Category: fox-news/person/hunter-biden

Impeach Biden? Skeptical GOP senators warn against mimicking Dems who ‘cheapened’ the process

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's recent comments about opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden were greeted with skepticism from Senate Republicans, including one who warned against following the lead of Democrats who "cheapened" the process under former President Trump.

"You'd have to have the argument," Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday. "It's a high threshold. I'd assume they'd have to have evidence and some process where they would at least get that evidence if they don't have it."

"Clearly the statements they're making would lead me to believe they have evidence. Or they think they have evidence that could reach that threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors," Thune added. "I'll say what I said before, and that is I think the best way to change the presidency is win the election… I think it's in our best interest to be making an argument for why we need to have the majority in the House, the Senate and the White House come Jan. 2025."

In a Monday night in an interview on "Hannity," McCarthy escalated his talk about potentially impeaching Biden by saying "this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry." The speaker said evidence uncovered by House committees' investigations into the president may necessitate a full inquiry to gather more evidence of alleged corruption by the Biden family.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES HUNGRY FOR BIDEN IMPEACHMENT AFTER MCCARTHY'S COMMENTS: ‘GROUND SHIFTED’

"You've got IRS whistleblowers saying something when it comes to government treating the Bidens different. You've got an informant claiming that the Biden family had been bribed. Should you ignore that or should investigate that?" McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. "The only way you can investigate that is through an impeachment inquiry. So the committee would have the power to get all the documents that they would need."

However, Senate Republicans were not excited about the prospect of a third presidential impeachment in four years.

"It's getting to be a habit around here, isn't it?" Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said of impeachments.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

"No it's not," Cornyn added when asked if that was a good thing. "Unfortunately what goes around, comes around. But obviously the stuff that the House is revealing about the Biden family business is very disturbing. But obviously the Senate doesn't have any role in that."

"I'll wait to see what evidence they present," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. "But we've got to do the homework. They cheapened the process the last two impeachments and we don't want to repeat that mistake."

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said there are serious lingering questions about the Biden family, including what the president knew about his son Hunter's overseas business dealings and if Biden got any money from those deals. However, Kennedy said mere political disagreements should not be grounds for an impeachment.

DOJ OFFERS HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATOR FOR TESTIMONY BEFORE THE HOUSE

"No one should be impeached, certainly not a president, unless there is substantial evidence that the president has committed a high crime or misdemeanor," Kennedy said. "I'm not going to support – and I'm not suggesting this is what Kevin has suggested – but I'm not gonna support impeaching somebody just because I don't like their politics."

It is up to the House to impeach a president, but removal from office only happens if two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict the commander in chief.

An impeachment would be very difficult to get through the House with McCarthy's narrow GOP majority. It would also put massive pressure on his most moderate members in districts that voted for Biden if impeachment came to the floor. Like the two Trump impeachments, it is highly unlikely the Senate would vote to convict Biden given its Democratic majority and the supermajority vote needed to remove Biden. 

IRS WHISTLEBLOWER: 'INDEPENDENT ATTORNEY' NEEDED IN HUNTER BIDEN DELAWARE CASE

However, at least one Republican in the Senate welcomed the prospect of more investigative tools for the House as it looks into the Biden family.

"I think we're gonna get to a point really soon, you may have to stand up a committee that then would open an impeachment inquiry just to do the investigation, particularly because the White House isn't cooperating at all," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

He added, "The American people deserve to know if the president's a crook."

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However, even Sen. Chuck Grassley R-Iowa, who has been among the leading voices on investigating the president and Hunter Biden, said in a floor speech about evidence detailing a bribery allegation against the president that his focus is on federal law enforcement.

"I want to make clear what my oversight focus is and will be holding the Justice Department and the FBI accountable to explain to the American people what they did to investigate and what they found," Grassley said.

Fox News' Brianna O'Neil and Ben Florance contributed to this report.

Republican calls to impeach Biden grow following release of FBI document detailing bribery allegations

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Republicans immediately began lashing out at President Biden Thursday following the release of an unclassified FBI document detailing his alleged involvement in an international bribery scheme, with a number rallying for his impeachment.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released the FD-1023 form earlier in the day which detailed how Biden, along with his son, Hunter Biden, allegedly "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired.

"Most corrupt family to ever live in the White House! Impeach!" Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., wrote on Twitter, while Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., wrote, "Read and understand just how deep the corruption goes. Biden should be thrown out of office. Impeach!"

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and conservative firebrand Kari Lake suggested the president was guilty of "extortion" and "treason" in addition to bribery, and claimed former President Donald Trump was impeached for Biden's "crimes."

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

"Is this why Biden has America involved in the war in Ukraine??? Joe Biden is a criminal and is compromised! And he is leading us into WW3 [because Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy has proof of more Biden crimes," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted. "Republicans can no longer delay, but we need 218 Republican votes to do it. I’ve been there since day one and so are the American people. IMPEACH BIDEN!!!"

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also called for Biden's impeachment prior to the release of the document, writing that he "NEEDS to be impeached" because of the "evidence and testimony" she had seen as a member of the House Oversight Committee investigating the Biden family finances. "He is compromised and his son is selling access to him," she added.

"This is damning evidence that Biden is compromised. Remember when Democrats and their pals in the media went as far as to question whether this document even exists?" Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, tweeted, while Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., declared, "The Biden family corruption saga continues."

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., vowed the House Oversight Committee would hold Biden accountable, while Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., told Fox News, "It causes some great concerns that our president could be compromised to a foreign government."

WHISTLEBLOWER CONFIRMS ATTORNEY WHO DONATED TO BIDEN'S 2020 CAMPAIGN ‘REFUSED TO BRING CHARGES’ AGAINST HUNTER

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment, however White House spokesman for oversight and investigations Ian Sams wrote on Twitter, "The far right machine is in overdrive to spread long-disproven lies about President Biden promulgated by Congressional Republicans This time disguised by the facade of a ‘new FBI form.’ But an old debunked lie is still an old debunked lie, even if it put on a new pair of shoes."

Grassley said he released the document so that the American people can "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats." The document in question is an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which Grassley acquired via legally protected disclosures by Justice Department whistleblowers, according to the senator's office. 

That FD-1023 — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — reflects the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.

Fox News Digital has reviewed the document, which includes new information, including the identity of the business executive — Burisma CEO Zlochevsky — and the allegations that he was "coerced" into paying Joe Biden and Hunter Biden millions of dollars to get a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his firm fired. 

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Bidens allegedly ‘coerced’ Burisma CEO to pay them millions to help get Ukraine prosecutor fired: FBI form

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Joe Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired, according to allegations contained in an unclassified FBI document released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley said he released the document, which describes an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a Ukrainian business executive, so that the American people can "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats." 

The document in question is an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which Grassley acquired via legally protected disclosures by Justice Department whistleblowers, according to the senator's office. 

EXCLUSIVE: JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT

That FD-1023 — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — reflects the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.

Fox News Digital has reviewed the document, which includes new information, including the identity of the business executive — Burisma CEO Zlochevsky — and the allegations that he was "coerced" into paying Joe Biden and Hunter Biden millions of dollars to get a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his firm fired. 

In the form, Zlochevsky tells the source he has "many text messages and ‘recordings’ that show he was coerced to make such payments" to the Bidens.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

The unclassified document is dated June 30, 2020, and says the contact with the source was "telephonic."

The source reported to the FBI that "in late 2015 or 2016, during the Obama/Biden Administration, CHS was first introduced to officials at Ukraine natural gas business Burisma Holdings through [redacted] Oleksandr Ostapenko." The form reflects that there is an additional FD-1023 detailing information brought by the source dated Jan. 2, 2018.

HOUSE GOP DEMAND TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEWS FROM HUNTER BIDEN PROSECUTOR, DOJ, IRS, SECRET SERVICE OFFICIALS

"CHS and Ostapenko traveled to Ukraine and went to Burisma’s office…the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Burisma’s interest in purchasing a US-based oil and gas business, for purposes of merging it with Burisma for purposes of conducting an IPO in the US," the form states. "Burisma was willing to purchase a US-based entity for $20-$30 million."

The form states that the CHS attended that meeting, as well as Burisma’s CFO Vadim Pojarski and Karina Zlochevsky, the daughter of CEO and founder Mykola Zlochevsky.

Fox News Digital has previously reported that Hunter Biden and his business associates had much contact with Pojarskii [Pozharsky] about his role on the board of the company.

"During the meeting Pojarskii asked CHS whether CHS was aware of Burisma’s Board of Directors. CHS replied ‘no,’ and Pojarski advised the board members included: 1) the former president or prime minister of Poland; and 2) Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

"Pojarskii said Burisma hired the former president or prime minister of Poland to leverage his contacts in Europe for prospective oil and gas deals," the form states.

Burisma said they "hired Hunter Biden ‘to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.’"

The source asked why Burisma needed his assistance regarding the merger of the U.S.-based company when Biden was on their board, to which Pojarskii replied: "Hunter Biden was not smart, and they wanted to get additional counsel."

EXCLUSIVE: PERSON ALLEGING BIDEN CRIMINAL BRIBERY SCHEME IS 'HIGHLY CREDIBLE' FBI SOURCE USED SINCE OBAMA ADMIN: SOURCE

The form jumps to a meeting the source detailed that took place two months later. The source met with Mykola Zlochevsky in Vienna, Austria, outside a coffee shop, along with Ostapenko.

"CHS recalled this meeting took place around the time Joe Biden made a public statement about (former) Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin being corrupt, and that he should be fired/removed from office," the form states. "CHS told Zlochevsky that due to Shokin’s investigation into Burisma, which was made public at this time, it would have a substantial negative impact on Burisma’s prospective IPO in the United States." 

"Zlochevsky replied something to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry Hunter will take care of those issues through his dad," the form states, adding that the source "did not ask any further questions about what that specifically meant." 

Zlochevsky went on to say, "Hunter Biden advised Burisma it could raise much more capital if Burisma purchased a larger US-based business that already had a history in the US oil and gas sector." The source said Zlochevsky mentioned a business in Texas.

"CHS advised Zlochevsky it would be problematic to raise capital in the US given Shokin’s investigation into Burisma as nobody in the US would invest in a company that was the subject of a criminal investigation," the form states.

DOJ KNEW HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS 'NOT MANIPULATED,' CONTAINED 'RELIABLE EVIDENCE' IN 2019: WHISTLEBLOWER

"CHS suggested it would be best if Burisma simply litigate the matter in Ukraine, and pay some attorney $50,000," the form states, but Zlochevsky said Burisma "would likely lose the trial because he could not show that Burisma was innocent."

"Zlochevsky also laughed at CHS’s number of $50,000 (not because of the small amounts but because the number contained a ‘5’) and said that ‘it costs 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden." 

"CHS noted that at this time, it was unclear to CHS whether these alleged payments were already made," the form states.

But the form states that the source told Zlochevsky that "any such payments to the Bidens would complicate matters, and Burisma should hire ‘some normal US oil and gas advisors’ because the Bidens have no experience with the business sector."

"Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden ‘was stupid, and his [Zlochevsky’s] dog was smarter,’ Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden [on the board] ‘so everything will be okay,’" the form states.

The source went on to ask "whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should retain Hunter."

"Zlochevsky replied: ‘They both did.’"

The source retired that this was a "mistake," and that Zlochevsky "should fire Hunter Biden and deal with Shokin’s investigation directly so that the matter" stayed an issue in Ukraine and so that it did not "turn into some international matter," to which Zlochevsky stressed not to worry and "this thing will go away anyway."

"CHS replied that, notwithstanding Shokin’s investigation, it was still a bad decision for Burisma to spend $20-30 million to buy a US business, and that CHS didn’t want to be involved with the Biden matter," the form states.

"Zlochevsky responded that he appreciated CHS’s advice, but that ‘it’s too late to change his decision.’"

"CHS understood this to mean that Zlochevsky had already paid the Bidens, presumably to ‘deal with Shokin,’" the form states.

"It is remarkable that congressional Republicans, in their eagerness to go after President Biden regardless of the truth, continue to push claims that have been debunked for years and that they themselves have cautioned to take ‘with a grain of salt’ because they could be ‘made up,’" said White House spokesman Ian Sams. "These claims have reportedly been scrutinized by the Trump Justice Department, a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, and a full impeachment trial of the former President that centered on these very issues, and over and over again, they have been found to lack credibility. It’s clear that congressional Republicans are dead-set on playing shameless, dishonest politics and refuse to let truth get in the way. It is well past time for news organizations to hold them to basic levels of factual accountability for their repeated and increasingly desperate efforts to mislead both the public and the press."

The FBI said in a statement that the release of the 1023 risked the safety of a confidential source:

"Throughout the FBI’s engagements with Congress, we have been guided by our obligation to protect the physical safety of confidential human sources and the integrity of sensitive investigations. We have repeatedly explained to Congress, in correspondence and in briefings, how critical it is to keep this source information confidential. In the face of these significant concerns, the FBI negotiated a resolution with Chairman Comer to provide the information requested in a manner that protects the safety of confidential sources and integrity of investigations."

Meanwhile, the form jumps to a "2016/2017 telephone call" the source had with Zlochevsky after the 2016 presidential election. Zlochevsky said he was "not happy Trump won the election."

"CHS asked Zlochevsky whether he was concerned about Burisma’s involvement with the Bidens," the form states. "Zlochevsky stated he didn't want to pay the Bidens and he was ‘pushed to pay’ them." 

The source explained to the FBI agent taking notes of his conversation that the Russian term Zlochevsky used to explain the payments was "poluchili." The form states that "literally translates to; 'got it’ or ‘received it’ but is also used in "Russian criminal slang for being ‘forced or coerced to pay.’"

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

At this point, Shokin had already been fired. Zlochevsky said "nobody would find out about his financial dealings with the Bidens."

"CHS then stated, ‘I hope you have some back-up (proof) for your words (namely, that Zlochevsky was ‘forced’ to pay the Bidens)."

"Zlochevsky replied he has many text messages and ‘recordings’ that show that he was coerced to make such payments," the form states. "CHS told Zlochevsky he should make certain that he should retain those recordings."

The form then jumps to a 2019 telephone call between the source and Ostapenko, in which they discussed "various business matters" unrelated to Burisma.

"During the call, Zlochevsky asked CHS and/or Ostapenko if they read the recent news reports about the investigations into the Bidens and Burisma, and Zlochevsky jokingly asked if the CHS was an ‘oracle’ (due to CHS’s prior advice that Zlochevsky should not pay the Bidens and instead to hire an attorney to litigate the allegations concerning Shokin’s investigation)," the form states.

"CHS mentioned Zlochevsky might have difficulty explaining suspicious wire transfers that may evidence any (illicit) payments to the Bidens," the form states. "Zlochevsky responded he did not send any funds directly to the ‘Big Guy’ (which CHS understood was a reference to Joe Biden)."

The form says CHS asked Zlochevsky how many companies and bank accounts he controlled, to which he responded it would "take them (investigators) 10 years to find the records (i.e. illicit payments to Joe Biden)."

While the source detailed the conversations with Zlochevsky, he also told the FBI that "it is very common for business men in post-Soviet countries to brag or show-off" and said it is "extremely common for businesses in Russia and Ukraine to make ‘bribe’ payments to various government officials."

As for recordings and text messages of conversations with the Bidens, the source said that Zlochevsky said he had "a total of 17 recordings" involving the Bidens; "two of the recordings included Joe Biden, and the remaining 15 recordings only included Hunter Biden."

The source said those recordings "evidence Zlochevsky was somehow coerced into paying the Bidens to ensure" Shokin was fired.

The source said Zlochevsky also had "two documents (which CHS understood to be wire transfer statements, bank records, etc.), that evidence some payment(s) to the Bidens were made, presumably in exchange for Shokin’s firing." 

"For the better part of a year, I’ve been pushing the Justice Department and FBI to provide details on its handling of very significant allegations from a trusted FBI informant implicating then-Vice President Biden in a criminal bribery scheme," Grassley said. "While the FBI sought to obfuscate and redact, the American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats, thanks to brave and heroic whistleblowers. What did the Justice Department and FBI do with the detailed information in the document? And why have they tried to conceal it from Congress and the American people for so long?"

Grassley added: "The Justice Department and FBI have failed to come clean, but Chairman Comer and I intend to find out." 

Comer subpoenaed the FBI to turn over the unredacted document to Congress. The FBI did not comply, but instead, made accommodations to allow lawmakers to review the document in a secure setting last month. 

"The FBI’s Biden Bribery Record tracks closely with the evidence uncovered by the Oversight Committee’s Biden family influence peddling investigation," House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer said. "In the FBI’s record, the Burisma executive claims that he didn’t pay the ‘big guy’ directly but that he used several bank accounts to conceal the money. That sounds an awful lot like how the Bidens conduct business: using multiple bank accounts to hide the source and total amount of the money." 

Comer added: "At our hearing with IRS whistleblowers, they testified that they had never seen or heard of this record during the Biden criminal investigation, despite having potentially corroborating evidence. Given the misconduct and politicization at the Department of Justice, the American people must be able to read this record for themselves. I thank Senator Grassley for providing much needed transparency to the American people."

Hunter’s lawyers team up with Jan 6 committee investigator to discredit laptop

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman has maneuvered his way into Hunter Biden's circle and is working with the first son's legal team to conduct digital forensics on the infamous laptop, as well as joining festivities at the White House.

Riggleman has reportedly aided President Biden's son since late 2022, analyzing whether any of the data on the lost laptop was fabricated — as Hunter Biden faces intensifying investigations from House Republicans.

"When I took this job, I wasn’t pro-Hunter or anti-Hunter. I am pro-data and facts," Riggleman wrote on Twitter Wednesday. "Forensics make clear that considerable information linked to Hunter Biden is questionable."

"What ‘data’ is being used? A laptop and data saying it’s a laptop are two different things," Riggleman said in a separate post, apparently attempting to question the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop. Data from hard drive from the laptop has been verified by multiple news outlets, and an IRS whistleblower recently revealed that federal investigators knew in December 2019 that the laptop was "not manipulated in any way" and contained "reliable evidence."

HUNTER BIDEN DRIVING 170 MHP IN PROSCHE AMONG NEW LAPTOP PHOTOS POSTED ONLINE

Individuals close to Hunter Biden's legal team reportedly told CBS News that Riggleman was also feeding first son information on the investigation methods of House Republicans.

A laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was reportedly left at a Delaware computer repair shop and turned over to the FBI in December 2019. The contents of the laptop, including 10,000 shocking photos recently made public online, "likely contained evidence of tax crimes," according to the IRS whistleblower.

IT'S APPALLING THE WAY THE BIDEN FAMILY IS TREATING HUNTER'S DAUGHTER: JONATHAN FAHEY

The emails and text messages found on the laptop also sparked concerns over President Biden's involvement with son Hunter's overseas business dealings.

Kevin Morris, a Malibu-based lawyer working with Hunter Biden, said Riggleman is "an invaluable resource" to the first son's legal team.

"Denver has been assisting us with data analysis since late last year," Morris told CBS News. "He is an invaluable resource, and we have made tremendous strides in untangling the massive amount of corruption and disinformation involved in this story. There will be much more coming to the public." 

Riggleman also reportedly spent the Fourth of July at the White House with the Hunter's legal team.

After getting ousted in a Virginia 2020 Republican primary, outspoken Trump-critic Riggleman served as an advisor on the January 6 Committee.

The news of Riggleman's involvement with Hunter and analysis of laptop contents comes after the Daily Mail reported on new footage of younger Biden filming himself and appearing to smoke crack while driving through Arlington, Virginia, in June 2018.

Another set of photos from the president's son recently surfaced of him driving 172 miles per hour in his Porsche to Las Vegas in August 2018.

Hunter Biden recently agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and a separate charge for possessing a firearm while acting as an unlawful user and addict of a controlled substance.

Following the plea deal, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley Jr. claimed that there was intentional federal interference in the investigation, leading to calls for further GOP investigations and the impeachment of President Biden.

Fox News' Houston Keene and Brooke Singeman contributed to this report.

GOP presidential candidates spar over calls to impeach Biden for alleged meddling in Hunter investigation

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley faced criticism from a fellow GOP presidential candidate after calling for the impeachment of President Biden over whistleblower claims there was intentional federal interference in the probe targeting his son Hunter.

"Somebody needs to do it," Haley told Fox News' Greg Gutfeld when asked about Congress potentially seeking to impeach Biden over the allegations as he ramps up his campaign for re-election next cycle. "If the Justice Department’s not going to do it, Congress should do it. But somebody needs to do it. It smells bad all day long.

"You’re not talking about just some guy that showed up and decided to say something," Haley added, suggesting the whistleblower was a credible source.

While the presidential candidate believes immediate action should be taken against Biden, GOP candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also in the running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, said "impeachment should not be used as a political weapon."

IRS WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS ‘MOST SUBSTANTIVE FELONY CHARGES WERE LEFT OFF THE TABLE’ IN HUNTER BIDEN PROBE

IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley Jr., supervisor of the Hunter Biden investigation at the IRS, revealed that during the investigation into the president's son, "we weren’t allowed to ask about ‘the big guy,'" referring to a prohibition on asking witnesses questions. 

Numerous reports suggest Hunter Biden referred to his father as "the big guy" in communications.

Shapley also conveyed the information in testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee, where he noted Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors purposely chose not to obtain search warrants related to Hunter Biden.

NIKKI HALEY: BIDEN'S LOVE FOR HUNTER APPEARS TO BE GREATER THAN HIS LOVE FOR AMERICA

"While the whistleblower allegations are serious and must be investigated, impeachment should not be an option until the investigation shows corrupt action by the president," Hutchinson said in a press release Friday reacting to Haley's statement. 

The Republican argued a "thorough investigation" should be conducted before there are calls for impeachment.

"Impeachment should not be used as a political weapon but reserved for serious wrongdoing," Hutchinson said. "The facts should determine what action, if any, Congress should take, and impeachment should not precede a thorough investigation." 

A spokesman for Haley's campaign reiterated the former U.N. ambassador's position. 

"Nikki believes Congress needs to get to the bottom of whether Joe Biden committed crimes or other impeachable offenses since the Justice Department refuses to do it. That process starts with a congressional oversight investigation," said Haley spokesman Ken Farnaso.

Wyn Hornbuckle, deputy director of the Justice Department Office of Public Affairs, immediately denied Shapley's shocking claims regarding the investigation.

"As both the attorney general and U.S. Attorney David Weiss have said, U.S. Attorney Weiss has full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate," Hornbuckle said in a statement. "He needs no further approval to do so." 

The whistleblower came out after Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and a separate charge for possessing a firearm while acting as an unlawful user and addict of a controlled substance.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty in federal tax, gun case

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty in the federal case stemming from years-long investigation into his tax affairs, Fox News has confirmed.

Fox News has confirmed that the president's son will plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. Hunter Biden also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018. That investigation into his "tax affairs" began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations." 

Fox News first reported in 2020 that the FBI had subpoenaed a laptop and hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in connection with a money-laundering investigation in late 2019. 

2011 EMAILS REVEAL HUNTER BIDEN HELPED BUSINESS ASSOCIATES GET ACESS TO VP BIDEN , TOP AIDE

In December 2020, weeks after the 2020 presidential election, Biden publicly acknowledged he was under investigation related to his taxes. At the time, Biden said he took the matter "very seriously" and was "confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors." 

IT'S TIME TO END THE PROTECTION OF HUNTER BIDEN: JACK KALAVRITINOS

The firearms charge stemmed from allegations that Hunter Biden lied during a gun purchase in 2018. 

Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter Biden was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.

A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News that it indicated that Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden's late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.

A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated that Hunter Biden purchased a gun earlier that month.

On the firearm transaction report, Hunter Biden answered in the negative when asked if he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"

Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.

The White House reacted to the charges Tuesday morning. 

"The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life," White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement. "We will have no further comment."

Questions surrounding Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings entered the political conversation in 2019. Former President Donald Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launch an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings—specifically why then-Vice President Joe Biden pressed Zelensky's predecessor to fire a top prosecutor investigating Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden held a lucrative role on the board. 

That phone call prompted the first Trump impeachment. Republicans, in their defense of the former president, zeroed in on Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, even suggesting Biden testify as part of the impeachment proceedings. The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in December 2019, but he was acquitted by the Senate. 

Republicans in the Senate, like Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also began investigating Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings in 2019. Grassley and Johnson released a report out of their joint investigation in September 2020. 

In that report, Grassley and Johnson said they obtained records from the U.S. Treasury Department that showed "potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals." The report also stated that Senate investigators found millions of dollars in "questionable financial transactions" between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow as well as individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

ANDY MCCARTHY: WE'RE DEALING WITH ‘VERY SOPHISTICATED ACTORS’ IN HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP INTEL LETTER

In the fall of 2022, Grassley and Johnson flagged to the FBI that they were in possession of whistleblower allegations suggesting the bureau had "significant, impactful and voluminous evidence with respect to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden and James Biden" and related to Hunter's work with Burisma Holdings. 

And when Republicans took the House majority following the 2022 midterm elections, the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., ramped up its investigative work, focusing in on the Biden family and whether their foreign business transactions put U.S. national security at risk. 

The White House has maintained that the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and that the president was never involved in them. Officials also say the president has never discussed investigations into members of his family with the Justice Department.

The charges against the first son come after an IRS criminal supervisory agent seeking whistleblower protections said the federal investigation into Hunter Biden was being mishandled by the Biden administration. 

The whistleblower claimed "clear" conflicts of interest, including giving the president’s son "preferential treatment." The whistleblower also claimed politics are "improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected."

The White House has fired back against those allegations, saying that Biden has upheld his commitment to ensure the investigation is "free from any political interference."

Meanwhile, a separate whistleblower has alleged that the FBI and the Justice Department are in possession of a document that describes a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. 

Comer and Grassley said the whistleblower claims the document "includes a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose."

The document, which Comer subpoenaed, an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions. 

The White House on Wednesday slammed what it said were "unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the president and his family" made "without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests."

"When it comes to President Biden’s personal finances, anybody can take a look: he has offered an unprecedented level of transparency, releasing a total of 25 years of tax returns to the American public," White House spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital. 

Trump says Biden family is ‘being protected’ by the ‘corrupt’ and ‘one-sided’ justice system

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former President Trump said President Biden and his family are "being protected" by the "corrupt" and "one-sided" justice system in the United States, while telling Fox News that he should not have been impeached—especially if officials were aware, at the time, of Hunter Biden’s "evil" laptop.

During a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity in Clive, Iowa Thursday night, Trump railed against the "witch hunts" that he’s faced throughout his political career, while illustrating a double standard between how he is handled versus Biden and his family.

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"They’re being protected, and it’s a one-sided system—it is a very unfair system, but they’re being protected," Trump said.

The former president referenced then-Vice President Joe Biden’s efforts to have a Ukrainian prosecutor fired and halt an investigation into Burisma Holdings—a Ukrainian natural gas firm where Hunter Biden sat on the board.

During a call in July 2019, Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, and Joe Biden’s successful efforts in having the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, ousted.

Trump's request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats cited as a quid pro quo arrangement. Democrats also claimed Trump was meddling in the 2020 presidential election by asking a foreign leader to look into a Democratic political opponent.

But Trump’s questions about Hunter Biden were not unfounded. Hunter Biden, at the time of Trump’s first impeachment, had already been under federal criminal investigation for his tax affairs, prompted by suspicious foreign transactions, for more than a year.

FLASHBACK: EX-UKRAINE PROSECUTOR SAID HE WAS TOLD TO BACK OFF PROBE OF BIDEN-LINKED FIRM, FILES SHOW

That investigation, which is ongoing and being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Delaware, was opened in 2018.

Fox News Digital first reported the existence of some type of federal investigation involving Hunter Biden in October 2020, ahead of the last presidential election. It became known then that the FBI had subpoenaed the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in the course of an existing money laundering investigation.

"When you look at all of this criminality like the laptop has so much stuff on it," Trump said during the town hall Thursday. "It’s so bad. It's so evil, and yet, they don’t want to do anything."

Trump said the laptop "even affected the impeachment hoax number one." 

"If they read the laptop, and they had the laptop, it should not have proceeded, because I was right," Trump said. "It is a dual system of government."

Trump added: "You can’t have law and order in a country where you have such corruption."

The House voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on two counts— abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted for acquittal in February 2020. Trump was also impeached in January 2021 on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot—making him the first and only president to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice in history.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT PROBES INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM STORMY DANIELS TO RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

Meanwhile, Trump shifted, reflecting on the Russia investigation. 

"From the day I got in, I was under siege by people that had been in Washington for many years, put in there by different presidents," Trump said. "In most cases, people that were against me."

He added: "They spied on my campaign, they did all sorts of things. I was under investigation and under siege and so were my people." 

Trump said that if he "wasn’t tough," he "wouldn’t be here right now." 

"I guarantee that if I didn’t fight back, I wouldn’t be here," Trump said. "What they did was so bad, and they’ve been caught now." 

Trump was referring to Special Counsel John Durham’s final report, which Fox News Digital first reported last month. Durham, after years of investigating, found that the Department of Justice and FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" when it launched the Trump-Russia investigation.

TRUMP SAYS THERE 'MUST BE A HEAVY PRICE TO PAY' FOR COMEY, DEMOCRATS AFTER RELEASE OF DURHAM REPORT

Durham was appointed by former Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI's original Russia investigation, known as "Crossfire Hurricane." That investigation looked into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Durham also found that the FBI relied significantly on "investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump's political opponents." 

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"So far, nothing’s happened to them of consequence," Trump said. 

Durham is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on his investigation's findings later this month. 

Oversight Dem linked to consultants managing group funneling millions into torpedoing Biden investigations

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

A Democratic congressman tasked with pushing back against Republican investigations into President Biden, his administration, and the president's son, Hunter Biden, has links to a major consultancy that manages a fund funneling millions to a group attempting to torpedo those very investigations, Fox News Digital has discovered.

Through his family foundation, Rep. Daniel Goldman, D.-N.Y, a member of the House Oversight Committee, has ties to Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm that overlooks the largest dark money network in the country. Arabella Advisors manages the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has bankrolled the Congressional Integrity Project, a group of liberal operatives working behind the scenes with Democrats in attempts to smother the Biden investigations by Goldman's GOP colleagues on the Oversight Committee.

Goldman, a wealthy heir to the Levi Strauss jean company fortune, acted as the lead Democratic counsel for President Trump's first impeachment, making him a valuable asset for Democrats on the powerful Oversight Committee, where he'll serve as a main counterpunch to Republican investigators.

"Representative Goldman's deep-seated financial ties to a dark money network that is attempting to influence the Oversight Committee are extremely problematic," Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. "How can Goldman be trusted to execute his duties ethically when he seems so fraught with conflicts himself?"

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Goldman's ties to Arabella Advisors lie with his family foundation, the Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation, which works to "promote equality" and reduce "barriers to opportunity across generations for our nation's most disadvantaged." According to tax forms, Goldman held several roles at the foundation, which he typically operated alongside a few other family members. In 2012, he became its secretary; in 2018, he also took over its treasurer responsibilities. 

The same year he became its treasurer, Goldman's family foundation moved its books into the care of Arabella Advisors. But even before the influential firm took over its books, the foundation had paid Arabella Advisors hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees dating back to 2013, its tax forms show. The foundation has also doled out more than $1.2 million to the New Venture Fund, an Arabella Advisors-managed dark money nonprofit incubator, for endeavors.

Goldman's 2022 financial disclosure shows that he had shifted his position to the sole family foundation board member reported on previous years' tax forms.

Arabella Advisors, meanwhile, manages the Sixteen Thirty Fund, another dark money nonprofit incubator that pushes hundreds of millions of dollars into left-wing causes and initiatives each year. In 2020 and 2021, the Sixteen Thirty Fund funneled $1.5 million into the Congressional Integrity Project, the Washington Examiner first reported, which was nearly all of the Congressional Integrity Project's cash during that time. 

The Sixteen Thirty Fund told the publication that they're "proud to support efforts to strengthen integrity and transparency in government" and that their grants to the Congressional Integrity Project "funded important research to ensure effective, ethical leadership in Washington."

ARABELLA ADVISORS: FIRM OVERLOOKING MOST POWERFUL LEFT-WING DARK MONEY NETWORK IN AMERICA EXPANDS OPERATIONS

Despite receiving the cash, the Congressional Integrity Project, launched in 2020, had gone dormant for some time. It resurfaced late last year following the midterm elections to begin preparing to push back against the Biden investigations, primarily by setting its sights on the Republicans conducting them.

Politico reported last November that the group remobilized by launching a multi-million dollar hub to counter Republican investigative efforts, including rapid response teams, researchers, pollsters, and a media campaign to put Republicans "squarely on the defense," Kyle Herrig, a Congressional Integrity Project founder, told the publication. 

Herrig said his group would act as the party's "leading war room" to dent Republican investigators. A person familiar with its plans said they had briefed Democratic leadership on the group's operations last year, and they've since reportedly held calls with top party lawmakers.

House Oversight Republicans will zero in on various issues, ranging from the border crisis to the Biden family's domestic and international business dealings.

Goldman's office did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry on his ties to Arabella Advisors and if the Congressional Integrity Project had ever briefed him or anyone on his staff. His family foundation and the Congressional Integrity Project also did not respond to requests for comment.

LIBERAL DARK MONEY GROUP FORMS TO PUSH BACK AGAINST ANTI-CRT EFFORTS IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Arabella Advisors overlooks America's largest liberal dark money network and recently expanded its operations by acquiring the New York-based Kiwi Partners, which provides nonprofit accounting and consulting services.

The expansion happened as the nexus continued its operations as the pinnacle dark money network, further showing how Democrats have exploited anonymous donations while publicly railing against their political influence.

The five Arabella Advisors-managed funds - the Sixteen Thirty, New Venture, Hopewell, Windward, and North funds - experience massive cash flows that include billions of dollars raised and poured into progressive causes and initiatives across the country. None of the funds disclose their contributors, but some of the most prominent Democratic donors have passed cash to them, their own tax forms have shown. 

"As we've stated repeatedly, Arabella Advisors is a business dedicated to making philanthropic work more efficient, effective, and equitable," an Arabella spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. "Our nonprofit clients hire us to provide HR, legal, payroll and other administrative services—and, like all service providers, we work for our clients, not the other way around. They make their own decisions on strategy, fundraising, and programmatic goals."

Groups tied to the network also work behind the scenes on Biden initiatives. For example, Governing for Impact, a group fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund and bankrolled by a George Soros nonprofit, has worked with Biden's administration to shape policy, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Arabella Advisors did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on this story.

Trump calls Pence a ‘very honorable man’ after Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoena

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump called former Vice President Pence a "very honorable man" after Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Pence as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Pence was subpoenaed by Smith after months of negotiations between Pence’s legal team and federal prosecutors.

"Mike Pence is an honorable man," Trump told Fox News Digital on Friday in an exclusive interview, but he laid out a number of areas he hopes Smith will consider and look into as part of his investigation.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE SUBPOENAED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL OVERSEEING TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS

"Are they going to look for the people that spied on my campaign?" Trump asked, referring to the FBI’s original investigation into whether Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

That investigation was taken over by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017. After nearly two years, the investigation yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Special Counsel John Durham has been investigating the origins of that probe since 2019. 

"Are they going to look at Special Agent Charles McGonigal who was in charge of the Russia probe and just arrested for taking large amounts of money from Russia?" Trump asked, referring to McGonigal, who was recently indicted on charges of money laundering and other counts stemming from his "collusion" with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO EX-FBI OFFICIAL CHARGED OVER TIES TO RUSSIAN OLIGARCH

McGonigal, who was a former special agent in charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division, was charged for working on behalf of and taking money from Deripaska, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Deripaska was the same Russian oligarch who was working with Christopher Steele — the author of the infamous anti-Trump dossier that served as the basis for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

RATCLIFFE: HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS A PARTISAN DOMESTIC 'DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN'

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As for the former vice president, it is unclear what prosecutors will seek from him, or whether Pence will invoke executive privilege.

In November, after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel, Trump told Fox News Digital that he "won’t partake" in the investigation against him, calling it "the worst politicization of justice in our country."

"I have been going through this for six years — for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore," Trump told Fox News Digital Friday. "And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this."

"I have been proven innocent for six years on everything — from fake impeachments to [former special counsel Robert] Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more?" Trump said. "It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political." 

From Trump’s impeachment trial to Hunter Biden: The biggest political scandals of 2020

Posted on by Adam Shaw
As 2020 comes to a close, the news has been dominated by a global pandemic, statewide lockdowns and a presidential election. Amid all that, it’s easy to forget about political events, including scandals and controversies, that otherwise would have been more in the spotlight.