Category: fox-news/newsedge/politics

Joe Biden allegedly considered joining board of CCP-linked company, witness testifies from prison

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EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden was allegedly considering joining the board of a joint venture created by Hunter Biden and his business associates with ties to the Chinese Communist Party after he left the vice presidency.

Joe Biden's involvement would bring "political access in the United States and around the world," a former business associate of the first son testified from prison Friday.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Jason Galanis’ opening statement delivered Friday morning to congressional investigators from an Alabama prison as part of the impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Galanis is serving a 14-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to securities fraud based on bonds issued by a company affiliated with a Native American tribe in South Dakota. The funds were reportedly supposed to be used for certain projects but were instead used for his personal finances. He was sentenced in 2017.

HOUSE INVESTIGATORS HEADING TO PRISON TO INTERVIEW EX-HUNTER BIDEN BIZ ASSOCIATE AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Galanis said he worked with Devon Archer and Hunter Biden between 2012 and 2015. Their business together, he said, included the acquisition of Burnham & Co, a division of Drexel Burnham Lambert, combined with "other businesses in insurance and wealth management." Galanis testified the three "owned and acquired with total audited assets of over $17 billion."

"Our objective was to build a diversified private equity platform, which would be anchored by a globally known Wall Street brand together with a globally known political name," Galanis testified. "Our goal — that is, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and me — was to make billions, not millions." 

Galanis testified that "the entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden.

"Because of this access, I agreed to contribute equity ownership to them — Hunter and Devon — for no out-of-pocket cost from them in exchange for their ‘relationship capital,’" he told investigators.

Hunter Biden served as vice chairman of the Burnham group "and brought strategic relationships to the venture, including from Kazakhstan, Russia and China."

BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES

"Burnham was the focal point for integrating a ‘Biden family office’ into a large-scale financial company with international influence," he explained, adding that they acquired some of Hunter Biden’s companies like RSP Investments and Rosemont Seneca Advisors.

Galanis testified that, in 2014, he "agreed with Hunter and Devon that the Burnham & Company enterprise would be significantly enhanced by forming a partnership with Harvest Fund Management, a $300 billion Chinese financial services company closely connected to the Chinese Communist Party." Harvest, at that time, had already agreed to be a founding partner of BHR Partners, he explained.

Fox News Digital has previously reported that Joe Biden met with Jonathan Li, who worked for BHR Partners, in China in 2013.

Galanis explained that Henry Zhao, the director of Harvest, was a contact of Hunter Biden’s.

HUNTER BIDEN WAS PAID $100K THROUGH JOINT VENTURE WITH CHINESE ENERGY FIRM, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIED

"Mr. Zhao was interested in this partnership because of the game-changing value-add of the Biden family, including Joe Biden, who was to be a member of the Burnham-Harvest team post-vice presidency, providing political access in the United States and around the world," Galanis testified.

Galanis pointed to a draft email dated Aug. 23, 2014, from Hunter Biden, which states: "Please also remind Henry [Zhao] of our conversation about a board seat for a certain relation of mine. Devon and I golfed with that relation earlier last week and we discussed this very idea again and as always he remains very very keen on the opportunity." 

Fox News Digital obtained that draft email.

Galanis testified that email was "struck from the final version" but "was drafted with an understanding of what had transpired regarding this effort."

Galanis said the email was forwarded to him by Devon Archer with the words: "FYI … example of lean in on Henry from Hunter … this is email drafted for him to send to Henry."

Galanis testified that the words "lean in" were "used often by Devon and Hunter in our business dealings as a term for access to Vice President Biden’s political influence."

"As Devon Archer is mentioned as a direct party to the conversation with the vice president on the golf course, it is clear from his email that Devon believed this was an accurate representation of that conversation," Galanis said in his opening statement.

"I am certain that the phrase ‘a certain relation of mine’ refers to Vice President Biden, and Devon told me about this conversation on the golf course shortly after it happened," Galanis testified. "And it was one of many conversations that I understood the vice president had expressing his willingness to join Harvest board after his vice presidency."

HUNTER DEMANDED $10M FROM CHINESE ENERGY FIRM BECAUSE 'BIDENS ARE THE BEST,' HAVE 'CONNECTIONS'

The draft email does not specifically mention Joe Biden’s name or refer to the "certain relation" as Hunter Biden’s father. However, there is an infamous photo of Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer on the golf course. That photo was taken in mid-August 2014, which would have been a week or so prior to the draft email. News reports indicate the vice president was in the Hamptons at the time.

Galanis went on to testify that Zhao "regularly sought reassurance about what he termed the ‘intangible goods’ that Vice President Biden serving on the Harvest board would bring to the business plan."

"He wanted assurances so that he would not ‘lose face,’" Galanis said. "In my opinion, there was no other reason for this massive Chinese enterprise to have been interested in doing business with Burnham other than the Biden name."

Zhao also worked with Hunter Biden in a separate joint venture with Chinese energy company CEFC.

Zhao is the recipient of a now-infamous text message Hunter Biden sent after requesting a $10 million wire for the joint-venture, SinoHawk Holdings.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN IN 2017 SENT 'BEST WISHES' FROM 'ENTIRE BIDEN FAMILY' TO CHINA FIRM CHAIRMAN, REQUESTED $10M WIRE

"I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. "And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction."

Zhao responded, in part, "CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family."

Ultimately, Joe Biden did not take a seat on the board of the joint venture. 

Meanwhile, Galanis testified that he recalls "being with Hunter Biden and Devon Archer at the Peninsula Bar in New York, where Hunter took a call from his father. He told his father things were going well with Henry and Harvest and that he might need a little help getting it across the finish line." 

"Hunter did not put the call on speaker as we were at this bar, but I am certain that Hunter was discussing our business efforts on the Burnham-Harvest partnership and that the vice president was aware of these efforts," Galanis testified, adding that was "not the only time I heard Hunter call his father regarding business matters."

Archer last year testified before the House Oversight Committee that Hunter put his father, who was vice president at the time, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times, and he said Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand."

Galanis testified that call was "not the only time" he heard Hunter "call his father regarding business matters," pointing to a separate call in which Hunter Biden put his father "on speaker." Galanis said Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina and her husband, the former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, were present for the call, which took place May 4, 2014. 

Fox News Digital has previously reported that Joe Biden attended dinners in 2014 at Cafe Milano in Georgetown in 2014 and 2015 with Baturina and others.

HUNTER BIDEN REQUESTED KEYS FOR NEW 'OFFICE MATES' JOE BIDEN, CHINESE 'EMISSARY' TO CEFC CHAIRMAN, EMAILS SHOW

"Hunter called his father, said hello and ‘hold on, Pops,’ then put the call on speakerphone and said, ‘I am here with our friends I told you were coming to town, and we wanted to say hello,’" Galanis recalled. "The vice president said hello and some pleasantries of ‘Hope you had safe travels,’ and then seemed like he wanted to bring the call to an end by saying, ‘OK then, you be good to my boy.’"

Galanis said Hunter responded by saying, "Everything is good, and we are moving ahead."

"The vice president said something about ‘being helpful,’ and Hunter ended the call by saying that he was going to call his father later," Galanis testified. "I recall being stunned by this call — to actually hear the vice president of the United States speaking on the phone." 

Galanis testified that "it was clear" to him that "this was a pre-arranged call with his father meant to impress the Russian investors that Hunter had access to his father and all the power and prestige of his position." 

Days later, on May 9, 2014, Archer sent Galanis an email, obtained by Fox News Digital, which revealed Baturina was "committed to a ‘hard order’ of $10-20 million in a Burnham investment banking client."

Galanis acknowledged that "in an effort" to build Burnham, he "engaged in unlawful conduct" and "betrayed" the trust of union members’ pension fund money.

"I pleaded guilty. I have had eight years in federal custody to reflect on my actions, and I am profoundly sorry for my role," he said.

Archer was also indicted in the scheme, but Hunter Biden was not. Galanis testified he believed the federal "prosecution strategy was intended to protect Hunter Biden and, ultimately, Vice President Biden." 

Galanis has applied for and been denied home confinement. Galanis said that beginning in January 2023, he was "sexually assaulted" by a member of prison staff at FPC Pensacola. He testified that he was hoping home confinement "would remove me from the danger." 

"I believe that based on the events I have described, much of which is memorialized in writing, I have been the victim of a pattern of retribution by the Department of Justice in order to prevent my home confinement, which would have allowed full and free access to congressional investigators," he said.

Galanis said that from his experiences in the justice system, he believes he is putting himself "at grave risk within the BOP for providing information on these matters concerning the president and his son."

Pence’s organization demands Congress release government funding agreement as deadlines loom

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FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence's public policy think tank Advancing American Freedom urged congressional leaders on Tuesday to release the government funding agreement as the current temporary spending patch, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will expire the first week of March.

"Three weeks ago, your committees reached a private agreement on the 302(b) allocations for the next fiscal year. Since then, the American people have been kept guessing as to the negotiated funding levels for each of the twelve subcommittee appropriations bills," executive director Paul Teller wrote in a letter to the House and Senate appropriations committees on Tuesday.

House and Senate leaders came together in mid-January to pass a CR to give themselves more time to hash out a deal for the rest of fiscal 2024.

It was the third CR passed since the previous fiscal year ended Sept. 30 and preserved funding for some agencies through March 1 and others through March 8.

MIKE PENCE'S THINK TANK PUSHES BACK ON JD VANCE'S ‘IMPEACHMENT TIME BOMB’ CLAIM IN FOREIGN AID PACKAGE

Both chambers are currently in recess.

"The American people deserve transparency on the spending levels of their government as Congress looks to pass additional spending bills," Teller told Fox News Digital in a statement. "With another deadline rapidly approaching, the American people and rank-and-file members are kept in the dark as to the true spending levels, and this needs to change. Advancing American Freedom is calling on these numbers to be immediately released to the American public."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed upon a top-line funding agreement of $1.66 trillion last month. That figure was part of an agreement mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act last year, a compromise reached during debt limit talks between President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

"Now, disconcerting rumors are swirling that the 302(b) allocations that were agreed upon blow out the already excessive $1.7 trillion Johnson-Schumer 'cap,' itself built on Speaker Pelosi’s COVID-19 level spending," Teller wrote.

"Although it has become ‘business as usual,’ airdropping an appropriations package on Congress at the last second is no way to govern," he wrote.

MIKE PENCE'S AAF SENDS MEMO TO LAWMAKERS: 'BIDEN DOESN'T SEEM TO WANT ISRAEL TO WIN'

On the Senate floor, only three of the 12 appropriations bills have been passed.

"There isn’t a funding agreement to release," a House appropriations aide told Fox News Digital. "The bills are still being negotiated."

The CR continues funding for four appropriations bills through March 1: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

Additionally, the CR allocates funding for the remaining eight appropriations bills through March 8: Commerce, Justice, Science; Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations.

The aim of having two separate deadlines is to prevent Congress from passing a comprehensive "omnibus" spending bill, a practice widely opposed by Republicans. 

However, the staggered approach may not eliminate the possibility of an omnibus as Congress will only have a few days to pass appropriations bills before the current CR expires. If they fail to either extend current funding levels or reach an agreement on new levels, the government could fall into a partial shutdown, with federal programs on pause and thousands of federal workers potentially furloughed.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Trump trials will make GOP frontrunner’s daytime campaign events a challenge, but ‘nothing will stop him’

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Former President Trump will be on trial in New York City next month to defend himself against charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, taking the 2024 GOP frontrunner off of the campaign trail. 

But that won’t stop him. He says he’ll campaign at night.

"I'll do it in the evening," Trump said this week when asked how sitting in court to defend himself against charges brought by brought by Bragg related to alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign would affect his 2024 presidential campaign. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

NEW YORK JUDGE SETS TRUMP TRIAL FOR MARCH 25, DENIES REQUEST TO DISMISS BRAGG CHARGES IN HUSH MONEY CASE

The former president, who will likely be the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for the White House by the time the Bragg trial begins March 25, has been forced to tackle competing calendars for the last several months with presidential primaries and court dates in multiple jurisdictions.

So far this year, Trump dominated in the Iowa caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands and is poised to win in South Carolina Feb. 24.

But Trump’s victories haven’t come just from crisscrossing the country stumping on the campaign trail. He’s spent days in court in New York for Bragg’s case, the civil fraud trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and his businesses and E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial. 

TRUMP ORDERED TO PAY MORE THAN $80 MILLION IN E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION TRIAL

He's also appeared in court in Washington D.C. for special counsel Jack Smith’s case related to the 2020 election and in Florida for Smith’s case related to classified documents.

"President Trump has been attacked by the Democrats for eight years. He has stood strong through two sham impeachments, endless lies and now multiple baseless political witch hunts," Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. "The Democrats want Donald Trump in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail delivering his winning message to the American people, but nothing will stop him from doing that."

The first trial on the 2024 calendar was supposed to be in Washington, D.C., March 4 after special counsel Jack Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. 

Those charges stem from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The trial was scheduled for March 4, the day before the March 5 Super Tuesday primary contests, when Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Vermont vote to select a GOP nominee.

But Smith has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether Trump can be prosecuted on charges relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump has also appealed to the Supreme Court a lower court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO EXTEND DELAY IN ELECTION CASE, CLAIMING PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY

The trial is paused until the Supreme Court makes its decisions. It is now unclear when — and if — that trial could begin.

But that doesn’t make the month of March free for campaign events. New York Judge Juan Merchan this week rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the charges against him from Bragg’s investigation. Merchan set jury selection for March 25 and said the trial will last approximately six weeks.

Bragg alleged Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York.

Jury selection in that case will begin just after the Louisiana primary and ahead of April 2, when Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin voters hit the polls to select a GOP nominee.

Smith also charged Trump after his investigation into the former president’s alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment from Smith’s investigation, an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial was set to begin on May 20, 2024, ahead of the Kentucky primary on May 21, the Oregon primary on May 25 and New Jersey's primary June 4.

But U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, said that date may be delayed. A decision will be made March 1 during the next court date.

Should Trump win the GOP nomination, he would spend July 15-18 at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee.

However, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed her trial begin just weeks later.

Willis charged Trump as part of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

TRUMP CALLS 'BADLY TAINTED' FULTON COUNTY CASE 'A SCAM' AFTER DA FANI WILLIS' COURTROOM DRAMA

He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Fulton County prosecutors have proposed that trial begin Aug. 5, 2024.

But Willis has been in court defending herself after revelations that she had a romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she brought onto her team to help bring charges against Trump.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital this week, Trump blasted the case as a "sham." 

"There is no case here," Trump said during Willis’ testimony. "It is so badly tainted. There is no case here."

Trump told Fox News Digital "the case will have to be dropped."

"There's no way they can have a case," Trump said. "The whole thing was a scam to get money for the boyfriend."

Commenting on all of the cases against him, Trump said, "It’s all corrupt stuff. It is all politics — using the law to try to stop a party that is substantially ahead, and a particular person that’s substantially ahead in every poll, including against Biden.

"This is all meant to stop me."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Vance’s office doubles down ‘impeachment time bomb’ warning in foreign aid package

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. JD Vance's office will send a letter to GOP lawmakers Thursday doubling down on the claim that the Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan foreign aid package contains an "impeachment time bomb" that would tie the hands of the next administration.

Vance's memo comes a day after former Vice President Mike Pence's policy think tank, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), sent a memo to senators dismissing Vance's claims. 

The national security supplemental text assures the delivery of $1.6 billion to finance Ukraine's military as well as just under $14 billion for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through Sept. 30, 2025 – the same aid mechanism that Trump temporarily paused while pushing for an investigation into Biden family foreign business dealings. 

MIKE PENCE'S THINK TANK PUSHES BACK ON JD VANCE'S 'IMPEACHMENT TIME BOMB' CLAIM IN FOREIGN AID PACKAGE

AAF claimed Wednesday that it's the president’s duty to faithfully execute the law as "written into the Constitution" — known as the Take Care clause — rejecting the argument made by the Nixon administration that the clause "empowered the President to ignore federal statutes."

Vance's office said AAF was actually supporting their point that the Ukraine supplemental would tie Trump's hands if he returns to the White House.

"Therefore, they advance the claim that a future president would have a constitutional responsibility to 'faithfully execute the law' that requires him to fund Ukraine well into his second term or face a (fake) claim of a constitutional/legal violation," Vance's office wrote in the new memo. "That is exactly the claim advanced by the Ukraine Supplemental Impeachment Time Bomb."

"Administration officials have been transparent about efforts to tie the hands of a future presidential administration, with one revealing to the Washington Post that this supplemental bill is a key component of their plan to ‘future-proof aid for Ukraine against the possibility that former president Donald Trump wins his reelection bid,’" the memo continued. "Former senior administration officials, including a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, have validated that this supplemental bill may function as a "secret set of handcuffs" and that opponents of a future president’s Ukraine policy 'will use this to try and tie his hands in the initial weeks of his presidency.'"

SENATOR PAUL ASSERTS UKRAINE AID PACKAGE WOULD 'TIE THE HANDS' OF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS

Meanwhile, AAF noted in their memo if the president wants to cut off federal aid to Ukraine, he must get approval from Congress in a 45-day timeframe, "otherwise he must dutifully execute the law as written." 

Vance's office said that rebuttal actually "reinforces" their position "that this supplemental would tie a future president’s hands on spending in Ukraine or he would risk impeachment from Democrats on the same absurd grounds as President Trump’s first impeachment."

The Trump administration, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), withheld a total of about $400 million in security assistance from Ukraine in 2019. This came just before Trump asked Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy to investigate the family of his 2020 rival, Joe Biden, and while the White House allegedly was withholding an Oval Office visit from Zelenskyy in exchange for an investigation.

These actions are what fueled the impeachment effort against Trump, in which he was ultimately acquitted. 

Vance's memo argues previous Ukraine supplemental bills lacked sunset dates extending into future administrations. The Biden administration requested specific sunset dates in the current bill to extend aid into the next presidential term, which was granted despite most Senate Republicans voting against it. 

SEN. VANCE MEMO WARNS GOP COLLEAGUES OF ‘SYSTEMIC FAILURES’ IN US AID TO UKRAINE

Several other Republican allies of Trump agreed with Vance this week.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said the provision in the bill "is gonna force him to send money and spend money for Ukraine."

"This is in the bill," Tuberville told Fox News Digital. "So, it's just another situation where the Democrats are doing something and working towards making sure that money's spent in a certain area where American taxpayers and this country don't have."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, also agreed with Vance and claimed that Democrats are "setting up" for a possible Trump presidential win.

Several Republican lawmakers want Schumer to reconvene Senate ‘immediately’ for Mayorkas impeachment trial

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Some Senate Republicans want the upper chamber to reconvene "immediately" to proceed with an impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border. The House voted to impeach Mayorkas Tuesday night in a tight 214-213 vote. 

Mayorkas is the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached by the U.S. Congress since 1876.

"Schumer should reconvene the Senate immediately and proceed to trial," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in a post on X Tuesday night. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer's office for comment and did not hear back by time of publication. But in a statement Tuesday night after the vote, Schumer said the impeachment trial will begin later this month. The Senate is scheduled to return from recess on Feb. 26.

"The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period," Schumer said in a statement. "Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day."

HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post that the Senate "cannot fail" to "uphold" its constitutional duty and "conduct an impeachment trial for Secretary Mayorkas, who has ignored his duty to protect our country."

"Chuck Schumer is trying to sweep this travesty under the rug by violating the constitution and foregoing a trial. Republican leadership cannot stand idly by and let him," he wrote. 

Echoing the urgency, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. urged the upper chamber to take quick action: "The Senate must take this up immediately."

"While some in the Senate sided with securing Ukraine's border before our own, I'm glad to see House Republicans do the right thing and hold this lawless administration accountable," he wrote Tuesday night.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., compared how Democrats treated Trump's impeachment trials versus "the cabinet member responsible for 9 million illegal migrant entries on the southern border." 

"They show zero interest in demanding real accountability," Schmitt said. "This impeachment coming to the Senate will undoubtedly show how unserious Democrats have become when it comes to responsibly leading the country and protecting Americans. Mayorkas’ impeachment proceedings should be brought to the Senate floor ASAP, but don’t hold your breath for any meaningful change at the border while Democrats are in charge."

Schmitt's sentiments are shared by several Senate Republicans who opposed the failed border bill that was in the national security supplemental package, citing concerns about increased power for President Biden and Mayorkas. They argued that shifting asylum claim responsibilities to the secretary of Homeland Security undermines immigration court processes.

HERE ARE THE 3 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO TORPEDOED MAYORKAS’ IMPEACHMENT VOTE

The Senate ultimately voted to remove the border bill text and passed a standalone $95 billion foreign aid bill. 

"I don't think it ever made sense to many Americans that we're negotiating a border deal with the person we're trying to impeach," Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the vote on Tuesday. 

"I welcome the impeachment," Marshall said. "He didn't enforce the law of the land, he broke his oath to Americans as well. So I think, for all those reasons, he should be impeached."

Tuesday evening’s vote marked House Republicans’ second attempt at impeaching Mayorkas. GOP lawmakers targeted the Biden official over the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S. southern border, accusing him of deliberately flaunting existing immigration law and worsening the situation.

OVER 40 LAWMAKERS SIGN BRIEF TO SUPPORT TEXAS IN IMMIGRATION FIGHT WITH BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment. In a statement following the House's vote, DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said: "House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border. While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment.

"Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country. Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe," Ehrenberg added.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Mike Pence’s think tank rebuts JD Vance’s ‘impeachment time bomb’ claim in foreign aid package

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FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence's policy think tank, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), sent a memo to senators Wednesday pushing back against Sen. JD Vance's theory that the $95 billion foreign aid package contains an "impeachment" clause for the next administration hidden in its text.

AAF's memo comes after Vance circulated a memo ahead of the national security supplemental package vote Monday arguing the bill includes a provision that could be grounds to impeach former President Donald Trump if he wins the White House again. 

The text assures the delivery of $1.6 billion to finance Ukraine's military as well as just under $14 billion for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through Sept. 30, 2025 – the same aid mechanism that Trump temporarily paused while pushing for an investigation into Biden family foreign business dealings. 

"The president’s duty to faithfully execute the law is written into the Constitution," AAF's memo reads. "It’s not an ‘impeachment time bomb’ created by the foreign aid package."

According to the memo, AAF argues that the Constitution mandates the president to faithfully execute laws, rejecting attempts from lawmakers to interpret this as permission to ignore statutes. 

The Impoundment Control Act ensures Congress controls funding, requiring presidential notification and approval for cuts within a 45-day timeframe. Congress wields the power of the purse, the AAF memo states, despite changes in administrations. 

SENATOR PAUL ASSERTS UKRAINE AID PACKAGE WOULD 'TIE THE HANDS' OF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS

"Congress routinely appropriates funds across presidential terms," the memo reads. "Following the argument to its logical conclusion, all advance appropriations are ‘impeachment time bombs.’"

"The Trump-Pence administration sold weapons to Ukraine that the Obama-Biden administration refused to," the memo continued. "It also countered Putin’s influence by blocking Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which President Biden green-lighted."

Meanwhile, Vance's memo claimed that the supplemental bill "represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration."

Trump has promised he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours if he is elected president. 

SEN. VANCE MEMO WARNS GOP COLLEAGUES OF ‘SYSTEMIC FAILURES’ IN US AID TO UKRAINE

The Trump administration, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), withheld a total of about $400 million in security assistance from Ukraine in 2019. This came just before Trump asked Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy to investigate the family of his 2020 rival, Joe Biden, and while the White House allegedly was withholding an Oval Office visit from Zelenskyy in exchange for an investigation.

These actions are what fueled the impeachment effort against Trump, in which he was ultimately acquitted. 

Mark Paoletta, former OMB general counsel during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital in a statement this week that the clause in the bill text is an "effort to inappropriately tie President Trump’s hands in his next term by locking in Ukraine funding for multiple years." 

SENATE PASSES CONTROVERSIAL FOREIGN AID BILL SENDING BILLIONS TO UKRAINE, ISRAEL AND TAIWAN

Last week, AAF praised the bill for its continued assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but bashed the billions of dollars earmarked for "non-lethal" aid, such as "direct budget support" to Ukraine. It also criticized the bill for not including H.R 2, the House's border security policy passed last year that would crack down on asylum screenings and restore most Trump-era restrictions at the southern border. 

Sen Paul says Ukraine aid package would ‘tie the hands’ of future administrations

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Several conservatives agree with Sen. JD Vance's memo circulated early Monday that there's a "hidden" clause in the national security supplemental bill that he believes could be grounds to impeach former President Donald Trump from office if elected to office later this year. 

Vance sent a memo to GOP lawmakers highlighting that the bill, which would send billions of federal dollars to Ukraine, assures the delivery of funding through September 2025. Trump, however, has vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of gaining office, which would also end funding.

Vance's memo claimed that the supplemental bill "represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration," and he urged Republicans to block its passage. 

SEN. VANCE MEMO WARNS GOP COLLEAGUES OF ‘SYSTEMIC FAILURES’ IN US AID TO UKRAINE

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said he supported Vance's memo on Monday, arguing that Democrats are "setting up" for a possible Trump presidential win.

"They're locking in foreign aid that will even tie the hands of the next president," Paul told Fox News Digital in an interview. "So, I think it's a terrible idea. But also, if the next President were to try to have a different policy, you can see the Democrats again starting an impeachment."

"I think they're going to try to impeach him before he gains office now, and that's exactly what this is," he said.

Mark Paoletta, former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) General Counsel during the Trump Administration, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the clause in the bill text is an "effort to inappropriately tie President Trump’s hands in his next term by locking in Ukraine funding for multiple years." 

"In a presidential election year, Congress should not be making long-term funding commitments, particularly in foreign policy, that will attempt to tie the hands of the next commander in chief," Paoletta said. "President Trump had every right to pause the Ukraine funding for about 60 days, given his concerns about corruption in Ukraine and how best to spend those funds."

He added, "As OMB General Counsel, I issued the legal justification to pause the funding, and would do it again today."

Russ Vought, a former Trump cabinet member, also agreed with Vance's memo and said in a post on X that Vance is "absolutely right to interpret these Ukraine provisions" in this manner. 

PENTAGON FINALLY RUNS OUT OF MONEY FOR UKRAINE, URGES 50 ALLIES TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING KYIV

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said the provision in the bill "is gonna force him to send money and spend money for Ukraine."

"This is in the bill," Tuberville told Fox News Digital. "So, it's just another situation where the Democrats are doing something and working towards making sure that money's spent in a certain area where American taxpayers and this country don't have."

The Trump administration, through the OMB, withheld a total of about $400 million of security assistance from Ukraine in 2019. This came just before Trump asked Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy to investigate the family of his 2020 rival, Joe Biden, and while the White House allegedly was withholding an Oval Office visit from Zelenskyy in exchange for that investigation.

These actions are what fueled the impeachment effort against Trump, in which he was ultimately acquitted. 

Trump has indicated that if he is elected president this year, he would resolve the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours." 

RUSSIAN LAWMAKERS WEIGH BILL TO SEIZE PROPERTY FROM THOSE WHO CRITICIZE PUTIN'S INVASION OF UKRAINE

The supplemental package, on track for final passage this week in the upper chamber, would send billions of federal dollars to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. The bill text includes $1.6 billion to finance Ukraine's military as well as just under $14 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, set to expire on Sept. 30, 2025. 

"These are the exact same accounts President Trump was impeached for pausing in December 2019," Vance wrote in a memo distributed to GOP offices early Monday. "Every single House Republican voted against this impeachment solution."

The Senate is gearing up for the last round of procedural votes Monday night to push the supplemental package forward for a final vote this week, despite several Republicans in opposition who are avoiding a time agreement to continue filibustering. It's unclear if the bill would pass in the GOP-led House. 

A former version of this bill that included border-related provisions failed to pass in the Senate last week. 

The offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky., did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on Vance's memo.

Fox News' Tyler Olson and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Rancher sounds alarm on ‘route’ for terror as Mayorkas denies responsibility for mass border crossings

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A fifth-generation Arizona rancher accused lawmakers of refusing to secure the border for political purposes as the ongoing migrant crisis worsens, potentially giving terrorists the opportunity to sneak into the U.S. through his land. 

"It's people talking about the issues, arguing about the issues. Border security has always been a political football," Jim Chilton, owner of the Chilton Ranch, told Fox News. "That's the nature of our system." 

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A long-awaited bipartisan border security deal aimed at gaining control of an overwhelmed asylum system at the southern border collapsed just days after it was revealed with all but four Republicans voting against the legislation advancing in the Senate. From the outset, GOP leaders in both chambers criticized the bill, with House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly calling it "dead on arrival." Democrats accused conservatives of killing it for political purposes.

"Secure the international boundary and develop a program to bring people into this country legally," Chilton told Fox News as a plea to Congress. "We're a nation of the rule of law. We need to stop people just having the idea that they can walk into the United States." 

HOUSE MEMBER SAYS ‘EULOGY HAS ALREADY BEEN READ’ ON BORDER BILL AS BIDEN BLAMES TRUMP FOR STALEMATE

The bill would have given President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security authority to close the border if migrant encounters reached a certain threshold and allocated $20 billion for immigration enforcement. It also included $650 million for border wall construction and reinforcement.

But Republican critics, including House GOP leaders, said the legislation wasn't aggressive enough to curb illegal immigration with migrant crossings skyrocketing under the Biden administration. In December, migrant encounters reached an all-time high of 302,000, according to Customs and Border Protection data. 

And while lawmakers fumble solutions, the southern border crisis worsens, Chilton said. 

‘HE’S DELUSIONAL': BIDEN'S BORDER COMMENTS SPARK STIFF REBUKE ON CAPITOL HILL FROM SOME LAWMAKERS

"The problem in our area in the last three years has intensified immensely," Chilton told Fox News. He said hidden cameras on his property have caught thousands of people illegally entering the country.

Some dress in all camouflage, Chilton said, and others use "carpet shoes" — footwear with carpet attached to the soles to hide footprints.

"They're entering our country unseen, and they could be terrorists," he said. 

Officials encountered 169 people on the FBI terror watchlist illegally crossing the southern border in fiscal 2023, according to CBP data. That's more than the previous year's record-setting 98 encounters, as well as the last six years combined. 

"I'm really concerned," Chilton said. "If our adversaries around the world want to bring terrorists into our country, this is a route."

ARIZONA BORDER COUNTY OFFICIAL'S BLUNT MESSAGE TO CONGRESS TO REJECT IMMIGRATION BILL: ‘SHUT DOWN THE BORDER’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas denied blame for mass crossings at the southern border, he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press." Mayorkas, who's expected to soon face a second impeachment attempt for failing to curb the migrant crisis, instead blamed Republicans for sinking the bipartisan bill and said Congress should be held accountable for America's broken immigration system.

The failed border security deal also included a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package. A standalone bill, which would include $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Taiwan, passed a 67-27 test vote Sunday.

But Chilton told Fox News keeping Americans safe should be lawmakers' top priority. 

"It would be outrageous not to secure our border first," Chilton said. "Take care of America first. Seal the border."

Ukraine aid package would be used to impeach Trump, Sen Vance warns

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Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, warned his Republican colleagues that the proposed Ukrainian aid bill could be used to impeach former President Trump if he wins re-election in November.

Vance sent a memo to GOP lawmakers highlighting that the Ukraine package assures the delivery of funding through September 2025. Trump, however, has vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of gaining office, which would also end funding.

"[The package] represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration. All Republicans should oppose its passage," the memo read.

"Back in 2019, Democrats articulated a novel theory of impeachment, based on Trump’s refusal to spend money from the USAI—Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Five years after impeaching Trump for refusing to spend money on Ukraine, they have drafted a new law that again requires Trump to spend money on Ukraine. If he negotiates an end to the war, as he has promised to do, they will undoubtedly argue that he has broken the law," Vance wrote in an op-ed for the American Conservative.

NETANYAHU DECLARES ‘VICTORY IS WITHIN REACH’ AS HAMAS REDUCED TO ‘LAST REMAINING BASTION’

On Sunday, the Senate voted to push forward the aid package, which also includes funds for Israel and other U.S. allies. So far, 18 GOP lawmakers have signed on to the effort.

The package would provide $60 billion for Ukraine, mostly to purchase U.S.-made defense equipment, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say it desperately needs as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.

The 67-27 test vote Sunday on the $95.3 billion foreign aid package came just after Trump moved to kill the assistance and has escalated his attacks on the NATO military alliance.

MODERATE DEMS SILENT AS BIDEN SKIRTS SENATE CONFIRMATION FOR JOHN KERRY'S REPLACEMENT

Trump suggested this weekend that he would let Russia run amok in countries that are not contributing their fair share to NATO's budget.

Even if it makes it out of the Senate, the bill faces an uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where Republican lawmakers are more deeply aligned with Trump.

Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Mitch McConnell scoffs at GOP critics after his border deal collapses: ‘They had their shot’

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell brushed off backlash from his GOP critics after support for his bipartisan border deal collapsed on Wednesday.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for McConnell to resign this week and argued that the border deal was far too weak to be acceptable. McConnell said his detractors are ignoring the reality of politics and compromise.

"I’ve had a small group of persistent critics the whole time I’ve been in this job. They had their shot," McConnell told Politico on Wednesday, referring to an attempt to replace him as leader in 2022.

"The reason we’ve been talking about the border is because they wanted to, the persistent critics," he continued. "You can’t pass a bill without dealing with a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate."

GOP SENATORS RALLY AGAINST BIPARTISAN BORDER DEAL, CITING BIDEN’S POWER TO SUSPEND ‘EMERGENCY’ BILL

When asked on Tuesday specifically about Cruz's call for him to resign, McConnell responded with his typical deadpan humor.

"I think we can all agree that Senator Cruz is not a fan," he told reporters.

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE

Cruz is not the only Republican senator speaking out, however. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, campaigned against the border bill and has called for "new leadership" in the party. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., was similarly frustrated.

"I’ve been super unhappy since this started," Johnson told Politico. "Leader McConnell completely blew this."

Cruz said the bill, crafted by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., "codifies" Biden's penchant to allow a porous border and "normalizes" 5,000 illegal migrants per day.

EX-ICE CHIEF SCOFFS AT KATHY HOCHUL'S SUDDEN MIGRANT OUTRAGE

"That works out to 1.8 million a year. That works out to about 6 million illegal immigrants over the three years of Biden.… So the idiotic Republican proposal was let's be for two thirds of the border invasion that Biden has allowed," he told Fox News on Wednesday morning.

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The GOP infighting comes as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced 1 million border encounters since Oct. 1, the beginning of fiscal year 2024. The CBP reached the 1 million mark faster than any other year.