The Justice Department revealed late Monday in a court filing that it does in fact have transcripts of President Biden’s interviews with a biographer after initially having denied possessing the documents. 

While juggling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to former special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents following his departure as vice president in the Obama administration, DOJ attorneys said it would be time-consuming to process audio files into transcripts related to the president’s conversations with biographer Mark Zwonitzer. 

‘We don’t have some transcript that’s been created by the special counsel that we can attest to its accuracy,’ DOJ lawyer Cameron Silverberg told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich last month. 

That changed Monday evening, when Silverberg told Friedrich in a new court filing that Hur’s office did in fact have transcripts of some of Biden’s conversations with Zwonitzer. The biographer worked with Biden in 2007 and 2017 to compile memoirs, Politico reported. 

‘In the past few days, in the course of processing the portions of the Biden-Zwonitzer audio recordings that the parties agreed to (see June 25, 2024 Joint Status Report at 2-3, ECF No. 20), the Department located six electronic files, consisting of a total of 117 pages, that appeared to be verbatim transcripts of a small subset of the Biden-Zwonitzer audio recordings created for the SCO by a court-reporting service,’ a court filing late Monday evening reviewed by Fox News Digital states. 

The specific FOIA request related to the Biden-Zwonitzer transcripts was filed by the Heritage Foundation. 

The court filing Monday evening also revealed that while fielding the various FOIA requests related to the bombshell Hur report, DOJ officials contacted an unnamed person with knowledge of the transcripts, but the individual was unable to weigh in. After resisting reaching out to Hur directly for information pertaining to what documents he relied upon for his final report, the DOJ did in fact reach out to Hur. 

Hur confirmed the Biden-Zwonitzer transcripts and said he relied on the documents, as well as a note handwritten by Biden related to Afghanistan, for his final report. 

Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified materials after his eight years as vice president was released in February, and stated Hur would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

‘Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,’ Hur wrote in his report. 

The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime yet could still serve as president.

In May, the White House asserted executive privilege over audio and video recordings related to Hur’s investigation, including the interviews between Biden and Zwonitzer. 

‘The audio recordings of your interview and Mr. Zwonitzer’s interview fall within the scope of executive privilege. Production of these recordings to the Committees would raise an unacceptable risk of undermining the Department’s ability to conduct similar high-profile criminal investigations–in particular, investigations where the voluntary cooperation of White House officials is exceedingly important,’ Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote to Biden in a letter obtained by Fox News at the time. 

Silverberg said in his Monday court filing that he will confer with the relevant parties regarding processing the documents for potential release. 

The court filing comes one day after Biden dropped out of the presidential race following mounting pressure from Democrats to bow out and let another candidate take the mantle to run against former President Trump. The pressure was amplified following Biden’s botched debate performance, which opened the floodgates to criticism and concern surrounding the president’s mental fitness and age. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election following Biden’s departure from the race. 

Vice President Kamala Harris declined to preside over a Wednesday joint address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because she will be in Indiana for an event that was previously scheduled, per an aide. 

Harris, who on Monday became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president following President Biden’s campaign suspension, will not be in attendance at the address and will not preside. 

With Harris’s absence, the task ordinarily would fall to Senate President pro tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., but Murray reportedly refused to do so – and will instead be boycotting the address.

Efforts made to reach Murray’s office for comment were unsuccessful.  

When Harris’s office was asked if she would have agreed to preside over Netanyahu’s address if she were going to be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, an aide to the vice president said they would not answer hypothetical questions. 

Netanyahu will be speaking to members of Congress during a joint address on Wednesday after being invited by the bipartisan leaders of both chambers back in May. 

In the absence of both Harris and Murray, the session will instead be presided over by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who is retiring after this Congress. 

During the time of Netanyahu’s address, Harris will be attending the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule in Indianapolis, Ind., which is a biennial international conference, per a White House official. 

While she won’t be there, an aide emphasized that Harris’ absence and refusal to preside shouldn’t be considered a change to her stance on Israel.

An aide to the vice president told Fox News Digital that she would be meeting with Netanyahu at the White House this week while he is in Washington, D.C. They noted that the meeting is separate from Biden’s planned meeting with the prime minister. 

Harris is expected to reiterate her commitment to Israel’s ability to defend itself from Iran and militias that are backed by the country, such as terrorist groups Hizbullah and Hamas. According to the aide, Harris will once again condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israeli civilians by Hamas, as well as the sexual violence that took place. 

The vice president will also express her already stated concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where most of the war is taking place. Harris is expected to further convey that the war should end soon and in a way that allows for a secure Israel, the release of all hostages and the restoration of the rights of civilians in Gaza. She will specifically discuss with Netanyahu efforts to reach a deal for a ceasefire. 

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the wake of mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, Fox News confirmed. 

Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after she testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. 

‘To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,’ Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. ‘On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.’ 

Cheatle said that the ‘scrutiny’ over the last week ‘has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.’ 

‘As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,’ she wrote. 

Cheatle said, though, that the ‘incident does not define us.’ 

‘We remain an organization based on integrity and staffed by individuals of exceptional dedication and talent,’ she wrote, adding that the agency ‘will move forward with our investigatory and protective mission in a steadfast manner.’ 

‘We do not retreat from challenge,’ she wrote. ‘However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission.’ 

Cheatle said that when she got the call asking whether she would return to the Secret Service after her brief retirement from the agency, she said she ‘did not hesitate.’ 

‘I love this agency, our mission, and the great men and woken who sacrifice so much every day,’ she wrote. ‘I have, and will always, put the needs of this agency first.’ 

‘In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,’ Cheatle wrote. 

Cheatle reflected on her career, reminding that she served as a special agent for 27 years, securing events for then-First Lady Hillary Clinton; worked as a supervisor on then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s detail; supervised then-Vice President Biden’s detail; lead RTC and more–including ‘overseeing the agency’s protective mission under the Trump Administration as AD-OPO.’ 

‘As I stated in the hearing yesterday, all of you are worthy of trust and confidence,’ Cheatle wrote. ‘You deserve the nation’s support in carrying out our critical mission.’

Cheatle said ‘one of my favorite things about this workforce is that the men and women are fiercely committed to our mission.’ 

‘Thank you for all that you do, and will continue to do, for our great nation,’ she wrote, signing the letter ‘kac.’ 

Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.

The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others. 

Cheatle admitted under oath that the Secret Service ‘on July 13th, we failed.’ 

‘As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,’ she said. ‘We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again.’ 

Cheatle added: ‘Our agents, officers and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no fail mission.’

House Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, had been calling on Cheatle to resign, calling her and the agency under her watch ‘the face of incompetence.’ 

‘It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,’ Comer said during the hearing. ‘The safety of Secret Service protectees is not based on their political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we question whether anyone is safe.’ 

But Cheatle had defied those calls for days, maintaining she would not tender her resignation, and instead appeared before Congress to answer questions for the American people. 

Cheatle’s initial explanation of why there was such a significant security lapse that led to the near assassination of Trump included details about the roof Crooks was perched upon. 

‘That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,’ Cheatle said last week. ‘And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.’ 

During the hearing, Cheatle said the Secret Service is ‘still looking into the advanced process and the decision made’ as to why an agent wasn’t positioned on top of the roof that Crooks used to fire at former President Trump.

‘The building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit. But again, that is one of the things that during the investigation, we want to take a look at and determine whether or not other decisions should have been made,’ she said. 

She added that ‘I’m not going to get into the specifics of the numbers of personnel that we had there, but we feel that there was a sufficient number of agents assigned’ to the event.

Trump’s security detail reportedly asked for additional security from the Secret Service, repeatedly, but those requests were not met. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for the Trump rally on July 13. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified for hours on Capitol Hill Monday, facing a grilling from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the agency’s lapse in security that enabled the assassination attempt on former President Trump. 

Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., after he subpoenaed her to appear.

Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday, just over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. 

Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.

The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others. 

Cheatle admitted under oath that the Secret Service ‘on July 13th, we failed.’ 

Here are the top five moments from the highly-anticipated hearing: 

Cheatle admits Secret Service ‘failed’ on July 13

Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee that ‘on July 13th, we failed’ when it came to her agency’s handling of the assassination attempt on the former president and the shooting at his Butler, Pa. rally. 

‘As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,’ she continued.

‘We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again,’ Cheatle also said. ‘Our agents, officers and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no fail mission.’

Democrats and Republicans call on Cheatle to resign 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called on Cheatle to resign, along with other Republican lawmakers. 

But Democrats called for her resignation as well, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who said, ‘If you have an assassination attempt on a president or a former president or a candidate, you need to resign.’

Cheatle has maintained that she will not resign, and said she is committed to getting answers on the massive security failure for the American people. 

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., says he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against her.

‘In light of Kimberly Cheatle’s unacceptable handling of the Trump assassination attempt, her disastrous appearance before the House Oversight committee today, and her refusal to resign, we have no choice but to impeach,’ Steube said in a post on X. ‘I will be filing articles of impeachment against Kimberly Cheatle this afternoon.’

And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., accused Cheatle of perjuring herself and stonewalling members of the House Oversight Committee, telling her protectees are ‘sitting ducks’ with her in charge.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace calls ‘bulls—’ on Cheatle response 

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday that her response that she had ‘no idea’ how her opening statement for today’s House Oversight Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting got leaked to media agencies is ‘bulls—.’ 

The fiery remark from the South Carolina lawmaker came after Cheatle was directed by Mace to answer a series of yes or no questions on the Secret Service’s response to the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Pennsylvania, in which Cheatle said ‘yes’ to it being a ‘colossal failure,’ and a tragedy that could have been prevented. 

‘Would you say leaking your opening statement to Punchbowl News, Politico’s Playbook and Washington Post several hours before you sent it to this committee as being political? Yes or no?’ Mace asked Cheatle. 

‘I have no idea how my statement got out,’ Cheatle responded. 

Mace fired back: ‘Well that’s bulls—.’ 

Mace started mentioning news articles published between 5 and 7 a.m. ET, about three to four hours before she said the House Oversight Committee received Cheatle’s statement.

Mace then asked Cheatle, ‘Have you provided all audio and video recordings in your possession to this committee, as we asked on July 15? Yes or no?’  

‘I would have to get back to you,’ Cheatle said. 

‘That is a no. You’re full of s– today. You’re just being completely dishonest,’ Mace told Cheatle, before being interrupted with a call for decorum inside the hearing room at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Cheatle unable to answer how many times Trump team made extra security requests

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday said that ‘for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied’ from former President Trump’s team. 

‘They asked for additional help in some form or another. You told them no. How many times did you tell them no? And what’d you tell them no to?’ Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked Cheatle, referencing comments made by Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. 

‘What I can tell you is that in generic terms, when people when details make a request, there are times that there are alternate ways to cover off on that threat or that report,’ Cheatle responded. 

Cheatle tells House Oversight Committee she called Trump after shooting to apologize

Cheatle testified Monday that she called former President Trump after the shooting to apologize. 

She stressed, though, that the Secret Service and ‘the people that are in charge of protecting the president on that day would never bring the former president out if there was a threat that had been identified.’ 

Trump told ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ in an interview that aired Monday night that Cheatle came to see him in the days following the assassination attempt.

‘It went very nicely. She was very nice, I thought. But, you know, somebody should have made sure there was nobody on that roof,’ he said. 

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, the kindness and good nature of the local denizens were much talked about by attendees. But there was something else in the air: A new kind of openness to Donald Trump. 

I spent a lot of time outside the security perimeter, or ‘zone,’ as it was locally known, because I generally prefer talking to people who aren’t wearing lanyards and credentials for my work.

I stopped by the Milwaukee Brat Bar near the RNC entrance a few times, mainly because they have a cigarette machine, and my vice of choice was hard to find in the area.

There, one afternoon, I was getting change and I heard a man and a woman talking. They were in their thirties, nice looking. I couldn’t tell if they were a couple, coworkers or friends. And then I heard her say, ‘It’s like I’m coming around to Trump.’

For me, this kind of comment was like a ’49er striking gold, so I politely introduced myself and inquired if I might I ask them a few questions.

I wanted to know when this softening of attitude towards the former president had started. She wasn’t sure. She thought it had been gradual, but that the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump had built on it. As for the guy, he told me he had not voted for Trump in 2016 or 2020. I asked if he had been open to it back then, and he said no. And in ’24? Yes, he was now.

It didn’t seem policy driven, or even the ‘are you better off than you were four years ago?’ thing. It was more like finding a way to tolerate an annoying member of your friend group. Trump was no longer a dealbreaker for a dinner party invitation.

The next day, grabbing lunch at Who’s on Third, I met Jay and Jeff, who are both very committed Trump supporters. Jay, in advertising and in his fifties, had been coming down to the zone for lunch every day to dig the goings on.

Their enthusiasm was high. Both thought the iconic image of Trump pumping his fist after getting shot was a game changer. They almost seemed giddy at the prospect of a second Trump term.

One question I have asked strong Trump supporters over the years is whether the people they work with know how the feel about him. Both Jeff and Jay said they weren’t shy about it now, but acknowledged they used to be. I hear that a lot.

Trump just isn’t taboo anymore, and one has to wonder if that might be part of why Joe Biden is no longer in this race.

My most personal acquaintance with Milwaukee kindness came one evening when my friends stranded me. I had been to dinner, and told my crew prior to dinner to let me know when they were heading back to the hotel. After dinner, I texted ‘where are you?’ 

They were at the hotel. 

It wasn’t the end of the world. I’d take an Uber, but I was out of cigarettes and went back into Brats. There I met Scott and Lizzie, a married couple who looked like they belonged in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, electroclash night club in 2004, not like the RNC cats at all.

But they were Trump supporters, so we got to talking and I told them my story. That’s when Scott glanced at an approving Lizzie and they offered me a ride.

In a very Northeast way I said, ‘I can’t ask ya to do dat, it’s a half hour.’

He said, ‘You’re not asking, we’re offering.’  And I said, ‘You know what? Ok.’ I think it was the most Midwestern thing I’d ever heard uttered.

On the way back to the hotel, an incredible thunderstorm rattled giant flashes of lightning that dominated the skies. This truly was the flat and honest middle of America. We chatted about our kids, the amazing joy and challenge of all that. We also played a game I invented back in the 90s based on the sitcom ‘Friends.’ Lizzie won.

But politics did come up, and it turned out all three of us had had a slow acceptance of Trump. We talked about how his newly minted running mate, JD Vance, had been a Never Trumper. It seemed like all of us, or at least most of us, had been. Fully embracing him was so new, and so crazy, we agreed. But it was also a natural evolution many people have gone through. 

I told them a story about the night of the election in 2016 when I asked a mentor of mine, ‘What do we do now?’ And he said, ‘You call balls and strikes. He does something you like – say so, something you don’t like – say so.’

Lizzie, Scott and I all agreed there was more that we liked than we didn’t.

When I got back to the hotel and told my friends what happened, one said it was the most Dave Marcus story ever, and maybe so. But it’s really just an American story. I’ve gotten plenty of rides from strangers in Texas, California, and a million other places because we liked each other. 

But I felt something new in Wisconsin. Trump just isn’t taboo anymore, and one has to wonder if that might be part of why Joe Biden is no longer in this race.

House Democrats are insisting that anyone is free to jump into their 2024 presidential primary — but suggest challenging Vice President Kamala Harris is a futile effort.

‘The convention delegates can vote for whomever they choose once they’re released. That means anybody who wants to can and should offer themselves — Vice President Harris has offered herself. So far, the only other person who speculated that he might do it is former Democratic, now independent, Senator Manchin, and then he took it back, so it’s open,’ Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital.

When asked if another Democrat jumping into the race just weeks before their nominating convention would hurt the party’s momentum, Kildee answered, ‘No, I don’t think so. I think she’ll more than likely be a first-ballot nominee, for good reason.’

Ex-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., was blunter in his assessment of the situation.

‘Woah woah woah woah woah woah. I thought Kamala Harris was on the ballot,’ he told a reporter who asked if he had concerns about the lack of a primary. ‘I thought Kamala Harris was on the ballot to be the president if the president couldn’t serve. She was on the ballot. It was Biden-Harris.’

Harris confirmed she would seek the presidency on Sunday after President Biden made the bombshell announcement that he’s dropping out of the race. Biden has endorsed her, along with a host of Democratic leaders, including former President Clinton and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Pelosi said when asked if she supported an open process, ‘Anybody can run. They can run.’

More than 150 House Democrats have endorsed her as of Monday, according to multiple counts.

But with the rush to get behind Harris, Republicans have accused Democrats of staging a coup to replace an 81-year-old candidate who was trailing former President Trump in the polls.

Several House Democrats who spoke with Fox News Digital, however, said anyone was free to jump into the race but denied a challenger would derail Harris’ and Democrats’ momentum.

‘You’re seeing Democrats coalesce around Vice President Harris. I have endorsed her. Ultimately, in order to have a primary, you have to have a challenger. No one is challenging her,’ said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. ‘And so right now it is an open process, right? You’ve seen potential people come out who could run and they’re endorsing her. And so that is the open process that’s happening.’

When asked if he would advise potential challengers to stay out, he said, ‘I’m not discouraging anything but these people, right, folks at a high level, governors, senators…they’re not saying they’re gonna throw their hat in the ring, they’re endorsing Vice President Harris because they also think she’s the best person for the job. So it’s tough to say ‘We want to process’ when right now you don’t even have a challenger.’

The top Democrats on the Education and Homeland Security Committees, Reps. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., both insisted the primary was open but agreed Harris would most likely be the nominee after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August.

Scott said, ‘It is open, but nobody’s running. And frankly, I don’t see much point, I mean, you’ve got about 150 members of the Democratic caucus already endorsed, delegations…The delegates are Biden-Harris delegates. Where are they going to go?’

Thompson said her likely victory ‘cements her strength’ among Democrats even if she does face a challenger.

‘If you had an open primary, I’m not sure who’s…left to compete with her,’ said Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., pointing out the significant number of Democrats endorsing her in just 24 hours since she took up Biden’s mantle.

Harris has indeed scored support from a wide array of House Democratic factions, including the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus. But some lawmakers who have been critical of the Biden administration — like Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., have been notably silent.

Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race after mounting pressure from fellow Democrats who were worried he was not mentally or physically fit to campaign again, and that such debates were a distraction from the left’s overall campaign against Trump.