jr. will put the health interests of the American people first. HHS desperately needs new leadership, and I am confident that President Trump nominated the right man for the job.’

Moreno, who defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown earlier this month, touted Hegseth’s record and ability to push back against bureaucracy at the Pentagon.

‘Pete Hegseth is a decorated war hero who dedicated 20 years of his life to protecting our nation,’ Moreno said. ‘Pete is exactly the type of leader who is needed at the Pentagon to shrink bureaucracy, eliminate woke ideology from our military, and put an end to endless wars.’

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report

House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to answer whether transgender Rep-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is a man or a woman, vowing to ‘treat all persons with dignity and respect.’ 

At the House GOP weekly press conference on Tuesday, a reporter asked Johnson, ‘Is freshman elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?’ 

‘Look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people,’ Johnson responded. ‘I believe it’s a… command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. And I’m not going to engage in… silly debates about this. There’s a concern about uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. And we’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion, with member consensus on it. And we will accommodate the needs of every single person.’ 

Fox News Radio Capitol Hill and White House correspondent Ryan Schmelz posed a follow-up question to Johnson, asking if he plans on bringing up a resolution brought by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol ‘and putting that into the rules package’? 

‘I’m not going to address the plans on any of that,’ Johnson said. ‘I just told you what I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I’ve pursued my whole life. And we will take care of this, you know, issue – a first impression for Congress – as we will any other thing. We will provide the appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.’ 

Mace introduced a resolution on Monday that moves to prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using ‘single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.’ It asserts that ‘allowing biological males into single-sex facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms designed for women jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers, and employees of the House who are female.’ 

In X posts on Monday, McBride derided the resolution as ‘a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.’ 

‘Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,’ McBride wrote.

‘The radical left is calling me an extremist for being a feminist fighting to protect the rights of women and girls,’ Mace said in a follow-up video message shared to X on Tuesday. ‘If being a feminist makes me an extremist or bigot or a monster, I am totally here for it because I am going to fight like hell for every woman and every little girl across this country to protect you and to keep you safe.’ 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Tuesday that she asked the men in the House Republican Conference what they were going to do to prevent biological males from using spaces reserved for biological females at the U.S. Capitol. 

‘You know, Sarah McBride, as he calls himself, formerly Tim McBride, is a biological man, and he should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol, and that in our office buildings. But Nancy Mace’s resolution doesn’t go far enough,’ Greene told reporters. ‘America gave a mandate at this election and said, not only are they sick of the open borders, the invasion, the out of control inflation, foreign wars, but they’re sick of the trans ideology being shoved down our throats. And it’s an attack on women and children all over the country.’ 

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters that the Democratic caucus supports McBride ‘100%,’ and condemned the resolution brought by Mace. 

‘It’s just disgusting,’ Garcia told reporters. ‘I was actually sick to my stomach when I read that yesterday. And I think it’s really unfortunate that someone is being attacked. She just got to Congress. She is going to use whatever restroom that she needs to use. This is just sick that we’re having to have this conversationn… I’ve heard disgust, to be honest, on both sides of the aisle. And so I hope that this just moves forward and let’s let her legislate and move on.’ 

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a letter to each of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a memo suggesting the Hunter Biden laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation. 

‘In your letter, you claimed that the laptop story was ‘Russia trying to influence how Americans vote,’’ Graham’s letter read to former CIA directors Leon Panetta and Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence [DNI] James Clapper and 48 others. 

‘I ask you to respond publicly to one simple question: if you knew then what you know now about the laptop, would you still have signed the October 19, 2020 letter?’ 

Graham, a Republican, has previously suggested yanking the security clearances of officials who signed the letter. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance pledged during the campaign that the incoming Trump administration would strip the clearances of all 51 signatories. 

Over the summer, Fox News Digital asked all 51 officials whether they regretted signing on to the now-debunked letter. 

‘No,’ Obama-era DNI James Clapper responded. 

Mark Zaid, an attorney representing seven of the signatories, said it was ‘patriotic’ for his clients to sign on to the letter. 

‘There continues to be by many a calculated or woefully ignorant interpretation of the October 2020 letter signed by fifty-one former intelligence officials concerning Hunter Biden’s laptop,’ Zaid said. 

Greg Treverton, a signatory who previously served as chair of the National Intelligence Council, defended the letter in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

‘This is very old news,’ Treverton said. ‘What we said was true, we were inferring from our experience, and it did look like a Russian operation. We didn’t, and couldn’t, of course, say it was a Russian operation. Enough said.’

The now-infamous letter had said their national security experience had made them ‘deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.’

‘If we are right,’ they added, ‘this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this.’

Despite claims from former officials that the laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation, Fox News Digital reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice knew in December 2019 that Hunter Biden’s laptop was ‘not manipulated in any way’ and contained ‘reliable evidence,’ but were ‘obstructed’ from seeing all available information, according to an IRS whistleblower involved in the probe – nearly a year before the former intelligence officials and President Joe Biden declared it was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

The laptop was introduced into evidence in a Delaware courtroom last week by prosecutor Derek Hines and handed to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who had earlier explained how the FBI authenticated the laptop and extracted data. In the gun trial, she testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photos and short videos found on phones and iCloud accounts belonging to Hunter Biden.