Joe Biden on Friday defended his scandal-hit son Hunter amid investigations into alleged tax violations and lies on a gun license, insisting, “My son has done nothing wrong.”

The president spoke with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in his first one-on-one meeting with a TV reporter since February when he spoke to PBS Newshour.

It’s also the first since announcing his 2024 campaign.

Biden was asked about his 53-year-old son, whose business and tax affairs are being investigated by prosecutors.

When asked how the probe affects his presidency, Biden replied, “First of all, my son has done nothing wrong.

“I trust him, I believe in him,” he said.

“And it affects my presidency by making me proud of him.”

Joe Biden defended his son Hunter Friday night, even though federal prosecutors were considering four counts of charges against Hunter — three related to tax crimes and the fourth an indictment of a gun-sales felony, according to the Washington Post

Speaking to MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Friday, Biden said he remains the best man for the job. “I’ve picked up a hell of a lot of wisdom and I know more than the vast majority of people,” Biden said. “And I have more experience than anyone who has ever run for office. And I think I’ve proven myself honorable and effective as well.

Joe and Hunter Biden land in New York on February 4th

Hunter Biden (pictured leaving court in Arkansas this week) is moving toward forming a legal defense fund as a federal investigation nears its conclusion and he faces the GOP investigations. He is also involved in a child support dispute in court

Hunter Biden met with US Attorney for Delaware David Weiss last week at Justice Department headquarters in Washington DC to signal the conclusion of the federal investigation into him over tax matters and a weapons charge.

According to the Washington Post, Weiss and his federal prosecutors are considering four counts of charges against Hunter — three related to tax crimes and the fourth an indictment of a gun-sales felony.

Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans are intensifying their investigations into Hunter Biden’s finances and what some call the “Biden family.”

This week Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, 89, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said they heard from a whistleblower.

They described being told about a bribery scheme from the time Biden served as vice president.

“We believe the FBI is in possession of an unclassified internal document containing very serious and detailed allegations involving the current President of the United States,” Grassley said.

Grassley later said in an interview that he did not know whether the whistleblower’s claims were true.

He told Newsmax: “It’s a very serious allegation. I wish I could say I knew it was true or untrue.’

Hunter Biden has been candid about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Photos found on his abandoned laptop document his struggles

Hunter bought this gun and stated on the permit application that he had never used drugs, although he later admitted his cocaine addiction

On his gun permit form (pictured), Biden ticked “no” when asked if he was “a user of a sedative, stimulant, or narcotic.”

Biden (right) held a bilateral press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) last week, during which leaders will answer questions from two selected journalists from each country

The president, meanwhile, was asked by Ruhle why he was running for re-election.

Biden, 80, made his reelection bid official last Tuesday by posting a video.

He has not campaigned since – and has spent most of this week out of the public eye.

Noting that no Fortune 500 company is currently looking for a CEO over 80, Ruhle asked why he thought he was up to the task.

“Because I’ve picked up a hell of a lot of wisdom and I know more than the vast majority of people,” Biden said.

“And I have more experience than anyone who has ever run for office.

“And I think I’ve proven myself honorable and effective as well.”

He added that if Donald Trump returns to the White House, it would be disastrous for the United States.

“We cannot allow this election to be won and the same man four years ago to be president,” he said.

When asked what the difference was between him and Trump, Biden replied: “Everything, everything. Everything.’

Biden touted his success on infrastructure, telling Ruhle that voters “would see movement.”

He added: “Without world-class infrastructure, how can we be the most prosperous economy in the world?

“We used to be number one in the world; now we are 13.”

Biden said he’s changing that, investing in improved railroads and bridges and replacing lead pipes.

When asked why the polls were so against him, Biden blamed the media.

“Everything they’ve heard has been negative for three years,” he said.

“I’m not critical of the press, but when you turn on the TV, everything is negative.”

Ruhle noted that his campaign launch video included several clips showing his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

She asked if Harris was so heavily represented because Biden intended to hand over the presidency to her without completing his term.

He said no, adding, “I just think Vice President Harris doesn’t have the credit she deserves.”

He referenced her resume and pointed to her career as a Senator and Attorney General of California.

“She’s really, really good,” he said.

“She doesn’t have the recognition she deserves.”

The President was also asked about the debt ceiling and a potential default.

He said he has faith in Kevin McCarthy, Republican Speaker of the House, but felt cornered by MAGA Republicans demanding extreme budget cuts — cutting the number of teachers, FBI and DEA agents, and end-caps for the drug prices.

Biden said he thinks Kevin McCarthy is “an honest man” cornered by MAGA Republicans

“I think he’s an honest man,” Biden said.

“I think he’s in a position that he’s – 15 votes, he’s sold almost everything. There’s the Republican Party and the MAGA Republicans.

“To become a spokesperson, he agreed to things that he might believe in, but it’s extreme.”

He added: “I am willing to negotiate in detail with your budget.”

Biden has expressed frustration with the situation at the US-Mexico border and said he has asked Congress to provide assistance.

Title 42 expires next week, potentially triggering a spike in migrants crossing the border.

Biden has often been criticized for not taking the time to answer questions.

Two weeks ago, the New York Times called Biden’s press shyness a “deliberate strategy,” noting that in the 100 years since President Calvin Coolidge took office, only Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan have held as few press conferences as Biden.

He has yet to do a sit-down interview with an American newspaper.

In total, he will have conducted 54 interviews before meeting Ruhle on Friday.

For comparison, Donald Trump conducted 202 interviews in his first two years in office, while Barack Obama gave 275 interviews, The Times said.

On Friday, Biden interrupted shouted questions and said he would hold a press conference later.

President Joe Biden teased reporters at the White House on Friday, telling them he would answer their questions at a “big press conference” later in the afternoon.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris went to Taqueria Habaneros on Friday to pick up some Cinco de Mayo supplies

Conservatives on Twitter mocked Biden for mistaking an interview and press conference. “The White House is already trying to take that back,” said Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel

It was later made clear by helpers that he meant the interview.

Biden and Kamala Harris then went to a DC diner to buy tacos to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Meanwhile, conservatives on Twitter mocked Biden for mistaking an interview and a press conference.

“The White House is already trying to take that back,” said Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel.

“Biden’s last solo press conference was 172 days ago.”

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Paraguayan police on Friday arrested Paraguayo Cubas, a far-right populist who finished third in Sunday’s presidential election and encouraged his supporters to protest his unsubstantiated claims that voting was marred by fraud had been.

Cubas is in preventive detention by order of the Attorney General’s Office, who has accused him of breaching the peace, Police Commissioner Gilberto Fleitas said in a radio interview.

Cubas, the National Crusade Party candidate who received 23% of the vote on Sunday, was broadcasting live on Facebook when officers arrested him outside his hotel in San Lorenzo, about 15 kilometers from Asuncion.

Fleitas said Cubas got into a police vehicle “without difficulty” but continued to live stream.

In his broadcast from the police vehicle, Cubas chatted with officers and aimed the camera at his handcuffs. “You can see now that I’m locked up,” he said. “All criminals in this country should be handcuffed like Paraguayo Cubas.”

Cubas had been telling his supporters since Monday that he was traveling to the capital to lead a series of protests that had led to isolated clashes with police, mostly outside the electoral court in Asuncion.

“We will remain on the streets until Paraguayo Cubas is released,” said Juan Reyes, one of hundreds of Cubas supporters who took part in demonstrations in front of the electoral court.

At least 208 people were arrested “for disturbing the public peace and other criminal acts in the context of the demonstrations taking place on national territory”, the police said on Thursday.

Efraín Alegre, who came second in Sunday’s elections as the candidate of a broad opposition coalition, called for the release of Cuba and everyone arrested during protests this week.

“We demand the release of Paraguayo Cubas and all citizens imprisoned for their demands for transparency,” Alegre wrote on social media.

Alegre, who received 27% of the vote on Sunday, gave up the race shortly after polling stations closed but then on Monday called for a manual count of the votes and an international audit of the country’s electronic voting system after Cubas raised his allegations of fraud.

The Organization of American States, which sent an election observation mission, said Tuesday there was “no reason to doubt the results” of the vote count.

Santiago Peña of the long-ruling Colorado Party easily won Sunday’s presidential election with 43 percent of the vote.

In recent days, Cubas has posted pictures of supporters welcoming him in different parts of the country as he heads towards the capital from Ciudad del Este, a city on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Some 1,500 to 1,800 police officers were deployed outside the electoral court on Friday for the protest staged by Cuban supporters. The authorities also prepared for any demonstration in front of the police station where Cubas was taken.

___

Associated Press photojournalist Jorge Sáenz in Asunción contributed to this report.

Screen capture from video filmed during testimony by Donald Trump on October 19, 2022 and shown to the jury of his civil trial in New York on May 4, 2023. PA

Sometimes vehement, sometimes hesitant: This is how Donald Trump appears in the video of his testimony before the jury of the civil trial in New York published on Thursday, May 4th, in which the former US President is accused of rape. The video released on Friday was broadcast by many American media outlets.

For forty-eight minutes, we see Donald Trump, blue tie and white shirt under a dark jacket, defending himself and answering questions from Roberta Kaplan, the plaintiff’s attorney, former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.

In a 2019 book, the now 79-year-old ex-journalist accused Donald Trump of raping her in a fitting room in the lingerie department of New York luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. then in November 2022 for rape in a civil trial.

Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Donald Trump: rape allegations by American writer E. Jean Carroll in court

The Republican billionaire did not appear at the trial, which began last week. In his absence, excerpts from the October 2022 trial video were broadcast during the trial.

“It’s very vague”

“It’s the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It’s an invention out of nowhere,” he says of the allegations, calling E. Jean Carroll a “liar” and “sick.”

In his testimony, Donald Trump reiterated that he did not know the journalist and firmly affirmed that she “didn’t”. [son] Gender”. But when the attorney shows him a photo of himself in front of E. Jean Carroll at a party years before they allegedly met in 1996, he mistakes the plaintiff for his ex-wife Marla. His attorney then steps in : “That’s it [E. Jean] Carroll,” she corrects him. At first, the ex-president assured, amazed: “It’s very vague. »

Defense-submitted photo of Donald Trump in front of E. Jean Carroll, at a party, years before their alleged 1996 meeting. AP

The former president is also invited to respond to his remarks in a now-famous video in 2005, in which we hear him brag about kissing and touching the women he likes at will, adding: “If you’re a star are, she let you do it. You can do everything. Catch her by the pussy. »

“It’s historically true for stars (…) if you look at the last million years, I think it’s true to a large extent, not always, but to a large extent, whether we regret it or not,” he explains. “And do you consider yourself a star? ‘ asks E. John Carroll’s attorney. “I think you can say that, yes,” he replies.

Several journalists had asked the presiding judge on Thursday after the trial to release the video, but he ruled it was up to the parties to do so.

The world with AFP

Not only streets, palaces and aerial panoramas, but also authentic archaeological finds, such as the defensive walls of Roman camps with their typical conformation…

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Not only streets, palaces and aerial panoramas, but also authentic archaeological finds such as the defensive walls of Roman camps with their typical orthogonal geometric conformation. The “bionic” eye of Google Earth it has indeed intercepted an unknown legacy of two thousand years. Use of satellite imagery It was possible to reveal Ben’s presence three Roman camps millennial hidden under the stratigraphic sands of southern Jordanian desert. What did you do there? Why were they built there? They were probably functional for one Military mission in the 2nd century AD. And here comes the beauty of discovery. Indeed the backstory. A story within a story. In fact, there is no trace of a Roman military invasion of this region in historical sources. For this reason archaeologists assume that the fields could have been part of a Secret attack planned on the Nabatean city of Dumat al-Jandal.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOVERY

Hundreds of Roman structures have been identified in Europe that can be associated with military settlements. Today, however, only a handful remain in the Middle East. For this reason, the presence of three intact camps in this area is a very rare fact. The sites each have the classic “playing card” shape of temporary Roman military camps. The defensive walls were built by piling up boulders and in front of each entrance there were small fortifications called “tituli”. Basically, Google Earth has only managed to photograph the geometric outlines of the fields, partly because excavations to uncover any remains of buildings or high walls have not yet begun. The news, published in a study published in the scientific journal Antiquityu, was reported by the LiveScience website. A discovery that has to deal with history and even rewrite it.

THE SECRET MISSION

As LiveScience explains, in the 2nd century, southern Jordan was controlled by the kingdom of the Nabataeans, a people apparently allied to the Roman Empire. The layout of the newly discovered camps appears to follow a strategic route (unusual, different from the roads normally traveled because the usual route to the city was north of Azraq) towards the Nabataean city of Dumat al-Jandal, now located in Arabic Arabic . The team of scientists led by Michael Fradley, a landscape archaeologist at the University of Oxford, put forward this hypothesis «The camps were part of a secret Roman mission to attack from an unexpected direction. Roman records indicate that after the death of its king in AD 106, the Nabatean kingdom passed peacefully under Roman rule during the reign of Trajan.. But the new evidence suggests the transition to Roman rule may have been more violent than previously thought. Anything but peaceful.

HOW DID THE DISCOVERY HAPPEN?

It all started a year ago when Fradley used Google Earth to examine photos of the desert near Jordan’s southern border with Saudi Arabia as part of the Endangered Archeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, in which researchers make use of satellite imagery. In these stadiums, Fradley recognized the classic “playing card” shape of a Roman camp. Not only one. The real surprise was something else: “Less than 24 hours later, he had identified two more that led in a direct line from an oasis to Bayir about southeast in the desert.”

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