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House committees formally recommend to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress

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The House Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee passed resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, setting up a full vote on the House floor in the coming days that would recommend the first son for prosecution.

The vote at the House Judiciary Committee was 23-14. 

The House Oversight Committee vote was 25-21. 

The House Judiciary Committee's resolution and the House Oversight Committee's resolution will go to the House Rules Committee. 

It is unclear, at this point, whether each committee's resolution will be considered on the floor for a full vote, or if the House Rules Committee will combine both resolutions into one for consideration for a contempt of Congress vote. 

A source familiar tells Fox News Digital a full House floor vote could come as early as next week.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at the House Oversight Committee markup with his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris. 

Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition on Dec. 13, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol. At the time, he said his "father was not financially involved in my business." 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Wednesday that Hunter Biden "blantantly defied two lawful subpoenas." 

Comer said "Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act" that "constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law."

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

"We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name," Comer said. "All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens." 

During the meeting Wednesday, lawmakers acknowledged Biden was in the audience, with Democratic lawmakers asking to have Biden take questions during the session — a request Republicans rejected. 

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said if the committee wants to hear from Biden, the panel should vote and "hear from Hunter right now." 

"Who wants to hear from Hunter right now, today? Anyone? Come on," Moskowitz said. "Who wants to hear from Hunter? Yeah, no one. So I'm a visual learner, and the visual is clear. Nobody over there wants to hear from the witness." 

WHITE HOUSE MUM ON WHETHER HUNTER BIDEN GAVE ADVANCED NOTICE HE WOULD APPEAR AT HOUSE CONTEMPT MEETING

Biden and his attorneys ultimately left the markup session before the vote on the resolution. 

"Hunter chose a hearing where Republicans could not distort manipulate, or misuse that testimony," his attorney Abbe Lowell said, calling the move to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress "unprecedented" in light of his offer to "publicly answer all their proper questions." 

"The question there is, what are they afraid of?" Lowell asked, before departing the Capitol. 

Meanwhile, the White House refused to answer questions on whether it was told in advance that Hunter Biden would attend the House Oversight's mark-up session on Wednesday. 

"So here's what I'll say. And I've said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen, he's not a member of this White House," Jean-Pierre said. "He makes his own decisions like he did today about how to respond to Congress."

She went on to refer "any further questions, any additional questions about this process" to Hunter Biden’s attorneys.

When pressed again on whether the White House was informed in advance, Jean-Pierre said: "I don’t have anything — we don’t have anything else to share beyond that."

Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, which, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Republicans, Dems spar at Mayorkas impeachment hearing as state AGs describe impact of migrant crisis

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Republicans and Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee clashed at the first hearing to examine whether DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached over his handling of the crisis at the southern border – and as state attorneys general explained how the crisis had harmed their states.

The committee held the first impeachment hearing at a time when the migrant crisis is setting records at the border, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, and a current release rate of over 85%. 

Republicans and Democrats have been deeply split over what has caused the crisis and those divisions were on display as Republicans pointed at the Biden administration, and Democrats accused Republicans of not working with them to fix the crisis. 

HOUSE HOMELAND DEMOCRATS BACK MAYORKAS, SLAM GOP ‘SHAM’ AHEAD OF IMPEACHMENT HEARING 

"Secretary Mayorkas has brazenly refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress and has enacted policies that knowingly make our country less safe," Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. "What we’re seeing here is a willful violation of the oath of office taken by Secretary Mayorkas."

Republicans have blamed an expanded catch-and-release, a rollback of Trump-era policies, an "abuse" of humanitarian parole to release migrants into the interior, and the ending of border wall construction as factors in what has encouraged a massive and historic migrant crisis. Green also said his committee’s investigation has uncovered 100 instances where Mayorkas has misled the public.

DHS and Democrats have rejected that narrative, pointing to what it says are a large number of recent removals and returns and saying that authorities need more funding and a comprehensive immigration reform package – including a $14 billion supplemental funding request currently being negotiated in Congress. 

Ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused Republicans of throwing "political red meat" to their base in an effort to keep campaign money coming in during an election year.

"It’s now campaign season, and Republicans recently rolled out their impeachment proceedings against the secretary like the pre-planned, pre-determined political stunt it is. This is not a legitimate impeachment," he said.

Thompson also defended Mayorkas' conduct in office.

"The facts show Secretary Mayorkas is doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement. Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law," he said.

Republicans invited three Republican attorneys general from the heartland to describe the impact the crisis had on their states. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen described an explosion of fentanyl pouring into the state, with authorities on track to have seized half a million dosage units in 2023, from over 6,000 in 2020. 

The drug is produced primarily in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then shipped across the southern land border. It can be fatal in tiny doses and is often hidden in other drugs so users don’t know they are ingesting fentanyl. Republicans have linked the fentanyl crisis to the border crisis. 

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Knudsen said he believed the border had been largely secured under the Trump administration, but that work had been undone under the leadership of Mayorkas.

"Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of that destruction. The American people are watching. They know that our border was secured just a few years ago. They see the devastation metastasizing in our communities from drugs and human trafficking. The conclusion is clear, Secretary Mayorkas has violated his oath, and I urge this body to impeach," he said.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described the crime his state had seen, citing stats that the Oklahama Department of Corrections is housing more than 500 illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes. 

"Illegal immigration cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $750 million each year with a minimal offset return," he said.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since 2021 is larger than the population of his state.

"These numbers are not an accident. There is only one reason eight million people illegally cross a sovereign nation's border – because they know that they can get away with it," he said. "There has been an orchestrated lack of enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. [Mayorkas] has failed to do that which is most fundamental to his mission. Protect our border."

Frank Bowman, a law professor at the University of Missouri, called as a witness by Democrats, was skeptical of the impeachment claims being made – warning that impeachment cannot be used for policy disagreements.

"Official conduct must meet a very high threshold of seriousness. It must also be of a type that corrupts and subverts political and governmental process, and it ought to be plainly wrong, regardless of legal," he said. "The most commonly encountered categories of impeachable conduct are official corruption, abuse of power, betrayal of the nation's foreign policy interests, subversion of the Constitution. There is no serious allegation of which I'm aware that the secretary has done any of those things."

Meanwhile, DHS issued a memo ripping into the impeachment effort, pointing to prior comments from Republicans who say the threshold for impeachment has not been met. It also argued that it has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined.

"Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws," the agency said.

Speaker Johnson speaks with Biden ahead of border, shutdown battle

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke with President Biden about the southern border amid the worsening migrant crisis, the House Republican leader’s office said on Wednesday.

"Speaker Johnson spoke with President Biden today. The speaker strongly encouraged the president to use his executive authority to secure the southern border," Johnson spokesman Raj Shah announced.

Shah said Johnson also reiterated topics discussed in a letter he sent Biden in late December similarly calling on him to act unilaterally on the border.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

It’s not immediately clear who initiated the call. Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital it had nothing more to add when asked. 

Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment on the conversation.

Johnson wrote to Biden at the time, "You have clearly undermined America’s sovereignty and security by ending the Remain in Mexico policy, reinstating catch-and-release, suspending asylum cooperative agreements with other nations, ignoring existing restraints on the abuse of parole, and halting border wall construction."

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING

The speaker has made the border crisis a cornerstone of the House GOP majority's priorities this year, leading a delegation of more than 60 lawmakers to Eagle Pass, Texas, earlier this month.

Their conversation comes just over a week before the first of two government funding deadlines. Congress must make a deal on how to avoid a partial government shutdown by Jan. 19, with another deadline coming on Feb. 2.

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

It’s not clear if they discussed that topic or if the conversation was solely about the border.

Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a deal aimed at avoiding a government shutdown on Sunday.

It would set discretionary government spending levels for the remainder of the fiscal year at $1.59 trillion, and include an added side deal of about $69 billion negotiated between ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Biden in the spring.

Johnson’s deal would offset about $16 billion of that funding for this year.

White House mum on whether Hunter Biden gave advanced notice he would appear at House contempt meeting

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say if the White House had advanced knowledge that Hunter Biden would visit Capitol Hill Wednesday to sit in a meeting to consider a resolution that would hold him in contempt of Congress, saying the first son "makes his own decisions."

Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena for a closed-door deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The subpoena was for a deposition on Dec. 13. Hunter Biden had offered to testify publicly — an offer rejected by House Republicans, citing the setting for other witness interviews, and vowing to release a transcript of his deposition.

HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER'S 'SCHEME' TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL 'IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE'

The president’s son, instead of complying with the subpoena, delivered a public statement on Capitol Hill and did not appear for his deposition.

On Wednesday, Biden, his attorney Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel considered whether to pass the resolution out of committee. Biden and his attorneys ultimately left before the vote on the resolution. 

When asked during the White House press briefing if President Biden or his staff was informed that his son would appear for the committee mark-up, Jean-Pierre did not respond, but said he is a "private citizen."

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

"So here's what I'll say. And I've said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen, he's not a member of this White House," Jean-Pierre said. "He makes his own decisions like he did today about how to respond to Congress."

She went on to refer "any further questions, any additional questions about this process" to Hunter’s attorneys.

When pressed again on whether the White House was informed in advance, Jean-Pierre said: "I don’t have anything — we don’t have anything else to share beyond that."

"He is a private citizen, and he makes his own decisions as it relates to this particular, you know, response, is potentially a response to the Congress," she said. "That’s something that he decides on, and I would refer to his representatives."

Fox News' Peter Doocy went on to press Jean-Pierre, reminding her that last time the first son was on Capitol Hill, on Dec. 13 to defy the subpoena, she told reporters that the president "was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say." 

Doocy pressed again, asking if the president helps his son "skirt congressional subpoenas." 

"That is not even true — that is a jump. That is incredibly disingenuous in that question," she said. "What I will say to you — I'm helping you out. I don't have anything else to share." 

Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, which, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

Comer and Jordan pointed to a statement made by Jean-Pierre on Dec. 13, after Hunter Biden defied his subpoena. She was asked whether the president had watched his son’s public statement. 

"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Biden was ‘certainly familiar with what his son was going to say,’" they wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel last month. "Ms. Jean-Pierre declined, however, to provide any further details about the President’s actions on whether the President approved of his son defying congressional subpoenas." 

WHITE HOUSE, HUNTER BIDEN’S TEAM KEEP SHIFTING GOALPOSTS IN DENYING DAD’S INVOLVEMENT WITH BUSINESSES

They added, though, that Jean-Pierre’s statement "suggests the President had some amount of advanced knowledge that Mr. Biden would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas." 

The chairmen pointed to the criminal code, citing the section which states that it is unlawful to "corruptly…endeavor to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any investigation or inquiry is being had by…any committee of either House or any joint committee of Congress." 

"Likewise, any person who ‘aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures’ the commission of a crime is punishable as a principal of the crime," they wrote. 

"In light of Ms. Jean-Pierre’s statement, we are compelled to examine the involvement of the President in his son’s scheme to defy the Committees’ subpoenas," they wrote, adding that the president "had advanced awareness" that his son would defy the subpoenas which "raises a troubling new question that we must examine: whether the President corruptly sought to influence or obstruct the Committee’s proceeding by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son from complying with the Committee’s subpoenas." 

"Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense," they wrote.

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee's meeting to consider the resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress stands in recess. The House Judiciary Committee is also considering the resolution. 

If passed out of committee, the resolution would come to the floor for a full House vote. 

Hilarious Jayapal gaffe proves Dems find saying ‘insurrection’ to be hard

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A Democrat serving in the House of Representatives was at the center of an apparent blunder Wednesday when she claimed former President Donald Trump "incited an erection."

The comment from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., came during the House Judiciary Committee's consideration of a resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

"I think we're all outraged about many things, but if we're gonna talk about outrageous things that have happened or things that have never happened, let's talk about the fact that President Trump incited an erection."

Quickly realizing what she had said, Jayapal began laughing and said, "Maybe that, too."

JAYAPAL TELLS FELLOW DEMS NOT TO 'OUT-REPUBLICAN THE REPUBLICANS' ON IMMIGRATION AMID FUNDING TALKS

"You can talk about that too, I guess," Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., chimed in.

"Maybe we should talk about that, too," Jayapal responded.

Correcting herself and moving on from the awkward situation, Jayapal said, "The president incited an insurrection."

Jayapal is not the first Democrat to use the word "erection" instead of "insurrection" when talking about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and President Trump's actions on that day.

In January 2021, while pushing for an impeachment trial of Trump on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed the former president was responsible for an "erection."

"Make no mistake, there will be a trial and when that trial ends, senators will have to decide if they believe Donald John Trump incited the erection – insurrection – against the United States," Schumer said at the time.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Jayapal's colleague, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has also been guilty of using the word "erection" to describe the events from more than three years ago.

Schiff's slip-up came during a November 2021 appearance on "The View," where he responded to pressure from one host who asked him whether he regretted talking up the discredited Steele dossier.

"But let’s not use that as a smokescreen to somehow shield Donald Trump’s culpability for inviting Russia to help him in the election, which they did, for trying to coerce Ukraine into helping him in the next election, which he did, into inciting an erection…"

Catching himself immediately, Schiff corrected himself and used the word "insurrection" before continuing his comments.

Schiff also slipped up and used the word during a January 2021 appearance on CNN, where he claimed then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., incited an "erection."

WATCH: Nancy Mace shreds Hunter Biden for having ‘no balls’ after surprise visit derails House hearing

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Hunter Biden's surprise appearance at a Wednesday House Oversight Committee hearing on Capitol Hill set off a firestorm of reaction among the committee's members, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who accused the president of having "no balls."

Biden, alongside his attorneys, unexpectedly showed up at the hearing as the committee was preparing to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against his father.

"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That is my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of White privilege coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here and –" Mace said before being interrupted by a Democrat on the committee.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

The hearing spiraled into a screaming match with Mace accusing Moskowitz of not allowing a woman on the committee to speak.

Once Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., got the hearing back on track, Mace declared that Biden "should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail."

"Our nation is founded on the rule of law and the premise that the law applies equally to everyone no matter what your last name is —" she added, before being interrupted by another Democrat objecting to her statement.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

In a point of order, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., then called on members of the committee to show respect by not interrupting each other before Comer called on Mace to continue.

"It does not matter who you are, or where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you Hunter Biden as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all," Mace said.

She argued that Biden had no privilege to claim to avoid a subpoena to appear before the committee for testimony, and said his team didn't contest the reasons the subpoena was issued. She accused him of "refusing" to comply.

Mace noted that former President Donald Trump's sons previously appeared for subpoenas, and that Biden broke the law "deliberately" and "flagrantly" by ignoring his.

"The question the American people are asking us is what is Hunter Biden so afraid of? Why can’t you show up for a congressional deposition? You are here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You are playing with the truth," she said. 

"Hunter Biden wasn’t afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he was in elected office. He wasn't afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddle influence, and share the ill gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden, he wasn't afraid to compromise the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden in shady business deals with our foreign adversaries," she said. 

Mace said she believed Biden should be held in contempt, and that "he should be hauled off to jail right now." She then accused Democrats of "hypocrisy" regarding a subpoena for Biden versus past subpoenas for Republicans.

"It brings no joy for us to do this but the president’s son broke the law and must be held accountable in the same way anybody else would. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do so," she said. 

"My last message to you, Hunter Biden: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes," she added.

Hunter Biden makes shocking appearance at his own contempt hearing

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Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The House Oversight Committee met for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT, JUDICIARY TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING HUNTER BIDEN BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a similar markup on the measure recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. 

Hunter Biden, his attorney Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel consider whether to pass the resolution out of committee. 

If the resolution advances out of committees Wednesday, sources said a full contempt of Congress vote on the House floor could take place in the coming days. 

"Our investigation has produced significant evidence suggesting President Biden knew of, participated in and benefited from his family cashing in on the Biden name," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in his opening statement.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

"We planned to question Hunter Biden about this record of evidence during our deposition, but he blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas." 

Comer said, "Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act" that "constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law."

"We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name," Comer said. "All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens." 

Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol.

Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there "is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath and on a day of the committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed." 

During the meeting Wednesday, lawmakers acknowledged Hunter Biden was in the audience, with Democratic lawmakers asking to have Hunter Biden take questions during the session--a request Republicans rejected. 

"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That's my first question," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. "Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming in to the oversight committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here." 

"I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now. Go straight to jail," Mace cotninued. "Our nation is founded on the rule of law. The law applies equally to everyone, no matter what your last name." 

She added: "It does not matter who you are, where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you, Hunter Biden, as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all." 

Mace asked the first son: "Why can't you show up for a congressional deposition? You're here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You're playing with the truth." 

But Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., fired back, saying if the committee wants to hear from Hunter Biden, the panel should vote and "hear from Hunter right now." 

"Who wants to hear from Hunter right now, today? Anyone? Come on," Moskowitz said. "Who wants to hear from Hunter? Yeah, no one. So I'm a visual learner, and the visual is clear. Nobody over there wants to hear from the witness." 

Hunter Biden and his attorneys ultimately left the markup session before the vote on the resolution. 

"Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father," Abbe Lowell told reporters after they left the meeting. "And, despite their improper partisan motives, on six different occasions since February of 2023, we have offered to work with the House committees to see what and how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided." 

Lowell claimed that their "first five offers were ignored." 

"And then in November, they issued a subpoena for a behind closed doors deposition, a tactic that the Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said," Lowell said. 

Lowell pointed to Comer's "explicit offer that people like Hunter…had the option to attend a deposition or a public hearing, whichever they chose." 

"Hunter chose a hearing where Republicans could not distort manipulate, or misuse that testimony," Lowell said, calling the move to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress "unprecedented" in light of his offer to "publicly answer all their proper questions." 

"The question there is, what are they afraid of?" Lowell asked, before departing the Capitol. 

Meanwhile, last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, conduct, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

Hunter Biden, when making his public statement last month, said his "father was not financially involved in my business." 

"No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen," he said. 

The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

D’Esposito makes case for Mayorkas impeachment ahead of hearing, cites concern of ‘another terrorist attack’

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Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., made his case for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment, speaking to Fox News Digital ahead of a House committee hearing Wednesday, when attorneys general for Montana, Oklahoma and Missouri are expected to testify on how record numbers of migrants pouring into the U.S. pose a national security threat. 

D'Esposito, who sits on the House Homeland Security committee, told Fox News Digital that the hearing comes after a year of investigations, rejecting the argument of some Democrats, including that of Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and others who claim the Republican-led Mayorkas impeachment probe is merely a "policy dispute" and is politically motivated. 

"This isn't something that was rushed into. It's not something that is politically motivated. This is something that, especially for me as someone who spent a career in the NYPD, most of it as an investigator, I am proud of the work that the Homeland Security Committee has done over the last 12 months," D'Esposito said. 

"This has become not a Democrat issue, not a Republican issue. This has become an issue for people who care about the safety of the United States of America," he continued. "This has become an issue for people who care about their quality of life. This is an issue about people who have watched the cities and places that they've grown up and loved and loved to visit become destroyed at the hands of Secretary Mayorkas."

MARSHALL BRINGS 'NO CONFIDENCE' RESOLUTION OF MAYORKAS TO SENATE FLOOR: 'DERELICT IN HIS DUTIES'

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on D'Esposito's remarks, but they did not immediately respond.

During a presidential election year and amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, D'Esposito argued that the Mayorkas impeachment hearings are crucial to national security. 

"We've heard the numbers. You know, over 3 million people have come into this country since Joe Biden has taken office. We're estimating that there are hundreds of thousands of known gotaways. These are people that we know that have come across the southern border, we just don't know where they are, what they're doing, or who they're associating with," D'Esposito said. "Think about the number of individuals who have crossed that we don't know about." 

"There is no question that there are people that have come across this border that are on the known terror watch list that, again, we don't know where they are, we don't know where they're residing. We don't know who they're working with. We don't know the criminal enterprises that they are associating with," he said. "When you talk to local law enforcement agencies, whether it's in my district or across the country, from the smaller departments to the bigger ones, one of their biggest concerns is the national security threat that this migrant issue is plaguing on their jurisdiction. And it's not about, you know, if there's going to be another terrorist attack, unfortunately, it's about when there's going to be another terrorist attack." 

Wednesday's hearing, titled, "Havoc In The Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted The States," comes days after sources told Fox News that Mayorkas admitted during a private meeting with Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Monday that the current rate of release for illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border is "above 85%." 

"Secretary Mayorkas' job is to keep our homeland safe and protect our homeland. And when you tell us that [more than] 80% of the people are just being released into the United States of America with really no plan of that process of asylum, that's a concern," D'Esposito said. "That is in addition to the other issues that are plaguing our country, whether it's China, whether it's Russia, whether it is the conflicts in the Middle East and the terrorist attacks that have been committed by Hamas against Israel and the Israeli people and our Jewish friends. I mean, this has become a time [when] it seems that it's combustible here. As the committee who was put into place after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, I mean, this committee was put into place for the purpose of protecting the United States of America and the people who live here against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And that's what we are doing." 

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

Sources also told Fox News that between Dec. 1 and Dec, 31, 2023, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border – representing the highest total for a single month ever recorded and also the first time that monthly migrant encounters have exceeded 300,000.

D'Esposito argued that the United States is "not as safe as it should be and is certainly less safe" because of Mayorkas "following the direction of the failed policies of Joe Biden." 

"Sometimes people are putting their lives in the hands of the cartels, the cartels who have actually the control of the southern border, not the American government, not Homeland Security, and certainly not Secretary Mayorkas," D'Esposito said, arguing that the last time Mayorkas appeared before the Homeland Security Committee, he tried to negotiate the definition of what it means to have operational control of the southern border but then turned around and admitted he has heard from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials that there is no control.

"He's lying on behalf of the president," D’Esposito claimed. "We can look back at the last 50 years. Are there issues with immigration? Yeah, but we are breaking records in the administration of Joe Biden. We are breaking records under the reign of Secretary Mayorkas. And none of those records are ones that we want to set. They are ones of the most people coming across our southern border, the most known gotaways, the most people on the terror watch list." 

On Tuesday, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., went to the Senate floor calling for a vote of no confidence against Mayorkas for "negligence and gross mismanagement" of the southern border. Over the past three years, Marshall charged that 300,000 Americans have died "due to the drugs trafficked into our homeland" and the border crisis has cost American taxpayers $500 billion per year and "becomes more dangerous by the day, as terrorists, Chinese nationalists and over 1.7 million got-a-ways exploit our border at a rate higher than we’ve ever seen before."

As chair of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, D'Esposito said he has heard testimonies over the past 12 months about how detrimental the migrant influx has been to public safety, including fire service, law enforcement, prosecutors and emergency management. He noted how Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association, told lawmakers that the manning of firehouses in New York City is now being decreased due to migrant crisis-driven budget cuts. The NYPD, D'Esposito said, is also considering reducing new academy classes because the department "can't afford it." Additionally, along the southern border, sheriffs have testified to the committee how their jails are over capacity.

House Homeland Democrats back Mayorkas, slam GOP ‘sham’ ahead of impeachment hearing

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Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are offering their support for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ahead of the committee's first impeachment hearing on Wednesday -- with the lawmakers accusing their Republican colleagues of running a "sham" process.

"What is going on tomorrow is an embarrassment to the impeachment clause of the Constitution," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, told reporters.

The hearing,"Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," marks the first impeachment hearing after a year of investigations and reports by the House Homeland Security Committee which looked at Mayorkas’ handling of the nearly three-year migrant crisis.

The hearing will see testimony from attorneys general from Montana, Oklahoma and Missouri. The AGs will testify about the impact of the crisis on their states and their belief that Mayorkas is not enforcing the law.

But Democrats on the committee say that Republicans have turned what is a policy dispute into a politically motivated impeachment push.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

"This is simply a policy dispute, a disagreement about how a different party is attacking a policy problem. And the Republicans are trying to abuse their power and the Constitution to convert what is simply a disagreement into somehow, some way, a high crime and misdemeanor," Goldman said. "There is no crime, much less a high crime or misdemeanor here."

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., described the process as a "political sham with no constitutional basis, no factual basis."

Republicans have claimed that the crisis, which has seen multiple records smashed for migrant encounters, is "unprecedented and intentional."

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING

"The chaos and devastation at the border and in our communities are the result of Alejandro Mayorkas’ failure to fulfill his oath as secretary of Homeland Security," Chairman Mark Green said this week. "His primary responsibility is to secure the homeland—and he has failed."

Republicans have accused the administration of fueling the crisis with "open border" policies, including expanded catch-and-release and the rolling back of Trump-era policies such as the Remain-in-Mexico policy and border wall construction. They’ve pointed to the record number of migrant encounters as the border that have skyrocketed during the Biden administration, as well as the significant number of releases into the interior.

Democrats and the administration have said that authorities are dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and are in need of more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. 

Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed border and immigration bills that are vastly different from one another, while talks are currently ongoing about $14 billion in supplemental border funding requested by the administration, with Republicans demanding restrictions on releases. 

DHS put out a memo ahead of the hearing arguing that Mayorkas was currently working with a bipartisan group of senators to find real solutions to the challenges at the border and called the accusations "baseless."

"Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws," the memo said, also pointing to statements by a number of Republicans who have said that the alleged offenses have not met the standard for impeachment.

Talking to reporters, Democrats also blamed Republicans for not working with them to solve the issue. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., accused Republicans of being "complicit" in the struggles at the border.

"Democrats fully recognize, and the administration I know recognizes that we have real challenges at the border. There are people who are fleeing their home countries due to political instability, due to violence, due to poverty and trying to come to the United States and it has created a chaotic situation," he said. "But House Republicans, rather than work with the administration and work with the secretary to solve the problem instead care more about having a political issue to run on than they do actually solving the challenges that we have at the border."

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Additionally, they praised Mayorkas’ handling of both the crisis and the efforts to find agreement on supplemental spending with lawmakers, and argued that Republiacns haven’t given him the tools with which to do his job.

"I think he's doing a very good job under very tough circumstances," Ivey said. "We haven't really given him the tools to fix it and now they try to beat him up for not being able to perform without the tools."

"Secretary Mayorkas has one of, if not the hardest job in the United States of America. And House Republicans have tried to undercut him and prevent him from being able to do his job every step of the way," Magaziner said. "Deny him the funding. Deny him the tools because they view this as a political game, when really we ought to be working together to solve the challenges at the border."

House Oversight, Judiciary to consider resolution recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress

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House Republicans will consider a resolution Wednesday morning that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The House Oversight Committee will meet for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a similar markup at 10 a.m. on a measure recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. 

"Our investigation has produced significant evidence suggesting President Biden knew of, participated in and benefited from his family cashing in on the Biden name," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is expected to say in his opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital. 

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

"We planned to question Hunter Biden about this record of evidence during our deposition, but he blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas." 

Comer will say, "Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act" that "constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law."

"We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name," Comer is expected to say. "All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens." 

Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol.

"On December 13, 2023, Robert Hunter Biden failed to comply with deposition subpoenas issued by the Committees on Oversight and Accountability and the Judiciary for testimony relevant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry and the Committees’ oversight investigations," the House Oversight report, first reported by Fox News Digital on Monday, says. 

"Instead, Mr. Biden opted to read a short, prepared statement in front of the Capitol. Accordingly, Mr. Biden has violated federal law and must be held in contempt of Congress."

Meanwhile, the House Oversight report identifies Hunter Biden’s testimony as "a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."

The report states that Hunter Biden’s "flagrant defiance of the Committees’ deposition subpoenas — while choosing to appear nearby on the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same matters — is contemptuous, and he must be held accountable for his unlawful actions."

HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER'S 'SCHEME' TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL 'IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE'

The report says House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer "recommends that Congress find Robert Hunter Biden in contempt for his failure to comply with the Committee subpoena issued to him."

Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there "is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath and on a day of the committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed." 

If the resolution advances out of committees Wednesday, sources said a full contempt of Congress vote on the House floor could take place in the coming days. 

Last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, conduct, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

Hunter Biden, when making his public statement last month, said his "father was not financially involved in my business." 

"No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen," he said. 

The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.