Democrats decry House impeachment hearing of Biden: ‘Waste of time’

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Democrats vehemently decried the first House Oversight Committee’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Thursday as a "waste of time" and "illegitimate" as Congress simultaneously races against the clock to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) deal and prevent a looming government shutdown before Saturday’s deadline.

"Republican extremism is rearing its ugly head," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday morning. "They are wasting time and taxpayer dollars on an illegitimate Impeachment Inquiry when we're about 48 hours away or so from an extreme MAGA, republican government shutdown — and this is what they're focused on, an illegitimate impeachment inquiry as opposed to doing the business of the American people."

Other Democrats followed suit on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding their own criticisms of the hearing.

"The government shuts down in TWO DAYS, and House Republicans are… wasting time today holding a sham impeachment hearing??? Stop playing political games. Do your jobs. Fund the government," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., posted to X. The congresswoman previously voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in 2021.

MACE CALLS DEM CLAIMS ON IMPEACHMENT PUSH 'COMPLETE AND TOTAL BULLS---'

California state Democrat and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said on X: "We are going to hit back on every lie and conspiracy theory."

"We are ready to push back on a sham impeachment inquiry," Garcia posted Wednesday evening.

Texas Democratic Rep. Greg Casar called the impeachment hearing "baseless."

"My job is to defend the truth, while extremist Republicans try to defend Trump through their fact-free inquiry against President Biden," Casar posted to X.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., posted a snarky photo with a thumbs up and holding a box of Bud Light with a sign saying: "TO: REP. COMER & HIS SQUAD A PROFILE IN COURAGE CAN MAKE A GUY THIRSTY. CONGRATULATIONS, THIS BUD'S FOR YOU. HUGS & KISSES: JOHN FETTERMAN."

HOUSE GOP TO PRESENT EVIDENCE AGAINST BIDEN IN FIRST IMPEACHMENT HEARING

House Republicans on Thursday morning presented evidence uncovered so far in their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings while examining "the value" of an impeachment inquiry.

"The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has uncovered a mountain of evidence revealing how Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain," Comer said in his opening statement. "For years, President Biden has lied to the American people about his knowledge of and participation in his family’s corrupt business schemes."

"Evidence reveals that then-Vice President Joe Biden spoke, dined, and developed relationships with his family’s foreign business targets. These business targets include foreign oligarchs who sent millions of dollars to his family," Comer said. "It also includes a Chinese national who wired a quarter of a million dollars to his son."

Comer was referring to subpoenaed Hunter Biden financial records, which revealed he received two wires originating from Beijing and linked to BHR Partners in 2019.

Fox News Digital first reported that Hunter Biden received the wire payments, which originated in Beijing, for more than $250,000 from Chinese business partners during the summer of 2019 — wires that listed the Delaware home of Joe Biden as the beneficiary address for the funds.

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRES ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN'S HOME

The White House did not respond to Fox News’ Digital request for comment.

"Today the House Oversight Committee has uncovered how the Biden's and their associates created over 20 shell companies, most of which were created when Joe Biden was vice president and raked in over $20 million between 2014 and 2019," Comer said. "We've also identified nine Biden family members who have participated in or benefited from these shady business schemes."

Committee Democrats repeatedly accused Republicans of taking cues from Trump in launching the inquiry and used the opportunity to highlight the former president’s myriad legal issues.

"President Trump has gone on his social media account and said we should be impeaching President Biden," ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in his opening statement. "Kevin McCarthy said we have an impeachment inquiry. You draw the conclusion. Directly or indirectly, this impeachment inquiry was a result of President Trump's pressure."

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

Democrats seek to switch Biden impeachment inquiry hearing focus to Trump

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee repeatedly sought to refocus the attention on former President Donald Trump during the Republican-led impeachment inquiry hearing on President Biden Thursday.

The committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., held its first impeachment inquiry public hearing, where members presented evidence uncovered to date as part of their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, while examining "the value" of the inquiry.

Committee Democrats repeatedly accused Republicans of taking cues from Trump in launching the inquiry and used the opportunity to highlight the former president’s myriad legal issues.

"President Trump has gone on his social media account and said we should be impeaching President Biden," Ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in his opening statement. "Kevin McCarthy said we have an impeachment inquiry. You draw the conclusion. Directly or indirectly, this impeachment inquiry was a result of President Trump's pressure."

WHITE HOUSE, HUNTER BIDEN'S TEAM KEEP SHIFTING GOALPOSTS IN DENYING DAD'S INVOLVEMENT WITH BUSINESSES

"It's scandalous to use impeachment to establish a counterfeit moral equivalence between President Biden, an honorable public servant who has never been indicted or convicted of anything in his career of more than 50 years in public life," Raskin continued. "And Donald Trump, a twice impeached president who's recently been found in court to have sexually abused and defamed a woman and fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate properties, while facing 91 criminal charges in four separate indictments on everything from conspiring to overthrow an election and defraud the American people to making criminal hush money payoffs, to stealing classified government documents and hiding them while obstructing justice."

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., accused the Republicans of trying to "distract" and "deflect" before launching into a guessing game with the only Democrat-appointed witness, law professor Michael Gerhardt, in which he inserted Biden's name for Trump's in order to try to illustrate that Trump, not Biden, should be investigated.

"Hold on to those two words ‘distract’ and ‘deflect,’ because I think this hearing's all about, ‘Look over here, not over there,’" Connolly said.

"So, Professor Gerhardt, I've heard concern about branding, so shouldn't we be concerned about all those Biden towers all over the world where foreign partnerships were formed and influence was used here in the United States?" Connolly said, knowingly alluding to Trump Towers located in cities across the globe.

"I think we are talking about Mr. Trump," Gerhardt responded.

Connolly continued, "Shouldn't we be concerned that a New York judge just found President Biden's organization committed fraud every year for the last ten or 15 years, and that under the Martin Law in New York, that Biden organization is now subject to dismemberment and dismantlement because of the fraudulent activity."

"That should be of concern with respect to Mr. Trump," Gerhardt replied.

"Mr. Trump again," Connelly responded, feigning incredulity.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., mused that the former president "lives free in the Democrats’ heads."

"I'm amazed at, and I love the fact that Trump lives free in the Democrats’ heads every day," she said. "That is a beautiful thing. Even though we're here talking about the impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden."

Committee Democrats also repeatedly mentioned Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer for Trump, during the impeachment inquiry hearing.

Democrats say Giuliani promoted a "big lie" that then-Vice President Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was threatening to investigate Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, whose board Hunter Biden served on.

Raskin said this was the "opposite of the truth," and that Biden led a "coordinated global effort" to remove Shokin because he was corrupt. He asserted that Giuliani twisted the facts to accuse Biden of corruption — an accusation repeatedly made by Trump — and quoted Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, who said there was "no evidence that Shokin was engaged in an investigation of Burisma or that Joe Biden's role in his firing was in any way connected to Burisma."

Raskin later pointed to a letter Giuliani associate Lev Parnas sent to Congress urging Republicans to drop their Burisma investigation, calling it a "wild goose chase."

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., demanded to know why Giuliani was not testifying at the hearing, since Trump sent Giuliani to Ukraine to urge the government there to open investigations into the Biden family. The pressure Trump exerted on Ukraine to investigate Biden ultimately became the basis for the first impeachment effort led by Democrats against Trump, of which the former president was acquitted.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

House Intel Chair Turner brings Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified records into impeachment inquiry

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner on Thursday brought President Joe Biden's alleged improper retention and mishandling of classified records from his time as vice president and in the U.S. Senate into the House impeachment inquiry against him.

Turner, R-Ohio, during the first hearing as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, raised that the president is currently under federal criminal investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified records, blasting him as a "classified document hoarder."

AG GARLAND APPOINTS SPECIAL COUNSEL TO INVESTIGATE BIDEN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Beyond Biden’s alleged involvement in his son’s business dealings, Turner said "there’s also another concerning aspect of President Joe Biden's actions as vice president, for which there is currently a criminal investigation, and that is his misuse of classified documents."

"There has been appointed by the Department of Justice, by the attorney general, a special prosecutor for the purposes of investigating the federal crimes that could arisen as a result from this president's misuse of classified documents," Turner said.

Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed in January to investigate the president’s alleged improper retention of the records. The status of that investigation, at this point, is unclear.

"This committee, in its scope of this investigation, indicates that these classified materials are also relevant because, example, the Oversight committee has requested information regarding the classified materials discovered in the president's home, where his son has resided during the time period relevant to the investigation and personal office," Turner said.

WHITE HOUSE REFUSES TO SAY IF BIDEN WOULD SIT FOR INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

Turner said that the White House "has not provided this information."

"Obviously, his son was receiving payments from Romania, Russia, Ukraine, China," Turner said, referring to financial records uncovered by the House Oversight Committee. "If there are in those documents that relate to, for example, the prosecutor in Ukraine or Burisma itself or other aspects of Ukraine or any of the parties or individuals obviously, that were making payments to Hunter Biden, that would be relevant, wouldn’t it?"

Law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, a witness at the hearing, agreed, saying "pre-office conduct" should be considered.

Turley, though, said it is "not clear to me" whether Biden’s retention of the records "would amount to an impeachable offense or not."

DOJ SEIZES MORE CLASSIFIED DOCS FROM BIDEN'S WILMINGTON HOME AFTER 12-HOUR FBI SEARCH

"Right," Turner said. "You have to make that nexus."

Turner said that, in his role as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he has seen several of the documents Biden had been holding.

"I can tell you they are of the highest level of concern and threat to national security," Turner said. "I think we do have to get to the bottom of why was he taking them and what was he doing with them."

Former President Trump was also under separate special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago. Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with 37 federal charges, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

These are the questions Republicans want answered in the Biden impeachment inquiry

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith R-Mo., on Wednesday night released a memo outlining the scope of the House Republican impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

The memo comes ahead of the first impeachment inquiry hearing hosted by House Oversight Committee, which will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The memo largely goes over the facts Republicans have already collected about Hunter Biden's business dealings and President Biden's potential involvement in them. But it also outlines the key questions Republicans seek to answer with their inquiry and emphasizes that the time frame the committees are investigating will not only include Biden's presidency and vice presidency but also the time between when he held those offices.

"The purpose of this inquiry—and at this stage, it is just that, an inquiry—is to determine whether sufficient grounds exist for the Committees to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden for consideration by the full House," the memo states. "This impeachment inquiry will enable the Committees to gather information necessary to assess whether President Biden has engaged in impeachable conduct."

HOUSE GOP TO PRESENT EVIDENCE AGAINST BIDEN IN FIRST IMPEACHMENT HEARING

Republicans outlined four key questions they will seek to answer before the House moves forward, or abandons, articles of impeachment against Biden.

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRES ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN'S HOME

The memo also explains the span of time that the inquiry will investigate. "Necessarily, the impeachment inquiry will span the time of Joe Biden’s Vice Presidency to the present, including his time out of office," the Republicans wrote.

GOP lawmakers argued that the Constitution covers offenses committed while in office or out of office.

"Given that impeachment is designed, among other things, to protect the American people from corrupt public officials, it makes sense that the Constitution does not limit impeachable offenses to those an officer committed while serving in his current office. In fact, the Constitution says nothing at all about the timing of impeachable acts," the memo states.

Biden faces accusations that he was involved in foreign business deals set up by his son, Hunter Biden, who allegedly promised his father would use his public office to grant favors in exchange for payments.

IRS OFFICIAL SAYS HE WAS FRUSTRATED DOJ DID NOT BRING CHARGES AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN FOR 2014, 2015 TAX YEARS

The White House maintains that President Biden was "never in business with his son."

White House officials have blasted House Republicans for the impeachment inquiry, calling it an "evidence-free" probe and a "political stunt." The White House is also slamming GOP lawmakers for holding the hearing just days before the government runs out of funding.

Congress is currently negotiating a continuing resolution to extend the current year’s funding, but without passing a deal by Sept. 30, they risk sending the government into a partial shutdown.

"Extreme House Republicans are already telegraphing their plans to try to distract from their own chaotic inability to govern and the impact of it on the country," White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital.

"Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families," Sams said.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden’s $250K wire from China labeled as a ‘personal investment’

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: The $250,000 wire Hunter Biden received from his Chinese business partners was labeled as a "personal investment," despite his legal team claiming the funds were part of a loan and previously saying he never "received any return on his investment," Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital first reported Tuesday that Hunter Biden received wires that originated in Beijing totaling $260,000 from Chinese business partners during the summer of 2019 — wires that listed the Delaware home of Joe Biden as the beneficiary address for the funds.

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRES ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN'S HOME

The revelations come after Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell told CNN that the wires were "a documented loan (not a distribution or pay-out) that was wired from a private individual to his new bank account which listed the address on his driver’s license, his parents’ address, because it was his only permanent address at the time."

The wires for the funds originated from Beijing and were linked to BHR Partners.

BHR Partners is a joint-venture between Hunter Biden’s Rosemont Seneca and Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital. BHR Partners is a Beijing-backed private equity firm controlled by Bank of China Limited. Hunter Biden reportedly sat on the board of directors of BHR Partners.

The first wire transfer sent to Hunter Biden, dated July 26, 2019, was for $10,000 from an individual named Ms. Wang Xin.

Ms. Wang Xin listed on the website for BHR Partners. It is unclear if the wire came from that Wang Xin.

Fox News Digital has learned that the $10,000 wire was labeled as "ACC/LOAN TO BENEFICIARY."

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

The second wire transfer sent to Hunter Biden, dated Aug. 2, 2019, was for $250,000 from Li Xiang Sheng — also known as Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR Partners — and Ms. Tan Ling. The committee is trying to identify Ling’s role.

Fox News Digital has learned that $250,000 wire was labeled as "ACC/PERSONAL INVESTMENT."

The beneficiary for the wires is listed as Robert Hunter Biden with the address "1209 Barley Mill Rd." in Wilmington, Delaware. That address is the main residence for President Biden.

Back in October 2019, despite Hunter having received more than a quarter of a million dollars from BHR-linked associates, then-attorney for Hunter Biden, George Mesires, explained Hunter’s role at BHR Partners by saying he "served only as a member of the board of directors, which he joined based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese capital to international markets."

Messires, at the time, added: "To date, Hunter has not received any compensation for being on BHR’s board of directors. He has not received any return on his investment; there have been no distributions to BHR shareholders since Hunter obtained his equity interest."

Hunter resigned from the board of BHR at the end of October 2019.

DOJ REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN STILL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL FARA VIOLATIONS

Meanwhile, as the White House declines to comment on the beneficiary address and wire payments, President Biden has had several interactions with BHR Partners CEO Jonathan Li.

The wires were sent just several months after then-Vice President Joe Biden announced his 2020 presidential campaign. Joe Biden, in August 2019, said he "never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their business, period."

As for Jonathan Li, according to testimony from Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Devon Archer, as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation, Joe Biden sat down for coffee in Beijing with the CEO of BHR. Archer also testified that Biden wrote a college recommendation letter for Li’s daughter to Georgetown. Archer said Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone for at least one call with Li in addition to meeting for coffee.

Separately, Fox News Digital first reported in 2022 that Biden wrote a college recommendation letter for Li's son to Brown University.

"Bank records don’t lie, but President Joe Biden does," Comer told Fox News Digital.

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

"In 2020, Joe Biden told Americans that his family never received money from China. We’ve already proved that to be a lie earlier this year, and now we know that two wires originating from Beijing listed Joe Biden’s Wilmington home as the beneficiary address when he was running for president of the United States. When Joe Biden was vice president, he spoke on the phone and had coffee with Jonathan Li in Beijing and later wrote a college letter of recommendation for his children," Comer said.

"Joe Biden’s abuse of public office for his family’s financial gain threatens our national security. What did the Bidens do with this money from Beijing? Americans demand and deserve accountability for President Biden and the first family’s corruption. The Oversight Committee, along with the Judiciary and Ways and Means committees, will continue to follow the evidence and money to provide transparency and accountability."

The discovery of the records comes ahead of the first hearing, to be held by Oversight, as part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The White House declined to comment on the wires.

House GOP to present evidence against Biden in first impeachment hearing

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Republicans on Thursday morning are set to hold their first impeachment inquiry public hearing, where they will present all evidence uncovered to date as part of their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings while examining "the value" of the inquiry.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will "examine the value of an impeachment inquiry and present evidence House Republicans have uncovered to date regarding President Joe Biden's knowledge of and role in his family's domestic and international business practices," according to the panel. The hearing is to begin at 10 a.m.

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRES ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN'S HOME

Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant with decades of experience in financial investigations and consulting – and who the committee says has testified in more than 80 trials, including trials that involved financial fraud – will testify, along with former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O'Connor, who served in the Department of Justice Tax Division.

Law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, who testified in the Clinton and Trump impeachments, will also testify.

IRS OFFICIAL SAYS HE WAS FRUSTRATED DOJ DID NOT BRING CHARGES AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN FOR 2014, 2015 TAX YEARS

"Since January, House Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways and Means have uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence showing President Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain," Comer said this week. "Thousands of pages of financial records, emails, texts, testimony from credible IRS whistleblowers, and a transcribed interview with Biden family business associate Devon Archer all reveal that Joe Biden allowed his family to sell him as ‘the brand’ around the world to enrich the Biden family."

The House of Representatives formally launched the impeachment inquiry this month – something Comer said Congress had a duty to do while stressing that Americans "demand and deserve answers, transparency and accountability" for Biden’s alleged corruption and "abuse of public office."

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

The White House maintains that President Biden was "never in business with his son."

White House officials, though, have blasted House Republicans for the impeachment inquiry, calling it an "evidence-free" probe and a "political stunt." The White House is also slamming GOP lawmakers for holding the hearing just days before the government runs out of funding.

Congress is currently negotiating a continuing resolution to extend the current year’s funding, but without passing a deal by Sept. 30, they risk sending the government into a partial shutdown.

WHITE HOUSE HAMMERS UPCOMING BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING AS 'EVIDENCE-FREE' STUNT

The hearing will be the first since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., formalized an impeachment inquiry last week. McCarthy directed Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, along with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., to lead the investigation.

The hearing comes after Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden's financial records related to a specific bank account and received records of two wires originating from Beijing and linked to BHR Partners.

The White House declined to comment.

DOJ ordered Hunter Biden investigators to ‘remove any reference’ to Joe Biden in FARA probe warrant: House GOP

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The U.S. Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to "remove any reference" to President Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe, new documents released by the House Ways & Means Committee reveal.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., led a vote Wednesday to release new documents provided by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler that "corroborate their initial testimony to the Committee and reinforce their credibility and their high esteem among colleagues."

"The Biden Administration — including top officials at the Justice Department — lied to the American public and engaged in a cover-up that interfered with federal investigators and protected the Biden family, including President Biden himself," the committee said.

One document released Wednesday was an August 2020 email sent by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf in which she ordered investigators to remove any reference to "Political Figure 1" from a search warrant. Subsequent documents released Wednesday revealed that President Biden is "Political Figure 1."

"As a priority, someone needs to redraft attachment B," Wolf writes in the email. "I am not sure what this is cut and pasted from but other than the attribution location, and identity stuff at the end, none of it is appropriate and within the scope of this warrant."

Wolf adds: "Please focus on FARA evidence only. There should be nothing about Political Figure 1 in here."

A document released Wednesday and reviewed by Fox News Digital states that "Political Figure 1" is "Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr."

"VP BIDEN is currently the Democratic Party Presidential candidate for the United States and served as the 47th officeholder for the position of the Office of the Vice President of the United States (VPOTUS) in the Barack Obama Administration from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017," the document states. "He is the father of SUBJECT 1."

"SUBJECT 1" is presumably Hunter Biden, the target of the investigation.

The Justice Department indirectly revealed that Hunter Biden is still under investigation for a potential violation of FARA during his first court appearance in July, in which his "sweetheart" plea deal collapsed.

When asked by federal Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware whether the government could bring a charge against Hunter Biden related to FARA, the DOJ prosecutor replied, "Yes."

Meanwhile, the committee said that documents also revealed that the Hunter Biden federal investigation was being "hampered and artificially slowed."

The committee said during a September 2022 interview with the president’s brother, James Biden, that investigators were "not allowed to ask if then-Vice President Biden was involved in Hunter Biden’s deal with CEFC China Energy," or follow "normal investigative leads."

The committee also said a May 2021 report from investigators detailed that they were "not allowed to follow investigative leads on potential campaign finance violations related to a wealthy Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris, who was enlisted to help the family, and who paid millions of dollars to help Hunter around the time that Joe Biden becomes president."

"Investigators wrote that ‘there may be campaign finance criminal violations. AUSA Wolf stated on the last prosecution team meeting that she did not want any of the agents to look into the allegation,’" the committee said Wednesday.

Chairman Jason Smith said the new documents show a "clearer connection between Joe Biden, his public office, and Hunter Biden’s global influence peddling scheme that resulted in over $20 million in payments to the Biden family."

"In addition to then Vice-President Joe Biden attending lunches and speaking on the phone with his son’s business associates, the details released today paint a fuller picture of how Joe Biden’s vice presidential office was instrumental to the Biden Family’s business schemes," Smith said.

Smith said that the evidence included in the documents shows "a pattern of Hunter Biden creating for-profit entities to shield at least $20 million from foreign sources from taxes and hide the trail of payments that led to members of the Biden family."

A congressional aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the Biden family and their associates collected more than $24 million in foreign payments between 2014 and 2019.

"The growing body of evidence further calls into question the Justice Department’s attempted sweetheart plea deal for Hunter Biden, and the reasons for appointing the architect of that plea deal as the special counsel for Hunter Biden’s case, in light of officials’ efforts to protect President Biden and his son," Smith said. "This evidence makes clear Hunter Biden’s business was selling the Biden ‘brand’ and that access to the White House was his family’s most valuable asset — despite official claims otherwise."

Smith, who is leading the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said his committee will continue to take "appropriate steps" in its investigation, including sharing documents with committee Democrats ahead of their release.

"We have promised to go where the facts lead us, and that is exactly what we will do to get answers for the American people," Smith said.

The documents come out as part of House Republicans' formal impeachment inquiry investigation against President Biden. The House Oversight Committee is set to hold its first public hearing as part of the inquiry on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department immediately responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Hunter Biden received $250K wire from Beijing with beneficiary address listed as Joe Biden’s Delaware home

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden received wires originating in Beijing for more than $250,000 from Chinese business partners during the summer of 2019—wires that listed the Delaware home of Joe Biden as the beneficiary address for the funds, Fox News Digital has learned.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating the Biden family business dealings and Joe Biden’s alleged involvement in those ventures.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN ASSOCIATE TEXTS HINT AT PUSH TO ‘GET JOE INVOLVED,’ MAKE IT LOOK LIKE ‘TRULY FAMILY BUSINESS’

As part of the investigation, Comer subpoenaed financial records related to a specific bank account and received records of two wires originating from Beijing, China and linked to BHR Partners.

The first wire sent to Hunter Biden, dated July 26, 2019, was for $10,000 from an individual named Ms. Wang Xin. There is a Ms. Wang Xin listed on the website for BHR Partners. It is unclear if the wire came from that Wang Xin.

The second wire transfer sent to Hunter Biden, dated August 2, 2019, was for $250,000 from Li Xiang Sheng—also known as Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR Partners—and Ms. Tan Ling. The committee is trying to identify Ling’s role.

The beneficiary for the wires is listed as Robert Hunter Biden, with the address "1209 Barley Mill Rd." In Wilmington, Delaware. That address is the main residence for Joe Biden.

Comer and the House Oversight Committee have obtained bank records as part of their investigation revealing that the Biden family and their business associates received millions of dollars from oligarchs in Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan during the Obama administration.

Fox News Digital has also learned that the committee has records revealing that from 2014 to 2019, the Biden family and their associates received $24 million in foreign payments--$15 million to the Bidens, and $9 million for their business associates, $4 million than previously known

Committee aides told Fox News Digital that beneficiary addresses are either the address listed to the recipient account, or listed by the individual sending the wire. It is unclear, based on the wire records, who listed the address.

Hunter Biden spent a period of time in 2017, 2018 and 2019 living at the Biden family home in Wilmington. It is unclear if he was living at the home at the time of the wire transfers in July and August 2019.

As for Jonathan Li, according to testimony from Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation, Joe Biden sat down for coffee in Beijing with the BHR CEO. Archer also testified that Biden wrote a college recommendation letter for Li’s daughter to Georgetown. Archer also said Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone for at least one call with Li, in addition to meeting for coffee.

Separately, Fox News Digital first reported in 2022 that Biden wrote a college recommendation letter for Li's son to Brown University.

EXCLUSIVE: BIDEN WROTE COLLEGE RECOMMENDATION LETTER FOR SON OF HUNTER'S CHINESE BUSINESS PARTNER, EMAILS REVEAL

"Bank records don’t lie but President Joe Biden does," Comer told Fox News Digital.

"In 2020, Joe Biden told Americans that his family never received money from China. We’ve already proved that to be a lie earlier this year, and now we know that two wires originating from Beijing listed Joe Biden’s Wilmington home as the beneficiary address when he was running for President of the United States. When Joe Biden was vice president, he spoke on the phone and had coffee with Jonathan Li in Beijing, and later wrote a college letter of recommendation for his children," Comer said.

"Joe Biden’s abuse of public office for his family’s financial gain threatens our national security. What did the Bidens do with this money from Beijing? Americans demand and deserve accountability for President Biden and the First Family’s corruption. The Oversight Committee, along with the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees, will continue to follow the evidence and money to provide transparency and accountability."

Despite Hunter Biden receiving more than a quarter of a million dollars in the summer of 2019 from BHR-linked individuals, in October 2019, then-attorney for Hunter Biden George Mesires explained Hunter’s role at the company by saying he "served only as a member of the board of directors, which he joined based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese capital to international markets."

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

"It was an unpaid position," Mesires said on Oct. 13, 2019. "In October 2017, Hunter committed to invest approximately $420,000 USD (as of 10/12/2019) to acquire a 10% equity position in BHR, which he still holds. To date, Hunter has not received any compensation for being on BHR’s board of directors. He has not received any return on his investment; there have been no distributions to BHR shareholders since Hunter obtained his equity interest."

Hunter resigned from the board of BHR at the end of October 2019.

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

The White House, attorneys for Hunter Biden, and Mesires did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The White House maintains that the president was "never in business with his son."

The subpoenaed financial records come amid House Republicans' impeachment inquiry investigation against President Biden.

Biden nearly stumbles exiting Air Force One, hours after exposed efforts by team to prevent more falls

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden nearly took a tumble down the stairs while getting off Air Force Once in Michigan on Tuesday, hours after it was exposed that his campaign team was making efforts to prevent the president from taking a spill in public during the election season.

The 80-year-old president had just landed in Detroit when he disembarked from the jumbo jet at Detroit Metro Airport.

Around the eighth step, Biden was seen slipping before quickly correcting his balance and continuing down the steps.

BIDEN'S 2024 TEAM IS ON A MISSION TO STOP HIM FROM TRIPPING AMID STRUGGLE WITH ‘SIGNIFICANT SPINAL ARTHRITIS’

Earlier this year, the White House physician diagnosed Biden with "significant spinal arthritis." Since then, he has had multiple tripping incidents that have many people questioning his age and whether he is fit to serve as president.

To prevent another embarrassing fall, Axios reported Tuesday, Biden's team is making a conscious effort to have him wear tennis shoes and limit stair climbs.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE FIRST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING TO BE HELD THIS WEEK

He is also undergoing physical therapy with specialist Drew Contreras, who worked with former President Barack Obama. Contreras has recommended several exercises to improve the president’s balance, the outlet reported.

Observers noted when Biden began wearing sneakers in public this summer after his nasty fall at the Air Force Academy in June. He also began boarding Air Force One via shorter stairs to a lower level, another move aimed at preventing falls.

WATCH: KARINE JEAN-PIERRE DODGES WHEN PRESSED ON BIDEN'S SOUR APPROVAL RATING, AGE, MENTAL FITNESS

A fall in public during the election season could have crippling effects on Biden’s campaign as he is already scrutinized heavily for his age.

In an Associated Press poll this summer, 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years, with 89% of Republicans taking that position along with 69% of Democrats.

Another poll from the Washington Post and ABC News this week found that 3 out of 5 Democrats would prefer someone else be the party's 2024 nominee.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Republicans open probe into Biden’s energy secretary after police called on her EV road trip

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are probing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her recent electric vehicle (EV) road trip where police were called on her and her team.

Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Pat Fallon, R-Texas, informed Granholm in a letter Tuesday morning that they were investigating the June road trip which they said was aimed to "boost the charade of the effectiveness of green energy."

"This taxpayer-funded publicity stunt illustrates yet again how out of touch the Biden Administration is with the consequences of policies it has unleashed on everyday Americans," Comer and Fallon wrote to Granholm.

"Committee Republicans remain committed to preserving freedoms like vehicle consumer choice in the face of an unproven, burdensome, and expensive Biden Administration push to force all Americans to buy EVs," they continued. "We request documents and information to understand the purposes, costs, and consequences of your summer 2023 EV road trip."

GOP REP CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY INTO BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY GRANHOLM: 'SHE LIED, UNDER OATH'

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that, during Granholm's four-day EV road trip from North Carolina to Tennessee, Energy Department staffers used a car with an internal combustion engine to block off an EV charger for the secretary outside a Walmart in Grovetown, Georgia.

One family, angered that they were forced by a gas-powered vehicle to wait to use a charger, ultimately called the police to report the incident.

BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS STOCK OWNERSHIP OF EV LOBBY GROUP FOUNDING COMPANY

"I'm calling because I'm in the Grovetown Walmart at the charging station and there's literally a non-electric car that is taking up a space and said they're holding the space for somebody else," the woman who made the 911 call told a police dispatcher in a recording obtained by Fox News Digital. "And it's holding up a whole bunch of people who need to charge their cars."

"There are other people who are waiting to charge and they're still here and they're not in electric cars," the woman continued. "The sign says you can't park here unless you're charging."

The dispatcher then informed the woman that a deputy was on the way to handle the situation. While a police officer eventually responded to the incident, a police report was never filed. The incident was first reported by NPR which joined Granholm on the trip. According to the report, Granholm's office organized the trip to "draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars."

GOP OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO BIDEN ADMIN FOR OBSTRUCTING US ENERGY PRODUCERS WITH 'RADICAL ECO-AGENDA'

While Granholm's team planned the trip far in advance to prepare for charging stops, the Georgia stop underscored logistical issues that continue to face zero-emissions cars which Granholm, President Biden and Democratic-led states are aggressively pushing.

After she was pressed on the incident during a House Science and Technology Committee hearing on Sept. 14, Granholm explained the incident occurred as a result of "poor judgment on the part of the team," sidestepping blame.

"Your fleet of EVs could not complete the trip without the support of the fossil fuel industry which you and the Biden Administration have been intent to vilify and destroy," Comer and Fallon continued in their letter Tuesday. "Traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee, you encountered significant EV implementation hurdles."

"You and your staff did not even make serious, practical decisions on the EV vehicles chosen for the road trip."

The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.