House Republicans announce first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing to be held this week

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans announced Monday that the first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden will be held on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

According to the office of House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., the hearing "will examine the value of an impeachment inquiry," and will present all evidence to date uncovered by the committee in its investigation into the Biden family finances.

"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 in a statement.

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"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," he said. 

Comer's statement said that Congress had a duty to open the impeachment inquiry into Biden's alleged corruption, and that Americans "demand and deserve answers, transparency, and accountability for this abuse of public office."

"This week, the House Oversight Committee will present evidence uncovered to date and hear from legal and financial experts about crimes the Bidens may have committed as they brought in millions at the expense of U.S. interests," he added.

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The witnesses who will testify at the hearing include Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant with decades of experience in financial investigations and consulting, and who the committee says has testified in over 80 trials, including trials that involved financial fraud.

Former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O'Connor, who served in the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, and law professor Jonathan Turley, who testified in the Clinton and Trump impeachments, will also testify.

Last week, the Biden administration blasted House Republicans for planning to hold the hearing just days before the government runs out of funding, while dismissing the "evidence-free" probe as a "political stunt." 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.

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"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.

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 & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., to lead the investigation. 

However, the hearing won’t necessarily tread any new ground. It is expected to be a review of the existing evidence and explain the status of the inquiry, sources familiar said.

Democrat Rep Eric Swalwell calls House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry a ‘continuation of the insurrection’

Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called the GOP House-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden a "continuation of the [Jan. 6] insurrection" during an interview Sunday.

"Many of [Kevin] McCarthy's folks go to the January 6 prisoners and visit them to give them comfort and aid, and so they've never accepted President Biden as a legitimate president," Swalwell said to MSNBC host Jen Psaki. "And this week, even as we are hurtling toward a shutdown, they'll hold impeachment proceedings, which is just a continuation of the insurrection — and so this is all about just putting Donald Trump in charge."

Psaki asked Swalwell — who sat on the Jan. 6 House committee — what he thinks of former PresidentTrump’s purported role in the House’s decisions. The Democrat congressman said, "Donald Trump and McCarthy and the other pro-insurrection Republicans have never accepted Joe Biden as the president."

"The House, unfortunately, has become a law firm with just one client, Donald Trump," he said.

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The House is probing Biden’s foreign business ties with his son, Hunter, in Ukraine and China. Republicans hope to unearth bribery negotiations that suggest Biden leveraged his position as then-vice president under former President Obama for personal gain.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

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House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against President Biden on Thursday.

"Kevin McCarthy is a spectator speaker. He may have the title, but Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, they all share the job," Swalwell said.

Swalwell’s comments come as time is ticking in the House to reach a spending deal before funds run out from the previous fiscal year and the government shuts down on Saturday.

COMER TO PURSUE HUNTER, JAMES BIDEN PERSONAL BANK RECORDS AS NEXT STEP IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

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Meanwhile, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on CNN’s "State of the Union" he would "look strongly at" ousting McCarthy from speakership if he doesn’t pass the 12 appropriation bills needed to fund the government.

"They're all talking about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago — what about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?" Burchett asked CNN host Dana Bash.

Top Republicans launch probe into Leonardo DiCaprio-funded blue state lawsuits against Big Oil

FIRST ON FOX: Two top Republican lawmakers are probing Sher Edling, a California-based law firm, over its dark money-fueled climate litigation against oil companies, Fox News Digital has learned.

In a letter sent to Sher Edling partners Vic Sher and Matt Edling on Monday morning, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., expressed concern about their firm's activities in targeting major energy companies nationwide. The GOP lawmakers further probed Sher Edling's relationship with a top Biden administration official over crafting climate policy.

"While people may use their resources to bring whatever cases they want — even those that may be so frivolous as to be sanctionable — it appears that left-wing funds are footing the bill for Sher Edling’s climate crusade," Cruz and Comer wrote in the letter obtained first by Fox News Digital. "Radical activists are backing these lawsuits, too."

"Sher Edling purports to be taking a righteous gamble that this ludicrous argument will pan out," they continued. "The firm shopped these lawsuits to jurisdictions around the country. And to convince them to sign up for what is likely to be very costly litigation, Sher Edling agreed to provide its legal service at no cost unless it obtained a 'settlement against the industry.'"

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Cruz and Comer noted that Ann Carlson, the current acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), worked as a consultant for Sher Edling before she joined the Biden administration. Fox News Digital previously reported that she helped raise money from donors for the firm's litigation, a scheme that involved famed actor Leonardo DiCaprio and helped recruit at least one state, Hawaii, to hire Sher Edling.

BIDEN NOMINEE COORDINATED DARK MONEY CLIMATE NUISANCE LAWSUITS INVOLVING LEONARDO DICAPRIO

They further pointed to Carlson's work in the administration in which she unveiled strict fuel efficiency regulations that experts said would push more Americans to buy electric vehicles.

"It appears that Ms. Carlson has moved from attacking traditional energy through litigation to attacking it through regulation," they wrote to Sher Edling's partners.

The Republicans then demanded Sher Edling provide them with details about Carlson's work with it in addition to a detailed accounting of the firm's funding.

Since 2016, the year Sher Edling was founded, the firm has pursued aggressive climate-related litigation on behalf of Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu and several local governments across the country. The first-of-their-kind lawsuits allege major oil companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell have deceived the public about climate change.

On its website, the firm says its climate practice seeks to hold oil companies accountable for the alleged "deception." It claims that the fossil fuel industry has known for decades that burning fossil fuels would cause global warming, thus making the industry responsible for mass human devastation caused by such human-induced climate change.

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The latest such "climate deception" lawsuit was filed by California this month. While it is unclear whether Sher Edling is involved in the case, California's arguments largely mirror those made by the firm in its litigation.

Sher Edling's more than 20 ongoing climate lawsuits, though, have received funding from a behemoth left-wing dark money apparatus, Fox News Digital previously reported. Since the firm was established, it has received millions of dollars through the discreet funding stream.

According to tax filings, between 2017 and 2020, the secretive Collective Action Fund for Accountability, Resilience, and Adaptation (CAF) wired more than $5.2 million to Sher Edling. Then, in 2021 alone, CAF funneled another $3 million to the firm.

CAF switched its fiscal sponsorship from the Resources Legacy Fund to the New Venture Fund (NVF), a nonprofit that is part of the left-wing Arabella Advisors network and which boasts deep connections to big-dollar Democratic Party donors, sometime in 2021. 

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"As a fiscal sponsor, NVF provides operational and administrative support, including compliance, financial, back office, legal and HR operations so advocates can focus on their mission," a New Venture Fund spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. "We are proud to support Collective Action Fund’s important work."

While the source of the millions of dollars in funding for Sher Edling funneled through CAF remains unknown, Fox News Digital reported last year that prominent left-wing nonprofits have contributed to CAF. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Emmett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and JPB Foundation have sent money to CAF.

The Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation was particularly identified by officials involved in the funding scheme as a "serious" supporter.

"Some left-wing groups funnel millions to law firms to sue companies across the country on questionable legal grounds," Comer remarked during a Sept. 13 Oversight Committee hearing on third-party litigation funding. "They are trying to use the courts to put these companies out of business or limit their ability to bring new products to market."

"These activist groups will find plaintiffs and pour millions into claims against energy, mining and manufacturing companies to the detriment of consumers, innovation, national security, the workforce and even to plaintiffs themselves – all in the name of political activism," he continued. "These groups know that their tactics and goals are too extreme for the American people to support. So, rather than use the electoral process, they are implementing their agenda through litigation against both the public and private sectors."

Sher Edling and the NHTSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump runs away with double-digit lead, new general election poll finds

Former President Donald Trump is currently leading President Biden by 10 points among voters, according to a new poll. 

The Washington Post and ABC released the poll Sunday, which found that if the 2024 presidential election were held today, Trump would win 52% to 42% over Biden. Respondents also held a poor view of Biden's handling of the economy and the U.S.-Mexico border, in addition to his age.

The Post downplayed the results of its own poll after it showed Trump with such a commanding lead, however.

"The sizable margin of Trump’s lead in this survey is significantly at odds with other public polls that show the general election contest a virtual dead heat," the Post wrote Sunday. "The difference between this poll and others, as well as the unusual makeup of Trump’s and Biden’s coalitions in this survey, suggest it is probably an outlier."

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Meanwhile, Biden's approval rating sits at 37%, according to the poll, while 56% of respondents actively disapprove of his presidency.

Biden is facing a crisis of confidence among his own party members as well, with roughly 60% of Democrat and Democrat-leaning respondents saying they would prefer a different nominee.

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The critics cited Biden's age, his handling of the economy, and the ongoing border crisis as pain points with his administration.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to launch an impeachment inquiry also polled well, with 58% of respondents saying that Biden is being held accountable under the law like any other president. Just 32% argued he was being unfairly victimized, the poll found.

Trump also holds an aggressive lead over Biden among younger voters, sporting a 20% lead over Biden among voters 35 and under.

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Age remains one of the most unpopular factors for Biden's re-election campaign, however. 70% of respondents said he is too old to hold office, while just 50% said the same of Trump.

Biden, 80, is the oldest person ever to run for president in the U.S., followed closely by Trump, 77. Biden would be 82 by the time he enters office for a second term.

WAPO/ABC conducted the poll from September 15-20, using a random sample of 1,006 U.S. adults and contacting them through both landlines and cellphones. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5%.

White House blasts House Judiciary for holding ‘circus of a hearing’ grilling Garland

The White House blasted the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for holding an hours-long "circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation" featuring testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying it is part of a "not-so-sophisticated distraction campaign."

Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday as part of the panel’s annual oversight work. The hearing was focused on the alleged politicization of the Justice Department under Garland’s leadership.

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Garland fielded questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, but defended his work at the Justice Department, and maintained he has remained independent and uninvolved in the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden.

But the White House slammed Republicans, who are leading an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, and once again cast blame for the potential of a looming government shutdown on House GOP lawmakers.

"Extreme House Republicans are running a not-so-sophisticated distraction campaign to try to cover up their own actions that are hurtling America to a dangerous and costly government shutdown," White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams said Wednesday. "They cannot even pass a military funding bill because extreme House Republicans are demanding devastating cuts like slashing thousands of preschool slots nationwide and thousands of law enforcement jobs including border agents, so they cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family."

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

"Don’t be fooled: they want to distract from the reality that their own chaos and inability to govern is going to shut down the government in a matter of days, hurting our economy and national security and jeopardizing everything from troop pay to fighting fentanyl," Sams continued.

He added: "These sideshows won’t spare House Republicans from bearing responsibility for inflicting serious damage on the country."

Sams was referring to a possible government shutdown.

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.

House Republicans are set to hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against Biden on Thursday, Sept. 28.

White House hammers upcoming Biden impeachment inquiry hearing as ‘evidence-free’ stunt

EXCLUSIVE: The White House is blasting House Republicans for planning to hold their first hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry against President Biden just days before the government runs out of funding, while dismissing the "evidence-free" probe as a "political stunt." 

House Republicans are set to hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against Biden on Thursday, Sept. 28.

HOUSE WILL HOLD FIRST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING NEXT THURSDAY

But the White House is casting the hearing as a distraction. 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.

If the government does run out of funding, the White House signaled to Fox News Digital it would blame Republicans.

"Their shutdown would hurt our economy and national security, furlough thousands of federal workers, and jeopardize everything from troop pay to disaster relief to efforts to fight fentanyl," Sams said.

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"They are clearly hoping they can use their baseless, evidence-free impeachment stunt to try to divert attention away from the consequences of their extreme agenda, including their current funding proposal to slash tens of thousands of preschool slots nationwide and eliminate thousands of law enforcement jobs," he continued. "The president has been very clear: He is going to remain focused on the issues that matter to the American people, including preventing the devastating and harmful cuts proposed by House Republicans that are hurtling us toward a government shutdown."

Sams added: "House Republicans should drop these silly political Washington games and actually do their job to prevent a government shutdown."

Next week’s 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 & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., to lead the investigation. 

However, the hearing won’t necessarily tread any new ground. It is expected to be a review of the existing evidence and explain the status of the inquiry, sources familiar said.

Fox News Digital first reported last week that the next step in the impeachment inquiry would be to pursue bank records from the personal and business accounts belonging to the president’s son Hunter and his brother, James. 

Sources familiar told Fox News that Comer is likely to subpoena Hunter Biden and James Biden's bank records this week.

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A source also said Comer will also seek additional transcribed interviews with Hunter Biden business associates, including Eric Schwerin and Rob Walker. 

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. 

Comer and the other Republican investigators briefed McCarthy last week on House Republicans’ findings since July related to the president’s alleged involvement in his family’s business dealings.

Since July, the committee took a transcribed interview from Hunter Biden’s business associate Devon Archer, who claimed then-Vice President Joe Biden was "the brand" Hunter sold around the world to foreign business partners. Archer also testified that Biden joined conference calls with Hunter’s business partners and attended business dinners with his son’s foreign associates in Washington D.C. 

Also this summer, Comer released the third bank records memo, revealing that the Biden family and their business associates received millions of dollars from oligarchs in Russia, Ukraine and Kazahkstan during the Obama administration. Those records revealed the family received more than $20 million from these business arrangements during that time period. 

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Comer has also sought information from the National Archives related to the Biden family’s alleged misuse of Air Force Two, and all unredacted documents in which Biden used a pseudonym—Robin Ware—to communicate with his son Hunter Biden. 

More broadly, Comer, Jordan and Smith have interviewed whistleblowers who allege politics influenced all prosecutorial decisions throughout the Justice Department’s years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden. Those allegations led to Attorney General Merrick Garland granting U.S. Attorney from Delaware David Weiss—who has been leading the probe—special counsel authority. 

Meanwhile, last week, Comer sought information from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the "sudden foreign policy decisions" during the Obama administration that led to the dismissal of the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma Holdings while Hunter Biden sat on the board of the company.

The State Department has not yet turned over those records. 

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

House will hold first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing next Thursday

FIRST ON FOX — House Republicans will hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against President Biden next Thursday, Fox News has learned. 

The House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is likely to subpoena bank records of Hunter Biden and James Biden this week. GOP lawmakers hope these records will provide insight into Biden's alleged involvement in his family's business dealings and fuel the next steps in their investigation. 

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

However, Fox News is told that hearing won’t necessarily tread any new ground. It will simply be a review of the existing evidence and explain the status of the inquiry, familiar sources said. 

COMER TO PURSUE HUNTER, JAMES BIDEN PERSONAL BANK RECORDS AS NEXT STEP IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Fox News has also learned that the Oversight Committee plans to subpoena the bank records of Hunter Biden and James Biden this week.

As to the timing of the overall inquiry, Fox is told leaders would like to conclude this before the primary season.

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. 

Comer and the other Republican investigators briefed McCarthy last week on House Republicans’ findings since July related to the president’s alleged involvement in his family’s business dealings.

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A source told Fox News digital that Comer will seek additional transcribed interviews with Hunter Biden business associates, including Eric Schwerin and Rob Walker. 

Since July, the committee took a transcribed interview from Hunter Biden’s business associate Devon Archer, who claimed then-Vice President Joe Biden was "the brand" Hunter sold around the world to foreign business partners. Archer also testified that Biden joined conference calls with Hunter’s business partners and attended business dinners with his son’s foreign associates in Washington D.C. 

Also this summer, Comer released the third bank records memo, revealing that the Biden family and their business associates received millions of dollars from oligarchs in Russia, Ukraine and Kazahkstan during the Obama administration. Those records revealed the family received more than $20 million from these business arrangements during that time period. 

Comer has also sought information from the National Archives related to the Biden family’s alleged misuse of Air Force Two, and all unredacted documents in which Biden used a pseudonym—Robin Ware—to communicate with his son Hunter Biden. 

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More broadly, Comer, Jordan and Smith have interviewed whistleblowers who allege politics influenced all prosecutorial decisions throughout the Justice Department’s years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden. Those allegations led to Attorney General Merrick Garland granting U.S. Attorney from Delaware David Weiss—who has been leading the probe—special counsel authority. 

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The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintains that Biden was "never in business with his son." 

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Newsom justifies Hunter Biden business deals, says using family to ‘get a little influence’ is ‘hardly unique’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom brushed off allegations of Hunter Biden's corrupt business dealings on Monday, saying it is "hardly unique" for people to use their family members to get ahead.

Newsom made the comment in an interview with CNN that aired Monday. The California governor defended the Biden family on issues ranging from Hunter's businesses to President Biden's age.

"One of the things that Republicans are relentless on, of course, is Hunter Biden," CNN host Dana Bash began. "There is no evidence that Joe Biden benefited from anything that Hunter was doing, but Republicans have shown that Hunter Biden – he tried to leverage his father's name, and that the president allegedly before he was president joined phone calls that Hunter Biden's business associates were on. Do you see anything inappropriate there?"

"I don't know enough about the details of that. I mean I've seen a little of that," Newsom responded. "If that's the new criteria, there are a lot of folks in a lot of industries – not just in politics – where people have family members and relationships and they're trying to parlay and get a little influence and benefit in that respect. That's hardly unique."

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"I don't love that any more than you love it or other people I imagine love that. We want to see a lot less of that, but an impeachment inquiry? Give me a break," he continued.

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"Threatening a government shutdown again after we went through that process with the debt ceiling. This is student government," he added. "This is a joke. Ready, fire, aim. I mean, this is a perversity that the founding fathers never conceived of and imagined. So, if that’s the best they can do, give me a break. That’s about public opinion."

Meanwhile, Hunter's legal team has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, claiming the agency "targeted and sought to embarrass" him by exposing his tax returns to the public.

Hunter's legal opponents claim the tactic is merely an attempt to shift attention away from his own legal troubles, which involve a felony gun charge.

BIDEN BREAKS SILENCE ON POSSIBLE IMPEACHMENT, BLAMES GOP DESIRE TO 'SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT'

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has also launched an impeachment inquiry into the president relating to his alleged involvement in his son's business deals. Republicans point to statements Hunter has made, phone calls, and dinners Biden attended as evidence that he was aware of what his son was doing.

Biden has brushed off the impeachment inquiry, however, suggesting it was a tactic by Republicans aimed at making a government shutdown more likely.

White House, Hunter Biden’s team keep shifting goalposts in denying Joe’s involvement with businesses

Hunter Biden’s lawyer declared last Thursday that the first son "did not share" his business or his profits with his father, marking another notable shift in the narrative responding to allegations linking President Biden to his son’s shady business dealings.

Abbe Lowell, who has been aggressively defending Hunter, said he can "categorically" declare that Biden was not involved in Hunter's previous business dealings and did not profit from any of them.

"I can tell you that Hunter did not share his business with his dad," Lowell told CNN on Thursday. "I can tell you that he did not share money from his businesses with his dad. And as the evidence out there, his dad, like all good parents, tried to help Hunter when Hunter needed that help."

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House Republicans who are investigating the Biden family have accused the White House of shifting its narrative in denying that Biden was involved with his son’s businesses. In 2019, Biden emphatically denied ever discussing business matters with his son, despite Hunter's longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, handling the elder Biden's finances throughout the entirety of the Obama administration. 

Then- Vice President Biden also met with over a dozen of Hunter’s foreign business partners, as previously reported by Fox News Digital.

"First of all, I have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their business, period," Biden said in August 2019. "There wasn't any hint of scandal at all when we were there. It was the same kind of strict, strict rules. That's why I never talk with my son or my brother or anyone else, even distant family about their business interest, period."

"I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings," a frustrated Biden told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a month later. "You should be looking at Trump. Trump’s doing this because he knows I’ll beat him like a drum. … Everybody’s looked at it and said there’s nothing there. Ask the right question."

"I don’t discuss business with my son," Biden said again the next month in October 2019.

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

The narrative, however, took a drastic turn in June when the White House began saying Biden was not "in business" with his son during his vice presidency. 

"As we have said many times before, the president was not in business with his son," White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams said in a June 29 statement.

"The answer remains the same," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a July 24 briefing. "The president was never in business with his son. I just don’t have anything else to add."

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House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith wrote a letter to White House Counsel Stuart Delery in July seeking clarity on the shifting message, but their July 27 deadline was ignored.

Additionally, Hunter’s lawyer’s claims last week about Hunter not sharing profits with his father do not appear to hold up when looking at Hunter's text messages and emails from his abandoned laptop, according to previous Fox News Digital reports.

In a January 2019 text message, Hunter expressed frustration with his daughter, Naomi, and revealed that his dad forced him to fork over half his salary.

"I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary," Hunter wrote. 

In a 2018 WhatsApp message with his uncle, Hunter fumed about now-first lady Jill Biden and called her a "f---ing moron" after she shot down a proposal about him teaching and said he needed to get sober first, or he would not be able to support his family.

"I suooorted [sic] my GM [sic] family including some of the costs you should have used your salary to lay [sic] for- for the last 24 years," Hunter said. 

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In another text message exchange from 2018, Hunter claimed to have paid his father's bills for more than a decade, which received backlash from House Republicans.

"Too many cooks in the kitchen," he wrote on April 12, 2018. "Too many profile changes and such. Happened 10 days ago too. What do you need? I’m going to bank in a few. Need to verify identity in person."

"I need to pay AT&T," Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge responded.

Hunter then instructed Dodge to put the payment on both his debit card and his "Wells Fargo credit line."

"My dad has been using most lines on this account which I’ve through the gracious offerings of Eric [Schwerin] have paid for past 11 years," Hunter wrote.

It is not clear whether Hunter was claiming to have a shared AT&T account or a shared Wells Fargo account with his father. The White House declined to clarify when previously reached by Fox News Digital.

HUNTER BIDEN GUSHED OVER ‘EXTRAVAGANT’ GIFTS FROM BURISMA EXEC WHO WAS FOCUS OF CORRUPTION PROBE

A 2010 email from Schwerin, Hunter's longtime business partner, said he was transferring funds from Biden’s tax refund check into Hunter’s account because "he owes it to you."

House Democrats acknowledged Wednesday that Schwerin, the former president of Hunter’s Rosemont Seneca Advisors, handled Biden’s finances for the duration of his vice presidency.

A 2016 email from Schwerin to Hunter indicated that Hunter was expected to pay an AT&T bill in the amount of $190 for "JRB."

One of the most infamous emails from Hunter's abandoned laptop was the email that refers to the elder Biden as the "big guy" and says, "10 held by H for the big guy?" which is shorthand for 10% held by Hunter Biden for his father. Hunter's former business partner Tony Bobulinski previously confirmed "big guy" was a reference to now-President Biden.

The 2017 email about the equity split proposition for the joint venture with CEFC, a CCP-linked energy company, was sent by business associate James Gilliar, who also infamously told Bobulinski on WhatsApp, in May 2017 not to "mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u [sic] are face to face, I know u [sic] know that but they are paranoid."

"OK they should be paranoid about things," Bobulinski said.

"For real," Gilliar said.

OBAMA-ERA EMAILS REVEAL HUNTER’S EXTENSIVE TIES TO NEARLY A DOZEN SENIOR-LEVEL BIDEN ADMIN AIDES

The House Oversight Committee recently included a few of these examples as their "evidence" that Biden was involved with Hunter's business dealings and that he profited, including testimony from a pair of whistleblowers. 

One of the whistleblowers, who claimed Justice Department, FBI and IRS officials interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden, said earlier in the summer that Hunter invoked his father to pressure a Chinese business partner while discussing deals. IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley oversaw the IRS probe into the president's son and said the agency obtained a July 2017 WhatsApp message from Hunter to Harvest Fund Management CEO Henry Zhao showing Hunter alleging he was with his father to pressure Zhao to pay him $10M.

"I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter wrote in the WhatsApp message to Zhao, according to the documents. "Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight," Hunter wrote.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., announced an impeachment inquiry last week for Biden, prompting the White House to release a 14-page memo pushing back on Republican claims and calling on media outlets to increase scrutiny.

"After nearly 9 months of investigating, House Republicans haven’t been able to turn up any evidence of the President doing anything wrong. But House Republicans led by Marjorie Taylor Greene are nonetheless opening a baseless impeachment inquiry of President Biden — despite many House Republicans openly admitting there is no evidence on which to support it," White House spokesperson Ian Sams wrote last week. 

"Impeachment is grave, rare, and historic. The Constitution requires ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,’" Sams continued. "But House Republicans are publicly stating they have uncovered none of these things."

The White House and Hunter's attorney did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

GOP border hawks fear Mayorkas could be let off the hook thanks to Biden impeachment inquiry

Some House Republicans fear that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas may get off the hook for his alleged mishandling of the U.S. border due to the new impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

While House Republicans are overwhelmingly in favor of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's newly announced impeachment inquiry, the House Oversight Committee has also been digging into Mayorkas for months. Lawmakers have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration official for his role in the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"With Mayorkas, it grows worse and worse by the day," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said Monday. "I am worried that it’s going to go by the wayside."

Other members of the Oversight Committee and Homeland Security Committee have echoed the sentiment.

HOUSE HOMELAND GOP REPORT ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF ‘INTENTIONAL’ DERELICTION OF DUTY OVER BORDER CRISIS

"This does shift the focus in our long-standing efforts to hold the administration accountable for the failures of the southern border," Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Punchbowl News.

GOP REPS TENNEY, ROY LEAD PUSH TO REDUCE MAYORKAS' SALARY TO $1 OVER BORDER CRISIS

Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, admitted to the outlet that it would be "tough" to impeach Biden and Mayorkas at the same time.

Fellow Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson said he hopes the party does not "get too distracted" with Biden's proceedings and let Mayorkas off easy.

Earlier in September, the House Homeland Security Committee released a report accusing Mayorkas of ceding control of the southern border to Mexican cartels.

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS GOP FOR LOOMING SHUTDOWN, SAYS IT COULD HURT FENTANYL FIGHT

Committee Chairman Mark Green launched an investigation into Mayorkas’ conduct and handling of the southern border crisis earlier this year, as the DHS chief faced a barrage of criticism from Republicans over the border crisis that has seen record encounters at the border, where encounters remain high.

"The massive increase in the number of people now traveling up through Mexico on their way to the Southwest border represents a historic business opportunity for the cartels, as each person is someone off whom they can profit," the report said, also finding that the surge of individuals has taken Border Patrol agents off the beat to process migrants instead, leaving broad stretches of the border open to cartel exploitation.

"Americans must understand the sheer control these organizations exert over the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the Southwest border, and how they profit from it all. The cartels control smuggling routes throughout Mexico and exert near-complete control on the movement of individuals through that country, particularly at and near the Southwest border," the report continued.

Mayorkas has rejected accusations of wrongdoing, however, pointing to the Biden administration's efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling and transnational gangs.

"We seized nearly 2 million pounds of narcotics last fiscal year. Operations Blue, Lotus and Four Horsemen alone stopped nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl from the U.S., led to 284 arrests, and yielded invaluable insights into the transnational criminal organizations wreaking this death and destruction on our communities," Mayorkas told lawmakers in July.