Category: fox-news/person/joe-biden

Karine Jean-Pierre blames GOP for failure to secure border despite Democrats being in charge on day 1

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday repeatedly blamed Republicans after the collapse of a bipartisan deal that paired border policy changes with billions in wartime aid for Ukraine. 

Throughout the press conference, Jean-Pierre accused the GOP of playing games with national security and not having a spine for supporting the deal. She said President Biden, in contrast, had taken the border issue seriously "from day one." 

"He said, ‘I’m going to put forward a legislation,' a comprehensive immigration legislation that was introduced more than three years ago … and [Republicans]," have failed to act, Jean-Pierre said when asked if President Biden bore some responsibility for the collapsed deal. 

Later on, Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on the matter.

"So, you guys talk a lot – including today – about how the border wouldn’t be such a big deal if Congress would have just passed your immigration bill on day one," Doocy asked. "Who was in charge of Congress on day one?" 

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL DEMANDS SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS BE CLASSIFIED AS ‘AN INVASION’

Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration has called on Congress to act since Biden took office more than three years ago, but Republicans "have gotten in the way" of trying to fix the border by using the immigration crisis as a political stunt. 

When President Biden took office, Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate. Republicans took back the House by a slim majority in the 2022 midterm elections. 

After taking office, Biden signed two executive orders on immigration and pledged to roll back many of the policies put in place by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Within a few months, Biden took more than 90 actions related to the border. 

Under the president’s stewardship, illegal immigration has skyrocketed to historic levels. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report for fiscal 2023 showed that the number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket soared from 3.7 million in FY 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in FY 2022 to nearly 6.2 million in FY 2023. 

HOUSE CLEARS WAY TO ADVANCE IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES OF DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS

The number of illegal immigrants being deported has increased, according to the report, but it is still a fraction of the increase in the illegal immigrant population. There were 142,580 removals in FY 23, up considerably from 72,177 in FY 22 and 59,011 in FY 21, but still down from the highs of 267,258 under the Trump administration in FY 19.

With the 2024 election looming, Biden has for months engaged in a plan to pair policies intended to curb illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border with $60 billion in wartime aid for Ukraine. The bill would have also sent tens of billions of dollars more for Israel, other U.S. allies in Asia, the U.S. immigration system and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine.

But after Republicans backed away from the compromise, the president and Senate leaders are now stranded with no clear way to advance aid for Ukraine through Congress. They have run into a wall of opposition from conservatives — led by Trump — who reject the border proposal as insufficient and criticize the Ukraine funding as wasteful.

Biden laid the blame for the bill's demise squarely on Trump — his presumed Republican opponent in the November presidential election.

"For the last 24 hours he's done nothing, I'm told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal," Biden said. "It looks like they're caving. Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right."

Meanwhile, House lawmakers have cleared the way to advance an impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, for alleging "refusing to enforce our nation's laws." 

"An architect of destruction at our southern border, the secretary has caused serious injury to society, as the Founding Fathers discussed," Rep. McCaul, R-Texas, said in a statement. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

House Oversight, Judiciary to hear testimony from another Biden family biz associate amid impeachment inquiry

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The House Oversight and Judiciary committees are expected to hear testimony from another Biden family business associate Thursday.

Joey Langston is expected to appear before the committees Thursday morning on Capitol Hill for a closed-door, transcribed interview.

Langston is said to have hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden and donated thousands to his political campaigns.

The House Oversight Committee says Langston pleaded guilty in 2008 to participating in a conspiracy to attempt to influence a judge by providing the judge with "favorable consideration" for a federal judgeship. Langston was sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000. 

ERIC SCHWERIN 'NOT AWARE' OF JOE BIDEN ROLE IN HUNTER'S BIZ; EX-ASSOCIATE BLASTS 'CAREFULLY WORDED' TESTIMONY

The Mississippi state bar then disbarred him from practicing law. And, in 2016, a federal judge denied his requests to have his "conviction for conspiring to bribe a judge thrown out" and to have his "record cleared." 

But the House Oversight Committee says it obtained bank records revealing that after Langston lost his appeal, his company, Langston Law Firm Consulting Inc., began making payments, totaling more than $200,000, to James and Sara Biden directly, and to their entity, Lion Hall Group.

The committee says it is "interested in the nature and purpose of these payments, which totaled $187,000 while Joe Biden was serving as vice president."

HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE ROB WALKER SAYS JOE BIDEN WAS 'NEVER INVOLVED' IN BUSINESS DEALINGS

House Republicans hope the witnesses can provide information on whether, among other things, Joe Biden, as vice president and/or president, "took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family, including whether concerns that Chinese sources may release additional evidence about their business relationships with the Biden family have had any impact on official acts performed by President Biden or U.S. foreign policy; abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."

DEMOCRATS BLAST IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AFTER GOP WITNESS SAYS HE WAS 'UNAWARE' OF JOE BIDEN'S ROLE IN FAMILY BIZ

Langston’s testimony comes after Hunter Biden business associates like Eric Schwerin, Rob Walker and Mervyn Yan all appeared for their own transcribed interviews before the committee. Their testimony was sought by House Republicans as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

So far, Yan, Walker and Schwerin have testified that they were not aware of any involvement President Biden had in his son’s business dealings.

Langston’s expected testimony comes ahead of a deposition of President Biden’s brother, James Biden’s, which is scheduled for Feb. 21. The committees subpoenaed Biden last year.

Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition Dec. 13 and was at risk of being held in contempt of Congress.

His attorneys and the committees came to an agreement earlier this month that the first son will appear for a closed-door deposition Feb. 28.

New York Republican calls on Hochul, Adams to denounce Biden’s border policy amid migrant crisis in Big Apple

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FIRST ON FOX: Amid the migrant crisis in the Big Apple, one New York House Republican is calling for state and local leaders in the Empire State to strongly denounce the Biden administration's immigration policies as conditions at the southern border continue to deteriorate.

New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district has been forced to deal with the massive influx of migrants in New York City, told Fox News Digital that now is the time for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to speak out against President Biden's blatant disregard for stronger border security measures.

Lawler, who represents New York's 17th Congressional District, said the ongoing situation in New York City is a result of policies offered or supported by both Adams and Hochul.

"Both of them need to be voicing support for the fact that we need to enforce our laws," he said. "We need to secure our border. We need to stop this massive influx of illegal immigration. They are bearing the consequences of their policy decisions, but also that of President Biden and his administration's failure to enforce the law."

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CLAIMS BIDEN IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES

"It's costing the state and the city billions of dollars every year to deal with this migrant crisis," he added. "So, it's illogical not to demand action at the root cause of it, which is our porous southern border."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year. Abbott’s office has said it has sent around 27,000 migrants to New York City and has done so to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.

A handful of migrants expressed to one local outlet this month that they are aggravated with their taxpayer-funded living arrangements in the Big Apple, insisting that their living situation at the time differed immensely from that which they were allegedly promised.

"They told me that we would have a decent place to live. They told me I'd have support finding work. They told me I'd have support with my children. Those were lies," Yenifer Vargas, the mother of three, told ABC 7.

While it is unclear who allegedly promised support for Vargas, the mother of three said the shelter she and her family had been living in — the so-called "tent city" at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field — was not a "decent place" for her children.

Like Vargas, Ayimar Araque told the outlet she also has struggled to apply for work authorization and complete certain casework because she cannot reach anyone by phone.

"I'm given a phone number that I'm supposed to call, but I get an answering machine," she said at the time.

Asked about those comments, Lawler said he believes the "crisis of their own making" has been "handled horribly by the state and the city."

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

Pointing to the city's decision to move migrants from that shelter to a nearby high school and force the students there into remote learning, as well as the costs of health care, food and education, Lawler said the city has "mismanaged" the crisis.

"It stems from their failed policies. Change your policies. Stop this sanctuary city nonsense. Start cooperating with ICE. Stop this interpretation of the right to shelter to mean that illegal immigrants are entitled to housing at taxpayer expense," said Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"They need to stand up to the president and not demand more money, not demand work authorizations," he added. "They need to demand the president secure the border."

Echoing the sentiments shared by Lawler, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who represents New York's 21st Congressional District, told Fox News Digital Hochul and other Democrats in the state have seemingly welcomed the migrants to the state through their support for certain policies.

"Kathy Hochul and radical New York Democrats have incentivized the raging illegal and border crisis plaguing New York," she said. "Illegal immigrants continue to arrive in New York state in record numbers, attracted by far left Albany Democrats' failed open border and sanctuary state policies, overwhelming resources and costing New York taxpayers an additional $2.4 billion in 2025.

"Enough is enough," she added.

Abbott claimed Monday that President Biden is in violation of federal law because he refuses to enforce immigration statutes already on the books, adding that Biden is giving "mass parole" to foreign nationals who illegally enter the United States.

Abbott told "Hannity" Monday evening both members of the Border Patrol and the Border Patrol Council, its union apparatus, have told Texas officials they side with them when it comes to the controversy over the construction of razor wire at a state-owned park along the border at Eagle Pass.

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"They want to have nothing to do with regard to tearing down that razor wire or tearing down the barriers that Texas has erected for one simple reason. And that's because they are working," Abbott said.

"Border patrol says that what Texas has done to secure the border actually makes their job even easier. The only resistance we're facing is coming from Joe Biden."

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Media meltdown: Why journalism is battered and bleeding

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Let’s start with the good news.

With a flick of a finger, more information is instantaneously available than at any time in human history. Stories, columns, opinions, video, photos, music, movies, texts, social media, streaming, podcasts. There are more ways to consume–desktop, phone, tablet, smartwatch–and infinitely more ways to voice your views.

Okay, enough of that.

The news business is in a tailspin. Firings and layoffs and buyouts are decimating its ranks. Publications and websites are folding. Revenue is plunging. Credibility is at an all-time low. And AI is starting to gobble up jobs.

BIDEN’S LEAKED CAMPAIGN PLAN: TARGET TRUMP (OF COURSE) AND WORK SOCIAL MEDIA

Worst of all, after the pandemic, scandals and impeachments, economic anxiety and political gridlock, interest in news is declining.

In L.A. they’re always worried about the Big One. For media people it feels like the earthquake has already struck.

The billionaire owner of the once-mighty Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, has fired the editor and more than 20 percent of its staff, devastating the Washington bureau and several key units. The billionaire owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, has given buyouts to 240 staffers, decimating the metro staff and losing many of the paper’s biggest names.

If newspapers aren’t owned by these wealthy moguls, they’re increasingly controlled by hedge funds whose strip-mining tactics have reduced them to a skeleton of their former selves.

From Vice to Vox, from Time (15 percent laid off) to Business Insider (8 percent), from Sports Illustrated (blown up) to BuzzFeed News (shuttered), the carnage is everywhere.

And just yesterday, the Messenger, a news and aggregation site launched by Jimmy Finkelstein, former owner of the Hill, shut down after less than a year, having lost $38 million and some staffers lured from top publications.

CNN just had a major round of layoffs. Cable news audiences are aging, and cord-cutting is growing in popularity. 

It’s not just that the voracious Internet broke the business model; that happened a quarter-century ago. It’s that there seems to be no end in sight. 

"Journalists across the country burst into flames of panic this week, as bad news for the news business crested and erupted everywhere all at once," writes Jack Shafer in Politico.

The impact is greatest on local reporting, with far fewer folks to check up on their city halls and statehouses, especially in smaller markets.

THE MENTAL FITNESS MANIA: MEDIA NOW CHALLENGE BIDEN, TRUMP

"No matter how many heroic nonprofit newsrooms like the Baltimore Banner and Daily Memphian take root, no matter how many Substack-like newsletters blossom or creators emerge to drop their videos on YouTube, you can’t deny the journalism business’ decline," Shafer writes.

What’s remarkable to me is how many of these pieces, and there have been many, overlook the importance of political bias. Republicans have been complaining about a liberal tilt since I began to read newspapers. Now, in the Trump era, half the country believes the media have become the opposition party, determined to block their man from returning to the White House. But during the Biden presidency, a growing percentage of those on the left have lost trust in the business as well.

You have Red and Blue America, each filled with anger, each side viewing the other as evil and dangerous, with the press having forfeited its standing as a neutral arbiter of facts. 

"What makes this so unnerving," says the Atlantic, "is the fact that the meltdown has come amid—and in seeming defiance of—a generally booming economy. The ranks of professional journalists keep declining even as overall unemployment stays low, incomes rise, and the stock market reaches new heights." 

The author, Paul Farhi, a longtime media reporter for the Washington Post, just took the paper’s buyout.

"What’s more, a presidential-election cycle tends to produce a surge of readers, viewers, and advertisers as people pay closer attention to the news. Not this time, at least so far."

Beyond news fatigue, Farhi notes, "Facebook has steadily reduced the amount of news that users see in their feed, wiping out a major source of traffic." I’d add that Google has gobbled some of that revenue as well.

HOW NIKKI HALEY BURNED BRIDGES IN SOUTH CAROLINA–AND STILL PULLS PUNCHES AGAINST TRUMP

There are obviously exceptions. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe are strong franchises. Fox News exceeds the prime-time ratings of CNN and MSNBC combined. But even television networks feel compelled to pour money into online shows and pay sites.

"Will journalism become a hobby like scrapbooking or street busking, done on the cheap or for donations, but one without much of a career path?" Politico asks.

I’m more pessimistic than I’ve ever been, and there’s no easy solution. Some say government subsidies are needed, but that raises serious conflict questions. And if zillionaires can’t revive newspapers and magazines, what hope is there for ordinary companies and local owners?

I do think that just as television didn’t wipe out radio, journalism will have to morph into new and more compelling forms to survive. Who would have thought even three years ago that everyone and their brother-in-law would have a podcast?

But people are willing to pay monthly fees for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and the like, though they are going through a belt-tightening wave as well, with Spotify having just axed 17 percent of its staff. 

If news outlets can’t convince most of the public that their product is worth buying, they bear the ultimate blame.

Trump swipes at Biden’s demand for legislation to secure the border: ‘I didn’t have a bill’

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Former President Trump took an apparent swipe at President Biden amid White House calls for a border security deal that he "didn’t have a bill" when his administration had "the most secure border in history."

Trump’s comments Wednesday came after Biden earlier this week claimed he had done everything he could do to secure the U.S. border.

BIDEN CLAIMS 'I'VE DONE ALL I CAN DO' TO SECURE THE BORDER

Biden told reporters as he was departing the White House Tuesday that "I've done all I can do. Just give me the power." 

"I asked them the very day I got into office," Biden said. "Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the judges. Give me the people who can stop this." 

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, appeared to contradict Biden’s claim and urged Republicans to avoid entering the border deal, which is still being negotiated in the Senate.

"There’s never been a border like this ever in the world," Trump said, adding that a "bad border deal would be worse than no deal at all."

"You don’t need a deal to tighten up the border to make it secure," he continued. "I had the most secure border in history. I didn’t have a deal. I didn't have a bill.

"I said no people are coming in, no drugs are coming, and we don’t want to have human trafficking, which nobody even talks about. That is the No. 1."

Trump added: "You have the right to close up your border… You don’t need bills."

Trump went on to say the individuals illegally crossing are individuals U.S. officials know nothing about.

"Right now, we have no idea who these people are that are pouring into our countries," Trump said. "Last night I watched where they're beating a police in New York City, a gang of people that just came in that didn't speak English. Nobody knows who they are, where they come from. And very importantly, they come from, I can tell you they come from jails and prisons. They come from mental institutions and insane asylums."

He added: "And they're terrorists. They have a lot of terrorists coming too, and we don't want them. I'm sorry, you know, we had a very strong border."

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

President Biden has requested $14 billion in funding for the border as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The request is being negotiated in Congress after Republicans demanded more limits on asylum and migrant releases into the interior.

Biden has urged Congress to pass the deal, but House Republicans and some conservatives in the Senate have said the reported proposals do not go far enough.

The Biden administration has said it has been expanding "lawful pathways" for migrants while increasing consequences for illegal entry into the U.S. since the ending of Title 42 expulsions in May last year. It has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May, as well as increased cooperation with Mexico to crack down on human smugglers and fentanyl trafficking. 

The administration also says it has been increasing removal flights — including directly to Venezuela. However, it has stressed that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a "broken" system. 

Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis and have accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of a "dereliction of duty" in his handling of it.  

The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday approved, along party lines, two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas — teeing up a floor vote as early as next week to impeach the embattled Biden official.

James Biden to appear for transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee in February

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President Joe Biden's younger brother, James Biden, will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 21 for a transcribed interview.

The younger Biden was subpoenaed as part of the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden in November. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing by the FBI. 

House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Biden believe that James has knowledge of Hunter’s business deals and whether the president was involved. 

House Republicans have heard recently from several Biden associates. Rob Walker, a former business associate of Hunter, said the President "was never involved" in Hunter's business dealings during a closed-door interview.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS NEGOTIATE WITH PRESIDENT'S BROTHER ON DEPOSITION TERMS

Another one of Hunter's business associates, Mervyn Yan, testified behind closed-doors before the committees Thursday about the nature of Biden's business activities in China, which House Republicans said raised many questions.

A source with direct knowledge of Yan’s testimony told Fox News Digital that Yan told congressional investigators he is "unaware of any involvement President Biden may have had with his son’s business pursuits."

In December, The Washington Post reported that James Biden's discussions were monitored in an FBI investigation, although he wasn't the focus of it. The FBI recorded Biden's conversations due to his association with Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, a Mississippi attorney convicted of bribery involving a judge, as part of the investigation.

"I'm going to hold off criticism of the president's brother. He obviously has due process and we have heard from his attorney. We're trying to make that work and I feel like that'll happen soon," House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last month.

Hunter Biden will appear before the House Oversight Committee for a deposition on Feb. 28. 

This is a breaking story, check back for updates. 

Fox News' David Spunt and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Eric Schwerin ‘not aware’ of Joe Biden role in Hunter’s biz; ex-associate blasts ‘carefully worded’ testimony

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Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators Tuesday that he did not have insight into foreign payments the Biden family received, and said he is "not aware" of any role President Biden had in Hunter Biden’s business activities, sources familiar told Fox News Digital.

Schwerin appeared behind closed doors for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Tuesday as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

In his opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, Schwerin told the committee that he "performed a number of administrative and bookkeeping tasks for then-Vice President Joe Biden related to his household finances" between 2009 and 2017. Schwerin testified he also helped Biden’s accountants in their preparation of his taxes and his annual financial disclosure statements.

One of Schwerin's former business associates told Fox News Digital that Schwerin's opening statement sounded "coordinated," adding that emails and transactions could contradict Schwerin's "carefully worded" statement when pressed by House Oversight investigators.

HOUSE GOP TO HEAR ADDITIONAL WITNESS TESTIMONY FROM HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS PARTNERS AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Schwerin’s interview before the committees Tuesday was his first formal testimony. He met with staff of the House Oversight Committee last March.

Schwerin said he met Hunter Biden while working in the Clinton administration at the Commerce Department, and after government service, joined the first son at a law and lobbying firm.

Schwerin co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners along with Hunter Biden and other colleagues – a firm he described as a "consulting and investment firm that offered development and public policy advisory services to a wide range of clients." 

HUNTER BIDEN PAID JOE BIDEN FROM ACCOUNT FOR BIZ THAT RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM CHINA: COMER

"In the course of performing these duties, I had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden’s bank accounts while he was vice president," Schwerin said in his opening statement. "Based on that insight, I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates nor any involvement by him in their businesses. None." 

Schwerin also said he "cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals – foreign or domestic." 

"In fact, I am not aware of any role that Vice President Biden, as a public official or a private citizen, had in any of Hunter’s business activities. None," he said.

Schwerin testified that regarding his interactions with Biden, he "never asked him to take any official actions for the benefit of Hunter’s clients or any other client."

"Furthermore, I have no recollection of any promises or suggestions made by Hunter or myself to any clients or business associates that his father would take any official actions on their behalf. None," he said. "In my discussions with the Vice President concerning his personal finances, he was always crystal clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the law."

Schwerin added: "Given my awareness of his finances and the explicit directions he gave to his financial advisers, the allegation that he would engage in any improper conduct to benefit himself or his family is preposterous to me."

A source familiar with the testimony told Fox News Digital that Schwerin’s opening statement was "very narrowly tailored and does not cover the vast majority of questions about his knowledge and participation in the Biden family’s business schemes that the Committee is seeking information about today."

Despite his work for and with Biden, Schwerin said he had "no visibility on key foreign payments to the Bidens," according to the source familiar with the closed-door testimony.

BIDEN WAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HUNTER’S BUSINESS PARTNERS USING EMAIL ALIAS AS VP

"When Eric Schwerin makes statements about Hunter Biden’s financial transactions, during today’s interview he admitted he had no insight into the payments from Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakhstani, and Romanian entities and individuals," the source told Fox News Digital.

Schwerin’s testimony comes after Fox News Digital first reported that Joe Biden, as vice president, used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times – including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 to 2019, with the majority of email traffic taking place while Biden was serving as vice president.

The House Ways & Means Committee, which is co-leading the impeachment inquiry alongside the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said 54 of those emails were "exclusively" between Joe Biden and Schwerin. The Ways & Means Committee describes Schwerin as "the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies."

Meanwhile, the data shows direct emails between Schwerin and then-Vice President Biden increased during times when the vice president traveled to Ukraine.

OVERSIGHT DEMS ADMIT HUNTER'S LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER HANDLED BIDEN’S FINANCES THROUGHOUT VP TENURE

The committee said the data shows Joe Biden and Schwerin exchanged five emails in June 2014 before the vice president’s trip to Ukraine that month.

After that trip and before Biden’s November 2014 trip back to Ukraine, he and Schwerin emailed 27 times.

Hunter Biden joined the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings in April 2014. 

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings. During the same period, Hunter Biden held a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month.

At the time, the vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

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

Biden claims ‘I’ve done all I can do’ to secure the border

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President Biden claimed Tuesday "I've done all I can do" to secure the U.S. border, as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing an impeachment push by House Republicans over his perceived failure to handle the immigration crisis. 

Biden made the comment while speaking to reporters as he was leaving the White House, saying "I've done all I can do, just give me the power." 

"I asked them the very day I got into office," Biden continued. "Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the judges. Give me the people who can stop this." 

The Biden administration has said it has been expanding "lawful pathways" for migrants while increasing consequences for illegal entry into the U.S. since the ending of Title 42 expulsions in May last year. It has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May, as well as increased cooperation with Mexico to crack down on human smugglers and fentanyl trafficking. 

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

The administration also says it has been increasing removal flights -- including directly to Venezuela. However, it has stressed that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a "broken" system. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a video on X of Biden making the remark and said Biden’s comments were "simply untrue" and "He’s either lying or misinformed." 

"Here are just a few of the authorities at his disposal – if only he would use them: Presidential Authority to Restrict Entry 212(f), Expedited Removal 235(b)(1), Discretionary Detention Authority 236(a), Mandatory Detention 236(c). No more excuses," Johnson added. 

The White House requested $14 billion in funding for the border as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The request is being negotiated in Congress after Republicans demanded more limits on asylum and migrant releases into the interior.

Biden has urged Congress to pass the deal, but House Republicans and some conservatives in the Senate have said the reported proposals do not go far enough.

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CLAIMS BIDEN IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES 

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, when asked on "The Faulkner Focus" Tuesday if Biden was doing everything he could, argued "absolutely not." 

"In fact, I’m very sick of hearing all of his rhetoric. He doesn’t give evidence," Judd said. "The evidence is incontrovertible [about] what is going on right now. Secretary Mayorkas is complicit in allowing these individuals to violate our laws. Congress would be derelict if they did not hold him accountable.  

"When you look at the total number of people that cross our borders illegally and have been released into the United States, the story that doesn’t get told enough is what happens to those people that get released into the United States," Judd added. "They are never leaving, ICE doesn’t go after them, ICE doesn’t deport them." 

Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis and have accused Mayorkas of a "dereliction of duty" in his handling of it.  

Hunter Biden business partner’s dad boasted about CCP leaders praising his book: ‘You touched my heart’

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FIRST ON FOX: An unearthed interview involving the father of Hunter Biden's longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, shows him boasting about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) praising his business book and amplifying it across China, according to a video reviewed by Fox News Digital.

As part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry against President Biden, Eric Schwerin will appear Tuesday before the House Oversight Committee for a deposition. The committee obtained bank records indicating Schwerin "had access to bank accounts" that could be relevant to their probe.

Schwerin’s testimony comes after Fox News Digital first reported that as vice president, Biden used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times, including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 and 2019, with most email traffic taking place while Biden served as vice president.

Schwerin, who visited the Obama White House and then-Vice President Biden's residence at least 36 times between 2009 and 2016, was considered Hunter's point person for their Chinese business deals and dubbed the "money guy." 

ERIC SCHWERIN'S ROLE IN HUNTER BIDEN'S CHINESE BUSINESS DEALS COULD BE MISSING KEY IN GOP INVESTIGATIONS

However, another member of the Schwerin family could face questions about China ties after an unearthed interview details how the elder Schwerin, David Schwerin, separately touted having one of his books resonate with CCP leaders in the early 2000s. This visit led to him gaining intimate access over the next couple of decades and taking several trips to speak in China and conduct workshops for weeks at a time.

In an interview uploaded to YouTube in October 2020, the elder Schwerin discussed how an unnamed person in California read his book "Conscious Capitalism" and introduced him to CCP leaders. Schwerin said the interaction initially occurred "a year or two" after his book on business and "ancient wisdom" was published in 1998.

"He wanted to take it to China," Scherwin said during the interview. "At first, I was a little skeptical - I didn't know him. And as it turns out, he was able to do that - get it translated and published. I was invited shortly thereafter to come to China to speak about the ideas in the book. While the book can be looked at on different levels, one level was certainly socially responsible business, which is now corporate social responsibility or ESG."

Fox News Digital reviewed Schwerin's online presence and confirmed that the unnamed person's identity that Schwerin mentions was Dr. Zhihe Wang, according to one of his websites. The website says their "relationship began in 1998 when Zhihe was studying for his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University. He came across my first book, Conscious Capitalism: Principles for Prosperity in the Claremont library and contacted me offering to translate it and have it published in China."

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According to Wang's bio, he was previously a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, whose leadership is stacked with multiple top CCP members. Schwerin continues, saying he would "become very friendly with [Wang], his wife and 18 year-old son and have helped Zhihe establish a business to use his contacts to arrange specialized trips to China for people interested in more than the standard touring." Wang touts on his now-defunct website that he organized dozens of American lectures in China and "established 17 research institutes affiliated with 15 Chinese universities [a]cross China."

"I went over there not knowing what to expect - a little bit nervous, to be honest with you - and I had the opportunity to speak to what I call Communist Party school, which is a school for senior-level Communist Party leaders to come back to get training," Schwerin said during the 2020 interview. "I spoke to them about what was inside my book. I had no idea what kind of reception I'd get. Believe it or not, they liked it. I really didn't know what to expect."

"They put my book in their bookstore, wrote about it in their newsletter, and before I knew it, a picture of the cover of my book - which had my face on it - was on the largest - or longest - bus line in China. From that point on, the Communist Party liked the idea enough to start encouraging their businesses to implement it," he said. "And when the Communist Party gets behind something, it has some influence. So, it took a number of years, but over a number of years this became widespread, this concept."

In a separate podcast interview from August 2020, Schwerin shared a similar account about the reception of his book and said that a CCP member said, "You touched my heart," referring to his presentation about his "Conscious Capitalism"book. 

Schwerin said he has since visited China nine times to talk with CCP leaders and Chinese citizens, including holding several workshops there. On one of Schwerin's websites, he has a testimonial from Yao Xian Guo, who is listed as an Executive Dean of the "Economics School of Zhejiang University." However, he does not mention that Xianguo has won multiple "Outstanding Communist Party Member" awards.

"Thank you very much for your visit … Your lecture brought us new idea and new thinking style... Social responsibility is an important issue for enterprises in China, especially in the transformation period," Xianguo's testimonial said.

It is unclear whether the elder Schwerin was involved with the foreign business dealings of Hunter and Schwerin's son, but emails show that the younger Schwerin would share political articles with his dad and Hunter, sometimes including other business associates.

A spokesperson for the Democrat minority of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability told Fox News Digital in September that the younger Schwerin, the former president of Hunter’s Rosemont Seneca Advisors, served as then-Vice President Biden’s "bookkeeper" from 2009 until 2017.  

A person familiar with Schwerin's role in handling then-Vice President Biden's finances previously told Fox News Digital that Schwerin worked on Biden's personal budget and helped coordinate with his tax preparers.

The individual also pointed to the frequency of Schwerin's communications with Biden and his top aides and said it was "inevitable" Rosemont Seneca business came up in conversations.

Fox News Digital reached out to David Schwerin for comment, but did not receive a response.

House GOP to hear additional witness testimony from Hunter Biden business partners amid impeachment inquiry

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Republicans plan to hear testimony from several additional witnesses who did business with Hunter Biden this week as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

First up this week is Eric Schwerin, who is scheduled to appear on Tuesday after being subpoenaed last year by the House Oversight Committee for a deposition. The committee obtained bank records indicating Schwerin "had access to bank accounts" that could be relevant to their probe.

Schwerin’s testimony comes after Fox News Digital first reported that Joe Biden, as vice president, used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times – including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 to 2019, with the majority of email traffic taking place while Biden was serving as vice president.

BIDEN WAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HUNTER’S BUSINESS PARTNERS USING EMAIL ALIAS AS VP

The House Ways & Means Committee, which is co-leading the impeachment inquiry alongside the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said 54 of those emails were "exclusively" between Joe Biden and Schwerin. The House Ways & Means Committee describes Schwerin as "the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies."

Schwerin, during a March 2023 meeting with the House Oversight Committee staff, explained that "he was not aware of any transactions into or out of the then-Vice President’s bank account related to business conducted by any Biden family member," a spokesperson for the Democrats on the committee told Fox News Digital. 

The White House has also cited Schwerin's statement that Biden was not involved in his family's business dealings when pushing back against Republicans' impeachment inquiry. 

HUNTER BIDEN PAID JOE BIDEN FROM ACCOUNT FOR BIZ THAT RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM CHINA: COMER

A person familiar with Schwerin's role in handling then-Vice President Biden's finances told Fox News Digital that Schwerin worked on Biden's personal budget and helped coordinate with his tax preparers.

The individual also pointed to the frequency of Schwerin's communications with Biden and his top aides and said it was "inevitable" Rosemont Seneca business came up in conversations.

Meanwhile, the data shows direct emails between Schwerin and then-Vice President Biden increased during times when the vice president traveled to Ukraine.

The committee said the data shows Joe Biden and Schwerin exchanged five emails in June 2014 before the vice president’s trip to Ukraine that month.

After that trip and before Biden’s November 2014 trip back to Ukraine, he and Schwerin emailed 27 times.

Hunter Biden joined the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings in April 2014. 

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings. During the same period, Hunter Biden held a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month.

OVERSIGHT DEMS ADMIT HUNTER'S LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER HANDLED BIDEN’S FINANCES THROUGHOUT VP TENURE

At the time, the vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

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

Meanwhile, the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are also expected to hear testimony from Joey Langston on Wednesday.

Langston is said to have hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden and to have donated thousands of dollars to his political campaigns.

The committee says Langston, in 2008, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to attempt to influence a judge by providing the judge with "favorable consideration" for a federal judgeship. Langston was sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000. The Mississippi state bar then disbarred him from practicing law, and in 2016, a federal judge denied his requests to have his "conviction for conspiring to bribe a judge thrown out," and to have his "record cleared." 

But the House Oversight Committee says it obtained bank records revealing that after Langston lost his appeal, his company, Langston Law Firm Consulting Inc., began making payments, totaling more than $200,000 to James and Sara Biden directly, and to their entity Lion Hall Group.

The committee says it is "interested in the nature and purpose of these payments, which totaled $187,000 while Joe Biden was serving as vice president."

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

House Republicans hope the witnesses can provide information on whether, among other things, Joe Biden, as vice president and/or president "took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family, including whether concerns that Chinese sources may release additional evidence about their business relationships with the Biden family have had any impact on official acts performed by President Biden or U.S. foreign policy; abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."

The expected testimonies come days after Hunter Biden business associates Mervyn Yan and Rob Walker appeared for their transcribed interviews before the committees, and weeks before the first son is set to take part in a closed-door deposition.

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Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition on Dec. 13, and was at risk of being held in contempt of Congress.

His attorneys and the committees came to an agreement last week that the first son will appear for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28.

House Democrats, though, have blasted the impeachment inquiry, and have said witness testimony has not supported Republicans’ claims that Biden benefited from or was involved in his son's business dealings. House Democrats are calling for the inquiry to come to an end.