House investigators heading to prison to interview ex-Hunter Biden biz associate amid impeachment inquiry

Congressional investigators are set to interview Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate, Jason Galanis, in prison on Friday to gather information on the Biden family’s business dealings and any "access" to then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Staff from the House Oversight and Judiciary committees are expected to travel to an Alabama prison, where Galanis is serving a 14-year prison sentence for securities fraud.

JAMES BIDEN SAYS HIS BROTHER 'HAS NEVER HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT' OR ANY 'FINANCIAL INTEREST' IN BUSINESS VENTURES

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan in November requested an interview with Galanis through the Bureau of Prisons.

Comer cited a Wall Street Journal report that "discusses the allegation of the ‘access’ Hunter Biden could provide while his father was vice president, with Mr. Galanis writing in 2014 that Hunter ‘will change your access forever,’" Comer wrote in the letter, requesting that investigators have the chance to "question Galanis about his firsthand knowledge of Hunter Biden’s influence peddling."

"The committees’ investigation requires that we obtain this information," Comer wrote. "Accordingly, we request the Federal Bureau of Prisons make Mr. Galanis available for a transcribed interview with Committee counsel."

Galanis formerly did business with both Hunter Biden and Devon Archer.

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

Galanis pleaded 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 to 14 years.

Devon Archer was tied to the scheme and convicted in 2018 for defrauding the Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means. 

Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. 

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

Archer testified before the committees last year that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Biden, 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." Archer was on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings along with Hunter Biden.

Galanis' expected testimony comes after James Biden testified that his brother, President Biden, "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures.

James Biden's testimony came days after his former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, testified before the committee, telling congressional investigators that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business ventures and testifying that he personally met with him. 

Days before Bobulinski's testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm his brother and son did business with.

After Walker's testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son."

Hunter Biden is expected to sit for his deposition on Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, the president last week called for the House impeachment inquiry to be dropped, calling it "an outrageous effort from the beginning."

James Biden ‘contradicted’ himself during testimony on brother’s involvement in family business: GOP lawmakers

GOP lawmakers on Wednesday accused James Biden of contradicting himself during testimony about his brother’s supposed business dealings with the family. 

The president’s brother initially said he was not part of a deal with his nephew Hunter Biden and business associates Rob Walker, Tony Bobulinski, and James Gilliar, according to a source familiar with the interview. 

But when presented with an agreement with his signature on it, Biden changed his story, saying he did not recall signing the agreement, the source said. 

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaking to reporters after the interview said it was "interesting" and that Biden had "contradicted himself." 

That conclusion was shared by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who told reporters: "Let me say this. So there are a lot of things that Mr. Biden is saying that are directly contradicted by documents." 

The lawmakers’ comments come after James Biden’s voluntary private interview on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into his brother, President Joe Biden. 

JAMES BIDEN ARRIVES ON CAPITAL HILL TO TESTIFY IN BROTHER'S IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

"I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures. Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities," the president's younger brother said. "None."

The interview with both Republican and Democratic staff as well as lawmakers lasted more than eight hours. During several breaks, Republicans came out and told reporters, without citing details, that James Biden's responses contradicted his opening statement and that he had made efforts to avoid directly answering investigators' questions.

The interview with James Biden was the latest in a series that GOP lawmakers have conducted recently as they seek to rebuild momentum for an impeachment process surrounding the Biden family's overseas finances that has stalled in recent months.

Wednesday’s testimony comes after a central claim of the GOP investigation was undermined by federal prosecutors, who last week indicted an FBI informant who claimed there was a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the president, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.

But Republicans argue that the informant was just one part of their broader investigation and say they intend to push ahead. "It doesn't change the fundamental facts," Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said.

The impeachment inquiry, which began in September under the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, has included the recent depositions of several former Biden family associates. 

James Biden says his brother ‘has never had any involvement’ or any ‘financial interest’ in business ventures

FIRST ON FOX: James Biden testified Wednesday that his brother, President Biden, "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures, Fox News Digital has learned.

The president’s brother arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

Fox News Digital obtained the first brother’s opening statement.

"I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures," James Biden said in his opening statement. "Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None."

James Biden went on to defend his brother, the president, saying that because of his "intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else," James Biden said. "In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships—and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother."

He added: "Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying."

James Biden stressed that Joe Biden "played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits" from his work with Chinese energy company CEFC, or the healthcare company Americore.

"With my appearance here today, the Committees will have the information to conclude that the negative and destructive assumptions about me and my relationship with my brother Joe are wrong," James Biden said.

So far in the investigation into Biden family businesses, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."

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

Republicans have also focused on a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled "loan repayment." 

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

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

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

James Biden to testify in brother’s impeachment inquiry behind closed doors

James Biden is expected to testify in the impeachment inquiry against his older brother, President Biden behind closed doors on Wednesday morning.

The president’s brother is set to appear for a deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Wednesday at 10 a.m.

JOE BIDEN RECEIVED $40K IN 'LAUNDERED CHINA MONEY' FROM BROTHER IN 2017, COMER SAYS

James Biden, also referred to as Jim Biden, had been subpoenaed in November to appear for a deposition as part of the impeachment inquiry — prior to it being formalized by the full House.

James Biden was involved in the Biden family business ventures with his nephew, Hunter Biden.

So far, during the investigation, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."

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

James Biden is expected to be questioned on whether Joe Biden was involved in the family's foreign business ventures.

James Biden is also expected to be questioned on "loan repayment" checks — one for $200,000 and another for $40,000 — that he wrote to the president.

JAMES BIDEN GIVEN LOAN, DIDN'T PROVIDE SERVICES TO AMERICORE DESPITE PROMISES TO USE LAST NAME, TRUSTEE SAYS

Comer said his panel had uncovered evidence that the president, in 2018, received a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled "loan repayment." 

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

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

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

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

The White House said the committee found that as a private citizen, the president loaned his brother his own money when his brother needed it, and after reviewing bank records, there is a record that he was repaid. 

Comer also said the president received another $40,000 "loan repayment" from James Biden, which the chairman described as "laundered China money."

COMER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT $200K 'DIRECT PAYMENT' FROM JAMES BIDEN TO JOE BIDEN IN 2018

Comer said the "money trail" began in July 2017 when Hunter Biden demanded a $10 million payment from a CEFC associate. In a WhatsApp message, he claimed "he was sitting with his father and that the Biden network would turn on his associate if he didn’t pony up the money," Comer explained.

Hunter Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure "you will regret not following my direction."

Hunter requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings. 

"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."

Comer, citing bank records he and his committee have obtained, said that on Aug. 8, 2017, the $5 million in funds were sent to Hudson West III, a joint-venture established by Hunter Biden and CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. The same day, Hudson West III sent $400,000 to Owasco, P.C.— a separate entity controlled and owned by Hunter Biden, Comer said.

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

Days later, on Aug. 14, 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Lion Hall Group, a company owned by James Biden and his wife Sara Biden. By Aug. 28, 2017, Comer said Sara Biden withdrew $50,000 in cash from Lion Hall Group and later deposited it into her and James Biden’s personal checking account.

"A few days later, Sara Biden cut a check to Joe Biden for $40,000," Comer said, referring to the Sept. 3, 2017, check his committee obtained. "The memo line of the check said, ‘loan repayment.’"

James Biden's expected testimony comes days after his former business associate Tony Bobulinski testified before the committee, telling congressional investigators that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business ventures, and testifying that he personally met with him. 

Days before Bobulinski's testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm his brother and son did business with. 

After Walker's testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son." 

Meanwhile, the president, last week, called for the House impeachment inquiry to be dropped, calling it "an outrageous effort from the beginning." 

Liberal pundits, urging Biden to withdraw, pushing convention scenario

A growing number of left-leaning pundits are hopping off the Biden train and they’re trying to come up with a plan to enable the president to jump off as well.

The attacks from the right are one thing, but these are Joe Biden’s people, who say he’s been a good president, who say he’s accomplished a great deal, but who say his age renders him either too likely or too certain to lose to Donald Trump. It’s the one problem he can’t fix.

At the same time, a new report says the Resistance is growing frustrated and burned out.

Nate Silver, the data guru and hardly a right-winger, says: "Personally, I crossed the rubicon in November, concluding that Biden should stand down if he wasn’t going to be able to run a normal re-election campaign — meaning, things like conduct a Super Bowl interview. Yes, it's a huge risk and, yes, Biden can still win. But he's losing now and there's no plan to fix the problems."

MEDIA DEEM TRUMP THE NOMINEE, DESPITE HALEY TYING HIM TO PUTIN

After noting that an improving economy hasn’t helped him, Silver says "it’s become even clearer that Biden’s age is an enormous problem for him. As many as 86% of Americans say he’s too old in one poll, though numbers in the 70-to-75% range are more common — still an overwhelming majority in a bitterly-divided country." 

And that wasn’t helped by the special counsel’s report calling him an elderly man with a poor memory.

"But even the most optimistic Democrats, if you read between the lines, are really arguing that Democrats could win despite Biden and not because of him. Biden is probably a below-replacement-level candidate at this point because Americans have a lot of extremely rational concerns about the prospect of a Commander-in-Chief who would be 86 years old by the end of his second term. It is entirely reasonable to see this as disqualifying."

Wait, there’s more. 

FANI WILLIS IS IN A ‘DANGEROUS SPOT’: JACQUI HEINRICH

"I can now point you to moments when he is faltering in his campaign for the presidency because his age is slowing him. This distinction between the job of the presidency and the job of running for the presidency keeps getting muddied, including by Biden himself. And what I think we’re seeing is that he is not up for this. He is not the campaigner he was, even five years ago…The way he moves, the energy in his voice."

Ezra Klein, the uber-liberal New York Times podcaster, also wants the president out. 

"Step one, unfortunately, is convincing Biden that he should not run again. That he does not want to risk being Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a heroic, brilliant public servant who caused the outcome she feared most because she didn’t retire early enough."

Despite what he called the "Kamala Harris problem," Klein says to assume that Biden steps aside. "Then what? Well, then Democrats do something that used to be common in politics but hasn’t been in decades. They pick their nominee at the convention." 

Silver agrees with this scenario as well.

I’m here to tell you, barring a major health scare, that’s not happening. Biden has been running for president since 1987 (I did a long interview with him during that campaign). He finally got the job. He likes being in charge. He’s not going to walk away.

And in fairness, Biden has made adjustments in the last two weeks. He now takes on-camera questions from reporters almost every day, sometimes longer than others. Just yesterday, he walked over to say, in the wake of Alexei Navalny’s murder, he’d be announcing a package of sanctions against Russia on Friday. And he’s given two televised speeches.

Still, liberal Times columnist Michelle Goldberg has been arguing since 2022 that Biden should step aside, and without a major change in strategy, "he should find some medical pretext to step aside in time for a replacement to be chosen at the Democratic convention."

Moderate conservative Ross Douthat says flatly in his Times column that Biden should not be running for re-election.

As if the Times might be in danger of under-covering this issue, the paper also says that "anti-Trump voters are grappling with another powerful sentiment: exhaustion."

"Some folks are burned out on outrage," Rebecca Lee Funk, founder of the liberal activist group Outrage, told the paper. 

A Pittsburgh security guard said  "It’s crisis fatigue, for sure."

DEMOCRATS WIN SEAT, REPUBLICANS WIN IMPEACHMENT, TWO PRESIDENTS CLASH OVER NATO

How about the right? National Review’s Noah Rothman, who thinks Biden will narrowly win, explains the grand voting shift that has the Democrats in trouble:

"Despite his self-set reputation as a lunch-pail-toting nine-to-fiver with familial roots set deep in the carbon-rich soil of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Joe Biden has presided over the hemorrhaging of his party’s support among non-college-educated voters. The Democratic Party is increasingly dominated by degree-holders…The party is pinning all its electoral hopes on driving up turnout among this relatively affluent, highly educated slice of the electorate. The big problem with that plan is that there just aren’t enough of those voters…

"In 1999, according to Gallup’s historical surveys, working-class Americans identified more as Democrats than as Republicans by 14 points. Today, that has flipped, with the GOP enjoying a 14-point advantage over Democrats among those voters. Democrats have suffered similarly with young voters: Today, only 8% more voters between the ages of 18 and 29 associate themselves with the Democratic Party than with the GOP." 

This is eye-popping for those of us who grew up with the Republicans holding the monopoly on wealthier college graduates and favoring aggressive military intervention abroad.

Rothman concludes: "Even with Trump at the top of the ticket, Democrats appear committed to a strategy that will produce, at best, the narrowest of re-election victories."

On the other side, meanwhile, Nikki Haley gave a South Carolina speech to declare she’s not going anywhere. Plenty of Republicans have "surrendered" to pressure because "they didn’t want to be left out of the club. Of course, many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him. They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party…I feel no need to kiss the ring. I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him, my own political future is of zero concern."

But the most important part of her appearance was when she choked up while discussing her husband (who Trump has taken vague shots at). He is a National Guardsman now serving a year-long deployment in Africa after an earlier one in Afghanistan.

"Michael is at the forefront of my mind," Haley said, her voice breaking. "I wish Michael was here today, and I wish our children and I could see him tonight, but we can’t. He’s serving on the other side of the world."

It was a striking moment because Haley is usually so scripted and disciplined. A burst of emotion in 2008 helped Hillary Clinton win the New Hampshire primary. The problem is that the press will write off Haley if Trump clobbers her in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, no matter how long she keeps campaigning.

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A reporter asked Biden yesterday whether he’d rather run against Trump or Haley. He responded, "I don’t care," while walking away.

But given that Haley is 52, I believe he and his advisers very much care. At 77, while projecting a much more vigorous persona, Trump is the one opponent who might help Biden neutralize the issue that most threatens his re-election campaign.

7.2M illegals entered the US under Biden admin, an amount greater than population of 36 states

Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden's watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis finds.

That figure comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of illegal immigration does not slow down, fiscal year 2024 will break last year's record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state. 

The total number of southwest land border encounters since Biden assumed office in 2021 is 7,298,486, CBP data shows. 

That is larger than the population of 36 U.S. states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 

MIGRANTS CAUGHT ON NEW VIDEO STREAMING DOWN REMOTE CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINSIDE TO ILLEGALLY CROSS THE BORDER

Compared to the largest U.S. states, the 7.3 million number is about 18.7% of California's population of 39 million, 23.9% of the state of Texas and its 31 million residents, 32.3% of the population of Florida and 37.3% of New York. It's more than half the size of Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. 

Were the number of illegal immigrants who entered the United States under President Biden gathered together to found a city, it would be the second-largest city in America after New York. And the total does not include an estimated additional 1.8 million known "gotaways" who evaded law enforcement, which would make it bigger than New York. 

Taken together, nearly 10 million migrants have crossed into the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration, a record Biden's critics assert could only be achieved by intentionally refusing to enforce the law. 

"This unprecedented surge in illegal immigration isn't an accident. It is the result of deliberate policy choices by the Biden administration," said Eric Ruark, Director of Research for Numbers USA, a nonprofit that advocates for immigration restrictions.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.  

MIGRANT CRISIS: NOEM SENDS NATIONAL GUARD TO SOUTHERN BORDER'S ‘WARZONE’

Republicans and anti-illegal immigration activists have for years blamed Biden for allowing the current overwhelming surge of migrants by reversing former President Donald Trump's border policies. The Biden administration has denied responsibility for the crisis and pointed to external "push" factors like violence and economic instability in South and Central America as the culprit responsible for vast waves of migration to the U.S. 

However, the president's critics say migrants face more of a "pull" factor in the form of job opportunities and government benefits because they know they will not face deportation under Biden's lenient policies. 

"The administration has refused to enforce existing immigration law and taken every opportunity to aid and abet illegal border crossings — through policies such as catch-and-release, mass parole, and offering temporary work permits to tens of thousands of foreigners who make dubious claims for asylum," Ruark told Fox News Digital. "In actual effect, the United States government is completing the human smuggling and trafficking process for the Mexican cartels."

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said migrants have learned in the last three years that they won't face deportation for entering the country illegally. 

"They have sent the signal that if you come to the U.S. illegally, if you abuse the asylum system, you'll be released into the country and allowed to remain here, in most cases given work authorization," Mehlman said. "Even if you neglect to show up for your hearings, the odds of you being removed are negligible. The president claims he doesn't have the authority to enforce our laws. He absolutely does. He is deliberately not enforcing those laws."

LARGE MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING SHIFT TO ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA, PIVOTING AWAY FROM TEXAS

Biden has called on Congress to pass new laws he claims would let him solve the border crisis. He endorsed a bipartisan deal in the Senate that included an "emergency border authority" to mandate Title 42-style expulsions of migrants when migration levels exceed 5,000 a day over a seven-day rolling average. It would have also limited the window for people to apply for asylum, provided immediate work permits for asylum seekers and funded a massive increase in staffing at the border and more immigration judges. 

But conservatives tanked the deal in the Senate after House Republicans declared it a non-starter. They argued the bill would have normalized record-high levels of illegal immigration and said Biden currently has all the authority he needs to reenact Trump's policies and secure the border. 

While the debate rages, House Republicans have impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for allegedly refusing to enforce immigration laws. Two impeachment articles advanced against Mayorkas accused him of having "refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" and violating the "public trust."

DHS has criticized the effort as politically motivated and insisted the Biden administration is enforcing the laws on the books. 

Biden said that "history will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games."

Fox News' Bill Melugin, Adam Shaw and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Biden’s $200K payment from brother receives renewed scrutiny after report detailing failed hospital venture

A heavily scrutinized $200,000 check that President Biden received from his brother, James Biden, in 2018 has resurfaced in a new report detailing how the latter leaned heavily on his family's influence to promote a now-defunct hospital chain targeted by the Department of Justice for fraud.

According to the report published Sunday by Politico, James centered his consulting work for Americore, a company that operated rural hospitals, on his leverage as a member of the Biden family, but those connections never materialized into more financing for the company before it ultimately collapsed.

Fox News Digital reported last year that Americore loaned James approximately $600,000 on the promise that his name could bring in funding from the Middle East. On the same day, $200,000 of the $600,000 was transferred to James' personal bank account, prompting him to write Biden a $200,000 check from that same account.

GOP SENATOR FUMES OVER ‘WACKO’ DEMOCRATS' LACK OF ‘COMMON SENSE’ ON TRANS SPORTS: ‘GOING TO GET HURT’

Politico said that its investigation of James' work for Americore "did not find that Joe Biden involved himself in the firm or took actions on its behalf," but that the president "did benefit indirectly from his brother's work with the firm," citing the $200,000 payment.

The White House has consistently denied that the money was anything other than repayment for a loan Biden previously gave James as a private citizen, and redacted bank records appear to show a $200,000 payment made to James just weeks earlier from a bank account belonging to Biden.

However, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have emphasized the payment, whether a loan or not, "aptly demonstrates one way [Biden] personally benefited from his family’s shady influence peddling of his name and their access to him."

GOP SENATE HOPEFUL KEPT TIES TO GEORGE SOROS-BACKED GROUP WHERE HUNTER BIDEN SERVED ON BOARD

"Even if the transaction in question was part of a loan agreement, we are troubled that Joe Biden’s ability to recoup funds depends on his brother’s cashing-in on the Biden brand," Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital in October.

James is expected to be interviewed as part of the committee's impeachment inquiry against Biden on Feb. 21.

According to Politico, a number of former Americore executives said James, at the time, wanted to give Biden equity in the company, put him on its board, and promote its success in a future presidential campaign, none of which ever occurred due to the company's failure.

STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICIALLY CALLS ON KAMALA HARRIS TO INVOKE 25TH AMENDMENT, REMOVE BIDEN FROM OFFICE

Americore is facing an ongoing $100 million federal prosecution after the DOJ found one of its hospitals allegedly undertook a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing the government for medically unnecessary lab tests. However, James has not been accused of any crime.

In December, a Chapter 11 trustee for Americore testified before the Oversight Committee that the $600,000 loan was provided to James with no documentation in return for the promise of funding from the Middle East that never came. 

Carol Fox told the committee she filed a lawsuit against James, saying he made "representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections." 

The suit was ultimately settled with James required to pay back $350,000 of the loan.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and representatives of James Biden for comment.

DOJ reviewing Biden, Hur interview to ID potential classified information in response to House GOP demands

The Justice Department on Friday said it will consult with various intelligence agencies and law enforcement to identify any classified information during a discussion between President Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur in response to a request from House Republicans demanding the transcript, and any recordings of the interview. 

"Several of the materials listed in your February 12 letter require review for classification and protection of national defense information," Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith.

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN 'SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,' BRINGS NO CHARGES

The GOP lawmakers have requested Attorney General Merrick Garland turn over the transcript and any recordings of Biden's October 2023 interview with Hur and the special counsel team. The three committee leaders are leading the impeachment inquiry against Biden.

"We have already begun this process. The Department is committed to responding to the Committees’ requests expeditiously, consistent with the law, longstanding Department policies and principles, and available resources," Uriarte wrote. 

The Justice Department will release the transcript to Congress if the White House gives the OK. The White House could invoke executive privilege, which could bar the release. 

Hur, who released his report to the public last week after months of investigating, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents, and stated that he wouldn't bring charges against Biden, even if he were not in the Oval Office.

The report revealed Biden's significant memory issues, as concerns about the president's age and mental capacity continue to surface amid his re-election campaign. 

Hur said Biden came off "as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and that "it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him-by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness."

He is expected to testify before Congress about his findings, according to reports.  

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

Biden calls for an end to impeachment inquiry after indictment of FBI informant: ‘Outrageous effort’

President Biden called for House Republicans to drop their impeachment inquiry against him, saying on Friday that it has been "an outrageous effort from the beginning." 

The president’s comments came after the indictment of FBI informant who alleged that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden had been paid millions of dollars in exchange for their help firing the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma Holdings.

"He is lying, and it should be dropped," Biden said after a reporter asked about the indicted FBI informant.

House Republicans told Fox News Digital that their impeachment inquiry has much more evidence that does not rely on the indicted FBI source.

FBI INFORMANT CHARGED WITH GIVING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN IN 2020

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov, 43, with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record during FBI interviews. 

According to the indictment, Smirnov gave "false derogatory information" to the FBI despite "repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information and that he must not fabricate evidence." 

The indictment says that Smirnov had told an FBI agent in March 2017 that he had had a phone call with Burisma’s owner concerning the firm potentially acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange. 

In reporting this conversation to the FBI agent, Smirnov said that Hunter Biden was a board member of Burisma, though that was publicly known. 

In June 2020, Smirnov is accused of having told the FBI, for the first time, about two meetings he had had four to five years earlier, in which executives associated with Burisma had supposedly admitted that they had hired Hunter Biden to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." 

During this meeting, the indictment alleges that Smirnov said the executives had paid $5 million to each of the Bidens while Joe Biden was still in office. The indictment alleges that Smirnov falsely claimed that the Bidens had been paid so that Hunter Biden, with his dad’s help, could take care of a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, into Burisma. 

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

The allegations were recorded on an FBI FD-1023 form, which is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI. 

The FD-1023 form containing the allegations last year became a key document in the House investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley were approached by a whistleblower last summer who alleged that the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020 — that explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source alleging that Biden, while serving as vice president, had been involved in a multi-million-dollar scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

On Friday, Biden was asked about the indictment of Smirnov—and whether it should bring the impeachment inquiry to an end.

"He is lying, and it should be dropped," Biden said, referring to Smirnov’s allegations and the impeachment inquiry. "It’s just been a — it's been an outrageous effort from the beginning."

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell, earlier Friday, said the same: "For months we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts. We were right, and the air is out of their balloon," Lowell said in a statement. "This is just another instance of Chairmen Comer and Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses."

But Comer, who is leading the impeachment inquiry, said that the FBI's FD-1023 form containing Smirnov’s is not being used in an impeachment inquiry against the president. 

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The impeachment inquiry, he said, "is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings." 

"We have over $30 million reasons to continue this investigation and not one of those reasons relies on the corrupt FBI or an informant. Bank records don’t lie," Comer told Fox News Digital on Friday. "Bank records and witness testimony reveal Joe Biden knew about and participated in his family’s business schemes, and he has repeatedly lied to the American people about these facts."

Comer added: "The American people demand the truth and accountability for any wrongdoing. We will continue to follow the facts to propose legislation to reform federal ethics laws and to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted."

Coming up in the impeachment inquiry is testimony from the president's brother, Jim Biden, on February 21, and a deposition of Hunter Biden on February 28. Both testimonies will take place behind closed doors. 

Smirnov is accused of repeating some of his false claims during an interview with FBI agents in September 2023, while changing other bits of information, and promoting a new false narrative after claiming to have met with Russian officials. 

If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.   

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

FBI informant charged with giving false information about Hunter Biden in 2020

Special Counsel David Weiss has charged an FBI informant with giving false information after he alleged that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were paid millions in exchange for their help firing the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. 

Alexander Smirnov, 43, is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record during FBI interviews. 

Prosecutors say Smirnov was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada Wednesday after a federal grand jury returned an indictment. He was scheduled to appear in federal court in the District of Nevada later Thursday. 

According to the indictment, Smirnov gave "false derogatory information" to the FBI despite "repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information and that he must not fabricate evidence." 

The indictment says Smirnov told an FBI agent in March 2017 that he had a phone call with Burisma’s owner concerning the firm potentially acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange. 

In reporting this conversation to the FBI agent, Smirnov said Hunter Biden was a board member of Burisma, though this was publicly known. 

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

In June 2020, Smirnov is accused of having told the FBI, for the first time, about two meetings he had four to five years prior, in which executives associated with Burisma supposedly admitted that they hired Hunter Biden to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." 

During this meeting, the indictment alleges that Smirnov said the executives paid $5 million to each of the Bidens while Joe Biden was still in office. The indictment alleges that Smirnov falsely claimed the Bidens were paid so that Hunter Biden, with his dad’s help, could take care of a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, into Burisma. 

The indictment alleges that this information given by Smirnov in June 2020 was a fabrication. Prosecutors say Smirnov did have contact with Burisma executives in 2017, but when Joe Biden was out of public office and had no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016. 

The indictment alleges that Smirnov transformed his "routine and unextraordinary" business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later bribery allegations against Joe Biden after expressing bias against him and his presidential candidacy. 

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Smirnov is accused of repeating some of his false claims during an interview with FBI agents in September 2023, while changing other bits of information, and promoting a new false narrative after claiming to have met with Russian officials. 

If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.   

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley were approached by a whistleblower last summer who alleged that the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020 — which explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source alleging Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a multi-million-dollar scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

The source told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source was used by the FBI for "at least several years" before the FD-1023 form, and was "found to be highly credible" by the FBI. 

Comer said Thursday that FBI Director Christopher Wray refused a request from him and Grassley last summer for the public release of the form because the bureau "claimed it would jeopardize the safety of a confidential human source who they claimed was invaluable to the FBI." 

Comer said the bureau informed him that the source was "credible and trusted, had worked with the FBI for over a decade, and have been paid six figures." 

"The FBI's actions in this matter are very concerning. The FBI had this form for years and it appears they did nothing to verify the troubling claims contained within the record until Congress became aware of and demanded access to them," Comer said. 

Comer said the FBI's FD-1023 form is not being used in an impeachment inquiry against the president. 

The impeachment inquiry, he said, "is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings." 

"Just this week, we had another witness confirm Joe Biden was the brand being sold by the Bidens around the world. President Biden continues to lie to the American people about this matter and the American people demand the truth and accountability for any wrongdoing. We will continue to follow the facts to propose legislation to reform federal ethics laws and to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted."

The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.