House Democrats invite ex-Giuliani associate Lev Parnas as Biden impeachment inquiry hearing witness

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are having businessman Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani's, come to Capitol Hill to participate in the second impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden on Wednesday.

The Oversight Committee's GOP majority is investigating accusations that Biden and his family enriched themselves by using his political connections, particularly when he was vice president.

"This hopeless impeachment investigation originated with a bunch of lies told by an indicted liar in close proximity to Russian agents. So who better than Lev Parnas himself — Rudy Giuliani’s right-hand man on the original mission to smear Joe Biden — to tell the story of how this campaign of lies and slander works? Lev Parnas can debunk the bogus claims at the heart of the impeachment probe and, in the process, explain how the GOP ended up in this degraded and embarrassing place," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

Parnas previously claimed that he worked with Giuliani in his effort to pressure Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into the Biden family in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for charges linked to soliciting foreign money for U.S. elections, wire fraud and making false statements, among others. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams had accused him of "pumping Russian money into U.S. elections and lying about the source of funds for political contributions."

Parnas is going to be joined at the Wednesday hearing by former business associates of Hunter Biden, whose foreign business dealings are a particular concern to GOP investigators. One is Tony Bobulinski, who has personally told investigators that the Biden family was selling access to the now-president. The second is Jason Galanis, who is in prison after he pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

JAMES BIDEN SAYS HIS BROTHER 'HAS NEVER HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT' OR ANY 'FINANCIAL INTEREST' IN BUSINESS VENTURES

Republicans on the Oversight Committee pointed out that Parnas was found guilty of lying and said it was "telling" Democrats did not invite an associate of the Bidens.

"It’s telling the Democrats didn’t call any of Hunter Biden’s business associates who claim his father’s innocence because they know their testimony won’t withstand public scrutiny. Instead, they are relying on a convicted liar who claims Joe Biden never met with a Burisma official when in fact he dined with one," a spokesperson for the committee said.

COMER INVITES HUNTER BIDEN, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY MARCH 20 AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Fox News Digital previously reported that Democrats were considering inviting Michael Cohen, former President Trump's ex-lawyer, in a bid to focus attention on Trump's own foreign business dealings.

A source familiar with those discussions indicated to Fox News Digital that Democrats thought Parnas would be more relevant to their goal of pointing out flaws in the GOP's investigation. They said, "Cohen can speak directly to how Trump used the White House to enrich himself, but Parnas can speak directly to how Trump used discredited sources to fabricate dirt on Biden."

Eric Schwerin confirms Joe Biden used ‘Robinware456’ email alias while serving as vice president

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators that he communicated with then-Vice President Joe Biden via a private e-mail alias, while maintaining that he was "not aware" of Joe Biden's involvement in his family’s business dealings.

Schwerin appeared behind closed doors for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees in January as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Fox News Digital obtained a transcript of Schwerin’s testimony.

BIDEN WAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HUNTER’S BUSINESS PARTNERS USING EMAIL ALIAS AS VP

Schwerin told the committee that he "performed a number of administrative and bookkeeping tasks for then-Vice President Joe Biden related to his household finances" between 2009 and 2017. Schwerin testified he also helped Biden’s accountants in their preparation of his taxes and his annual financial disclosure statements.

Fox News Digital first reported that Joe Biden, as vice president, used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times – including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 and 2019, with the majority of email traffic taking place while Biden was serving as vice president.

The House Ways & Means Committee, which is co-leading the impeachment inquiry alongside the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said 54 of those emails were "exclusively" between Joe Biden and Schwerin. The Ways & Means Committee describes Schwerin as "the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies."

During his transcribed interview, Schwerin was asked if an email address labeled "Robinware456" was associated with Joe Biden.

"Yes," Schwerin said.

"That’s Joe Biden?" a committee investigator asked.

"Correct," Schwerin testified.

Schwerin also identified an email address labeled "Hurricane5155" as Valerie Biden and "261penn" as Beau Biden.

Schwerin also said that it was his "understanding" that "Robert.L.Peters" was also an email address associated with Joe Biden.

"I believe, when I personally emailed him, it was through that ‘Robinware’ email address," Schwerin testified that the email address was a "private Gmail account" and said he would also communicate via a private Gmail account.

Meanwhile, Schwerin said he met Hunter Biden while working in the Clinton administration at the Commerce Department, and after government service, joined the first son at a law and lobbying firm.

Schwerin co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners along with Hunter Biden and other colleagues – a firm he described as a "consulting and investment firm that offered development and public policy advisory services to a wide range of clients."

HUNTER BIDEN PAID JOE BIDEN FROM ACCOUNT FOR BIZ THAT RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM CHINA: COMER

"In the course of performing these duties, I had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden’s bank accounts while he was vice president," Schwerin said in his opening statement. "Based on that insight, I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates nor any involvement by him in their businesses. None."

Schwerin also said he "cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals – foreign or domestic."

"In fact, I am not aware of any role that Vice President Biden, as a public official or a private citizen, had in any of Hunter’s business activities. None," he said.

Schwerin testified that regarding his interactions with Biden, he "never asked him to take any official actions for the benefit of Hunter’s clients or any other client."

"Furthermore, I have no recollection of any promises or suggestions made by Hunter or myself to any clients or business associates that his father would take any official actions on their behalf. None," he said. "In my discussions with the Vice President concerning his personal finances, he was always crystal clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the law."

Schwerin added: "Given my awareness of his finances and the explicit directions he gave to his financial advisers, the allegation that he would engage in any improper conduct to benefit himself or his family is preposterous to me."

But Schwerin did testify that he did have "discussions" about what Joe Biden would do post-vice presidency.

"Did you ever have any conversations with Hunter Biden or anyone else about jobs for Joe Biden post-Vice Presidency?" a congressional investigator asked.

OVERSIGHT DEMS ADMIT HUNTER'S LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER HANDLED BIDEN’S FINANCES THROUGHOUT VP TENURE

"I don't know about jobs per se, but we did have discussions as to what – about what his dad might be doing post-Vice Presidency," Schwerin said, noting that there were "two efforts, I know, going on related to the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania."

"There was a point in which I and Hunter were a little more involved in the discussions related to the University of Delaware, and there were institutes set up and whether – how it would all be structured and things like that," he said.

Meanwhile, Schwerin testified that he was appointed to the U.S. Commission on the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad.

Schwerin said Biden, when vice president in 2009, asked him if he would be "interested in being on one of these boards or commissions."

"I understood that – my assumption was that it was something that, you know, the Vice President had signed off on, but I would think it was someone from the staff who said, we can put your name forward to Presidential Personnel, and they would, you know, give you a call about this," he said, adding that he was not appointed to the board until May 2015.

How the most powerful nation lost control of its borders: former ICE director

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The U.S. is in the grip of an ongoing crisis at the southern border, now into its third year. While there have been a number of surges in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent history, none have been so large or so sustained.

Republicans say the crisis has been a direct consequence of the policies of the Biden administration. But Democrats and the administration say the U.S. has a broken system in need of reform and funding that Congress has so far failed to address.

The surge escalated in 2021, when, after months of increasing numbers in 2020 from the lows seen during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, encounters skyrocketed from 78,000 in January 2021 to 213,000 by July, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Encounters remained high through 2022, reaching a high of 241,000 that May. Encounters in fiscal year 2022 hit 2.3 million, a new record. That was broken the next year with 2.4 million.

BIDEN, DURING VISIT TO OVERWHELMED BORDER, URGES REPUBLICANS TO BACK SENATE BILL

More recently, the monthly record for encounters was shattered in December, when there were over 300,000 encounters for the first time, according to CBP. Meanwhile, the immigration court backlog has exploded to more than 3 million cases, while seizures of fentanyl at the southern border have also broken records.

The Biden administration has said the spike coincides with a hemisphere-wide migration surge sparked by insecurity, poverty and other root causes.

"It is because the world is living through one of the greatest levels of human displacement that it ever has, and certainly since World War II. And the challenge that we are experiencing at our border, which is a very serious and consequential challenge, is one that the entire hemisphere is experiencing," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told The New York Times in February.

President Biden and former President Trump have both visited the southern border in 2024, making their respective cases to the voters.

Biden said he needs Congress to "put politics aside" and pass additional spending and reforms found in a bipartisan Senate bill. The legislation includes additional staffing at the border and in asylum offices, an increased $1.4 billion in funding to cities and organizations receiving migrants, aims to tackle fentanyl smuggling and would limit asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges.

However, the bill failed to gain enough support in the Senate after conservative lawmakers warned that a limiting mechanism that only comes into place after an average of 5,000 encounters a day would normalize the already high levels of illegal immigration.

"It's real simple, it's time to act, it is long past time to act," Biden said. "It's time for us to move on this, we can't wait any longer."

Meanwhile, the administration has been pursuing a strategy of expanding lawful migration pathways while increasing what it says are consequences for illegal entry, including an asylum ban and increased use of expedited removal. But it has stressed it needs more funding to do so.

The administration rejects claims it has opened the border, pointing to more than half a million removals or returns between May 2023 and January 2024. It also expanded the CBP One app to allow more migrants to be processed in ports of entry, launched funding drives to tackle root causes in Central American countries and set up processing centers in the region.

Republicans and former Trump officials blame the Biden administration, accusing it of rolling back successful Trump-era policies like the Remain in Mexico program, which kept migrants in Mexico for their asylum hearings, along with border wall construction and other measures to stop catch-and-release.

Tom Homan, who served as acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director under Trump, told Fox News Digital he believes those Trump policies secured the border.

"We handed the Biden administration the most secure border in my lifetime. That's just based on fact. That's based on data. Anybody can look at the data. Then President Biden came in," he said.

Homan and other critics also cited a 100-day ICE deportation moratorium as evidence the administration is pursuing an open border policy.

"President Biden ran on open borders, and you gotta give him credit. Once he became president, he kept his promise and opened the border," Homan said.

7.2M ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES

The crisis has had deep political impacts. Not only has it become a top 2024 issue, with polls showing a majority of voters seeing large amounts of illegal immigration as a "critical" threat, but the immediate impact has also spread beyond the border.

As more and more migrants have moved into the interior, including through a busing program from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, cities like New York City, Chicago and Denver have been overwhelmed by the numbers and the strain put on their services. Mayors have appealed for support, last year asking for more than $5 billion in aid, among other measures.

Meanwhile, Republicans in the House impeached Mayorkas for his handling of the crisis, sending articles of impeachment to the Senate.

If elected, Trump has promised to return to many of his past policies and has pledged to ramp up deportations.

"The fix is simple. Dust off the Trump plan and reinstitute the Remain in Mexico program, reinstitute the safe third country agreements, continue building the wall and end catch and release," Homan said. "Those things right now would solve 90% of the problem on the border."

New GOP stunt hearing dresses up anti-abortion radicals as pro-child advocates

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Charles Jay

Republican lawmakers have been trying to dig themselves out of the ditch created when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization should be considered children. And former President Donald Trump has been trying to throw off the political albatross of near-total abortion bans imposed in red states post-Dobbs v. Jackson as he campaigns for a White House get-out-of-jail-free card.

But now Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has come along with a shovel to dig that ditch a little deeper. Greene was creepily enough all smiles when she announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she would be conducting a hearing next Tuesday to investigate “the Black Market of Baby Organ Harvesting.” She also invited people to register on her congressional website for a livestream of the hearing.

Join me and special guests David Daleiden and Terrisa Bukovinac for a Hearing on Investigating the Black Market of Baby Organ Harvesting on Tuesday, March 19th at 2 PM ET. REGISTER NOW: https://t.co/tBNqeUyKJQ pic.twitter.com/BB9RO428dY
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) March 11, 2024

To be clear, there is no black market of baby organ harvesting. And there’s nothing to smile about regarding Greene’s latest political theater stunt.

Vice President Kamala Harris made history on Thursday when she became the first sitting president or vice president to visit a facility that provides abortions—a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota. Greene is trying to revive a malicious, debunked smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. Forced-birthers have falsely claimed that the health care provider has been profiting off of the illegal sale of aborted fetus parts to medical researchers.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee created a special web page and YouTube videos to debunk misinformation about Planned Parenthood, such as the claim that its clinics conduct late-term abortions to get body parts to sell. They do not.

Only a few Planned Parenthood clinics have donated fetal tissue for medical research, with the informed consent of the patient, the organization said. Clinics in the past did receive compensation from researchers to cover their costs for processing and transporting the material, but the policy was changed in 2015, and clinics no longer accept reimbursement for expenses related to tissue donation.

But the biggest tell about what Greene is up to are the two witnesses she has announced that will appear at her hearing: prominent anti-abortion activists David Daleiden and Terrisa Bukovinac.

Daleiden, who founded a group known as the Center for Medical Progress, was linked by the Southern Poverty Law Center to ”some of the country’s hardest-line anti-abortion extremists.”

In 2015, Daleiden’s group released a series of deceptively edited undercover videos that claimed to show Planned Parenthood employees involved in the for-profit sale of supposed “body parts from aborted fetuses,” which would have been illegal. That led to efforts in several Republican-controlled states to defund Planned Parenthood health centers.

At least 13 states conducted investigations of Planned Parenthood that found that the organization had not engaged in any wrongdoing. A similar investigation by the House Oversight Committee, pushed by Republican House Speaker John Boehner, reached the same conclusion.

Planned Parenthood, in turn, sued Daleiden’s group. In 2019, a jury ruled in Planned Parenthood’s favor, finding that Daleiden and his group had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and engaged in fraud, trespass, breach of contract, and illegal secret recording.

The jury awarded Planned Parenthood compensatory and punitive damages totaling more than $2 million for the harm caused by Daleiden and his co-conspirators. In October 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Daleiden group’s appeal of a lower court’s decision upholding most of the damages awarded to Planned Parenthood, Reuters reported.

Bukovinac gained notoriety in March 2022 during a protest outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic in D.C. when she and another anti-abortion activist, Lauren Handy, claim to have obtained a box containing five fetuses and 110 smaller ones from a medical waste truck driver. The clinic is not affiliated with Planned Parenthood.

Police later said the fetuses were aborted in accordance with D.C. law. In 2022, police removed the fetuses from a refrigerator in Handy’s home after she and several other protesters were indicted on federal charges of blocking access to the Surgi-Clinic during an earlier 2020 protest. In August 2023, Handy and four co-defendants were convicted of illegally blockading the reproductive health clinic. Bukovinac was not among those charged.

Bukovinac founded a group known as Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, which demanded that the D.C. clinic be investigated for infanticide. In September 2023, Bukovinac, who identifies herself as a “pro-life progressive,” stood outside the Surgi-Clinic to announce that she was running for president in the Democratic primary (though she’s gotten virtually no traction)—a move that she hoped would enable her to run graphic anti-abortion ads, Michigan Advance reported.

Daleiden and Bukovinac have already telegraphed on X what Greene’s hearing will be about. Right-wing media outlets like The Federalist have picked up a report earlier this month from Daleiden’s group. This time, Daleiden’s group didn’t use undercover videos, but apparently cherry-picked documents obtained via a public records request. Daleiden’s group claimed that Planned Parenthood of San Diego (now known as Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest) had a contractual agreement “to supply aborted fetal body parts” to the University of California San Diego in exchange for “valuable consideration”—namely a share of intellectual property rights derived through their research.

“This new evidence shows Planned Parenthood sells late-term aborted baby body parts in violation of federal law, for far more money than has ever been discussed before,” Daleiden claims in the report.

But once you get past the sensational headlines, the report says the biological materials being referred to are actually “fetal and placental tissue.” Daleidin’s group also claims that the University of California’s total patent invention revenue for 2021-2022 was over $127 million, but the link is to a page referring to the entire U of C system, with no amount specified for patents derived from fetal tissue research at UCSD.

The website for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest does not include any reference to the Daleidin group’s allegations. But there is something even more alarming about this hearing: the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling on frozen embryos, and efforts by the GOP to pass legislation that declares human life begins at conception.

And that is the impact on fetal tissue and embryonic stem cell research following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide.

Immediately after the ruling, medical researchers were already expressing worries that the ruling would result in new restrictions that “will decrease the availability of fetal tissues and embryonic stem cells,” or lead some states to pass laws banning such research entirely, according to The Scientist website.

In 2021, the Biden administration scrapped restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump on federal funding for medical research using human fetal tissue from elective abortions. If Trump wins in November, even harsher restrictions could be imposed.

The Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights advocacy research group, wrote that these federal grants support research “on a wide range of conditions including diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, hemophilia, leukemia, sickle cell anemia, ALS, and others.”

Back in 2016, when Daleidin’s group first went after Planned Parenthood, the Guttmacher Institute wrote in its report:

Fetal tissue research dates back to the 1930s, and has led to major advances in human health, including the virtual elimination of such childhood scourges as polio, measles and rubella in the United States. Today, fetal tissue is being used in the development of vaccines against Ebola and HIV, the study of human development, and efforts to treat and cure conditions and diseases that afflict millions of Americans.

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Jim Jordan previews main focus of upcoming Hunter Biden hearing, blasts Hur report ‘double standard’

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

VANDALIA, OH - Republican Congressman Jim Jordan previewed an upcoming hearing on the investigation into the business dealings of Hunter Biden and railed against the "double standard" he says President Biden was the benefactor of in the investigation into his handling of classified documents.

"We'll see," the Ohio Republican told Fox News Digital on Saturday when asked about Hunter Biden previously expressing willingness to testify openly before the House before his legal team recently backtracked and objected to doing so.

"I think Chairman Comer, we're going to have this hearing this week, this upcoming week with three of Hunter Biden's business partners, Mr. Galanis, Mr. Bobulinski and Mr. Archer and what's interesting, all three of those individuals tell a different story, and their story seems to match up with the three of them versus what Hunter Biden told us when we deposed him," Jordan said. "So we'll see if Hunter Biden comes in. But we’ll go through this here and get information out to the American people."

"It's going to be the comparisons between what these individuals said and what Hunter Biden said and the contradictions that exist in this testimony from both sides," Jordan told Fox News Digital when asked for a preview of what this week’s hearing on the Hunter Biden scandal will entail.

GOP REP SPOTLIGHTS 3 KEY PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONTRADICTED’ THEIR BUSINESS COVERUP

Jason Galanis, Tony Bobulinski and Devon Archer, all former associates of Hunter Biden, were invited to participate in a House hearing on Wednesday as part of the investigation into an alleged corruption scandal that Republicans are suggesting could eventually lead to an impeachment vote for President Biden.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hunter Biden's legal team for comment but did not receive a response.

Jordan, who was speaking to Fox News Digital near Dayton, Ohio where former President Trump was rallying for Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, brought up the recent testimony of Special Counsel Robert Hur while discussing Hunter Biden, which he suggested was an example of President Biden "knowingly" ignoring the law.

"I thought last week with special counsel Hur where we went through that, where we know Joe Biden knowingly retained and disclosed classified information, he knew the rules, he'd been in government five decades, he was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was vice president, so he knew the law and willfully violated that law," Jordan said.

"And I think he did it because, special counsel Hur says in his report, he said Joe Biden was motivated to ignore classified procedures because he was writing a book and he got an $8 million advance so there are 8 million reasons why Joe Biden didn't follow the law."

BIDEN GHOSTWRITER SPOTTED ON NYC STREETS HOURS AFTER GOP LAWMAKERS RIPPED HIM DURING HEATED HUR HEARING

When asked by Jordan last week during the House hearing on Hur’s conclusion regarding Biden’s handling of classified documents and his decision not to file charges whether he agrees that Biden had motivation to misuse the documents to write a book, Hur replied, "That language does appear in the report, and we did identify evidence supporting those assessments."

The White House has pushed back on the idea that Hur’s report shows Biden’s actions possibly correlate with a potential book deal.

"And then, of course, Mr. Hur concluded by saying even though he knowingly, willfully retained and disclosed, did it for the money, in my judgment, we're not going to prosecute because he's a forgetful old man and I think that came out loud and clear in the hearing we had this past week," Jordan added. "So we'll have another hearing next week with these other individuals and we'll go from there."

Fox News Digital asked Jordan if he agreed with Hur’s conclusion that it would be too difficult to secure a guilty verdict from a jury with the current evidence.

"If someone meets the elements of the crime, it's the job of the prosecutor to take that to the jury and the jury decides," Jordan responded. "Mr. Hur and his evaluation, you weigh all things, so we have some respect for that of course, but what I do think comes clear is the double standard."

"You know, this idea that there are pressing charges and they have charged President Trump, they raided his home for goodness sake, but nothing happens here, and that's what Americans really take away is the double standard."

Several legal experts, including Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, have recently suggested that the classified documents handling case against President Biden had more significant evidence than the case involving Trump.

Jordan told Fox News Digital he agrees with that analysis.

"I think so especially when you see the report and you walk through the elements, particularly when he's talking to the ghost writer, who, by the way, the ghost writer tried to destroy the evidence once he found out Mr. Hur was named the special counsel," Jordan said. "Go figure. If that's not obstruction. I don't know what is. So, I do think that again underscores this double standard that we've seen for such a long time."

Speaker Johnson tells Republicans campaigning against each other in primaries to ‘cool it’: report

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is telling Republicans who are going after sitting GOP lawmakers in contentious primaries to "knock it off," in order to tamp down on divisions within the party, according to a report.

Johnson, R-La., attended the House Republicans’ annual member retreat at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, last week to unify the often-fractious conference as at least four sitting Republicans in South Carolina, Illinois, Texas and Virginia are going to battle against Republican challengers.

"I’ve asked them all to cool it," Johnson told CNN during the retreat. "I am vehemently opposed to member-on-member action in primaries because it’s not productive. And it causes division for obvious reasons, and we should not be engaging in that."

Johnson is trying to figure out how to guide his razor-thin majority through a series of legislative hurdles that divide Republicans, including how to provide military aid for Ukraine, finish government funding and reauthorize a federal surveillance program – all while trying to make a case that voters should re-elect a GOP House majority.

SPEAKER JOHNSON AIMS TO STAY LEADER OF HOUSE GOP IN 2025, VOWS ‘VERY AGGRESSIVE FIRST 100 DAYS’

"So I’m telling everyone who’s doing that to knock it off," Johnson told the outlet, referring to challenging incumbents within the GOP. "And both sides, they’ll say, ‘Well, we didn’t start it, they started it.’"

Johnson took the speaker's gavel late last year after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from office in a historic move that left Republicans deeply divided and mired in dysfunction.

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T 'CALL THE SHOTS' ON WHEN IMPEACHMENT IS OVER

Johnson told Fox News Digital last week that he is aiming to stay at the helm of the House GOP next year regardless of whether they keep the House majority.

"I have not given a lot of thought about the next Congress, because I'm so busy with my responsibility right now," Johnson said. "My intention is to stay as speaker, stay in leadership, because we're laying a lot of important groundwork right now for the big work that we'll be doing."

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

GOP hope for Mayorkas impeachment trial dims as Senate Dems look for quick dismissal

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

As the Senate waits for the House to deliver its articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, multiple Democrats expressed their expectation to Fox News Digital that they will be dismissed quickly, and a full trial will not play out.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told Fox News Digital he "of course" thinks his fellow Democratic colleagues will move to table the articles when they are officially delivered to the Senate and lawmakers are sworn in to be jurors.

"It's entirely political," he said. "They've never shown any evidence of any kind of impeachable offense and then impeached him in the House anyway. It's ridiculous."

During the House Republicans' retreat this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed, "We've not sent it over yet. And the very simple answer for that, and the reason for it, is because we're in the middle of funding the government in the appropriations process."

RUBIO BILL AIMS TO WITHHOLD UN FUNDING FOR AFGHANISTAN UNTIL ASSURED IT DOESN'T SUPPORT TERRORISM

He noted that there is a small window in which the Senate will be required to process the articles, and "we didn't want to interrupt the Senate and their floor time and their deliberation on appropriations, because we've risked shutting the government down."

According to Johnson, they will be delivered in "due course."

MASSIVE COALITION FORMS TO PROTECT LEFT-WING ‘SQUAD’ MEMBERS AGAINST ONSLAUGHT OF ELECTION SPENDING

In a narrow second attempt at impeaching Mayorkas last month, the House was successful. By a vote of 214-213, two articles of impeachment were approved against the DHS secretary. One accused him of having "refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" and the other of having violated "public trust."

Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., voted against the impeachment.

The first attempt to pass the articles was brought down by four Republican defections, one of which was a procedural move by Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, which allowed the resolution to be brought back to the floor.

"I expect it will be dismissed" by the Democratic caucus, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., similarly shared that he is hoping for a "quick dismissal."

Also urging the Senate to get past the impeachment articles, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said, "Let's turn the page and move on and deal with the problems and challenges that we face," calling the impeachment both "nonsense" and "shameful behavior."

$12B IN EARMARKS: CONGRESS' ROLLER-COASTER HISTORY WITH EARMARK SPENDING TAKES ANOTHER TWIST

Democrats are in the majority in the Senate and will ultimately decide how the body moves forward once the articles are delivered. And since it would only require a simple majority to table the impeachment, the upper chamber may opt to do so.

Their Republican counterparts signaled an expectation that Democrats will move to table the articles.

"I assume the Democrats will try and table it," said Republican Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who added his conference will do "everything we can to get them to conduct a trial."

SENATE VOTES TO CONFIRM US AMBASSADOR TO HAITI AMID GANG ATTEMPT TO SEIZE POWER IN CARIBBEAN COUNTRY

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she has heard "rumors" that Democrats were interested in tabling it. "I don't expect a full trial to happen at this point," she said. "But I think it should."

For many Democratic senators, it just isn't on their radar. The Senate is notably working on several issues, including federal nominations; aid to Ukraine and Israel; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reform; Federal Aviation Administration re-authorization; and appropriations, with a March 22 deadline coming up for the last slate of funding bills.

"I haven't given virtually any thought to the political charade around Secretary Mayorkas, so that's just not been high on my radar screen," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who explained that "serious issues" surrounding China and Ukraine are taking precedence.

REPUBLICANS HAMMER JUDGE MCAFEE'S RULING IN FANI WILLIS CASE, CALLING IT 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE'

"Who gives a s---?" said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. He added that the Mayorkas impeachment would not be the last of the "dumb s---" that House Republicans have done.

However, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., emphasized the importance of their status as jurors in the matter of the DHS secretary's impeachment.

"As an impartial juror on all of the above, I've always been the same with any type of impeachment that I'm not going to predetermine or have any bias towards what's going to happen," said Cortez Masto.

SCHUMER CALLS FOR NEW ISRAELI LEADER TO REPLACE NETANYAHU IN SENATE FLOOR SPEECH

Cardin echoed, "I've always taken the position as a juror, I shouldn't talk about that publicly." The senator noted, however, that he has "pretty strong views," adding that reporters could probably guess them.

DHS did not provide comment on the Senate's procedure for the articles of impeachment to Fox News Digital.

Following the House's vote last month, DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement, "House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border."

"Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country," she continued.

Despite several Senate Republicans criticizing the House's attempt to impeach Mayorkas, many Republicans have changed their tune and expressed their interest in the Senate holding a full trial.

Fox News Digital's Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Comer tells Hunter Biden’s attorney House hearing will proceed ‘with or without’ him after refusal to attend

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, on Friday, that a House Oversight Committee hearing on alleged influence peddling and the Biden family's business dealings "will proceed forward — with or without Mr. Biden" next week, after Lowell said the president's son would not attend.

Comer had invited Biden and business associates Tony Bobulinski, Devon Archer and Jason Galanis to testify at a public hearing at 10 a.m. on March 20.

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All four individuals have already testified behind closed doors as part of the impeachment inquiry, but Comer said the public hearing would, "examine inconsistencies among the witnesses’ testimonies in order to get the truth for the American people."

Fox News Politics: Wade goodbye

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.

What's happening?

- Fulton County Fani Willis' former lover and Nathan Wade pulls out of Trump case

- Haitian migrant arrested on serious charges

- Pro-Palestinian groups rebuff White House's attempts to chat

The judge in the Georgia election interference case has allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to continue leading the prosecution against former President Trump, but strongly admonished her behavior.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee slammed Willis' speech to a church about the matter because it used racially charged rhetoric, was "playing the race card" and overall seemed "legally improper."

Though McAffee declined to disqualify Willis from the case due to her affair with special counsel Nathan Wade and other improprieties, he ruled that Wade would have to be removed from the case — or Willis would need to step back herself.

Later Friday afternoon, Willis withdrew himself. In his resignation letter, he said he would step down "in the interest of democracy," and so that the case could move forward "as quickly as possible."

Willis praised Wade in a written reply, and said she "will always remember" his courage, patriotism and "dedication to justice."

Willis staying on the case wasn't quite the result Trump wanted.

'PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT': Trump attorney reacts to Fulton County judge's Fani Willis decision …Read more

'DISQUALIFIED': Lawyer who exposed Willis-Wade relationship reacts to court ruling …Read more

TESTIMONY TOSSED: Georgia judge tosses key witness’ testimony against Fani Willis, citing ‘inconsistencies’: court order …Read more

'NO POINT': Chicago Pro-Palestinian groups reject White House requests to meet before primary in strongly-worded letter …Read more

SINKING SLOWLY: Harris approval rating worse than Biden, Trump …Read more

STRONG WORDS: House Speaker Johnson says White House doesn't 'call the shots' on when impeachment is over …Read more

HIGH ENERGY: House GOP leaders target Biden energy policies in legislation blitz next week …Read more

'CONTROL OUR LIVES': Republicans unveil effort to reverse Biden climate rules targeting manufacturing …Read more

JOB-KILLER: Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy slams Bernie Sanders' 32-hour workweek proposal as job-killer …Read more

ROUGH SEAS AHEAD: Cori Bush is shaping up to be the most vulnerable 'Squad' member this election cycle …Read more

'ELECTION INTERFERENCE': Republicans hammer Judge McAfee's ruling in Fani Willis case, calling it 'election interference' …Read more

CRASHING THE PARTY: Centrist group No Labels sets up panel to select third-party presidential ticket …Read more

BEHIND BARS: Columbian drug lord arrested in Texas …Read more

BREAKING NEWS: Haitian migrant charged with rape of 15-year-old girl entered via controversial parole program: sources …Read more

THROUGH THE ROOF: Little-known international NGO finalizing building code forcing US homes to be green …Read more

ALARMING FINDS: DeSantis details alarming find aboard Haitian migrant boat seized off Florida coast …Read more

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

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Speaker Johnson aims to stay leader of House GOP in 2025, vows ‘very aggressive first 100 days’

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: WEST VIRGINIA — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is aiming to stay at the helm of the House GOP next year, he told Fox News Digital.

In an interview at the House Republicans’ annual member retreat this year at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson suggested he’d want to stay in the conference’s top spot regardless of whether they keep the House majority.

"I have not given a lot of thought about the next Congress, because I'm so busy with my responsibility right now. My intention is to stay as speaker, stay in leadership, because we're laying a lot of important groundwork right now for the big work that we'll be doing," Johnson said.

"But each day has enough concern of its own right now. And I've got – we've got a very full, very busy agenda right now. And that's where my focus is."

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T 'CALL THE SHOTS' ON WHEN IMPEACHMENT IS OVER

He also gave Fox News Digital a preview of what he wants Congress to focus on in 2025, expressing confidence that the GOP would go into the new year having kept the House majority and won the Senate and White House.

"We would absolutely turn our attention to securing the border and ending the catastrophe that the Biden administration has created. Obviously, we would continue to address the China threat and increase our stature on the world stage. That's what the White House would be focused on, and we would give assistance in the House in every way possible," he said.

Johnson also listed bolstering U.S. defense capabilities, tax reform, and exploring weaponization of the federal government as other priorities, as well as legislative advances on artificial intelligence.

"We'd have a very aggressive first 100 days of the Congress agenda, and we're kind of excited about that prospect," Johnson said.

SPEAKER JOHNSON FLOATS STAND-ALONE ISRAEL AID PLAN AFTER SCHUMER’S COMMENTS MADE SITUATION ‘EVEN MORE URGENT’

Johnson won the speakership in late October via a unanimous House GOP vote, three weeks after his predecessor, ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by a group of eight Republicans and all House Democrats.

Johnson's comments to Fox News Digital come a day after he was asked at a press conference about whether he’d have the House GOP Conference change its rules on how difficult it is to kick out a speaker.

Johnson, who was optimistic that the GOP could retain and expand its razor-thin House majority in November, suggested the next Congress would also likely see a change to its motion to vacate rules – the guidelines by which a speaker is ousted from power.

JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE WILL 'APPLY EVERY AMOUNT OF PRESSURE' TO SENATE TO PASS TIKTOK BILL

McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold from a House majority to just one person being able to trigger a vote to recall the House leader as part of a deal with critics to win the gavel in January 2023.

Johnson said he never advocated for a rule change but expected that a majority of his lawmakers would want to move forward. Dozens of House Republicans criticized the eight that voted to oust McCarthy, arguing that it projected historic levels of instability under their leadership.

"The motion to vacate is something that comes up a lot amongst members in discussion, and I expect there will probably be a change to that as well. But just so you know, I've never advocated for that. I'm not one who's making it an issue, because I don't think it is one for now," he said Wednesday.