Biden news: President makes first response to classified papers trove as GOP accused Dems of hypocrisy
Discovery of documents cast a shadow over Biden’s visit to Mexico City for three-day summit with counterparts Trudeau and López Obrador
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Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden’s visit to Mexico was shrouded by news that classified documents from his time as vice president were discovered at a think tank in Washington DC.
After initially dodging questions on the classified papers, the president addressed the issue on Tuesday, saying that he was “surprised” by the find.
“I was surprised to learn there were any government records that were taken there to that office,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know what the documents contain.
Mr Biden’s attorneys confirmed on Monday that they had found the government materials in a private office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in November.
The documents were immediately handed over to the National Archives and the Justice Department launched an investigation.
At least some of the materials are said to include intelligence memos regarding Iran, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and other topics, reported CNN.
The revelation about the documents comes amid a a three-day trip to Mexico where Mr Biden has held meetings with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Biden praised Mr Trudeau for his support and cooperation with the US on international affairs.
“I want to thank you again. You’ve always been there whenever I call, you pick up the phone,” he said.
Biden takes first presidential trip to US-Mexico border as officials report surge of migrants
Texas governor confronts Biden at airport after complaining he wasn’t invited to border visit
Biden urged to extradite Bolsonaro from Florida bolt-hole as rioters storm Brazil presidential palace
Everything we know so far about classified Biden documents found at think tank
‘When is the FBI going to raid Joe Biden?’ Trump rages after classified Obama-Biden docs found at think tank
Classified Obama-Biden papers found at think tank, prompting DOJ review
Biden urged to extradite Bolsonaro from Florida bolt-hole
Democratic congress members are calling on Joe Biden to deport former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro back to his country after his supporters stormed the National Congress in an effort to reinstate his power.
Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters bypassed security barricades, climbed on roofs and invaded the country’s National Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace in capital Brasilia on Sunday, in violence reminiscent of the US Capitol insurrection two years ago.
Brazil’s former far-right leader reportedly fled to Florida before the inauguration of the newly-elected president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who took charge on 1 January.
Read more:
Biden urged to extradite Bolsonaro from Florida bolt-hole
‘He basically used the Trump playbook to inspire domestic terrorists to try to take over the government’
Recap: Biden at the border
Joe Biden visited El Paso, Texas as his administration faces important questions about how to address the ongoing tide of thousands of Central- and South Americans hoping to seek asylum in the US every month.
The president’s voyage marks his first trip to the US-Mexico border as commander-in-chief and comes specifically as his administration is fighting in the courts to end Title 42, a controversial public health protocol used by both the Trump administration and now his own as legal justification for turning migrants away at the border.
John Bowden reports.
Biden takes first presidential trip to US-Mexico border
Red states have hammered Biden’s administration for not doing more to stem tide of illegal crossings
Abbott says Biden ‘noncommittal’ on border policy changes
Governor Greg Abbott says President Joe Biden was “cordial” when they met during the president’s visit to the southern border on Sunday.
Speaking on Fox News, Mr Abbott claimed that Mr Biden was “noncommittal” about immigration policy changes and that until the administration steps up and enforces the border everything else that is being done is “nothing more than a dog and pony show”.
Watch:
No request to extradite Bolsonaro
The Biden administration has not received any request from Brazil to extradite former presdient Jair Bolsonaro.
Why Biden’s choice of arrival airport mattered
One of the most important diplomatic decisions by President Joe Biden at the gathering this week of North American leaders might have been his choice of airport.
Biden arrived in Mexico City on Sunday evening via Mexico’s newest hub, the Felipe Angeles International Airport, a prized project by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The hub was christened last year with much fanfare, though it’s located more than an hour’s drive north of the city center, has few flights and until recently lacked consistent drinking water.
Read more:
Biden flies in to López Obrador's new airport for summit
One of the most important diplomatic decisions by President Joe Biden at the gathering this week of North American leaders might have been his choice of airport
Immigration fight fueled by US law based on anti-Latino racism
As thousands of children were taken from their parents at the southern border during a Trump administration crackdown on illegal crossings, a federal public defender in San Diego set out to find new strategies to go after the longstanding deportation law fueling the family separations.
The resulting legal defense that Kara Hartzler would help draft in the coming years — work that continued even after a judge halted the general practice at the US-Mexico border in June 2018 — was unprecedented.
It exposed Section 1326 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes it a crime to unlawfully return to the US after deportation, removal or denied admission, as racist and a violation of equal protection rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.
Read more:
US law based on anti-Latino racism fuels immigration fight
A Nevada case shined a light on a U.S. immigration law and its little-known history after a federal judge called the rule racist and struck it down
Mexico may accept more migrants expelled by US
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said Monday he would consider accepting more migrants than previously announced under President Joe Biden’s plan to turn away people from four nations who cross illegally into the United States.
The comments came as Mr López Obrador, Mr Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were gathering in Mexico City for a meeting of the three North American leaders.
“We don’t want to anticipate things, but this is part of what we are going to talk about at the summit,” Mr López Obrador said. “We support this type of measures, to give people options, alternatives,” he said, adding that “the numbers may be increased.”
Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national security adviser, cautioned nothing was decided yet.
“What we need is to see how the program announced last week works in practice, what if any adjustments need to be made to that program and then we can talk about taking the next steps,” he said.
AP
Canada finalises fighter jet purchase agreement ahead of Biden-Trudeau meeting
Canada has finalised an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp and the US government to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets, government officials said on Monday.
The first four aircraft are anticipated to be delivered in 2026 with full operational capacity for the fleet expected between 2032 and 2034.
The government has budgeted about $19bn Canadian (US$15bn) for the purchase in what is the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years. Each jet costs about US$85m. The full life cycle of the program is expected to cost $70bn (US$52bn).
Canada has a close defense relationship with the United States, which includes using fighter jets together to defend North American air space. The announcement comes as Trudeau is set to meet with US President Joe Biden at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico.
The government said last year Lockheed Martin’s F-35 was deemed to be the top-ranked bidder for a new fighter jet to replace aging F-18s, deciding against Boeing’s Super Hornet. Meanwhile Canada purchased some Australian F-18s to help extend the life of the Canadian F-18 program until 2032.
Before becoming prime minister, Mr Trudeau had said Canada wouldn’t buy the F-35. A former Conservative Canadian government had announced the purchase of the F-35 but Trudeau’s Liberal government delayed that purchase and opened up the bidding to competition.
AP
Analysis: Biden immigration move shows lack of options
Andrew Feinberg writes:
When President Joe Biden announced that the United States would begin expelling any migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who cross into the US illegally between ports of entry, he implicitly blamed the US Congress for contributing to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The influx has overwhelmed border towns in California, Texas and Arizona, and Mr Biden called out the refusal to update what he described as a “patchwork” of immigration laws which “simply doesn’t work as it should” and said the new programme he was ordering was just a stopgap.
“Until Congress passes ... a comprehensive immigration plan to fix the system completely, my administration is going to work to make things better at the border using the tools that we have available to us now,” Mr Biden said.
Read more:
Biden’s latest immigration move shows his utter lack of options
News analysis: President Biden’s most recent actions to combat the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border reflect decades of inaction that have left presidents with few to no good options when it comes to immigration policy in a toxic political environment
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