Category: fox-news/person/joe-biden

House Democrats invite ex-Giuliani associate Lev Parnas as Biden impeachment inquiry hearing witness

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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are having businessman Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani's, come to Capitol Hill to participate in the second impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden on Wednesday.

The Oversight Committee's GOP majority is investigating accusations that Biden and his family enriched themselves by using his political connections, particularly when he was vice president.

"This hopeless impeachment investigation originated with a bunch of lies told by an indicted liar in close proximity to Russian agents. So who better than Lev Parnas himself — Rudy Giuliani’s right-hand man on the original mission to smear Joe Biden — to tell the story of how this campaign of lies and slander works? Lev Parnas can debunk the bogus claims at the heart of the impeachment probe and, in the process, explain how the GOP ended up in this degraded and embarrassing place," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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

Parnas previously claimed that he worked with Giuliani in his effort to pressure Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into the Biden family in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for charges linked to soliciting foreign money for U.S. elections, wire fraud and making false statements, among others. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams had accused him of "pumping Russian money into U.S. elections and lying about the source of funds for political contributions."

Parnas is going to be joined at the Wednesday hearing by former business associates of Hunter Biden, whose foreign business dealings are a particular concern to GOP investigators. One is Tony Bobulinski, who has personally told investigators that the Biden family was selling access to the now-president. The second is Jason Galanis, who is in prison after he pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

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

Republicans on the Oversight Committee pointed out that Parnas was found guilty of lying and said it was "telling" Democrats did not invite an associate of the Bidens.

"It’s telling the Democrats didn’t call any of Hunter Biden’s business associates who claim his father’s innocence because they know their testimony won’t withstand public scrutiny. Instead, they are relying on a convicted liar who claims Joe Biden never met with a Burisma official when in fact he dined with one," a spokesperson for the committee said.

COMER INVITES HUNTER BIDEN, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY MARCH 20 AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Fox News Digital previously reported that Democrats were considering inviting Michael Cohen, former President Trump's ex-lawyer, in a bid to focus attention on Trump's own foreign business dealings.

A source familiar with those discussions indicated to Fox News Digital that Democrats thought Parnas would be more relevant to their goal of pointing out flaws in the GOP's investigation. They said, "Cohen can speak directly to how Trump used the White House to enrich himself, but Parnas can speak directly to how Trump used discredited sources to fabricate dirt on Biden."

Eric Schwerin confirms Joe Biden used ‘Robinware456’ email alias while serving as vice president

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Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators that he communicated with then-Vice President Joe Biden via a private e-mail alias, while maintaining that he was "not aware" of Joe Biden's involvement in his family’s business dealings. 

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

Fox News Digital obtained a transcript of Schwerin’s testimony. 

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

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.

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 and 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."

During his transcribed interview, Schwerin was asked if an email address labeled "Robinware456" was associated with Joe Biden. 

"Yes," Schwerin said.

"That’s Joe Biden?" a committee investigator asked. 

"Correct," Schwerin testified. 

Schwerin also identified an email address labeled "Hurricane5155" as Valerie Biden and "261penn" as Beau Biden. 

Schwerin also said that it was his "understanding" that "Robert.L.Peters" was also an email address associated with Joe Biden. 

"I believe, when I personally emailed him, it was through that ‘Robinware’ email address," Schwerin testified that the email address was a "private Gmail account" and said he would also communicate via a private Gmail account. 

Meanwhile, 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."

But Schwerin did testify that he did have "discussions" about what Joe Biden would do post-vice presidency. 

"Did you ever have any conversations with Hunter Biden or anyone else about jobs for Joe Biden post-Vice Presidency?" a congressional investigator asked. 

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

"I don't know about jobs per se, but we did have discussions as to what – about what his dad might be doing post-Vice Presidency," Schwerin said, noting that there were "two efforts, I know, going on related to the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania." 

"There was a point in which I and Hunter were a little more involved in the discussions related to the University of Delaware, and there were institutes set up and whether – how it would all be structured and things like that," he said. 

Meanwhile, Schwerin testified that he was appointed to the U.S. Commission on the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. 

Schwerin said Biden, when vice president in 2009, asked him if he would be "interested in being on one of these boards or commissions." 

"I understood that – my assumption was that it was something that, you know, the Vice President had signed off on, but I would think it was someone from the staff who said, we can put your name forward to Presidential Personnel, and they would, you know, give you a call about this," he said, adding that he was not appointed to the board until May 2015. 

Jim Jordan previews main focus of upcoming Hunter Biden hearing, blasts Hur report ‘double standard’

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VANDALIA, OH - Republican Congressman Jim Jordan previewed an upcoming hearing on the investigation into the business dealings of Hunter Biden and railed against the "double standard" he says President Biden was the benefactor of in the investigation into his handling of classified documents.

"We'll see," the Ohio Republican told Fox News Digital on Saturday when asked about Hunter Biden previously expressing willingness to testify openly before the House before his legal team recently backtracked and objected to doing so.  

"I think Chairman Comer, we're going to have this hearing this week, this upcoming week with three of Hunter Biden's business partners, Mr. Galanis, Mr. Bobulinski and Mr. Archer and what's interesting, all three of those individuals tell a different story, and their story seems to match up with the three of them versus what Hunter Biden told us when we deposed him," Jordan said. "So we'll see if Hunter Biden comes in. But we’ll go through this here and get information out to the American people."

"It's going to be the comparisons between what these individuals said and what Hunter Biden said and the contradictions that exist in this testimony from both sides," Jordan told Fox News Digital when asked for a preview of what this week’s hearing on the Hunter Biden scandal will entail. 

GOP REP SPOTLIGHTS 3 KEY PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONTRADICTED’ THEIR BUSINESS COVERUP

Jason Galanis, Tony Bobulinski and Devon Archer, all former associates of Hunter Biden, were invited to participate in a House hearing on Wednesday as part of the investigation into an alleged corruption scandal that Republicans are suggesting could eventually lead to an impeachment vote for President Biden.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hunter Biden's legal team for comment but did not receive a response.

Jordan, who was speaking to Fox News Digital near Dayton, Ohio where former President Trump was rallying for Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, brought up the recent testimony of Special Counsel Robert Hur while discussing Hunter Biden, which he suggested was an example of President Biden "knowingly" ignoring the law. 

"I thought last week with special counsel Hur where we went through that, where we know Joe Biden knowingly retained and disclosed classified information, he knew the rules, he'd been in government five decades, he was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was vice president, so he knew the law and willfully violated that law," Jordan said. 

"And I think he did it because, special counsel Hur says in his report, he said Joe Biden was motivated to ignore classified procedures because he was writing a book and he got an $8 million advance so there are 8 million reasons why Joe Biden didn't follow the law."

BIDEN GHOSTWRITER SPOTTED ON NYC STREETS HOURS AFTER GOP LAWMAKERS RIPPED HIM DURING HEATED HUR HEARING

When asked by Jordan last week during the House hearing on Hur’s conclusion regarding Biden’s handling of classified documents and his decision not to file charges whether he agrees that Biden had motivation to misuse the documents to write a book, Hur replied, "That language does appear in the report, and we did identify evidence supporting those assessments." 

The White House has pushed back on the idea that Hur’s report shows Biden’s actions possibly correlate with a potential book deal.

"And then, of course, Mr. Hur concluded by saying even though he knowingly, willfully retained and disclosed, did it for the money, in my judgment, we're not going to prosecute because he's a forgetful old man and I think that came out loud and clear in the hearing we had this past week," Jordan added. "So we'll have another hearing next week with these other individuals and we'll go from there."

Fox News Digital asked Jordan if he agreed with Hur’s conclusion that it would be too difficult to secure a guilty verdict from a jury with the current evidence.

"If someone meets the elements of the crime, it's the job of the prosecutor to take that to the jury and the jury decides," Jordan responded. "Mr. Hur and his evaluation, you weigh all things, so we have some respect for that of course, but what I do think comes clear is the double standard."

"You know, this idea that there are pressing charges and they have charged President Trump, they raided his home for goodness sake, but nothing happens here, and that's what Americans really take away is the double standard."

Several legal experts, including Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, have recently suggested that the classified documents handling case against President Biden had more significant evidence than the case involving Trump.

Jordan told Fox News Digital he agrees with that analysis.

"I think so especially when you see the report and you walk through the elements, particularly when he's talking to the ghost writer, who, by the way, the ghost writer tried to destroy the evidence once he found out Mr. Hur was named the special counsel," Jordan said. "Go figure. If that's not obstruction. I don't know what is. So, I do think that again underscores this double standard that we've seen for such a long time."

House Speaker Johnson says White House doesn’t ‘call the shots’ on when impeachment is over

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House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Friday that the White House does not get to "call the shots" on when the President Biden impeachment inquiry ends after he received a letter this morning from a White House lawyer arguing that it’s "over." 

White House Counsel Ed Siskel, in his message to the Louisiana Republican, said "it’s obviously time to move on, Mr. Speaker." 

"This impeachment is over," Siskel declared. "There is too much important work to be done for the American people to continue wasting time on this charade." 

But Johnson told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill Friday that "They don’t call the shots on it" and "we’ll deliberate over that when the investigation is complete." 

HUNTER BIDEN’S FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER TONY BOBULINSKI SLAMS HIM FOR ‘RUNNING AWAY’ FROM HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE 

"We’re allowing the process to play out as the Constitution anticipates. Our committees of jurisdiction have done their duty," Johnson added. "They’ve done an extraordinary job. They’ve revealed some alarming information." 

In his letter, Siskel said "The House Majority ought to work with the President on our economy, national security, and other important priorities on behalf of the American people, not continue to waste time on political stunts like this." 

HUNTER BIDEN REFUSES TO ATTEND HOUSE HEARING WITH FORMER BUSINESS ASSOCIATES 

"The House Majority has reportedly collected more than 100,000 pages of records, interviewed dozens of witnesses, and held multiple public hearings—but none of the evidence has demonstrated that the President did anything wrong," Siskel also said, noting that "Hunter Biden testified that he never involved his father in his business dealings" and "Several witnesses have testified debunking claims related to President Biden’s handling of classified documents." 

"Instead of admitting the truth that the President did nothing wrong, the Majority is wasting even more time on abusive steps like trying to re-interview witnesses who already testified -- perhaps hoping the facts will be different the second time around," Siskel continued. "This is just the latest abusive tactic in this investigation. It has targeted the President’s children, grandchildren, siblings, and in-laws for no reason. It has intruded into private citizens’ personal records on everything from medical visits to birthday presents. Enough is enough." 

Siskel sent the letter two days after Hunter Biden’s lawyer said his client would not attend a House Oversight Committee hearing next week regarding alleged influence peddling and the Biden family’s business dealings, calling it a "carnival side show." 

Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner Tony Bobulinski slams him for ‘running away’ from House Oversight Committee

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Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Tony Bobulinski, has criticized the president’s son for "running away" from the American people after he declined to appear for a congressional hearing next week.

Hunter Biden declined an invite from Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to attend the House Oversight Committee hearing on March 20, when committee members of both parties will get a chance to ask about alleged influence peddling and the Biden family's business dealings, his lawyer said in a letter Wednesday.

"One week from today – on Wednesday, March 20 – I will testify publicly before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability," Bobulinski responded in a statement to Fox News Digital. "I was disappointed to see the news today that Hunter is running away from his chance to tell the American people the truth. He’s been adamant in wanting to go before the American people, and Oversight is now giving him that opportunity."

Bobulinski added: "Now is the time to step up, Hunter, as you have said you want to do. Don’t cower in the face of accountability and in this fight for truth and democracy!"

HUNTER BIDEN’S FEDERAL GUN CHARGES TRIAL SLATED FOR EARLY JUNE

Bobulinski previously testified that President Biden "enabled" Hunter to sell access to America's "most dangerous adversaries," including China and Russia. 

In his statement, Biden’s former business partner called for "truth and transparency" to prevail.

"Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, along with countless members of Congress, keep claiming that they are 'fighting for our Democracy.' Why don't we as a nation agree to fight for the truth!" Bobulinski said. "Nearly three-quarters of the American people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and I can’t blame them. Truth and transparency would help expose the rot at the center of our political system and begin to fix what ails us."

"I am excited and happy to have the opportunity to once again share the facts with the American people. I am deeply committed to getting the full truth before the nation," he said, calling for the witnesses in the hearing, including himself, to be subject to a polygraph with "real time results to be viewed by the American people."

HUNTER BIDEN REFUSES TO ATTEND HOUSE HEARING WITH FORMER BUSINESS ASSOCIATES

"What better way to ensure that the truth is being told by every witness, including Joe, Hunter and Jim Biden in any future potential hearings?" he asked.

Bobulinski also openly offered to appear before the committee for an additional hearing whenever it is convenient for Hunter Biden.

"If by chance March 20th really doesn't work due to your multiple criminal indictments, please name the date and time and I will be happy to join you at a second hearing for the American people," he wrote. 

In addition to Hunter Biden and Bobulinski, the House Oversight Committee invited Devon Archer and Jason Galanis to testify at the 10 a.m. hearing on March 20.

On Wednesday, Biden attorney Abbe Lowell criticized the hearing as a "carnival side show." 

"To begin, even if that hearing was a legitimate exercise of congressional authority, neither Mr. Biden nor I can attend because of a court hearing the very next day in California," Lowell said in a letter sent to Comer. "The scheduling conflict is the least of the issues, however."

"Your blatant planned-for-media event is not a proper proceeding but an obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended," Lowell wrote. 

"Mr. Biden declines your invitation to this carnival side show," the attorney concluded.

Comer responded Wednesday, saying his committee has "called Hunter Biden's bluff." 

"Hunter Biden for months stated he wanted a public hearing, but now that one has been offered alongside his business associates that he worked with for years, he is refusing to come," Comer said.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

GOP lawmaker reveals ‘perverse implication’ of Robert Hur’s argument on Trump ‘deterrent effect’

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A House GOP lawmaker targeted former Special Counsel Robert Hur over what he called a "perverse implication" that the current prosecution of former President Donald Trump at least partially factored into Hur’s decision not to recommend charges for President Biden.

Hur testified before House lawmakers on Tuesday in a lengthy and, at times, heated hearing on his report — the product of a monthslong investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. 

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., took issue with a part of Hur’s report that downplayed the "deterrent effect" of charging Biden, both because of "little risk he will reoffend" and that "future presidents and vice presidents are already likely to be deterred by the multiple recent criminal investigations, and one prosecution, of current and former presidents and vice presidents for mishandling classified documents."

HUR TESTIFIES BIDEN 'WILLFULLY RETAINED CLASSIFIED MATERIALS,' BUT PROSECUTORS 'HAD TO CONSIDER' MENTAL STATE

Kiley argued during the hearing, "The perverse implication here is that the administration, by the very terms of your analysis, actually made it less likely that the president would face charges by [Special Counsel Jack Smith] bringing an indictment [against Trump]."

"I’ll stand by the way and the specific terms in which I characterize my assessment of deterrence value of a case under the principles of federal prosecution," Hur told him just minutes earlier.

Kiley stood by his argument in a brief interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday afternoon, explaining, "It's the implication that is perverse, because it means that Biden sort of lowered his chances of facing charges when the administration brought charges against former President Trump."

Trump has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges stemming from Smith’s federal investigation into alleged election interference. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review whether Trump has presidential immunity from prosecution in the case.

BIDEN RETAINED RECORDS RELATED TO UKRAINE, CHINA; COMER DEMANDS 'UNFETTERED ACCESS' AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"I think there's a lot here that's fairly troubling," Kiley said. "That’s why I wanted to sort of bring it to light. I didn't know, maybe, even if Mr. Hur had really thought that through, that particular implication."

"I think that really, broadly, the report was well done. I think that particular factor was not thought through as carefully as it should be."

Meanwhile, Fox News contributor and Georgetown University law professor Jonathan Turley argued that the section of the report suggesting Biden himself was at "little risk" of reoffending is not an accurate conclusion on deterrence. 

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

"The finding seems inherently in conflict with the acknowledgment that Joe Biden continued to remove classified material over 40 years since he was a senator," Turley said. "There was no evidence of deterrence despite repeated warnings given to him by counsel and staff. If anything, that record shows a certain habitual violation of well-known rules on the handling of classified material."

Hur found that Biden did willfully mishandle classified materials but did not recommend charges, citing, in part, that he came off "as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," and that "it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department but did not immediately hear back.

Biden impeachment effort starting to ‘lose steam,’ House Republicans say

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House Republicans are growing increasingly skeptical of whether their push to impeach President Biden will succeed.

"I don't think we have the will to impeach Joe Biden. … We just don't. We’ve got a two-seat majority. You've got some guys in these tough districts that don't want to alienate maybe independents or moderates," Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

"They've laid out a good case for impeaching Joe Biden … but I just don't think we have the will to do it."

Each of the GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital expressed the belief that what the investigation has uncovered looks bad for Biden, but even those who think it rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors were unsure the House would see an impeachment vote.

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

Several noted that House Republicans' razor-thin two-seat majority has made it difficult to pass significant legislation in the past. 

"That’s always a question with everything," Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said of the numbers. "We have some folks who love to scream, rant and rave and have gotten all involved in their ego. You never know where those folks are going to come out one moment or the other."

He added, "I do surely think there's evidence there."

Another GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak freely agreed the impeachment push has lost momentum, chalking it up to the hectic environment of a presidential election year.

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

"I think it was always going to lose steam. I think as soon as we transitioned into a formal presidential election, I don't know that it was going to continue with the same fervor," the GOP lawmaker said.

Asked about the amount of skepticism within the conference over actually voting to impeach Biden, they said, "I’m not the one to worry about, but there are dozens of others."

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents a district Biden won in 2020, noted investigators have not yet uncovered a smoking gun but defended the inquiry as a fact-finding mission.

SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AT HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

"When the staff tells you that they can't identify a particular crime, that's a problem. But we should welcome the investigation. It's more about letting the voters know the truth," Bacon said.

The House voted to formalize their impeachment inquiry into Biden in mid-December, with every member of the Republican Conference supporting the investigation. The House Oversight Committee is now leading a joint investigation with the House Judiciary and Ways and Means committees into whether Biden used his former position as vice president to enrich himself and his family – claims the White House has denied.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Ex-Trump aide sued by Hunter Biden wants Biden-appointed judge off laptop case, fears ‘2020 all over again’

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Garrett Ziegler, a one-time aide to former President Trump who is being sued by Hunter Biden for publishing the contents of his infamous laptop, is seeking to have a judge who was appointed by President Biden removed from the case. Ziegler argues that the outcome of the lawsuit not only has implications for the congressional impeachment inquiry, but also the 2024 election. 

In a recent motion in U.S. District Court for Central California, Ziegler's attorney, Robert Tyler, requested that Judge Hernán D. Vera recuse himself from the case because his "impartiality will be reasonably questioned." Vera made donations to Joe Biden’s campaign for president in 2020. He also was appointed to his position by President Biden just three months before Hunter Biden filed the lawsuit against Ziegler and one day after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced a presidential impeachment inquiry had commenced in Congress. 

Tyler emphasized that he is not arguing against Vera's integrity and assumes the court system assigned the judge to Hunter Biden's lawsuit at random. 

"But there’s something called forum shopping that lawyers do," he told Fox News Digital. "And here’s a case where our client resides in Illinois, he has no contact with California such that California should have any jurisdiction over this case, yet Hunter Biden’s lawyers filed this lawsuit to the Central District of California just shortly after Judge Vera’s appointed." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's legal team for comment on Tuesday.

HUNTER BIDEN SUES FORMER WH AIDE FOR ALTERING, PUBLISHING 'PORNOGRAPHIC' PHOTOS FROM LAPTOP HE DENIES IS HIS

The relief requested in Hunter Biden’s complaint would prevent and inhibit the public, media and Congress from accessing highly relevant evidence to the impeachment inquiry of President Biden, the motion says. Ziegler's attorney further argued that Vera must recuse himself from the case "because the district court rulings in this case may affect the impeachment inquiry along with the future presidency of Joseph Biden, toward which Judge Vera made a financial investment and for which Judge Vera has an obvious interest and affinity." 

"The availability of the information from the Hunter Biden laptop is incredibly important so that we don’t have 2020 all over again where somehow the Biden laptop is brushed under the rug and ignored or worse yet, it's censored," Tyler told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, referring to how the Hunter Biden laptop story was dismissed as "Russian disinformation" by a large portion of the media and suppressed by social media platforms. "That’s important I think not only to the presidential impeachment inquiry but also to the election." 

Tyler's motion criticizes how Hunter Biden filed the lawsuit against Ziegler, his company – Marco Polo USA – and 10 unidentified associates in September 2023, in the middle of his father’s re-election campaign and nearly three years after the dissemination of files emanating from the laptop he "abandoned" at a Delaware computer repair shop. The repair shop owner turned the laptop over to the FBI on or around October 2019 after discovering its "disturbing materials," the motion notes.

Hunter Biden’s lawsuit accused Ziegler and others of spreading "tens of thousands of emails, thousands of photos, and dozens of videos and recordings" that were considered "pornographic" on the laptop. The lawsuit describes Ziegler as a "zealot who has waged a sustained, unhinged and obsessed campaign" against the entire Biden family for over two years to "advance his right-wing agenda" and spent hours "accessing, tampering with, manipulating or copying" Hunter Biden’s data with his associates.

GOP REP SPOTLIGHTS 3 KEY PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONTRADICTED’ THEIR BUSINESS COVERUP

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California's Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act. 

Ziegler’s attorney counters that the former Trump aide and associates "prepared a credible investigative report," known as the "Report on the Biden Laptop," not to wage a campaign against Hunter Biden, but to "expose instances of foreign compromise" by Hunter Biden and his father, President Biden, which are "matters of great public interest and concern." In preparing the report, Ziegler relied on copies of files from the laptop that "had already been widely circulated since at least October 2020 to numerous media outlets," Tyler wrote. 

The motion states that Ziegler’s website with the Biden laptop report has been accessed by over 5 million Americans since its inception in June 2023 and more than 8 million Americans have accessed the free digital version of the report made available in November 2022. 

"Millions upon millions of visitors have come to this website for information," Tyler said. "The information on this website is not altered except to the extent to black out genitals. Other than that, the content of the website, according to my client, has not been altered or manipulated, and so this information is critical, I believe, to the availability for the public, for the media and for Congress itself to be able to access and determine whether or not this president is one we should bring back in 2024, 2025."

Tyler noted how Marco Polo provided background research to the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees related to the Biden impeachment inquiry. 

During a recent House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing related to Hunter Biden’s refusal to attend a congressional deposition pertaining to his father’s impeachment inquiry, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., presented exhibits of evidence she received directly from Ziegler and other defendants, the motion says. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., then requested that the Democrats on the committee be provided the Biden laptop files. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., interjected that she can provide every Democrat a copy because "Marco Polo has the actual, entire publication." 

"You mentioned you wanted to read some stuff, that would probably be something good to read, the Marco Polo Report," Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., added. "It’s public record." 

Hur testifies he ‘did identify evidence’ that ‘pride and money’ motivated Biden to retain classified records

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Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur agreed that he identified evidence that "pride and money" were "strong" motivating factors for President Biden to retain classified records, as the former vice president sought to keep materials to use for a memoir he wrote that brought him $8 million.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan questioned Hur during a public hearing Tuesday and asked him "why did Joe Biden, in your words, willfully retain and disclose classified material?" 

HUR TESTIFIES BIDEN 'WILLFULLY RETAINED CLASSIFIED MATERIALS,' BUT PROSECUTORS 'HAD TO CONSIDER' MENTAL STATE

"He knew the law. Been in office like 50 years, five decades in the United States Senate; chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; eight years as vice president; he got briefed every day as vice president; he’s been in the Situation Room," Jordan said. "In fact you know he knew the rules because you said so on page 226." 

Jordan referred to Hur’s report, in which he stated that Biden "was deeply familiar with the measures taken to safeguard classified documents." 

When pressed on why Biden broke those rules, Hur replied that his "conclusion as to exactly why the president did what he did is not one that we explicitly address in the report." 

But Jordan pushed back. 

"I think he did tell us," Jordan said. "I think you told us, Mr. Hur. Page 231. You said this: ‘President Biden had strong motivations,’ that’s a key word. We’re getting to motive now. ‘President Biden had strong motivations to ignore the proper procedures for safeguarding the classified information in his notebooks.’" 

BIDEN RETAINED RECORDS RELATED TO UKRAINE, CHINA; COMER DEMANDS 'UNFETTERED ACCESS' AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"Why did he have strong motivations? Because, next word, because he decided months before leaving office to write a book," Jordan said. "That was his motive. He knew the rules. He broke them because he was writing a book." 

Jordan reminded that Hur explained that Biden "began meeting with the ghostwriter" for that book while he was still vice president. 

"There’s the motive," Jordan said. "How much did President Biden get paid for his book." 

Hur noted that the figure is stated in the report, and replied: "It may be $8 million, if that’s accurate." 

"$8 million. Joe Biden had 8 million reasons to break the rules, took classified information, and shared it with the guy who was writing the book," Jordan said. "He knew the rules, but he broke them big for $8 million in a book advance." 

Jordan, quoting Hur’s report, said Biden "viewed his notebooks as an irreplaceable, contemporaneous record of the most important moments of his vice presidency." 

"He’d written this all down for the book, for the $8 million," Jordan said, further quoting Hur’s report which stated: "Such record would buttress his legacy as a world leader." 

Jordan said that the breaking of the rules "wasn’t just the money." 

"It was also his ego," Jordan said. "Pride and money is why he knowingly violated the rules — the oldest motives in the book — pride and money." 

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

Jordan added: "You agree with that, Mr. Hur? You wrote it in your report." 

Hur replied: "That language does appear in the report. And we did identify evidence supporting those assessments." 

Hur's report said that Biden risked "serious damage" to America's national security when he shared the classified information with the ghostwriter of his book. 

Hur testified that ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, had audio recordings of his conversations with Biden, in which the then-vice president read information from classified records. 

BIDEN FUZZY ON DATES, FUMBLED DETAILS IN INTERVIEWS WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR

With those recordings, though, Hur testified that Zwonitzer "slid those files into his recycle bin on his computer" upon learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter.

Jordan asked if the ghostwriter tried to "destroy the evidence." 

"Correct," Hur testified. 

"The very guy who was helping Joe Biden get the $8 million, $8 million Joe Biden used — the motive for Joe Biden to to disclose classified information to retain classified information, which he definitely knew was against the law, When you get named special counsel, what's that guy do? He destroys the evidence," Jordan said. "That's the key take away in my mind. That's the key takeaway." 

Hur testifies Biden ‘willfully retained classified materials,’ but prosecutors ‘had to consider’ mental state

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur testified Tuesday that President Biden "willfully retained classified materials," but said he "had to consider" the president’s "memory and overall mental state" when determining whether to bring charges against him.

Hur, who testified publicly before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees Tuesday, explained that he did not bring charges against the president despite the willful retention of classified records about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated "sensitive intelligence sources and methods."

BIDEN RETAINED RECORDS RELATED TO UKRAINE, CHINA; COMER DEMANDS 'UNFETTERED ACCESS' AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"My team and I conducted a thorough, independent investigation," Hur testified. "We identified evidence that the President willfully retained classified materials after the end of his vice presidency, when he was a private citizen." 

"This evidence included an audiorecorded conversation during which Mr. Biden told his ghostwriter that he had ‘just found all the classified stuff downstairs.' When Mr. Biden said this, he was a private citizen speaking to his ghostwriter in his private rental home in Virginia," Hur continued. "We also identified other recorded conversations during which Mr. Biden read classified information aloud to his ghostwriter."

He added, though, that "we did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden." 

But Hur said he "needed to explain why" he declined prosecution. 

"I had to consider the president’s memory and overall mental state, and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial," Hur testified. "These are the types of issues prosecutors analyze every day. And because these issues were important to my ultimate decision, I had to include a discussion of them in my report to the attorney general."

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

Hur, in his report, described Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.

"The evidence and the President himself put his memory squarely at issue. We interviewed the President and asked him about his recorded statement, ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.’ He told us that he didn’t remember saying that to his ghostwriter," Hur said. "He also said he didn’t remember finding any classified material in his home after his vice presidency. And he didn’t remember anything about how classified documents about Afghanistan made their way into his garage." 

Hur defended himself, though, saying his assessment in the report "about the relevance of the President’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair." 

"Most importantly, what I wrote is what I believe the evidence shows, and what I expect jurors would perceive and believe. I did not sanitize my explanation. Nor did I disparage the President unfairly," Hur testified. "I explained to the Attorney General my decision and the reasons for it. That’s what I was required to do." 

Hur’s opening statement came after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan began the hearing by playing a video of Biden speaking about the former special counsel’s report the day it was released. 

"Mr. Hur produced a 345-page report. But in the end, it boils down to a few key facts. Joe Biden kept classified information," Jordan said. "Joe Biden failed to properly secure classified information. And Joe Biden shared classified information with people he wasn't supposed to. 

"We're going to play a short video of President Biden's press conference after your report was released," Jordan added. "Because there's things in this press conference that the United States says that are directly contradicted by what you found in your report." 

A transcript of President Biden's interviews with Robert Hur appears to contradict Biden's claim that the former Special Counsel had asked him about the date of Beau Biden's death. 

BIDEN FUZZY ON DATES, FUMBLED DETAILS IN INTERVIEWS WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR

But Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., blasted former President Trump — who was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith related to his alleged mishandling of classified records. Trump pleaded not guilty. 

The former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee posted on Truth Social before Hur’s testimony, saying the Justice Department gave Biden a "free pass." 

"Big day in Congress for the Biden Documents Hoax," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. "He had many times more documents, including classified documents, than I, or any other president, had. He had them all over the place, with ZERO supervision or security. He does NOT come under the Presidential Records Act, I DO."

"The DOJ gave Biden, and virtually every other person and President, a free pass. Me, I’m still fighting!!!" Trump added.

Trump, on the other hand, was charged out of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith's probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. 

Nadler played a video of clips of Trump speaking, putting into question his "mental state." 

"That is a man who is incapable of avoiding criminal liability. A man who is wholly unfit for office… a man who, at the very least ought to think twice before accusing others of cognitive decline," Nadler said of Trump, adding that Hur’s report "represents the complete and total exoneration of President Biden." 

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., in his opening statement reminded that his panel has subpoenaed ex-White House counsel Dana Remus, and tied Hur’s testimony into the larger House impeachment inquiry against the president. 

Comer, for months, has been demanding answers on whether the classified records Biden improperly retained were related to countries that his family did business with. 

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., though, piggy-backed Nadler’s opening statement, bringing the conversation back to Donald Trump. 

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