FBI Director Kash Patel is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League that the bureau forged under its former boss James Comey.

‘James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans. That was not law enforcement, it was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger,’ Patel told Fox News Digital.

‘That era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey’s policies and any partnership with the ADL,’ he added.

On May 8, 2017, Comey addressed the Anti-Defamation League National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. and declared his and the FBI’s ‘love’ for the organization. He began by referencing a 2014 speech which he called a ‘love letter to the ADL,’ adding, ‘Three years later I can say, from the perspective of the FBI, we’re still in love with you.’

‘We are not only educating ourselves, we are working with the ADL to build bridges in the communities we serve,’ Comey said in his 2017 speech. 

‘For more than 100 years, you have advocated for fairness and equality… And for all of that, we are grateful. As a law enforcement and national security agency, yes. But also as Americans. As humans,’ Comey said.

He concluded his speech with the words, ‘Love, the FBI.’

The ADL has recently faced backlash from Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers for listing Turning Point USA (TPUSA), Charlie Kirk’s organization, as an extremist group. As a result, the group removed its entire ‘Glossary of Extremism and Hate’ on Tuesday.

‘With over 1,000 entries written over many years, the ADL Glossary of Extremism has served as a source of high-level information on a wide range of topics for years. At the same time, an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated,’ the ADL wrote on X regarding the glossary. ‘We also saw a number of entries intentionally misrepresented and misused.’

The organization also said that retiring the glossary would allow it ‘to explore new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively.’

‘It will keep us focused on ensuring we do what we do best: fighting antisemitism and hate in the most impactful ways possible.’

The outrage comes nearly three weeks after Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University.

‘The FBI was taking their ‘hate group’ definitions from ADL, which is why FBI was investigating Charlie Kirk [and] Turning Point, instead of his murderers,’ Musk wrote in a post on X. In a separate post, Musk referred to the ADL as ‘a hate group.’

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said the organization needed to explain its categorization of TPUSA.

‘Seems to me like if they don’t agree with you, they will label you a ‘hate group,’’ Luna wrote on X.

TPUSA’s backgrounder page on the ADL website falls under the ‘Center of Extremism’ tag and describes the conservative group as having ties to ‘a range of right-wing extremists and has generated support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right.’

Fox News Digital contacted the ADL for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of refusing to vote to end the government shutdown in order to kowtow to his left-wing base.

Johnson told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview that Democrats’ refusal to budge on their current position came up in an hour-long call he held with President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.

‘[Trump is] very bothered by that, that Chuck Schumer would do this, Democrats would do this, because we haven’t,’ the top House Republican said.

He noted that Democrats had voted on a similar measure to what Republicans are offering on 13 different occasions under former President Joe Biden.

‘And even when the Republicans were in the minority, we did the right thing to keep the government open. And we fully expected that Schumer would do that again, as he always has, but not this time,’ Johnson said.

‘This is a selfish political calculation he’s made, that he’s got to prove to the far left that he’s going to fight Trump or something. So we talked about our frustration with that.’

He said Trump appeared ‘happy’ that Republicans remain unified in their federal funding stance but was concerned about the effects of a prolonged shutdown on everyday Americans.

‘But the reason we’re happy about that is because we know we’re doing the right thing for the American people,’ Johnson said. ‘And Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are demonstrating that they are willing to inflict this pain upon the people for their own political purposes. And I think that is a tough thing for them to get over.’

He said of a meeting between congressional leaders and Trump that occurred on Monday, ‘I tried my best in the White House, and he just is in no mood to have a real discussion about these issues. So we are where we are.’

Senate Democrats have now rejected a GOP-led plan to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21 three times.

The measure is called a continuing resolution (CR) and is aimed at buying House and Senate negotiators more time to reach a deal on fiscal year (FY) 2026 federal funding priorities.

The CR would keep current federal funding levels roughly flat while adding an extra $88 million in security spending for lawmakers, the White House, and the judicial branch.

Democrats, furious at being largely sidelined in funding discussions, have signaled they would not accept any bill that does not also extend Obamacare tax subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhanced subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year.

But Johnson, who called the Obamacare subsidies an ‘end-of-year issue,’ argued that the bill was a simple extension of federal funding, leaving Republicans with no realistic path for concessions.

‘If it was not clean and simple, if I had loaded it up with a bunch of Republican partisan priorities, then there would be something for us to negotiate. I could take those things off and offer it again. I sent it over with nothing attached at all,’ he said.

‘It quite literally is just buying us time to finish the appropriations process, which was being done in a bipartisan manner. So I don’t have anything to give, there’s nothing I can give. And Chuck Schumer has made such outrageous counter-demands and proposals that he’s the one that has to come to his senses.’

He was referring to Democrats’ counter-proposal for a CR, which would have repealed the Medicaid reforms made in Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, while restoring funding for NPR and PBS that was cut by the Trump administration earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for a response but did not hear back by press time.

President Donald Trump is open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ‘without any preconditions,’ a White House official said, as South Korea’s unification minister warned Pyongyang’s missiles could reach the U.S. mainland.

‘President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula. U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital. ‘President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, without any preconditions.’

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young used blunt language in Berlin this week, telling reporters, ‘North Korea has become one of the three countries capable of attacking the U.S. mainland,’ according to the Yonhap News Agency. ‘What needs to be acknowledged should be acknowledged rationally.’

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Chung’s claim.

Yonhap also reported that Chung said Pyongyang’s ‘strategic position is different’ than in 2018, when Trump and Kim held their first summit in Singapore. 

‘Acknowledging this reality should be the starting point’ in dealing with the regime, Chung told reporters.

But experts say North Korea has long held the capability to reach the U.S. mainland with intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

‘They’ve tested ICBMs for a long time,’ said Bob Peters, senior research fellow for strategic deterrence at the Heritage Foundation.

‘The question, then, for a long time, is, do they have a warhead that can go underneath a nose cone on an ICBM that goes by definition, exo atmospheric, comes down and then hits a target with some semblance of accuracy and then detonate and produce a nuclear yield,’ Peters added. ‘That’s been the real question — do they have that capability? That’s not what it sounded like the South Korean minister said.’

Meanwhile, Kim has said dialogue with the U.S. is possible, but on his terms. 

‘If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearizing us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,’ state media quoted Kim as saying.

A meeting with Kim would make Trump’s fourth sit-down with the dictator, at a time when his nation has once again grown increasingly hostile to U.S. interests. 

In July, the White House said Trump ‘remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.’ But North Korea asserted it would not meet the U.S. president if he was going to demand denuclearization. 

On Monday, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong told the United Nations General Assembly that his country will never give up its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

Trump is scheduled to travel to Asia later this month for an economic leaders’ summit with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. A senior U.S. official said no Demilitarized Zone meeting with Kim is currently on the agenda.

Reports have suggested Trump may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Oct. 30-Nov. 1, though plans are still being finalized. 

In a call last month, Xi invited Trump and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Trump returned the invitation. 

The same official said progress on nuclear talks depends on China. 

‘The first thing that would need to happen is for the Chinese to acknowledge and be more transparent about its own programs,’ the official said.

U.S. estimates put China’s nuclear arsenal at about 600 warheads in 2024, with projections of 1,000 by 2030. North Korea is believed to possess roughly 50 warheads, with enough fissile material for up to 90.

Pyongyang last year declared an ‘irreversible hegemonic position’ after test-firing its Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, which North Korea has claimed can strike the American mainland.

Trump is strengthening deterrence even as he keeps the option of ‘talks without preconditions’ open.

Bipartisan talks on reopening the government began to materialize less than a day into the shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats trying to find a middle ground on expiring Obamacare tax credits.

The federal government entered its first full day of a shutdown on Wednesday, and so far neither side of the aisle is willing to buckle as the hours ticked by.

Still, in the middle of Senate Republicans’ third attempt to pass the House GOP’s short-term funding extension, a group of nearly a dozen senators huddled on the floor in the first public display of negotiations so far.

‘There are glimmers of hope, and I think they’re bipartisan,’ said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was in the huddle.

The conversations on the floor came as Republicans demanded that Democrats yield and provide the votes to reopen the government, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., doubled down on his position that Democrats wouldn’t budge without ‘serious’ movement on Obamacare premium subsidies.

‘Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refuse to protect Americans’ healthcare,’ Schumer said. ‘It’s clear that the way out of this shutdown is to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to address the looming healthcare crisis that faces tens of millions of American families.’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., appears willing to slowly chip away at Senate Democrats through a de facto war of attrition and plans to bring House Republicans’ bill to the floor for a vote again and again.

The Senate will be out on Thursday to observe Yom Kippur but is expected to return Friday and possibly vote into the weekend on the continuing resolution (CR) that would reopen the government until Nov. 21 to give lawmakers more time to finish work on the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government.

Thune told Fox News Digital that he expected to talk to Schumer ‘in the next day or two.’

‘He’s indicated that he’s interested in doing that,’ Thune said. ‘I’m not sure what we’ll achieve by that, but I think there are, I mean, things seem to be moving on their side. We just keep telling them to ‘give us — open up the government, and we’ll get on with regular business.’’

Thune and Senate Republicans have argued that Senate Democrats’ rejection of the GOP’s CR is hypocritical, given that when former President Joe Biden was in office, Schumer and his caucus routinely voted for ‘clean’ extensions — like the GOP’s current proposal.

But the issue for Democrats was multifaceted. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was among the many lawmakers holding a confab on the Senate floor, and while he didn’t divulge full details of the private talks, he said a major issue for him was about ensuring that a ‘deal is a deal.’

‘Anything we agree to, because it’s not a clean CR if the president will tear it up tomorrow,’ he said. ‘In the past, we voted for clean CRs, but the president has shown that he’ll take the money back.’

Among the options tossed around in the huddle were a 10-day funding extension once floated by Schumer, which he quickly shot down earlier this week, or passing the Republican plan to actually give lawmakers time to negotiate a solution to the expiring tax credits.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said there were no high-level discussions quite yet, but that any path forward had to be ‘enforceable.’

‘The bottom line here is that I sense real concern among my Republican colleagues about what happens to the people they represent if we go off the cliff on the Affordable Care Act,’ he said, referring to Obamacare.

And Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who helped facilitate the conversation, said it’d be ‘great’ if lawmakers were able to get something figured out before the Nov. 21 deadline in the GOP’s bill, but that he and other Republicans were still pushing Democrats to support their legislation.

‘It’s not like there’s anything that they should be objecting to with regard to what’s in the existing bill,’ he said. ‘This is their hostage, and we’re just telling them, ‘Look, we’ve got support on the other side to fix the issues that you have a concern about, but it’s going to take time to negotiate those through.” 

Recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace have sharpened divisions inside the alliance over how to respond, exposing both the strength and the limits of collective defense.

Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal last week after Estonia invoked NATO’s Article 4 clause, which triggers consultations when a member feels its security is threatened.

According to three European officials granted anonymity to speak freely, Rutte argued that repeated invocations risked diluting the treaty’s force. One source said he even raised his voice at Michal, warning that NATO must be cautious about how often it signals alarm.

Rutte argued that if Article 4 were invoked every time Russia violated sovereignty — through drone incursions, fighter jets, cyberattacks and more — it would quickly lose impact, according to the officials.  

A NATO spokesperson confirmed Rutte and Michal spoke Friday and said the secretary general ‘has supported Estonia throughout the process.’

Rasmus Ruuda, director of the Government Communication Office of Estonia, told Fox News Digital Rutte ‘expressed support for Estonia and the Prime Minister thanked NATO for its actions.’

‘Article 4 is just a signal that we’re taking note of what happened,’  said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a Lithuanian member of parliament and former NATO assistant secretary general. ‘We can be invoking Article 4 every week, and I think that only weakens us, because we’re unable to truly respond to that aggression that Russia is sort of throwing at us.’

The tension comes after a series of provocative moves by Moscow. Last month, missile-carrying Russian MiG-29s flew into Estonian territory, following an earlier breach of Polish airspace by 19 drones and repeated incursions over Romania. In Poland, jets scrambled to intercept the drones, shooting some of them down. It marked the first time since World War II that Polish armed forces mobilized to engage an airborne threat over their homeland.

The Russian jets in Estonia were eventually escorted out of its territory by Italian F-35s. Estonia’s Article 4 request followed Poland’s own invocation days earlier, prompting another round of consultations in Brussels.

Since its creation in 1949, Article 4 has been triggered only nine times. NATO’s warning to Russia after the Estonian request was blunt: any further breaches would be met with ‘all means’ of defense. Estonia’s defense minister said his nation was prepared to shoot down Russian planes violating airspace ‘if there is a need.’ 

But Jeglinskas said signaling without consequence risks leaving the alliance trapped.

‘We’re happy to do Article 4 every other day, but so what? What’s next?’ he said. ‘The real question is what happens when the jets actually enter our airspace.’

The debate cuts to a deeper question: what constitutes a ‘need’ to shoot down Russian jets? How can Russia be deterred without stumbling into direct war?

‘The last thing we want is to have NATO get drawn into a war with Russia,’ a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. ‘God knows how that ends.’

‘Almost all wars … they don’t necessarily start with a big bang,’ the official went on. ‘They start with an escalation, and then somebody feels they need to respond to this, and then you just get in a toxic spiral.’

The United States has promised to defend ‘every inch’ of NATO while pressing Europe to bear more of its own defense burden. Washington’s mixed signals have only complicated matters.

Trump administration officials long favored reducing the U.S. troop presence in Europe. But President Donald Trump recently delivered one of the starkest warnings to Moscow, declaring that NATO states should shoot Russian aircraft down if they incur on their territory.

Jeglinskas said the statement resonated across the Baltic States. ‘What was really helpful was that President Trump was very clear,’ he said. ‘That gives us confidence we’re on the right track, and we really appreciate the support.’

Still, allies remain divided on whether to escalate. Some warn that Eastern Europe cannot credibly threaten retaliation without an American security guarantee. Others argue that deterrence depends on showing Russia its incursions carry a cost.

‘If we really want to send a proper message of deterrence to Russia, we need to be prepared to use kinetic force,’ Jeglinskas said. ‘That means neutralizing those jets — shooting them down or finding other ways to impose consequences — so Russia actually feels the cost of its incursions. That hasn’t happened yet, and it leaves us vulnerable.’

The airspace disputes now extend beyond fighter jets. European Union members are meeting in Copenhagen this week to discuss shoring up air defenses after a wave of drone sightings. Denmark briefly shut down its airspace following mysterious drone activity, while Lithuania’s Vilnius airport and Norway’s Oslo airport also reported disruptions. Drones have even been spotted over Germany’s northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.

‘We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either. We must do much more for our own security,’ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Düsseldorf.

NATO jets scrambled to intercept drones over Poland, but the response underscored a growing mismatch: deploying multi-million dollar fighters to counter small, unmanned aircraft is neither efficient nor sustainable.

‘NATO remains the most crucial element of our security equation,’ Jeglinskas said. ‘It’s the backbone through which our security is viewed. There’s really no doubt about NATO’s political will and its capability to defend its territory, but warfare is changing — and the question now is, has NATO adapted to the new way of war that is seeping through the borders of Ukraine?’

Jeglinskas warned that neither NATO nor the Baltic States have done enough. ‘The Polish incursion signified that NATO is not fully ready to counter these threats,’ he said. ‘Scrambling jets is a tremendous economic mismatch. If these kinds of attacks become swarms, it’s not sustainable.’

To address mounting threats, NATO last month launched Operation Eastern Sentry, reinforcing its presence on Europe’s eastern flank. Jeglinskas welcomed the move but said gaps remain.

‘Jets are very important, but more jets don’t mean we’re more secure from low-altitude drones,’ he said. ‘The question is: do we have sensors that can detect what’s happening from the ground up to a kilometer into our airspace? We don’t see that. It’s like a dead space.’

Jeglinskas called for stronger short- and medium-range radar, as well as layered defenses akin to Israel’s Iron Dome, capable of intercepting drones with both kinetic and electronic means.

‘NATO’s response is commendable,’ he said, ‘but it’s not enough. You need technical know-how, the right capabilities, and systems that are truly integrated if you want to make this work.’

For now, NATO remains caught between signaling resolve and acting on it. As Russia continues to test the alliance’s borders, Jeglinskas and other Eastern European officials warn that credibility is at stake. The next incursion, they argue, may demand more than words.

Rejecting reports of a split with the brass, the Department of War says the National Defense Strategy was ‘seamlessly coordinated’ with senior civilian and uniform leaders — and that ‘any narrative to the contrary is false.’

On Monday, The Washington Post reported that multiple senior officers had raised concerns about the forthcoming strategy, pointing to a divide between political leadership.

Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg pushed back on Wednesday, in an on-the-record statement to Fox News Digital.

‘The Department’s National Defense Strategy has been seamlessly coordinated with all senior civilian and military leadership with total collaboration — any narrative to the contrary is false,’ Feinberg said.

A senior War Department official said the strategy was the product of ‘extensive and intensive’ collaboration across the department.

The drafting team included a policy lead, a Joint Staff deputy and representatives from the military services who consulted widely with civilian and uniformed offices.

Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby and the acting deputy under-secretary for policy, Austin Dahmer, met with leaders from every group. The official called that level of policy-shop engagement ‘unprecedented.’

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided feedback directly to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Colby, the official said, and both assured him his input would be reflected in the final draft.

The Post report said political appointees in the Pentagon policy office led the drafting and described unusually sharp pushback from some commanders over priorities and tone. 

The War Department disputes that characterization and says the document was coordinated at the principal level and aligned closely with the National Security Strategy.

The pushback comes a day after Hegseth addressed hundreds of commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

In a 45-minute speech, he argued the force needs tougher standards and a tighter focus on warfighting. He has recalled one-star and above officers from around the world to brief in person and has removed several senior general officers as part of a broader overhaul.

Hegseth says new directives will restore rigorous physical, grooming and leadership standards and require combat roles to meet one set of physical benchmarks.

The Washington Post did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

House Democrats made a last-ditch effort to pass their own government funding proposal on Tuesday, which was quickly scuttled by the GOP.

Democrats are pushing a short-term extension of the current federal funding levels — called a continuing resolution (CR) — through Oct. 31, which also includes a host of left-wing policy riders derided by Republicans as non-starters.

With the deadline to avert a government shutdown less than 12 hours away, Democrat lawmakers gathered on the House floor with the intent of calling for unanimous consent to pass their bill. 

It takes just one House Republican to block such a move, which appears to be what Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, was poised to do. Dozens of Democrats, meanwhile, were gathered on the House floor to await the move.

But the Republican designated to run the floor for the day, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., ignored their yells of ‘Mr. Speaker.’ He instead gaveled out the House’s brief session without acknowledging them at all.

Sparse chants of ‘shame on you’ could be heard from Democrats after the session ended.

Under rules dictated by the Constitution, the chamber must meet for brief periods every few days called ‘pro forma’ sessions to ensure continuity, even if there are no formal legislative matters at hand.

Pro forma sessions can also be opportunities for lawmakers to give brief speeches or introduce legislation that they otherwise would not have. 

The House passed a GOP-led CR largely along party lines earlier this month. It would keep current government funding levels roughly flat until Nov. 21 to give Congress more time to strike a deal on fiscal year 2026 spending levels.

The measure is free from other policy riders, save for about $88 million toward enhanced security for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch — which has bipartisan support.

But Democrats, furious at being sidelined in those government funding discussions, are calling for both an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies and an end to Republicans’ recent Medicaid cuts in exchange for their support.

Their CR proposal would have reversed those Medicaid changes and restored federal funding to NPR and PBS that Republicans cut earlier this year.

Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have accused Democrats of making unreasonable partisan demands while holding federal government operations hostage in the process.

The House-passed CR is expected to be considered in the Senate later on Tuesday, where at least some Democrat support is needed to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

The government will likely enter into a partial shutdown at midnight if that legislation fails.

Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. will attend events in the coming months for Turning Point USA, the extremely influential conservative youth organization co-founded by their close friend, the late Charlie Kirk.

The news, first reported by Axios, was confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning by a source close to both the vice president and Trump Jr., who is the eldest son of President Donald Trump.

Kirk, the co-founder of the politically potent conservative youth organization, close ally and outside advisor to the president and vice president, and media star, was shot and killed earlier this month while speaking at a college campus event at Utah Valley University.

The source close to both Vance and Trump Jr. said that they ‘were so personally close to Charlie that they are determined to do right by him and continue to work closely with Turning Point.’

Vance accompanied Kirk’s widow Erika on Air Force two to transport Charlie Kirk’s body from Utah back to their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.

And a few days later, the vice president guest-hosted Kirk’s highly popular podcast. 

Both Vance and Trump Jr., as well as the president, also spoke at Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona.

‘I would expec to see both of them turn up at TPUSA events over the next several months and long after that,’ the source said of Vance and Trump Jr. ‘They understand that Turning Point is now Charlie’s political legacy, and they both want to help grow it to be bigger and more influential than ever.’

Turning Point USA’s political arm was very successful in driving up the youth vote for Trump and Republicans in last year’s election, as the GOP won back the White House, control of the Senate and held onto its House majority. 

And Trump’s political team wants to make sure Turning Point USA, now under the leadership of Erika Kirk, remains well-funded and politically potent ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Unearthed note cards from the Biden era show the administration detailed the names and photos of high-profile Democrats, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as lesser-known individuals for then-President Joe Biden to ostensibly reference during live events, documents obtained by Fox News Digital show. 

Five different ‘palm cards,’ which are hand-sized note cards frequently used by politicians for quick reminders or talking points during public events, especially while on the campaign trail, were uncovered amid an investigation of National Archive documents related to the Biden administration’s use of an autopen, and obtained by Fox News Digital.  

Four of the five cards obtained by Fox Digital are stamped with a disclaimer reading, ‘PRESIDENT HAS SEEN,’ while a fifth card detailing an ABC News reporter’s question to Biden during a press conference did not include that stamp. 

It is unclear if Biden relied on each of the cards during the various public events. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for any comment and clarification on the use of the cards but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Clinton was among a handful of Americans who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., in the waning days of the Biden administration. One of the palm cards obtained by Fox Digital reads ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients’ and was followed by photos and short biographies of the recipients, including a photo of Clinton and a short note detailing she ‘was the Secretary of State in the Obama-Biden administration.’

The note card also included a photo of Hollywood actor Denzel Washington, who also received the prestigious award in January, and a note describing him as an actor, director and producer whom the New York Times called ‘one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.’ The note also had photos and short bios for lesser known individuals who received the award, including renowned chef José Andrés and businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein.

Another palm card simply reading, ‘Judicial Confirmations Milestone Speech,’ showed a photo of Schumer and a separate photo of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin accompanied by the roles in the Senate, their party and the states they represent. The card included a stamp reading, ‘PRESIDENT HAS SEEN.’ 

Biden celebrated his administration confirming 235 judicial nominees in January in a speech from the State Dining Room and was joined by Schumer and Durbin during the event. Durbin and Schumer also held other public events celebrating the Biden administration’s judicial confirmation strides earlier in Biden’s Oval Office tenure. 

Another palm card listed out various family members of Hollywood legend Francis Ford Coppola ahead of the 47th Kennedy Center Honors in December 2024 that honored ‘The Godfather’ director. 

A fourth palm card was timestamped ‘Saturday, January 18 Greets,’ and showed a photo and short bio of White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin, as well as another section reading, ‘Pritzker Family,’ which displayed a photo of Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and photos and explainers on Pritzker’s wife, son and daughter, Fox News Digital found. A photo of the palm card also read ‘PRESIDENT HAS SEEN.’

It is unclear if Pritzker visited the White House Jan. 18, which fell on a Saturday. 

The fifth card detailed a question from ABC News’ reporter Mary Bruce. A handwritten note on the card states ‘Question #3.’

‘2024: How do YOU view the path forward? How do YOU think about YOUR place in history?’ the card reads. 

‘Speaker McCarthy/Debt Limit: Depending on what happens with the House vote on the Speaker’s debt limit bill tomorrow, do do YOU anticipate moving forwards?’

A Fox News Digital review found that the ABC News journalist asked Biden about his re-election effort during a joint press conference with the South Korean president April 26, 2023, in the Rose Garden. Bruce was the third reporter to ask Biden a question during the press conference, which fell on the same day House Republicans approved a bill to increase the debt ceiling. 

‘My turn to ask a question?  I think the next question is Mary Bruce, ABC,’ Biden said during the press conference. 

Bruce asked, ‘You recently launched your reelection campaign. You’ve said questions about your age are ‘legitimate.’ And your response is always, ‘Just watch me.’ But the country is watching, and recent polling shows that 70 percent of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, believe you shouldn’t run again. What do you say to them? What do you say to those Americans who are watching and aren’t convinced?’

‘You’ve said you can beat Trump again.  Do you think you’re the only one?’ she added. 

Biden’s use of palm cards has long been documented, including during the April 2023 press conference with Bruce. Fox News Digital previously reported that Biden flashed a separate card showing the photo, name and name pronunciation of Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian, while noting the card was part of ‘Question #1.’

Subramanian asked the first question during the press conference, with Biden calling on ‘Courtney of the Los Angeles Times.’

Biden flashed another palm card showing photos of reporters, accompanied by their outlets and roles, during a joint press conference with the Australian prime minister in October 2023. At his first formal press conference as president in March 2021, Biden was seen handling a card that had statistics and talking points to use.

In another image, Biden was consulting a list of preselected reporters along with their photos, Fox Digital previously reported. 

Politicians long have used palm cards while on the campaign trail. Biden’s use of the cards while serving as president added fuel to the fire of concern over his mental acuity, though, including Axios reporting in 2024 that donors were spooked by Biden’s reliance on the notes. 

The White House pointed to President Donald Trump’s public events where he routinely takes questions from journalists off the cuff when asked about Trump’s potential use of palm cards. 

‘President Trump gives unfettered access to the media and answers every question imaginable, without pre-screening the press questions or collecting reporters’ palm cards ahead of time like his incompetent predecessor,’ White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital Tuesday when approached for comment. ‘Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump is actually running our country, and he doesn’t ever shy away from taking on the fake news to deliver the truth.’ 

A senior White House press official added to Fox News that the press office ‘does not prepare any reporter palm cards’ and that the team does not ‘ask for reporters to submit their questions to the president ahead of time.’

The Biden administration is currently facing scrutiny over the use of an autopen to sign official documents — including for clemency orders, executive orders and other official documents. The use of the autopen follows years of mounting concern that Biden’s mental acuity and health were deteriorating, which hit a fever pitch during the 2024 campaign cycle following the president’s disastrous debate performance against Trump. 

Biden ultimately dropped out of the presidential race as the concerns mounted. 

Since reclaiming the Oval Office, Trump has balked at his predecessor’s use of the autopen, claiming Biden’s staff allegedly used the pen to sign off on presidential actions unbeknownst to Biden. Trump ordered an investigation into the use of the autopen under the Biden administration back in June. 

Fox News Digital’s Lindasy Kornick contributed to this report.