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Mike Johnson elected House speaker three weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster

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The House of Representatives chose Rep. Mike Johnson to serve as speaker on Wednesday following the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the role over three weeks ago.

Johnson, R-La., was elected speaker of the House during a full vote on the House floor Wednesday afternoon. The vote tally was 220 to 209. 

Johnson needed 215 votes to secure the speaker's gavel Wednesday. Typically, the threshold is 217, however, due to current absences, the threshold fell to 215.

House Republicans selected Johnson as their fourth speaker nominee late Tuesday after their past three nominees to lead the chamber dropped out of the race.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO HOLD 3RD INTERNAL VOTE TO FIND SPEAKER CANDIDATE 3 WEEKS AFTER MCCARTHY OUSTER

Johnson was elected House speaker after weeks of closed-door negotiating within the House Republican Conference after McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as speaker of the House on Oct. 3 in a historic first for the chamber.

The House Republican Conference initially voted to select House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as their nominee for speaker on a secret ballot, but he later withdrew. 

Then, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was selected as the speaker nominee in a second conference vote, but the conference later voted to remove him after he failed three House-wide votes.

House Republicans considered a move to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry that would give the interim speaker expanded power through January, but that effort also failed. 

By Tuesday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer had been selected as the House Republican Conference's nominee for speaker, but by Tuesday afternoon, Emmer had dropped out of the race ahead of a formal floor vote. 

Emmer's drop out came shortly after a blistering attack on Truth Social from former President Trump, who called him a "globalist RINO," or, Republican In Name Only, and warned House Republicans that electing him speaker would be a "tragic mistake." 

After Emmer's drop out, Johnson, along with Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Charles Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Mark Green, R-Tenn., all were possible nominees. Johnson won the nomination Tuesday night. 

Trump didn't formally endorse any of the candidates in the next round, posting on his Truth Social account that he "could never go against any of these fine and very talented men, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory." 

But in that post, Trump "strongly" urged House Republicans to vote for Johnson on the floor and "get it done fast." 

Later Wednesday morning, Trump said Johnson would be a "fantastic speaker," and said he is "respected by all and that’s what we need."

 "He’s popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to be a fantastic speaker," Trump said ahead of the floor vote Tuesday. 

Johnson has been in politics since 2015 when he was elected to the state House, where he stayed until 2017.

The son of a firefighter, Johnson was elected to Congress in the 2016 election and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees.

Johnson is currently in his second term as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. The Louisiana Republican previously served one term as the influential Republican Study Committee chairman.

Johnson is an ally of former President Donald Trump and defended him during the Democrat-led House impeachment hearings. He also filed an amicus brief co-signed of 100 House Republicans to support Texas litigation seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He was the Chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee at the time. 

"President Trump called me this morning to let me know how much he appreciates the amicus brief we are filing on behalf of Members of Congress," Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dec. 9, 2020. "Indeed, ‘this is the big one!’"

The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, tried to buy more time with the Supreme Court to allow investigations of purported voting issues to continue before the final electoral vote in the four swing states. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. 

On several other issues, Johnson has aligned with the most conservative lawmakers in the caucus.

Last month, he voted against H.R. 5692, the Ukraine Security Assistance and Oversight Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed. The bill appropriates federal dollars to assist Ukraine's military in its defense against Russia and establishes an inspector general's office to oversee aid. 

Additionally, he opposed the temporary spending measure, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), aligning with 90 other House Republicans, at the Sept. 30 deadline. He also supported measures to bolster border security within the CR, which aimed to restrict eligibility for asylum seekers. The bill did not garner enough support to pass.

In June, Johnson voted in favor of a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden. 

Prior to joining Congress, Johnson worked as a lawyer and was the senior spokesperson for the conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom.

This was the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

McCarthy’s ouster came after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.

Wisconsin Republicans advance election reform-centric constitutional amendments

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Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have advanced a series of constitutional amendments that would outlaw private funding for elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, bar municipalities from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections and enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution.

The proposals debated Tuesday at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly elections committees stem from false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden.

Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being ratified by voters in a statewide election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

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

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has previously vetoed more than a dozen Republican-backed elections proposals, including a 2021 bill to outlaw private elections grants.

The Legislature approved the amendments requiring voters to be U.S. citizens and outlawing private elections grants in its last session. The voter ID amendment is a new proposal this year, which means the soonest it could be put on the ballot for voter approval is 2025.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said Tuesday that he hopes to put the amendment outlawing election grants before voters in the statewide April 2024 election and put the citizenship requirements on the November 2024 ballot.

Conservatives were outraged in 2020 by a nonprofit that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, mostly funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to local election offices. Opponents termed the money "Zuckerbucks" and claimed it was an attempt by the billionaire to tip the vote in favor of Democrats, although there was no evidence to support that. Since 2020, GOP lawmakers in at least 20 states have outlawed private elections grants.

There has also been a recent push for states to specifically make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections. Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections and no state constitutions explicitly allow noncitizens to vote in state or local elections.

The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector. But it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections.

"I don't think anyone in this room believes noncitizens are going to gain the right to vote in the state of Wisconsin anytime soon," said Jamie Lynn Crofts, policy director for Wisconsin Voices. "It should be up to people at the local level to decide if noncitizens should be able to vote in their local elections."

The photo ID amendment would enshrine the state's current photo ID law, enacted in 2011, in the state constitution. The Legislature could still pass exceptions to the requirement.

WISCONSIN ALLOCATES $402M TO COMBAT PFAS, OTHER WATER POLLUTANTS

The move to make photo ID a constitutional requirement comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control. There is no current legal challenge to the state's voter ID requirement, which is one of the strictest in the country. But other election-related lawsuits challenging restrictions on absentee voting and ballot drop boxes could be taken up by the state Supreme Court.

Republican supporters at Tuesday's hearing said the voter ID law is designed to ensure that only qualified voters cast ballots. But opponents say voter ID requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, particularly those with disabilities, the elderly and people who don't have driver's licenses.

Under current law, and the proposed amendment, voters must provide one of a list of approved photo IDs in order to cast their ballot. Acceptable IDs include a Wisconsin driver’s license, U.S. passport, tribal ID, U.S. military ID or student ID. Absentee voters must provide a photocopy of their ID when requesting a ballot.

Voters who do not have one of the required photo IDs can vote a provisional ballot and then return by the deadline with the identification to have the ballot counted. The ability to cast a provisional ballot does not change under the proposed amendment.

Who is Mike Johnson, newly elected speaker of the House?

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Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson was elected speaker of the House on Wednesday by a vote of 220-209.

Johnson, 51, who had been a dark horse for the position, was voted the GOP nominee the night before after Republicans plowed through three higher-profile candidates.

The new speaker has only been in politics since 2015 when he was elected to the state House, where he stayed until 2017.

The son of a firefighter, Johnson was elected to Congress in the 2016 election and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees.

Johnson is currently in his second term as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, putting him in a leadership position that largely stays out of the limelight.

HOUSE GOP SPIRALS INTO CHAOS AS EMMER BECOMES THIRD SPEAKER NOMINEE DROPPED IN THREE WEEKS

The Louisiana Republican — who would be the second Pelican State speaker nominee after the failed bid from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — previously served one term as the influential Republican Study Committee chairman.

Johnson is an ally of former President Donald Trump and defended him during the Democrat-led House impeachment hearings. He also filed an amicus brief co-signed of 100 House Republicans to support Texas litigation seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He was the Chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee at the time. 

"President Trump called me this morning to let me know how much he appreciates the amicus brief we are filing on behalf of Members of Congress," Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dec. 9, 2020. "Indeed, ‘this is the big one!’"

The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, tried to buy more time with the Supreme Court to allow investigations of purported voting issues to continue before the final electoral vote in the four swing states. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. 

During the roll call to vacate ex-speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this month, Johnson voted against ousting him. 

On several other issues, Johnson has aligned with the most conservative lawmakers in the caucus.

Last month, he voted against H.R. 5692, the Ukraine Security Assistance and Oversight Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed. The bill appropriates federal dollars to assist Ukraine's military in its defense against Russia and establishes an inspector general's office to oversee aid. 

Additionally, he opposed the temporary spending measure, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), aligning with 90 other House Republicans, at the Sept. 30 deadline. He also supported measures to bolster border security within the CR, which aimed to restrict eligibility for asylum seekers. The bill did not garner enough support to pass.

In June, Johnson voted in favor of a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Biden. 

Prior to joining Congress, Johnson worked as a lawyer and was the senior spokesperson for the conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom. He is a devout Christian and an ardent opponent of abortion.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's bid for the speaker's gavel collapsed shortly after he secured the most votes in a conference meeting, and he removed himself from the race after another vote within the chamber made it clear he lacked enough votes among Republicans to win a majority on the floor. 

Johnson secured a majority of Republican votes late Tuesday evening in a secret ballot.

Emmer dropped out of the race for speaker hours after being named the House Republicans’ nominee, Fox News Digital reported.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., called on Johnson and Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to jump back into the race. Both lost to Emmer earlier in the day. 

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

Conservative group urges Republicans, next speaker not to ‘squander’ chance to fix border crisis

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A top conservative group is warning Republicans that the next speaker should not "squander" what it sees as an opportunity to push for greater border security and pass a GOP overhaul to solve the migrant crisis -- while urging caution on funding requests without policy changes that are tied to assistance to Israel.

The Heritage Foundation is publishing a brief, a copy of which was obtained ahead of publication by Fox News Digital, telling Republicans that an incoming speaker "cannot squander another opportunity to end the Biden border crisis."

The brief argues that Republicans missed an opportunity to address the border crisis by agreeing to a spending agreement last month that did not include the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) -- the House Republican signature border and asylum reform.

WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS

"On September 30, just hours before a government shutdown and the Democrat-controlled Senate’s refusal to act, Congress did the exact opposite: It passed a 47-day Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the border and government open," Heritage’s Border Security and Immigration Center Director Lora Ries and visiting advisor RJ Hauman argue.

Other proposed versions of a CR had included the legislation, which passed the House earlier this year but has not yet been voted on in the Senate. Border hawks argued that linking it to funding the government was the best chance of getting the legislation, or a version of it, passed amid an ongoing crisis at the southern border. However, a "clean" CR was passed instead.

H.R. 2 would restart border wall construction, increase the number of Border Patrol agents, limit the use of parole to release migrants into the interior, re-establish the Migrant Protection Protocols, tighten the "credible fear" standard and expand penalties for visa overstays among other reforms.

Now, as the speaker’s race rolls on in the House and the Hamas terror attack on Israel has refocused concerns about the border, Ries and Hauman argue that Republicans and the new speaker "must intensify efforts to secure the border and ensure that our immigration laws are enforced."

HIGH MIGRANT NUMBERS BREAK MULTIPLE RECORDS IN NEW BLOW TO BIDEN BORDER STRATEGY 

"Congress should continue to defund Biden’s open border tools and attach aggressive immigration policy riders to relevant appropriations bills awaiting consideration, the House should complete its investigation into the possible impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Members of Congress should once again consider requiring the inclusion of H.R. 2 as a condition for passing future government funding," they say.

The White House has requested an additional $14 billion in emergency supplemental funding, along with funding for Israel and Ukraine. However, Heritage warns against providing funding by itself, without policy changes, that it is tied to other countries' assistance.

"The time for action is now. H.R. 2 must become law if the homeland is truly to be secured: Simply writing a check as part of an unrelated supplemental spending bill will only worsen the crisis," they say.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPUBLICANS PUSH BIDEN DHS ON ‘CONFLICTING’ BORDER WALL POSITIONS

They say that while Israel merits U.S. support, "attaching ‘border security’ money to Israel funding without policy changes is a trap that, however well-intentioned, must be avoided."

The two border and immigration experts also outline suggestions to make existing spending bills stronger by putting riders on to limit what the Biden administration can do with the money being provided to it. They also back efforts in the House to impeach and remove Mayorkas from office for his handling of the border crisis.

"Most important, however, the border crisis should not be viewed as a problem that can be solved simply with more taxpayer dollars—a trap that has been laid alongside providing critical financial assistance to Israel," they warn.

The brief comes just days after the Biden administration announced new border numbers for September -- which marks the highest number of monthly encounters and records, meaning FY 23 as a whole saw the most yearly encounters on record.

Byron Donalds responds to AOC’s ‘experience’ jab: ‘She doesn’t know what she’s talking about’

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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., clapped back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's, D-N.Y., comments she made Sunday with MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan. 

"Before I got to Congress, I spent 20 years in the financial industry, something that leadership here on Capitol Hill definitely needs," Donalds said on Fox's "The Story" with Martha MacCallum on Monday. 

"Number two, I spent four years in the legislature in Florida. I chair two committees there, and number three, since being here on Capitol Hill, I've worked intimately with members of our leadership team and members all through the conference, both appropriators and authorizers to get some of our biggest pieces of legislation accomplished this Congress," he said. 

CHAOTIC, CONVOLUTED PATH HOUSE REPUBLICANS TOOK TO ELECT SPEAKER LEADS BACK TO SQUARE ONE 

He added, "So, with all due respect to miss Ocasio-Cortez, she doesn't know what she's talking about. And if the Democrats are this concerned, I would tell my colleagues see what happens if I become your speaker."

Ocasio-Cortez jabbed the Republican rep on Sunday, arguing that "he's only served one term" in the House and submitted "false evidence" during a Biden impeachment hearing. 

"I think it helps to know where all the bathrooms are before you run for the U.S. House of Representatives, personally, and I think it helps to have some real experience in one of most complex legislative bodies in the world before you try to run it," Ocasio-Cortez said. 

JEFFRIES, DEMOCRATS ARE SITTING PRETTY AMID HOUSE GOP SPEAKER CHAOS

Her reference to falsified evidence in the impeachment hearing involved a screenshot of text messages between Hunter Biden and President Biden's brother, James Biden, to further his argument that the president directly benefitted from his family's foreign business dealings. 

There are now nine candidates officially in the running to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., but as the GOP caucus mulls its decision, there remain questions about how long the debate will rage, and if that means the party could lose voters in 2024.

HOUSE SPEAKER 'CHAOS' COULD BENEFIT DEMS AS RACE STRETCHES INTO NEW WEEK

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to garner enough votes during his third round of floor-wide votes on Friday, sending party members back to the drawing board in an effort to end a stalemate. Twenty-five Republicans voted against him, leaving him roughly 217 votes short of securing a win. The slim GOP majority and unified Democrat opposition gives any speaker candidate little wiggle room for naysayers within his or her own party.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., currently serving as interim speaker, announced last week that Republicans will convene for another forum on the speakership race on Monday, with a probable floor vote scheduled for Tuesday. The competition remains shrouded in uncertainty as candidates vie to establish themselves as the most formidable contender, capable of garnering the necessary support to clinch the speakership.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office for comment. 

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

DOJ prosecutors to answer questions on Hunter Biden probe behind closed doors at House Judiciary

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Federal prosecutors will appear for transcribed interviews behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee this week amid the panel’s investigation into alleged politicization of the Hunter Biden probe.

Fox News has learned that U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada, will sit for a transcribed interview on Tuesday, and DOJ Tax Division attorney Stuart Goldberg is expected to sit for his interview Wednesday.

The requests for DOJ officials to answer questions before the committee come after allegations of politicization and misconduct at the Justice Department agencies throughout the years-long probe into the president’s son.

HUNTER BIDEN PROSECUTOR DAVID WEISS TO APPEAR FOR CLOSED-DOOR HOUSE JUDICIARY INTERVIEW NEXT MONTH

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has been negotiating with the Justice Department to have federal prosecutors involved in the Biden investigation to testify before his committee for months.

Special Counsel David Weiss, who is overseeing the government's investigation into Biden, is now expected to appear for his transcribed interview on Nov. 7 behind closed doors.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS' PROBE

The Justice Department had initially offered Weiss for public testimony back in July. A Justice Department source told Fox News that they would prefer Weiss testify in public.

Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Weiss in August to serve as special counsel with jurisdiction over the Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT 'DAD,' 'BIG GUY' DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, has been leading the Biden investigation since 2018. His appointment as special counsel came amid allegations that politics had influenced or hampered prosecutorial decisions in the yearslong investigation into the president’s son. 

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT 'DAD,' 'BIG GUY' DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

In his first move as special counsel, Weiss charged Biden with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

The president's son pleaded not guilty to all charges earlier this month. 

Weiss has said the investigation into the president's son is ongoing. 

Weiss' interview comes amid House Republicans' impeachment inquiry against President Biden. 

The status of the impeachment inquiry is unclear, however, after the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker. 

Comer raises questions about $200k ‘direct payment’ from James Biden to Joe Biden in 2018

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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said his panel has uncovered evidence that Joe Biden, in 2018, received a "$200,000 direct payment" from his brother James Biden and sister-in-law Sara Biden, and is demanding the president answer questions about "financial arrangements" with members of his family.

Comer, R-Ky., has been leading an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings since January and whether President Biden was involved in those ventures or "personally benefited" from them.

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

Comer, in September, issued three subpoenas for the personal and business bank records belonging to both Hunter Biden and James Biden.

Comer, in a video posted to "X," formerly known as Twitter, detailing his committee’s latest findings. Comer said the check was written by James Biden to President Biden as a "loan repayment," but questioned the timing.

"Bank records obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability have revealed a $200,000 direct payment from James and Sara Biden to Joe Biden in the form of a personal check," Comer states.

Comer explains that in 2018, James Biden "received $600,000 in loans from Americore —a financially distressed and failing rural hospital operator." 

"According to bankruptcy court documents, James Biden received these loans based upon representations that his last name Biden, could open doors; and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections," Comer said.

"On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account—not their business bank account," he continued. "And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden."

Comer said James Biden "wrote this check to Joe Biden as a ‘loan repayment.’"

"Americore—a distressed company—loaned money to James Biden who then sent it to Joe Biden," Comer said.

But Comer said even if the payment was "a personal loan repayment, it’s still troubling that Joe Biden’s ability to be paid back by his brother depended on the success of his family’s shady financial dealings."

"Some immediate questions President Biden must answer for the American people: Does he have documents proving he lent such a large sum of money to his brother and what were the terms of such financial arrangement?" Comer asked. "Did he have similar financial arrangements with other family members that led them to make similar large payments to him?"

Comer also demanded Biden answer whether he knew that the same day he received the $200,000 check, "James Biden had just received a loan for the exact same amount from business dealings with a company that was in financial distress and failing."

DOJ ORDERED HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS TO 'REMOVE ANY REFERENCE' TO JOE BIDEN IN FARA PROBE WARRANT: HOUSE GOP

"The House Oversight Committee will soon announce our next investigative actions and continue to follow the money," he said. "The bank records don’t end here. There is more to come."

Comer's findings come amid his months-long investigation. Comer, alongside House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., is leading the House impeachment inquiry against Biden. 

So far, during his committee's investigation, Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Romania."

Comer said the House Oversight Committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by "selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world."

Hunter Biden prosecutor David Weiss to appear for closed-door House Judiciary interview next month

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Special Counsel David Weiss is expected to appear for a transcribed interview before the House Judiciary Committee next month, a source familiar with the situation told Fox News. 

Weiss is set to appear for his transcribed interview behind closed doors on Nov. 7, the source said. 

JORDAN WANTS SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY NEXT MONTH BEFORE CONGRESS

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has been requesting Weiss and other federal prosecutors involved in the Hunter Biden investigation to testify before his committee for months. He initially requested Weiss meet with the committee on Oct. 11. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Weiss in August to serve as special counsel with jurisdiction over the Hunter Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT 'DAD,' 'BIG GUY' DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, has been leading the Hunter Biden investigation since 2018. His appointment as special counsel came amid allegations that politics had influenced or hampered prosecutorial decisions in the years-long investigation into the president’s son. 

In his first move as special counsel, Weiss charged Hunter Biden with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

The president's son pleaded not guilty to all charges earlier this month. 

Weiss has said the investigation into the president's son is ongoing. 

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS' PROBE

Weiss' interview comes amid House Republicans' impeachment inquiry against President Biden. 

The status of the impeachment inquiry is unclear, however, after the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker. Jordan is currently the Republican nominee for speaker, and is expected to hold a third vote for the post on Friday. 

Ex-Wisconsin Supreme Court justice fights subpoena over Protasiewicz impeachment advice

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A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is fighting a subpoena ordering her to appear in court in a lawsuit related to advice she gave about possible impeachment of a current liberal justice, calling it "unreasonable and oppressive."

Republican lawmakers have threatened possible impeachment of current Justice Janet Protasiewicz related to comments she made during the campaign calling GOP-drawn legislative maps "rigged" and "unfair." She joined with the liberal majority of the court in agreeing to hear a lawsuit supported by Democrats that seeks to overturn the GOP maps and enact new ones.

Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asked three former conservative Supreme Court justices for advice on impeachment. Two of the three told him that impeaching Protasiewicz was not warranted. The third, former Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, has not said what her advice was and Vos has repeatedly refused to disclose it.

TOP WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN STANDS BY PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT THREATS

The liberal watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit alleging that the three former justices researching impeachment for Vos had violated both the state open meetings and open records laws. American Oversight wants the judge to order the former justices to meet in public and to release records related to their work. It was also seeking attorneys fees.

Last week, Roggensack received a subpoena compelling her to attend a hearing in the case was scheduled for this Thursday. On Monday, she asked to be released from the subpoena.

"I believe it would be unreasonable and oppressive to require me to appear at a hearing on a motion for preliminary injunction and even for the Court to consider such a motion," Roggensack wrote.

The judge scheduled another hearing for Wednesday afternoon, likely to address Roggensack's request.

Roggensack, in her affidavit with the court, said the order being sought, which included requiring the former justices to meet in public, would impair her First Amendment rights of freedom of expression, peaceably assembling and petitioning the government.

Roggensack said that Vos, the Republican legislator, asked for her advice on impeachment. Roggensack said she told him she had been researching the issue on her own "because I found the topic to be interesting and because I had not previously considered the standards for impeachment of a Supreme Court justice."

Roggensack said she never considered Vos’s request to mean she was becoming part of a governmental body or committee as American Oversight alleged in its lawsuit.

Vos himself called the effort a panel when he announced in September that he was seeking their advice.

Roggensack said she had a lunch with the other two former justices, David Prosser and Jon Wilcox, along with Vos’s attorney. Prosser and Wilcox have also said that was the only meeting the three former justices had. They all said that they separately advised Vos and did not collaborate on their advice.

FORMER WI SUPREME COURT JUSTICE REFUSES TO NAME THOSE INVOLVED IN PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT PUSH

American Oversight filed open records requests with the former justices. Prosser released the email he sent Vos that included his impeachment advice, as well as voicemail messages from Roggensack and text messages they exchanged.

Neither Wilcox, Roggensack, nor Vos’ office have responded to its requests for records, American Oversight said.

Vos originally said he was considering impeachment if Protasiewicz did not recuse herself from the redistricting case. She didn’t recuse. Vos didn't 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 maps.

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

Report shows blue counties have higher murder rate than red, calls out ‘flawed’ studies promoted by top Dems

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FIRST ON FOX: A report from the Heritage Foundation shows that homicide rates have been higher in Democrat-run "blue counties" than they have been in "red counties" since 2002 – contradicting a popular talking point recited by prominent liberals like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and billionaire George Soros.

Newsom has publicly stated that "8 of the top 10 murder states are red" while liberal mega-donor Soros wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year that "violent crime in recent years has generally been increasing more quickly in jurisdictions without reform-minded prosecutors" and "murder rates have been rising fastest in some Republican states led by tough-on-crime politicians."

The problem, according to Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Dayaratna, who authored the report along with former research assistant Alexander Gage, is that studies cited by Democrats to make that argument – including a recent study from Third Way titled "The Two-Decade Red State Murder Problem" – use a "flawed" methodology because crime is a local issue and, therefore, crime analysis must be undertaken at the local level.

"It is true that red states have higher homicide rates than blue states, but the problem with this is that crime is a hyper-localized phenomenon," Dayaratna told Fox News Digital. "It doesn't make sense to talk about at the state level. It makes sense to talk about at the local level because that's where the prosecutions occur. The local level crime is handled at the local level by local police, so when you look at this question on a local basis, namely the county level, you'll see that the trend is reversed."

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRATS’ SOFT-ON-CRIME INSANITY DOES TO AMERICAN FAMILIES

"If you look at the analysis on a state-by-state level, it's 34% higher in red states and blue states, according to the most recent data we analyzed, but then when you look at it as a county-by-county level, it is 60% higher in blue counties than red counties."

The study says that "drawing conclusions from state-level homicide data in such a manner is flawed, as each state consists of a combination of federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutors with different approaches to law enforcement often based on highly divergent political beliefs."

"Violations of state law are prosecuted largely at the county or city level and, thus, amalgamating data across such units neglects important variation in these different approaches," the study continues.

"Looking at homicide rates by county, states show skewed distributions with many counties having little or no homicides, and a handful of counties with excessively high homicide rates. Thus, state homicide rates can be heavily influenced by a few counties. When those counties have different politics from the rest of the state, it can flip the conclusion about the association between political identifications and homicides."

Dayaratna also told Fox News Digital that Third Way’s conclusion that homicide rates are higher in red states is flawed because it did not update the changes in red states and blue states, in terms of how they shifted in presidential elections over the past 20 years, when compiling the data.

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"Third Way held ‘red’ states and ‘blue’ states constant in terms of how they voted in the 2020 presidential election. This approach is fundamentally flawed because electoral sentiment changed across the time period used for the study," the report states.

"For example, although President Biden won Arizona in 2020, the previous Democrat who won the state was Bill Clinton in 1996. Similarly, Donald Trump won Florida in both 2016 and 2020, despite the fact that Barack Obama had won the state in 2008 and 2012."

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Dayaratna said that between 2002 and 2008, there was an 88% higher rate of homicide in blue counties than red counties and between 2014 and 2022 there was a 62% increase.

"It is undoubtable that this blue county murder problem has been persisting for quite some time," Dayaratna told Fox News Digital. "And it is quite disingenuous for the Third Way to just present the data as they did. We analyze it from a variety of perspectives at the Heritage Foundation. And we wanted to make sure we put out the proper story."

Last year, Dayaratna partnered with fellow Heritage scholars Cully Stimson and Zack Smith and released a study showing that of the 30 American cities with the highest murder rates, 27 have Democratic mayors, and at least 14 Soros-backed prosecutors.

A spokesperson for Third Way told Fox News Digital that "data is missing or suppressed for many suburban and rural counties, making a complete county-level analysis impossible. But to test a prevalent narrative, we removed the county containing the largest city from only the red states and we found that even after removing the murders from the biggest cities in red states, red state murder rates were still significantly higher than in blue states, which were given no similar advantage."

In response to not updating the electoral map, the spokesperson said they "chose an approach that categorized states consistently across all 21 years" and that "including electoral changes would only increase red state murder rates."

A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that Newsom has cited more localized crime studies in the past and pointed to a specific interview where he did so in September.