Leo Terrell, a former civil rights attorney and current Fox News commentator, was appointed to a key position at the Justice Department by Donald Trump in January.

Now he’s making headlines with a bold statement — suggesting that Jill Biden should be charged with “elder abuse”.

The political internet exploded this week after a senior Department of Justice official publicly called for former First Lady Jill Biden to face criminal charges —accusing her of “elder abuse” over her husband’s undisclosed health issues.

Leo Terrell, a 70-year-old former civil rights attorney turned Fox News commentator who now serves as a senior counselor to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, made the explosive allegation shortly after it was revealed that former President Joe Biden has advanced prostate cancer.

Responding to a post on X that claimed Jill Biden “knew about President Biden’s health problems” but “still wanted him to run for President,” Terrell didn’t hold back.
“Elder abuse! Criminal charges??” he posted, igniting a firestorm of commentary.

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Terrell didn’t stop there. He shared several posts echoing the accusation, including one that declared: “Elder abuse is a form of domestic violence and Dr. Biden has a lot of explaining to do about her part in defrauding the American people and taxpayers.”

The same post added, “I would never wish Joe Biden physical harm despite my personal political views; too bad his own family compromised his well-being.”

Another searing message Terrell reposted read: “His medical team should have caught this years ago! Shame on Jill & all who turned their heads & ignored this! They indeed are guilty of elder abuse & if they have him go thru any medical procedure now, radiation or chemo, they should be shot! But they wanted the attention & status at any cost.”

The criticism
The backlash follows shocking claims from medical experts and political insiders who say Biden’s cancer may have gone undetected — or unreported — for years. Some say that scenario is hard to believe.

“What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???” Donald Trump Jr. posted, joining the growing list of critics. It’s worth noting that Jill Biden’s doctorate is in education, not medicine.

President Donald Trump weighed in himself, adding fuel to the fire by saying: “Somebody is not telling the facts.”

But critics weren’t exactly gentle in their response to Donald J. Trump’s insinuations either — and they wasted no time calling out the absurdity.

One person fired back: “Jill Biden has a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware. She has never claimed to be a Doctor in the medical context.”

Another questioned the logic of the accusations entirely: “Why would someone with a doctorate in education know about prostate cancer before medical professionals?”

And a third, clearly fed up, didn’t hold back: “Probably because she’s a Dr of Education and not an MD you f*ing imbecile!”

”How cruel and hateful”
And following Leo Terrell’s explosive accusations against Jill Biden, it didn’t take long for reactions to pour in — and they weren’t exactly flattering.

Critics quickly pushed back, questioning not only the logic behind Terrell’s claims but also the motivations driving them. Many saw his comments as inflammatory and unfair, especially given Jill Biden’s background in education, not medicine.

”How cruel and hateful some of the Trumper Republicans show who they are. They have no shame. Despicable,” one person wrote.

Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell / Getty Images
”This is truly awful what the GOP is doing, what cancer has to do with President Biden ability to run the country and he isn’t any thread to them, leave the family alone and what a stupid idea of pointless accusations,” another shared.

Biden’s annual physicals released during his presidency from 2021 to 2025 made no mention of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings — the standard test for detecting prostate cancer in men over 50. The American Cancer Society recommends such screenings as a critical early detection tool.

In the wake of the diagnosis, President Biden broke his silence on X with a heartfelt message and photo of himself and Jill Biden with their cat Willow: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”