President Biden’s Special Envoy for Iran who was placed on leave in June amid an investigation into his security clearance has landed a teaching gig at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

The department said Robert Malley will teach a graduate course this fall on foreign policy decision-making, and one to two undergraduate courses in the spring that will focus on diplomacy, negotiation, and foreign policy. 

President Biden tapped Malley in January 2021 to try to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to obtain a nuclear weapon in return for economic sanctions relief. 

Malley stepped back from his State Department role shortly before Iran’s release of five U.S. citizens to house arrest as part of a deal under which they would eventually leave Iran and $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen.

Malley was not able to resurrect the agreement, which then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, arguing that its terms were too favorable to Iran and that it failed to place sufficient restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Malley confirmed in June that his clearance was being investigated, but said he was confident about a positive outcome. According to media reports, Malley’s clearance was suspended amid an investigation of his handling of classified material. 

‘I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave,’ Malley said to Fox News at the time. 

‘While I am on leave from the State Department, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with the next generation of public servants,’ Malley said in the statement. ‘I look forward to my time at Princeton and returning to government service in due course.’

It is unclear when or how the review of Malley’s security clearance may be concluded. 

Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano, Nick Kalman and Reuters contributed to this report. 

President Biden made an off-the-cuff remark Wednesday involving children and ice cream, just before touting his administration’s accomplishments. 

The president was about to begin his speech in front of an audience in the East Room of the White House on the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act when he briefly deviated. 

‘I want to say one thing to your children. I know some really great ice cream places around here and daddy owes you, so talk to me afterwards,’ Biden said. 

He then began touting his administration’s response to the rising costs of everyday necessities from groceries to gas as many Americans continue to feel the financial pinch of inflation. 

Biden has been criticized in the past for remarks some have deemed creepy. In October 2022, he drew criticism from conservatives on social media over a comment he made to a young teenager in California where he told her ‘no serious guys until you’re 30.’

A month prior, he again came under scrutiny for a remark he made in the middle of a speech to the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union.

He addressed a woman in the crowd he apparently knew long ago. 

‘We go back a long way,’ he said. ‘She was 12 and I was 30, but anyway. This woman helped me get an awful lot done. Anyway.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., struggled to drum up support amid her remarks about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on Wednesday, insisting the audience should clap throughout certain parts of her speech.

Joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at the White House to boast about the measure on its one-year anniversary, Pelosi touted what she believes to be benefits of the IRA, which she described as a ‘remarkable accomplishment.’

Pelosi said there is ‘no more urgent task than saving our planet,’ claiming the issue of climate change is a ‘health issue,’ an ‘economic issue,’ and a ‘moral issue.’

‘It’s a moral issue if you believe as I do that this planet is God’s creation. We have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of it. But even if you don’t, we can all agree we have a moral obligation to ensure strong, healthy, resilient communities for future generations,’ she added.

Hearing no applause as she gathered her thoughts, Pelosi said to the tranquil crowd, ‘I think that’s an applause line.’

Later during the speech, while recognizing legislative action taken to address climate change by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Pelosi told the audience once more, ‘That’s an applause line.’

Waiting and laughing, Pelosi’s statement was met with a round of applause by those in attendance.

Continuing on with the speech, Pelosi also urged the crowd to clap to for House Democrats who worked to pass the IRA.

‘Now let’s hear it for the House Democrats,’ Pelosi told those in attendance as she motioned for the lawmakers to stand up.

Pelosi’s plea for applause at the White House mirrored a similar request she made last September when she failed to ignite a crowd gathered on the White House lawn. Celebrating President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act at the time, Pelosi told the audience the same line.

Appearing alongside Schumer at the event last year, Pelosi said the ‘landmark law,’ which Biden signed last August, is ‘driving down costs for kitchen table items for America’s working families.’ 

‘Mr. President, thank you for unifying and inspiring a vision of a stronger, fairer, safer future for all our children. Your extraordinary leadership has made this glorious day possible,’ Pelosi said.

After a brief moment of silence, Pelosi told the audience ‘that’s an applause line,’ eliciting claps from the spectators.

Pelosi’s comments are reminiscent to a statement made by former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who memorably urged his supporters to ‘please clap’ at a campaign event during the 2016 election.

Back in February 2016, Bush unwittingly became a political trendsetter at a campaign event in New Hampshire.

‘I think the next president needs to be a lot quieter but send a signal that we’re prepared to act in the national security interest of this country, to get back into the business of a more peaceful world,’ Bush passionately said at the time, subtly swiping at then-Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Facing a lengthy silence from the crowd, Bush then said, ‘Please clap.’ The plea from Bush — the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the younger brother of former President George W. Bush — prompted applause and some cheers.

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held up to $50,000 in student loan debt while being one of the biggest proponents of its cancelation, according to filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The New York lawmaker’s recently released financial disclosure shows she maintained between $15,001 and $50,000 in student loan debt in 2022. During this time, the progressive champion, who collects a $174,000 salary as a U.S. House of Representatives member, consistently advocated for actions that would also directly benefit herself. 

‘Now would be a great time to cancel student loan debt, take significant climate action, and pass voting rights,’ Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in May 2022 in response to a Marist poll showing President Biden’s low approval rating with young adults.

After Biden announced his ill-fated student loan forgiveness plan for more than 800,000 borrowers months later, the ‘Squad’ member applauded the relief but vowed to push for more.

‘It was YOUR pushing, YOUR pressure, YOUR organizing that got them to this point,’ Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram. ‘It is up to us, and to you, to decide if we are going to stop here, or if we are going to keep pushing.’

‘I am very grateful for this watershed moment of a first step – it is so encouraging, thrilling, and has already changed SO many people’s lives,’ she continued. ‘But I am also thinking about how this still leaves a question mark for those in the highest amounts of debt, who need the most amount of help. So let’s celebrate and keep going.’

The Biden administration recently returned to the drawing board after the Supreme Court canceled Biden’s student loan debt handout, ruling that Congress would have to authorize such a program explicitly. 

Biden said the court ‘misinterpreted the Constitution’ and offered a ‘work-around’ plan that will provide a 12-month ‘on-ramp’ intended to assist borrowers struggling to resume repayment. 

Ocasio-Cortez, however, was unsatisfied with the terms of the plan. In July, she said the president should suspend interest on debt payments for a year. 

‘I would like to see interest payments suspended during this time, especially during that 12-month ramp-up period,’ Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Dana Bash. ‘There are millions of people in this country that have student loan debt under… $10,000 or $20,000, as outlined in the plan.’

‘People should not be incurring interest during this 12-month on-ramp period,’ she continued. ‘So, I highly urge the administration to consider suspending those interest payments. Of course, we still believe in pursuing student loan cancellation and acting faster than that 12-month period wherever possible.’ 

Ocasio-Cortez’s reported debt range on her new financial disclosure remained unchanged from the previous year. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed reporting.

A special prosecutor will be chosen to investigate Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, in connection with former President Trump’s alleged illegal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced a 98-page indictment Monday night accusing Trump and 18 others of attempting to change the election results in his favor. Among the others indicted were former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former members of Trump’s legal team Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.

The former president was indicted on 13 counts, including Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer, Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings, Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents, Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree and Filing False Documents.

Jones, who was not listed in the indictment, was one of the 16 so-called fake electors who falsely claimed Trump won Georgia and attempted to conduct a secret meeting at the State Capitol on December 14, 2020, in an effort to overturn President Biden’s victory in the Peach State. Three of the 16 electors were indicted on allegations of forgery, false statements and impersonating a public officer, among other crimes.

The lieutenant governor has previously denied wrongdoing, claiming he and other electors acted only to preserve Trump’s chances if the former president won in court. He said in a statement Tuesday that Willis’ investigation was ‘a constant media and PR campaign for the sole purpose of furthering her own political career,’ adding that she was pursuing ‘the political vendettas of the past’ when she should have been ‘going after real criminals.’

The grand jury left Jones, a former state senator, out of Monday’s indictment after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered Willis to drop the then-candidate for lieutenant governor from her investigation in July 2022 because she hosted a fundraiser for Democrat Charlie Bailey, who was running against Jones in the general election that November.

‘This scenario creates a plain and actual and untenable conflict,’ McBurney wrote in his order at the time. ‘Any decision the District Attorney makes about Senator Jones in connection with the grand jury investigation is necessarily infected by it.’

Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director Pete Skandalakis decided to wait until an indictment was handed down before choosing whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Jones.

‘Ultimately, the special prosecutor will make the decision about whether or not to file any charges,’ Skandalakis told The Associated Press.

State Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Democrat, said she believes applauded the move for a special prosecutor to be selected to examine the scope of Jones’ role in the fake electors scheme.

‘He doesn’t get a pass simply because the Fulton County DA wasn’t permitted to bring charges,’ Butler said in a statement.

Skandalakis said the council will read through Monday’s indictment and ask for a copy of the still-sealed report of the special investigative grand jury that laid the groundwork for the indictments. The council will also speak with Willis about what her investigators may know about Jones, as she was still allowed to ask other witnesses about him despite being ordered not to subpoena him or his records. Skandalakis said he will appoint a special prosecutor but has not made a decision on who that will be.

‘That’s going to be extremely difficult to find somebody,’ he told Fox 5 Atlanta. ‘Not only because of the resources that you need to handle a case like this, but the limitations I have in paying somebody.’

Speaking on whether Jones’ actions warrant an indictment, Skandalakis told The Associated Press, ‘I don’t even know what’s in the investigation.’

Skandalakis does not have to name one of Georgia’s 49 other district attorneys to investigate Jones and can choose anyone with prosecutorial experience. But, he said, finding a prosecutor willing to take the case may be difficult as Georgia does not pay special prosecutors much and offers no money to hire additional staff. This means a district attorney could use their existing staff, but a retired prosecutor would not be able to hire any staff at all.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Rhode Island Board of Elections said Tuesday that its review of nomination signatures submitted by the congressional campaign of Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos found ‘no obvious pattern of fraud,’ but will continue to investigate to protect the integrity of the democratic process.

The review was conducted after election officials in three communities in the 1st Congressional District asked local police departments to investigate suspected fraudulent signatures on nomination papers submitted by the Matos campaign. The state attorney general and state police then got involved in the investigation.

The nomination papers allegedly included the names of dead people and some from people who said their names were forged.

Despite the alleged fraud, the board confirmed that Matos’s campaign had collected more than enough voter signatures to qualify for the Sept. 5 primary ballot to seek the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed former Rep. David Cicilline.

Cicilline stepped down earlier this summer to become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.

The board voted to continue investigating and will issue subpoenas to all of the people who collected signatures for Matos, but not until after the primary so as not to influence the outcome of the special election.

‘Continuing on this parallel path to the attorney general will lead to some chaos in election,’ Board Vice Chairman David Sholes said, noting that early voting begins Wednesday.

Matos, one of a dozen Democrats running to replace Cicilline, blamed the questionable signatures on an outside vendor hired by her campaign.

‘The Board of Elections has affirmed what my campaign has said all along and what the Secretary of State previously found: despite being the victim of a vendor who lied to my campaign, we submitted more than enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot,’ Matos said in a statement Tuesday.

Matos was the presumed front-runner and her Democratic opponents used the scandal to attack her.

‘It is unfortunate that the guys who are running against me have used this as an opportunity to attempt to smear my reputation and call into question our democratic process,’ she said.

Matos’ campaign has said it is cooperating with the attorney general’s investigation. A spokesperson for the attorney general said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.

Attorney General Peter Neronha has said his office would examine the nomination forms the Matos campaign submitted in every municipality in the district.

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The White House has responded after both Democrats and Republicans criticized President Biden, who said he had ‘no comment’ on the rising death toll from the destructive Hawaiian wildfires during his weekend beach getaway in Delaware.

One Hawaii Democrat called the president’s response ‘shocking’ and out of character. While a congressional Republican accused Biden of ‘actively ignoring what is happening in Hawaii and really helping Hawaii.’

A White House spokesperson pushed back on the criticism and told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration was using the ‘whole-of-government’ to respond to the deadly fires, which included Biden mobilizing federal assistance from various departments and agencies.

‘The Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized a robust whole-of-government response effort to support immediate and long-term rescue and recovery efforts in Maui, Hawaii,’ the White House spokesperson said.

The statement continued: ‘Since the onset of the horrific fires in Maui, dozens of Federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security through FEMA and the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense through the Navy and Army, the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have been working with state and local partners on the ground to assess ongoing needs and providing resources and personnel to support response efforts.’

On Sunday, Bloomberg White House correspondent Justin Sink first reported that Biden had nothing to say in response to a question about the death toll.

‘After a couple hours on the Rehoboth beach, @potus was asked about the rising death toll in Hawaii ‘No comment,’ he said before heading home,’ Sink reported on X.

Video footage of the exchange released later appeared to corroborate Sink’s account.

Despite the apparent halfhearted remark, President Biden responded ‘within hours’ of Hawaii officials reporting the fire, according to a White House fact sheet.

‘Last Thursday, within hours of the devastating fires, President Biden signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii, and as President Biden told [Hawaii] Governor Josh Green, the Federal Government stands ready to provide additional assistance to ensure the state recovers. This weekend, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman surveyed catastrophic damage on the island and hosted a local press conference to reiterate the Administration’s commitment to supporting impacted communities, however long it may take.’

There are also nearly 500 federal personnel deployed to Maui as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, who are supporting maritime search and rescue operations, and U.S. Army helicopters, who are supporting fire suppression efforts on the Big Island, the White House said.

During a speech in Wisconsin, President Biden said Tuesday he and first lady Jill Biden would visit Hawaii to see the damage and visit with local officials.

The spokesperson also defended the Biden administration’s decision to send additional aid to Ukraine, which continues to have bipartisan support in Congress — amid the destruction to Hawaii.

‘The recent supplemental package reflects urgent needs through the end of the year both with respect to national security and critical domestic areas like disaster relief. We’re grateful for the strong bipartisan support for Ukraine since Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion, and we are confident that support will continue as we work together to support the Ukrainian people as they bravely stand up to Russia’s brutal war of aggression and defend their country,’ their statement said.

As of Wednesday morning, the death toll from the devastating Maui fire reached 106.

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FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pushing the Department of Justice (DOJ) for answers on who gets grant money and how those allocations are decided, as some conservatives push to slash the department’s funds over charges of politicization.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent letters to three DOJ offices on Tuesday suggesting the Biden administration was stonewalling the committee’s efforts to find out how grants are allocated within the Office of Justice Programs, Office of Violence Against Women, and the Community Oriented Policing Services. 

It comes as lawmakers face a tough spending showdown when they return from their home districts in September. 

Calls to cut funding to the DOJ and FBI have gained traction within the House GOP, particularly among allies of former President Donald Trump, who believe the department has been improperly co-opted by President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

A source familiar with the back-and-forth said House Judiciary Republicans are demanding ‘full transparency of the DOJ’s grant-making processes.’ They added, ‘Everything remains on the table.’

In his Tuesday letter, Jordan said the three DOJ offices in question had ‘not responded to the Committee’s request or provided any documents’ about their grants, which he pointed out was made on June 30 ‘despite the Committee’s repeated efforts at accommodation.’

He accused the offices of missing a self-imposed July 28 deadline for producing information on how taxpayer-funded grants are being disbursed and to whom.

‘Committee staff followed up via email with the Department to inquire if the Committee should expect a production. Department staff responded again by indicating that they ‘are working diligently and in good faith…to gather documents and information responsive to [the Committee’s] requests.’ The Department declined to provide a specific date by which it would honor the Committee’s requests,’ the letter charged. 

Jordan signaled he would be open to subpoenaing the relevant offices if Biden officials did not give his committee the information it is seeking. 

‘Now 46 days after our initial request, the Committee still has yet to receive a response from OVW or any of the requested documents,’ Jordan wrote. ‘If the Department fails to voluntarily comply with the Committee’s requests, the Committee may consider the use of compulsory process.’

The DOJ confirmed receipt of the letters to Fox News Digital but declined to comment further.

A 2018 text message from Hunter Biden in which he claimed to have paid his father’s bills for more than a decade suggests further evidence of the first family’s corruption, House Republicans say.

In a text thread with his assistant, Katie Dodge, Hunter wrote that his Wells Fargo account ‘shut me out again.’

‘Too many cooks in the kitchen,’ he wrote on April 12, 2018. ‘Too many profile changes and such. Happened 10 days ago too. What do you need? I’m going to bank in a few. Need to verify identity in person.’

‘I need to pay AT&T,’ Dodge responded.

Hunter Biden then instructed Dodge to put the payment on both his debit card and his ‘Wells Fargo credit line.’

‘My dad has been using most lines on this account which I’ve through the gracious offerings of Eric [Schwerin] have paid for past 11 years,’ Hunter wrote.

It’s not clear whether Hunter was claiming to have a shared AT&T account or a shared Wells Fargo account with his father. The White House declined to clarify when reached by Fox News Digital.

But the texts show some combining of Hunter’s and Biden’s finances that has been uncovered by Fox News Digital in past reports.

A 2010 email from Schwerin, Hunter Biden’s longtime business partner, said he was transferring funds from Biden’s tax refund check into Hunter’s account because ‘he owes it to you.’

A 2016 email from Schwerin to Hunter indicated that Hunter was expected to pay an AT&T bill in the amount of $190 for ‘JRB.’

A 2019 text from Hunter to his daughter, Naomi, said the elder Biden forced him to fork over half of his salary.

‘I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It’s really hard. But don’t worry unlike Pop I won’t make you give me half your salary,’ Hunter wrote.

The Committee on Oversight and Accountability has released multiple memos to show money flowing into Hunter-linked accounts from entities in China, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine when his father was vice president. The question, however, is whether Biden knew about it or benefited from the millions of dollars reaped by his son.

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., slammed the Bidens’ ‘corruption’ in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘This is what corruption looks like. For seemingly the entirety of Joe Biden’s Vice Presidency, his son Hunter was selling access to his father to the highest bidder while paying off his Joe Biden’s credit card bills,’ Stefanik said. ‘There can no longer be any doubt that Joe Biden is compromised.’

Committee Republicans told Fox News Digital that the 2018 texts between Hunter and his assistant provide further evidence that the president had at least a passive understanding of his son’s business dealings, despite repeatedly claiming he had no knowledge.

‘There’s more. Much, much more,’ said Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. ‘Joe Biden is most certainly a heavily compromised career politician. Republicans on the Oversight Committee are revealing the depths of his corruption, and everyone close to him will be burned by the inferno of his crash.’ 

‘Bank records don’t lie,’ said Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. ‘Follow the money: all transactions lead to the Big Guy and his money laundering shell games. Joe Biden should be impeached.’

‘This is no longer just about Hunter Biden,’ said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. ‘The president shared this bank account with him. More and more evidence just keeps hitting us in the mouth and eventually there’s got to be some justice. The American people are owed that much.’

Schwerin, who has been dubbed the ‘money guy’ due to his frequent involvement with the Biden family’s finances, is a key player in the orbit of Hunter and his father.

Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, who was married to the president’s son from 1993 to 2017, revealed in a memoir in June 2022 that Schwerin ‘managed almost every aspect of our financial life.’

Hunter also acknowledged that Schwerin, who visited the Obama White House and the vice presidential residence at least 36 times, was a ‘close confidant and counsel’ to his father in a February 2014 email thread with Schwerin, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The House Oversight Committee released its third bank memo last week, producing bank records that purport to show that Hunter and his business associates received millions in payments from Russian and Kazakhstani oligarchs when his father was vice president. 

The 19-page memo, which provided screenshots of redacted bank records, says millions in payments came from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina and Kazakhstani oligarch Kenes Rakishev and that then-Vice President Biden attended dinners with Baturina, Rakishev and a representative from Burisma.

Two previous memos from the Republican-led committee tied Biden family members to payments linked to entities in China and Romania. The committee says the foreign payments to the Biden family now add up to over $20 million.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the federal investigation into Hunter Biden. Republicans immediately criticized Garland’s selection of Weiss, who led the prosecution in Hunter Biden’s tax and gun charges that conservatives blasted as too lax.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., called Garland’s announcement ‘part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family cover-up in light of [House Oversight Republicans’] mounting evidence of President Biden’s role in his family’s schemes [of] selling ‘the brand’ for millions of dollars to foreign nationals.’

The Fulton County Clerk of Courts Office is offering a new explanation for the supposed ‘fictitious’ indictment posted on the Georgia court’s website before a grand jury voted Monday to hand up an indictment for former President Trump and 18 others.

On Monday afternoon, the Fulton County Court’s website posted a document that listed the same charges included in the indictment released late Monday night, which included charges of violating the Georgia RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit filing false documents and more.

Reuters first reported on the document before the Fulton County Court quickly removed it from the website and released a statement, blasting the document as ‘fictitious’ and warning the media ‘that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such.’

The indictment was handed up and unsealed Monday night, bearing the same charges as listed on the alleged fictitious document, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was asked for an explanation.

‘No, I can’t tell you anything about what you refer to,’ Willis said. ‘What I can tell you is that we had a grand jury here in Fulton County. They deliberated till almost 8 o’clock, if not right after 8 o’clock, an indictment was returned. It was true billed. And you now have an indictment.’ 

But the fallout continued into the day Tuesday after Trump attorneys and allies blasted the system.

The court on Tuesday afternoon released a lengthy statement in an attempt to clear up questions.

‘The Office of the Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts announces that midday on August 14, 2023, a media outlet utilizing the Fulton County Press que obtained a docket sheet and shared it with other media outlets who then released the sample working document related to the former United States President, Donald Trump – reporting that an indictment had been returned by the Special Grand Jury in Fulton County Georgia,’ the statement reads. ‘Upon learning of the mishap, Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts, Ché Alexander, immediately removed the document and issued correspondence notifying the media that a fictitious document was in circulation and that no indictment had been returned by the Grand Jury.’

‘In anticipation of issues that arise with entering a potentially large indictment, Alexander used charges that pre-exist in Odyssey to test the system and conduct a trial run,’ the statement continues. ‘Unfortunately, the sample working document led to the docketing of what appeared to be an indictment, but which was, in fact, only a fictitious docket sheet.’

The court said that ‘because the media has access to documents before they are published, and while it may have appeared that something official had occurred because the document bore a case number and filing date, it did not include a signed ‘true’ or ‘no’ bill nor an official stamp with Clerk Alexander’s name, thereby making the document unofficial and a test sample only.’

‘Hours later, after receiving the True Bill presented to presiding Judge, Robert McBurney, Clerk Alexander executed the filing with a file stamp and moments later she made the filing public,’ the court continues. ‘The Office understands the confusion that this matter caused and the sensitivity of all court filings.’

The court said its remains ‘committed to operating with an extreme level of efficiency, accuracy, and transparency.’

‘Media members can expect to be notified of any/all filings in real time and will be provided access to filings via equitable communication,’ the court said.

It is still unclear why the ‘sample working document’ and the ‘fictitious docket sheet’ matched the exact charges brought against the former president and 18 others.

Fox News’ Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.