Democrats block effort to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas with Republican support

House Democrats, with the help of a small group of Republicans, on Monday successfully blocked an effort led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas in a straight up or down vote.

The final vote tally was 209-201, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in support of the latter party's motion to stop that floor vote, and instead refer the impeachment resolution introduced by Greene to the House Homeland Security Committee. Twenty-four members — 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans — did not vote on the measure.

The eight Republicans who joined Democrats included Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., John Duarte, R-Calif., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio. 

WH DISMISSES REPORTER ASKING IF BIDEN 'EMBARRASSED' ABOUT LIBERAL CITY'S ‘TOTAL MAKEOVER’ BEFORE XI VISIT

Greene introduced the resolution to impeach Mayorkas on Thursday, which would have forced a vote on impeachment without a hearing or a committee markup. If voted on and passed, it would have sent his impeachment straight to the Senate for trial.

The Department of Homeland Security responded to the vote with a statement accusing Congress of "wasting time," and calling on it to "do its job by funding the government, reforming our broken immigration system, reauthorizing vital tools for DHS, and passing the Administration’s supplemental request to properly resource the Department’s critical work to stop fentanyl and further secure our borders."

"Secretary Mayorkas continues to be laser-focused on the safety and security of our nation. This baseless attack is completely without merit and a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities," the statement read.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE'S CLAIM BIDEN ‘HAS DONE EVERYTHING’ TO FIX BORDER CRISIS MET WITH MOCKERY: ‘SPEAKS VOLUMES’

Mayorkas has faced increased calls for his impeachment over the past year concerning his handling of the border crisis. At the same time, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns about the risk to national security and public safety posed by the numbers of illegal immigrants evading overwhelmed Border Patrol agents amid the crisis.

Under Mayorkas, migrant encounters at the southern border hit an all-time record in September with a massive 260,000 encounters as border officials continue struggling to cope with the large influx, sources told Fox News Digital.

Last month, Mayorkas confirmed that over 600,000 illegal immigrants evaded law enforcement at the southern border during fiscal year 2023.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Comer, Jordan subpoena former White House counsel for testimony related to Biden’s classified docs

FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed former White House Counsel Dana Remus to appear for a deposition and requested transcribed interviews from several other officials with knowledge of President Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, Fox News Digital has learned.

Comer and Jordan subpoenaed Remus Monday. 

Comer first requested she appear for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight Committee in May. That request came after the panel obtained information that they said "contradicts important details from the White House’s and President Biden’s personal attorney’s statements about the discovery of documents at the Penn Biden Center, including the location and security of the classified documents."

COMER DEMANDS ANSWERS ON WHETHER BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS MENTION COUNTRIES RELATED TO FAMILY BUSINESS DEALS

Comer has described Remus as a "central figure in the early stages of coordinating the packing and moving of boxes that were later found to contain classified materials." Comer, in May. Said Remus could be a witness "with potentially unique knowledge" about the matter.

Comer and Jordan also requested an interview with Annie Tomasini, a senior Biden aide and director of Oval Office Operations who took "inventory" of Biden's documents at the Penn Biden Center over a year before they were said to be found. Tomasini is a close friend of the Biden family, and Hunter Biden.

They also requested an interview with Anthony Bernal, a senior advisor in First Lady Jill Biden’s office and Ashley Williams, a special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office Operations; and Katharine 

House Republicans identified Remus, Bernal, Williams, Tomasini and an unknown staffer, in addition to Kathy Chung, a top aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as individuals who made multiple visits to the Penn Biden Center and were involved with the retrieval of boxes of documents and materials ahead of early November 2022, which was when Biden's personal attorneys "unexpectedly discovered Obama-Biden documents" in a locked closet at the Biden think tank.

BIDEN INTERVIEWED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL ABOUT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Biden attorneys claim that classified documents were first discovered at the Penn Biden Center on Nov. 2, 2022, but Comer has pointed to contact between Remus and Cheung dating back to May 2022.

Comer has questioned Remus’ timing of first contacting Chung, flagging that the first contact on May 24, 2022, was "notably" the same day the Justice Department had dated a subpoena return date for former President Donald Trump to turn over any classified records being held at Mar-a-Lago.

Remus left the Biden administration last year and joined Covington & Burling LLP as a partner.

"Facts continue to emerge showing that the White House’s narrative of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents doesn’t add up," Comer, R-Ky., said. "It is imperative to learn whether President Biden retained sensitive documents related to any countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings that brought in millions for the Biden family." 

HOUSE OVERSIGHT DEMANDS EX-WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL DANA REMUS TESTIFY AS PART OF BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

"The Oversight Committee looks forward to hearing directly from Dana Remus and other central figures to further our investigation into President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and determine whether our national security has been compromised," Comer continued. 

And Jordan, R-Ohio said the subpoenas and interview requests is part of the House's effort to hold the Justice Department and the president accountable.

"President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington, D.C. private office and in the garage of his Delaware residence, raise serious concerns about his mishandling of sensitive intelligence information and his Department of Justice’s double standard of justice," Jordan said. "Today’s subpoena and transcribed interview requests represent another step in holding President Biden and the DOJ accountable." 

Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., are leading the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. 

"This is just the latest example of President Biden's willingness to skirt the law in order to hide the truth," Smith told Fox News Digital. "If the President himself was illegally holding classified material for some purpose, the American people deserve to know what that purpose is--and whether it constitutes an abuse of office." 

Smith added that the Biden administration "hasn't hesitated to scrutinize political opponents' use of classified materials, and he should be held to the same standard." 

WEISS SAYS HE 'WASN'T GRANTED' SPECIAL ATTORNEY AUTHORITY IN HUNTER BIDEN PROBE DESPITE REQUEST: TRANSCRIPT

Meanwhile, the subpoenas also come after Comer, last month, demanded answers from Special Counsel Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, on whether the sensitive, classified documents Biden retained were related to specific countries— countries that were involved in his family’s lucrative foreign business deals.

Comer is investigating the Biden family’s foreign business dealings as part of the House impeachment inquiry, as well as Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Comer also requested from Hur a list of the countries named in any documents with classification markings recovered from Penn Biden Center, Biden’s residence, including the garage, in Wilmington, Delaware, or elsewhere; and a list of all individuals named in those documents with classification markings; and all documents found with classified markings.

Biden sat down for an interview with Hur last month.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN, ROB WALKER FOR TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"As we have said from the beginning, the president and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can, consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation," White House spokesperson for investigations Ian Sams said after the president's interview with the special counsel. 

Hur’s investigation comes after a batch of records from President Biden's time as vice president, including a "small number of documents with classified markings," were discovered at the Penn Biden Center by the president's personal attorneys on Nov. 2, 2022. 

Additional classified records were discovered at President Biden’s Wilmington home in January. After that discovery, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur as special counsel to investigate the matter.

House Speaker Johnson facing first true challenge since climbing leadership ladder

You can put lipstick on a pig, but…

If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck…

What’s in a name? That which we would call a rose…

Don’t spit on cupcakes and call it frosting…

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., faces his first true test this week. The newly elected House speaker is offering something he’s characterized in recent weeks as a "laddered CR." Yeah, not a lot of people in Washington knew what that was either.

Johnson engineered a plan to fund the entire government on a temporary basis through Jan. 19, which is when Congress is expected to pass one batch of spending bills to avert a shutdown. The remainders would have until Feb. 2.

The "laddered" concept stems from dealing with one "rung" of bills by one date and the next "rung" of bills later on. Laddered. Get it?

WHEN IT COMES TO THE NEXT SHUTDOWN FIGHT IN CONGRESS, SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Call it what you will, but what Johnson proposed is a "CR" – short for "Continuing Resolution." An interim spending bill which simply renews all funding at current levels to avoid a government shutdown early Saturday morning.

Ironically, this is exactly the same legislative idea that got former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., canned earlier this fall. So, what gives?

It’s rebranding. Companies change their names all the time. Firms wrap their products up in shinier, newer packages. It doesn’t affect the stuff inside. The term "CR" became toxified inside some quarters of the House Republican Conference. So, you have to alter the marketing. Moreover, Johnson reiterates that he is committed to advancing the 12 annual appropriations bills which fund the government one by one as Republicans promised.

Except for a couple of things. A CR is still a CR. There was never enough time from when Johnson clasped the gavel to advance all the spending bills through the House and merge them with the Senate to avoid a shutdown, so this was the only way out of this cul-de-sac for Johnson.

But moreover, Johnson is running into the same problems which dogged his predecessor. Republicans insist on passing their own partisan spending bills individually, but they can’t.

Republicans had to yank a Transportation/Housing spending bill off the floor last week and did the same with a Treasury/White House spending bill on Thursday.

And for the record, the latter bill met its demise after the House rejected an amendment to reduce the pay of White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre to $1 a year. That’s right. $1.

What is this? The Price is Right?

Jean-Pierre’s annual take-home pay is $188,000. Point being, Republicans burned crucial time making amendments like those pertaining to Jean-Pierre in order for debate and a vote when they couldn’t even get the overall legislation to pass.

These appropriations bills are not exactly ready for the Showcase Showdown.

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO A POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

It’s far from clear whether the House can even pass Johnson’s proposal. And, because of GOP skepticism, Johnson may need to rely on Democrats to avert a government shutdown. Sound familiar?

If Republicans give Johnson a pass and approve his "laddered" CR – especially with Democratic assistance – we will have confirmed something significant about the Speaker’s debacle which consumed most of October and prompted McCarthy’s ouster: the motion to vacate the chair was never about spending bills or legislation. It was a personal vendetta against McCarthy.

But back to the task at hand: government funding expires at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday. There is not much turning radius to move a bill of any sort through the House and through the Senate. Either way, it doesn’t appear that Johnson faces some of the same opprobrium which was leveled at his predecessor, but Johnson doesn’t appear to have a Midas Touch yet, either.

Lawmakers from both sides long suggested that Johnson would enjoy a "honeymoon" after finally securing the gavel following a brutal three weeks incinerating one speaker and three speaker nominees.

"There’s a honeymoon period here. I’m not sure how long that lasts. Maybe 30 days," opined Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., late last Thursday.

HOUSE ENDS WEEK BEHIND SCHEDULE WITH DAYS UNTIL POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

But minutes later, House Republican leaders pulled the Treasury/White House bill from the floor because it lacked the votes to pass.

"With what’s going on over on the floor today, I think that indicates that the honeymoon might be shorter than we thought. And every time the CR expires, the speaker’s putting his head in the lion’s mouth," said Massie.

Johnson may not be able to control the CR and he also can’t control privileged resolutions offered by Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who filed a special resolution late last week to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

Since the resolution is "privileged," it goes to the front of the legislative line. The House will likely consider Greene’s gambit on Tuesday.

It’s possible that the GOP-led House could impeach Mayorkas with no hearings, no depositions and no markup of a resolution. This would be after Republicans brayed for months about "the regular order." Greene said it was too late for all of that.

"No more strongly worded letters. No more committee hearings. No more clips on the press. We have to do something about it," she said.

HOUSE MAY VOTE ON IMPEACHING MAYORKAS WITHOUT A MOTION TO TABLE: SOURCE

To be frank, many Republicans would rather talk about impeaching Mayorkas instead of actually impeaching Mayorkas, especially with no committee hearings or markups. 

The House just voted to table (or kill) a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., because the Ethics Committee hadn’t completed a report on his conduct. Moreover, Johnson said on Fox he was concerned about "due process," but that’s cast to the wind with Greene’s measure to impeach Mayorkas.

A senior House leadership source told Fox to expect a straight up or down vote on the Mayorkas resolution. In other words, no motion to table. Of course, Democrats could move to table, but it’s unclear if they would do that. Democrats don’t want Mayorkas impeached, but they may feel it’s a victory either way.

One of two things will happen: The House votes to impeach Mayorkas. If so, he becomes only the second cabinet officer ever impeached. The last was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, but Democrats know that the Senate would never hold a full trial on Mayorkas. It must start the process. But the Senate can vote to dispense with the articles.

Democrats will view impeachment as a victory because Republicans wasted their time – impeaching Mayorkas – as the government runs out of money. They’ll also point to who authored the articles of impeachment: Greene.

The other scenario is if the House fails to impeach Mayorkas. It’s far from clear that the House has the votes to do so. Democrats will then point to Republicans chattering ad nauseam about impeaching Mayorkas and then stumbling. 

All talk and no action, and some Republicans have had it.

"I’m not going to be thinking a lot about every privileged resolution that Majorie (Taylor) Greene files because we’ve got real work to do," said freshman Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., who represents a battleground district and won by 564 votes in 2022. "I’m not interested in these peripheral impeachments."

Regardless, Democrats will point to election results last week in Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio and suggest that Republicans are again focused on the wrong things.

Not everyone in the nation knows who Mike Johnson is yet, but if the government shuts down on Saturday, you can bet everyone will learn who he is.

So, you can dress things up by applying lipstick, mascara and anything else on a CR… but it’s still a CR. That’s something Republicans abhor, but Johnson has no choice when his side still can’t even pass their own spending bills.

There is one school of thought on Capitol Hill that maybe a shutdown is inevitable. Congress narrowly averted a shutdown once McCarthy put a straight, six-week CR on the floor at the last minute, so maybe McCarthy simply delayed a shutdown. McCarthy paid the price for preventing that earlier in the fall.

Johnson won’t pay an immediate price regardless of how things go. He might not get a laddered CR, but this is the challenge Johnson faces for climbing the leadership ladder.

Former Wisconsin Chief Justice ordered to turn over records related to Protasiewicz impeachment advisement

A Wisconsin judge on Friday ordered the former chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to produce records related to her work advising the Republican Assembly speaker on whether to impeach a current justice.

Former Chief Justice Patience Roggensack was one of three former Supreme Court justices asked by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to give him advice on pursuing impeachment. Vos has floated impeachment against liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz based on how she rules on a pending redistricting lawsuit Democrats hope will result in new legislative electoral maps.

The liberal watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit seeking records from Vos and the three former justices. Vos and two of the former justices, David Prosser and Jon Wilcox, turned over records. That included an email from Prosser to Vos advising against impeachment. Vos turned over more than 21,000 pages of documents last week, American Oversight attorney Ben Sparks said at a Friday hearing.

WISCONSIN ASSEMBLY DELAYS VOTE ON LIKELY VETO-BOUND $2B INCOME TAX CUT

Wilcox told The Associated Press he did not produce a report, but verbally told Vos impeachment was not warranted.

The only former justice who did not produce any records was Roggensack. She has not said what her advice was to Vos and he has refused to say what it was.

When American Oversight attempted to serve Roggensack with a subpoena at her home, an elderly man who answered the door said he did not know anyone by that name and closed the door, Sparks said in court while quoting a statement from the process server.

On Friday, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington issued an order giving Roggensack 30 days to produce any records she has.

"Wisconsin has had and continues to have a long and storied tradition on the responsibility of open government," Remington said.

All of the former justices have a responsibility to produce records they maintain related to their work "whether they understood it or not in accepting the invitation to opine on the question presented," he said.

Roggensack's attorney, Robert Shumaker, did not return a phone message or email seeking comment.

Vos originally said he was considering impeachment if Protasiewicz did not recuse herself from the redistricting case. She did not recuse. Vos did not move to impeach her, following the advice against impeachment from the former justices. But now he’s suggesting he may attempt to impeach her if she does not rule in favor of upholding the current Republican-drawn maps.

The Wisconsin Constitution reserves impeachment for "corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors."

EX-WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FIGHTS SUBPOENA OVER PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT ADVICE

Republicans have argued Protasiewicz has pre-judged the case based on comments she made during the campaign calling the current maps "unfair" and "rigged."

Protasiewicz, in her decision not to recuse from the case, said that while stating her opinion about the maps, she never made a promise or pledge about how she would rule on the case.

The redistricting lawsuit, filed the day after Protasiewicz joined the court in August and flipped majority control to 4-3 for liberals, asks that all 132 state lawmakers be up for election next year in newly drawn districts.

The legislative electoral maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 cemented the party’s majorities, which now stand at 64-35 in the Assembly and a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate. Republicans adopted maps last year that were similar to the existing ones.

Wisconsin’s Assembly districts rank among the most gerrymandered nationally, with Republicans routinely winning far more seats than would be expected based on their average share of the vote, according to an AP analysis.

WH officials confirm date, location for Biden’s US meeting with Chinese President Xi

White House officials have confirmed that President Biden will be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries.

Biden and Xi are scheduled to meet in San Francisco's Bay Area on Nov. 15, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

"President Biden will meet with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on November 15," the press secretary announced Friday. "The Leaders will discuss issues in the U.S.-PRC bilateral relationship, the continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication, and a range of regional and global issues."

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN, ROB WALKER FOR TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Jean-Pierre continued, "Building on their last meeting in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, the Leaders will also discuss how the United States and the PRC can continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community."


 

House may vote on impeaching Mayorkas without a motion to table: source

A senior House Republican leadership source says the House will likely hold a vote Tuesday on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Fox is told to expect a straight up or down vote on a privileged resolution to impeach Mayorkas, which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced Thursday morning.

The source suggested it would be unlikely a motion to table or set the measure aside is introduced. Such a vote could serve as a fig leaf to protect members who make a lot of noise about impeaching Mayorkas but may be unwilling to vote on the record.

JOSH HAWLEY CALLS OUT MAYORKAS FOR HAVING 'NO ANSWERS' ON DHS EMPLOYEE PRAISING HAMAS: 'TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE'

If that’s the case, Mayorkas could be impeached without a hearing or a committee markup.

That would automatically trigger a process that would compel the House to send articles of impeachment for Mayorkas and impeachment managers to the Senate.

That does not necessarily mean there would be a Senate trial. But the Democrat-controlled Senate would have to receive the articles of impeachment from the House.

MAYORKAS CONFIRMS OVER 600,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EVADED LAW ENFORCEMENT AT SOUTHERN BORDER LAST FISCAL YEAR

Such a turn of events could be extraordinary considering how many Republicans spoke about "process." Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., prevented an effort this spring by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to impeach President Biden. The House extinguished the effort by dispatching the Boebert impeachment gambit of the president to committee.

McCarthy often spoke about handling impeachments "by the book." That involves depositions, hearings and a markup on the articles of impeachment themselves. None of that has happened with Mayorkas.

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY GOP REPORT ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF CEDING BORDER CONTROL TO CARTELS

Notably, the House voted to table an effort last week to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., largely because he had not received "due process." The House Ethics Committee had not finished a report on Santos nor held a public hearing. A report on Santos is due by Nov. 17. 

But many lawmakers from both sides opposed expelling Santos out of concern for due process.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke out on Fox about potentially expelling Santos because of "due process."

But now it’s possible the House could impeach Mayorkas without the usual parliamentary mechanics that come with that special congressional power.

That said, it’s possible the House could reject an effort to impeach Mayorkas. That could be an embarrassment for hardline Republicans who have talked about impeaching Mayorkas for months — yet possibly stumbled when an actual impeachment resolution went to the floor.

Comer subpoenas Hunter Biden art dealer, business associates for testimony as part of ongoing probe

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Thursday issued additional subpoenas for Hunter Biden’s business associates, including his art dealers and individuals involved in the more than $200,000 in alleged "loans" James Biden repaid President Biden for in 2017 and 2018, Fox News Digital has learned.

Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s business associate Eric Schwerin and Mervyn Yan. He also subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s gallerist George Bergès and art patron Elizabeth Naftali. The subpoenas compel all the individuals to testify before the committee.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN, ROB WALKER FOR TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

The committee subpoenaed Yan in April for financial records connected to business dealings with Hunter Biden.

In January, Comer demanded Bergès turn over all communications between his gallery and the White House related to a reported deal to withhold all records of the prices and final buyers for Hunter Biden's art. Fox News Digital previously reported that Bergès has long-standing ties to China and said in 2015 that he wanted to be the art world's "lead guy in China."

Comer also requested transcribed interviews with former Americore Holdings, LLC, representatives. Americore Holdings was a financially distressed rural hospital operator that provided $600,000 in loans to James Biden, who, in 2018, eventually wrote a check, allegedly using those funds, for $200,000 to Joe Biden.

"The House Oversight Committee is leaving no stone unturned as we investigate President Joe Biden’s central role in his family’s domestic and international business dealings," Comer said Thursday.

The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden, James Biden and business associate Rob Walker. Walker worked on the Biden family’s joint venture called Sinohawk Holdings, which was meant to be a partnership with Chinese energy firm CEFC.

HUNTER BIDEN 'EAGER' TO TESTIFY IN 'PUBLIC FORUM' AFTER COMER SUBPOENA FOR TESTIMONY, LAWYER SAYS

The committee also requested transcribed interviews from James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden; President Biden’s daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s son, Beau, who later was romantically involved with Hunter; Hallie Biden's older sister, Elizabeth Secundy; and Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen.

The committee also requested a transcribed interview with Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, who was also involved in Sinohawk Holdings.

Comer said the subpoenas were issued due to the "record of evidence obtained by this Committee."

"A plethora of bank records, texts, emails, and a transcribed interview with Biden family associate Devon Archer all show the Bidens and their business partners sold access to the highest levels of our government, including Joe Biden himself, to the detriment of America’s interests," Comer said. "Americans across this country have made it clear to President Joe Biden, the Biden family, and their associates that the gig is up."

Comer added: "The House Oversight Committee, along with the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, are determined to follow the facts, and deliver the transparency and accountability that the American people demand, deserve, and expect."

The subpoenas come as part of the committee’s months-long investigation into the Biden family's business dealings and whether President Biden benefited from or was involved in his family’s business ventures.

HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY ASKS HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO STOP 'PARTISAN' PROBES INTO HIS CLIENT, BIDEN FAMILY

The investigation, led by Comer, also feeds into the broader House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. That inquiry is being led by Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

The subpoenaed and voluntary testimony will likely feed into the larger impeachment inquiry as Republicans seek to determine whether President Biden abused his office or committed any type of high crime or misdemeanor.

Comer, in September, subpoenaed personal and business bank records belonging to both Hunter Biden and James Biden. Those subpoenaed records have revealed new lines of questioning with regard to whether President Biden knew about or was involved in his family’s business dealings.

Last week, Comer said those subpoenaed bank records revealed that President Biden himself received $40,000 in "laundered China money" from the bank account belonging to James Biden and Sara Biden.

Subpoenaed financial records also revealed that Joe Biden received a "$200,000 direct payment" in 2018 in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was also labeled "loan repayment." The check for $200,000 came the same day Americore wired $200,000 into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell blasted the investigation as "partisan," and penned a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Wednesday to demand that he stop Comer, Jordan and Smith from continuing their investigation.

"This is yet another political stunt aimed at distracting from the glaring failure of Rep. Comer and his MAGA allies to prove a single one of their wild and now discredited conspiracies about the Biden family," Lowell said in a statement. 

As for the subpoena for Hunter Biden’s testimony, Lowell said the president's son "is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum and at the right time, to discuss these matters with the Committee."

Comer subpoenas Hunter Biden art dealer, business associates for testimony as part of ongoing probe

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Thursday issued additional subpoenas for Hunter Biden’s business associates, including his art dealers and individuals involved in the more than $200,000 in alleged "loans" James Biden repaid President Biden for in 2017 and 2018, Fox News Digital has learned.

Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s business associate Eric Schwerin and Mervyn Yan. He also subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s gallerist George Bergès and art patron Elizabeth Naftali. The subpoenas compel all the individuals to testify before the committee.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN, ROB WALKER FOR TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

The committee subpoenaed Yan in April for financial records connected to business dealings with Hunter Biden.

In January, Comer demanded Bergès turn over all communications between his gallery and the White House related to a reported deal to withhold all records of the prices and final buyers for Hunter Biden's art. Fox News Digital previously reported that Bergès has long-standing ties to China and said in 2015 that he wanted to be the art world's "lead guy in China."

Comer also requested transcribed interviews with former Americore Holdings, LLC, representatives. Americore Holdings was a financially distressed rural hospital operator that provided $600,000 in loans to James Biden, who, in 2018, eventually wrote a check, allegedly using those funds, for $200,000 to Joe Biden.

"The House Oversight Committee is leaving no stone unturned as we investigate President Joe Biden’s central role in his family’s domestic and international business dealings," Comer said Thursday.

The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden, James Biden and business associate Rob Walker. Walker worked on the Biden family’s joint venture called Sinohawk Holdings, which was meant to be a partnership with Chinese energy firm CEFC.

HUNTER BIDEN 'EAGER' TO TESTIFY IN 'PUBLIC FORUM' AFTER COMER SUBPOENA FOR TESTIMONY, LAWYER SAYS

The committee also requested transcribed interviews from James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden; President Biden’s daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s son, Beau, who later was romantically involved with Hunter; Hallie Biden's older sister, Elizabeth Secundy; and Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen.

The committee also requested a transcribed interview with Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, who was also involved in Sinohawk Holdings.

Comer said the subpoenas were issued due to the "record of evidence obtained by this Committee."

"A plethora of bank records, texts, emails, and a transcribed interview with Biden family associate Devon Archer all show the Bidens and their business partners sold access to the highest levels of our government, including Joe Biden himself, to the detriment of America’s interests," Comer said. "Americans across this country have made it clear to President Joe Biden, the Biden family, and their associates that the gig is up."

Comer added: "The House Oversight Committee, along with the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, are determined to follow the facts, and deliver the transparency and accountability that the American people demand, deserve, and expect."

The subpoenas come as part of the committee’s months-long investigation into the Biden family's business dealings and whether President Biden benefited from or was involved in his family’s business ventures.

HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY ASKS HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO STOP 'PARTISAN' PROBES INTO HIS CLIENT, BIDEN FAMILY

The investigation, led by Comer, also feeds into the broader House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. That inquiry is being led by Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

The subpoenaed and voluntary testimony will likely feed into the larger impeachment inquiry as Republicans seek to determine whether President Biden abused his office or committed any type of high crime or misdemeanor.

Comer, in September, subpoenaed personal and business bank records belonging to both Hunter Biden and James Biden. Those subpoenaed records have revealed new lines of questioning with regard to whether President Biden knew about or was involved in his family’s business dealings.

Last week, Comer said those subpoenaed bank records revealed that President Biden himself received $40,000 in "laundered China money" from the bank account belonging to James Biden and Sara Biden.

Subpoenaed financial records also revealed that Joe Biden received a "$200,000 direct payment" in 2018 in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was also labeled "loan repayment." The check for $200,000 came the same day Americore wired $200,000 into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell blasted the investigation as "partisan," and penned a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Wednesday to demand that he stop Comer, Jordan and Smith from continuing their investigation.

"This is yet another political stunt aimed at distracting from the glaring failure of Rep. Comer and his MAGA allies to prove a single one of their wild and now discredited conspiracies about the Biden family," Lowell said in a statement. 

As for the subpoena for Hunter Biden’s testimony, Lowell said the president's son "is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum and at the right time, to discuss these matters with the Committee."

Wisconsin governor expected to approve bill for early processing of absentee ballots

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Thursday that he will sign into law a bill that would allow Wisconsin elections officials to process absentee ballots the day before an election if the Republican-controlled Legislature passes the measure in its current form.

The Republican-backed proposal, which was up for a vote in the state Assembly on Thursday, is intended to ease the workload of local clerks and their staff, who run elections, and prevent ballot-counting from stretching late into election night. The state Senate would also need to pass it before it would go to the governor.

Evers and the Republicans who control the Legislature have seldom found common ground on elections proposals. The governor has vetoed numerous GOP-sponsored elections bills in recent years that he said would make it harder to vote.

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"Gov. Evers will veto any bill that enables politicians to interfere with our elections or makes it harder for eligible Wisconsinites to cast their ballot, but if there are common-sense proposals that help ensure Wisconsin’s elections continue to be fair, secure, and safe, he’ll certainly consider signing them," Evers' spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, said in a statement.

Under the bill, elections workers would not be allowed to count votes until after polls close on election day, but they could work ahead to check ballot envelopes for necessary information, verify voter eligibility and take ballots out of envelopes to prepare them for tallying.

Currently, Wisconsin elections workers cannot process absentee ballots until polls open at 7 a.m. on election day. This has led to long processing times for larger cities such as Madison and Milwaukee, sometimes causing swings in initial tallies when large batches of election results are reported late at night. Former President Donald Trump and election skeptics have falsely claimed that those so-called ballot dumps are the result of election fraud.

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The Legislature has rejected similar proposals that would have allowed early ballot processing in recent years, despite them receiving bipartisan support. The bill up for a vote on Thursday, which also includes new reporting requirements for local elections officials on election night, was not sponsored by any Democratic lawmakers.

Evers proposed allowing early ballot processing in his budget proposal earlier this year, but that plan was scrapped by Republicans.

If the bill up for a vote Thursday passes in its current form without any "poison pill" additions from the Legislature, Evers will sign it, Cudaback said.

"Gov. Evers for years has proposed allowing county and municipal clerks to begin canvassing absentee ballots the day before an election and is glad to see this effort finally has bipartisan support," she said.

Republicans demand answers after top Biden official invited CCP leaders to sensitive national security site

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 House Republicans led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her agency's invitation for foreign adversaries to inspect a sensitive U.S. nuclear testing site.

In a letter sent Thursday morning, Stefanik and the other Republicans blasted Granholm for recently offering China and Russia "unprecedented access" to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nevada National Security Site. Bloomberg reported in September that the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration invited Chinese and Russian officials to tour the site to prove the U.S. is upholding a three-decade moratorium against testing nuclear weapons.

"I am leading my colleagues in demanding that President Biden revoke this misguided invitation to our adversaries in Beijing and Moscow that grants them unprecedented access and insight into our nuclear weapons," Stefanik told Fox News Digital. "Inviting Communist China and Russia to have a front row seat for our sensitive nuclear weapons tests will give them invaluable information on how to defeat our nuclear capabilities and improve their own."

"At a time when our adversaries are growing their nuclear stockpiles to undermine America’s leadership allowing them access to one of our nuclear test sites will only advance this pursuit and lead to our own destruction," she continued.

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The National Nuclear Security Administration invited its Chinese and Russian counterparts to tour the Nevada site — where sensitive nuclear experimentation is conducted — during the latest International Atomic Energy Agency summit, according to Bloomberg. Corey Hinderstein, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration official, said China and Russia didn't immediately respond to the invitation.

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The invitation came months after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his nation's participation in the only remaining nuclear arms control pact with America. And last week Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia from its ratification of a global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in a move quickly condemned by the State Department and which is evidence of deteriorating relations between the two sides.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who was one of the co-signers of Stefanik's letter to Granholm on Thursday, said allowing foreign adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear testing activities "allows them to derive our methods and procedures and this destroys deterrence."

"As Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, one of my priorities has been to strengthen and protect our nuclear arsenal," he told Fox News Digital. "In the world today, nothing could jeopardize our national security more than losing this advantage. I was stunned to hear recent reports of Biden administration officials inviting citizens from our two greatest adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear weapons tests."

"Russia and China should not have insider access to our testing. Both countries have had ample opportunity to be more open about their nuclear weapons development and deployments and refuse to do so. The amendment I introduced on this matter will halt the Biden administration's latest lapse in judgment," the Colorado lawmaker continued.

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Late last month, Lamborn introduced a bill to block foreign nationals from witnessing U.S. nuclear weapons testing at national labs. The bill was attached to the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which the House passed on Oct. 26.

The letter Thursday also comes as China continues to expand its own nuclear capabilities and armament. Stefanik, Lamborn and the other GOP lawmakers noted the Department of Defense has warned China’s nuclear expansion is exceeding previous U.S. projections.

"The PRC is now projected to have over 1,000 warheads by the end of this decade," General Anthony Cotton, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told lawmakers during an Armed Services Committee hearing in March.

In their letter, the Republicans told Granholm that China now has no reason to halt the aggressive expansion of its nuclear development "if they are given this access while offering nothing in return." They further noted that China has refused to engage in discussions on its nuclear expansion and DOE's actions threaten to "embolden their efforts to continue growing their arsenal."

"The notion of granting America’s adversaries’ access to our military sites — and enabling them to gain information about U.S. nuclear capabilities — is deeply alarming and fundamentally absurd," Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., another letter co-signer, told Fox News Digital. 

"I am proud to join my colleagues in demanding the Biden administration explain why they are inviting Russian and Chinese Communist Party officials to access our most sensitive laboratories and testing facilities." 

In addition to Stefanik, Lamborn and Wittman, fellow GOP Reps. Joe Wilson, James Moylan, Bill Posey, Pat Fallon, Chris Smith, Ashley Hinson, Carlos Gimenez, Scott DesJarlais, John Moolenaar, Lance Gooden, Brett Guthrie, Dale Strong, Julia Letlow, Robert Aderholt and Brad Wenstrup also co-signed the letter.

The DOE didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.