×
Trump orders investigation of Biden’s actions as president

Trump orders investigation of Biden’s actions as president

The president says Biden’s aides hid his alleged mental health decline and unlawfully used an autopen.

United States President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation of Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline” and raising doubts over his use of an autopen to sign documents.

The investigation, announced Wednesday, is the latest escalation in Trump’s long-running campaign to discredit the former president by claiming he was mentally incompetent, and suggesting his use of a mechanical pen made his orders invalid.

The probe was announced in a presidential memorandum directing Trump’s White House counsel David Warrington and Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into whether “certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President”.

The memo claimed that Biden’s aides “abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline”.

“The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts,” the memo stated, describing the alleged “conspiracy” as “one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history”.

Biden slams allegations

Biden, who revealed last month he is fighting cancer, said the allegations were “ridiculous” and suggested Trump’s claims were a smokescreen to deflect attention away from a bill that would extend tax cuts for the rich.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” the 82-year-old said in a statement.

His aides said using mechanical pens was a well established legal practice to sign presidential documents. The US Justice Department has recognised the use of an autopen to sign legislation and issue pardons for decades, The Associated Press news agency reported.

Trump repeatedly attacked Biden during his 2024 presidential campaign as lacking the mental acuity to hold top office.

While Biden’s aides strongly rejected the allegations during his time in office, his poor performance during a debate on the campaign trail prompted public perceptions that he was not up to the job, and he later bowed out of the race.

Trump has frequently called for his opponents to be investigated, and has directed the US Justice Department to probe his critics in the past.

Biden issued pardons for his brothers and sister shortly before leaving office, in a bid to shield them from potential retribution under Trump, who has falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential race he lost to Biden was rigged.

Source link
#Trump #orders #investigation #Bidens #actions #president

Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

The “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.

The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.

“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.

Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.

Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.

Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.

Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.

#Australia #Japan #sign #contracts #7bn #warships #dealEconomy, News, Business and Economy, Military, Asia Pacific, Australia">Australia and Japan sign contracts for bn warships dealDefence deal is latest example of deepening ties between Canberra and Tokyo amid shared concerns over China’s rise.Published On 19 Apr 202619 Apr 2026Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.Australia has committed to a record 5bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.#Australia #Japan #sign #contracts #7bn #warships #dealEconomy, News, Business and Economy, Military, Asia Pacific, Australia

Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

The “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.

The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.

“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.

Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.

Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.

Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.

Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.

#Australia #Japan #sign #contracts #7bn #warships #dealEconomy, News, Business and Economy, Military, Asia Pacific, Australia">Australia and Japan sign contracts for $7bn warships deal

Defence deal is latest example of deepening ties between Canberra and Tokyo amid shared concerns over China’s rise.

Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

The “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.

The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.

“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.

Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.

Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.

Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.

Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.

#Australia #Japan #sign #contracts #7bn #warships #dealEconomy, News, Business and Economy, Military, Asia Pacific, Australia

Post Comment