Hunter Biden seen with president at White House Easter Egg Roll as House GOP mulls criminal referrals

Hunter Biden was spotted attending Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll alongside his father, President Biden, as House Republicans reportedly mull potential criminal referrals against them to the Department of Justice.

Hunter arrived at the White House on Sunday evening with his wife, Melissa Cohen, and their son, Beau, after spending the Easter weekend at Camp David with the president and First Lady Jill Biden. The five were photographed exiting Marine One at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

The family getaway came as Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are jointly investigating alleged Biden family corruption as part of an impeachment inquiry into the president, and are reportedly floating possible criminal referrals in lieu of an impeachment vote.

SWING STATE HOUSE HOPEFUL CHANGES TUNE AFTER SCRUBBING VIOLENT CRIME DEFENSES FROM LAW FIRM WEBSITE

Reports that Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., was considering criminal referrals followed the two committees' joint hearing last week that included testimony from multiple former business associates of Hunter who testified to the extent of Biden's involvement in his son's business dealings, which the White House has denied.

Although Comer hasn't specified who these criminal referrals would target, they could provide a way for Republicans to please those anxious for the Biden family to face some sort of consequences from the alleged influence-peddling scheme as the party looks unlikely to have the votes to successfully impeach the president.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT FACING PRESSURE TO RESIGN AFTER MOCKING EASTER ONLINE WITH DRAG, ABORTION REFERENCES

Hunter's appearance at the White House capped a multi-day schedule that included his attendance at his dad's swanky, but controversial, New York City fundraiser held last Thursday, the same day as the wake of an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty.

Last year, the White House faced flak for omitting Hunter's visits and extended stays from its visitor logs from the beginning of the Biden administration through Feb. 2023 despite claiming it was "the most transparent administration in American history."

While many of the events attended by Hunter were ceremonial and a tradition at the White House, Fox News Digital previously reported how Hunter sought to use such events for his personal financial gain during the Obama administration

Tim Scott rips ‘two-tiered standard’ between treatment of Trump, Biden on border executive action: video

FIRST ON FOX — Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott slammed what he called a "two-tiered standard" concerning President Biden mulling executive action to handle the border crisis, and how former President Trump was treated during his presidency when he attempted to do the same thing.

"Well, there's no question that there's a two-tiered standard in our national media. The way they cover President Trump versus the way that they use kid gloves to cover Joe Biden. There's no question about that," Scott said during a Thursday interview with Fox News Digital when asked about reports that Biden is weighing executive action to crack down on asylum-seeking.

"More important, however, is that when we had President Trump in office, we actually had a basically sealed southern border. Crossings were around a thousand a day. Under President Biden in December, we had 10,000 crossings on average per day," he added. "That contrast should be what the media is covering."

TRUMP VP AUDITIONS: SCOTT RAMASWAMY HIT TRAIL IN SOUTH CAROLINA ON BEHALF OF FORMER PRESIDENT

An administration source told Fox earlier this week that Biden is considering executive action to restrict the ability of migrants to claim asylum amid historic numbers of border crossings facing the country, but that it’s one of "several" plans being looked at.

An administration official also stressed that there have been no final decisions on what actions, if any, could be taken and that exploring policy options does not mean they will come to pass.

One of the options reportedly on the table is use of 212(f) of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to restrict certain categories of foreigners who are deemed "detrimental to the interests of the United States." Trump attempted to use it but was blocked by a federal court, a ruling later upheld by the Supreme Court.

HISPANIC HOUSE DEMS ACCUSE BIDEN OF LEAVING THEM IN DARK ON POSSIBLE EXECUTIVE ACTION AT BORDER

The former president also faced sharp criticism from Democrats and members of the liberal media for attempting to use executive action on immigration, including being called "xenophobic" and "racist."

Biden has yet to face the same widespread level of criticism, although some of the more progressive Democrats have lashed out at the idea of Biden reverting to the previous administration's approach.

"Democrats CANNOT solve immigration problems by adopting Trump-like policies," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote in a post on X, while Rep. Jesús García, D-Ill., claimed, "President Biden would be making a grave mistake if he moves forward with this policy."

DEMOCRAT IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE UNDER FIRE FOR PAST AMNESTY, SANCTUARY CITY ‘SUPPORT’ AS BORDER CRISIS SPIRALS

The possible executive action by Biden comes just under two weeks after the House of Representatives narrowly voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis.

During a gaggle with reporters after casting his vote in the South Carolina primary earlier in the day, Scott told Fox that he "certainly" supported Mayorkas' impeachment, and he praised the House for having the "courage" to take such action. However, he admitted the task likely wouldn't go anywhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

"The best way to eliminate Mayorkas being the secretary is to actually fire Joe Biden," he said. "If we really want to change the trajectory of the country as it relates to immigration — illegal immigration — we have to do so by having someone, a commander-in-chief, who respects our borders, who wants to close our borders."

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hunter has ties to nearly 2 dozen current, former Biden officials as federal charges, House probes loom

Nearly two dozen current and former officials serving in the White House and Biden administration, including the president's national security adviser and the secretary of state, have extensive ties to Hunter Biden, who is accused by Republicans of selling access to his father dating back over a decade.

A Fox News Digital analysis reveals the extent of Hunter's potential reach in the White House as the embattled first son faces federal tax charges in California, as well as a congressional investigation into his alleged influence peddling and foreign business deals.

Hunter pleaded not guilty during his initial court appearance this month after being charged with nine tax crimes stemming from an investigation by Justice Department Special Counsel David Weiss. A day earlier, he made a shocking appearance at a House Oversight Committee meeting where members were considering whether to hold him in contempt for defying a subpoena as part of the impeachment inquiry into his father, President Biden.

The most notable individuals from Fox's analysis include two members of Biden's Cabinet, one former Cabinet member, a top aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a national security adviser, four top Biden White House aides, the communications director for first lady Jill Biden, and multiple other former staffers.

All emails were reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital.

Former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield, who departed the role last year but is still a staunch defender of the Biden administration and serves as an outside surrogate, previously communicated with Hunter in 2016 about a column written by Joel Goldstein, a law professor, praising his father's presidency.

"It is excellent. We will move it around to the WH press corps," she wrote to Hunter and a number of others. Bedingfield was serving as then-Vice President Biden's communications director at the time.

Other emails from 2015 showed Bedingfield later tried to quash a Bloomberg story about Hunter at the request of his firm, Rosemont Seneca. The emails showed a close relationship between Biden's office, Hunter's longtime business partner Eric Schwerin, and the media.

Schwerin, who was the then-president of Hunter's now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm, asked Bedingfield whether there was any "follow up" by other news outlets on a New York Times story that said the "credibility of the vice president’s anti-corruption message may have been undermined" by Hunter’s serving on the board of Burisma Holdings.

VP BIDEN'S OFFICE TRIED TO QUASH BLOOMBERG STORY ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN AT HIS FIRM'S REQUEST, EMAILS SHOW

Bedingfield, who is now a CNN political commentator, responded that a Bloomberg reporter had asked about it but was "doing everything she can to not use it."

"…VP just finished an interview with the Bloomberg reporter traveling with us and she asked about it, though she assures me she's doing everything she can to not use it," she wrote. "I will have a transcript soon but my quick notes on his answer are: No one has any doubt about my record on corruption, I don't talk to my son about his business and my children don't talk to me about mine, I have complete faith in my son."

Schwerin responded, "I would just urge her (as I know you are doing) that there is no new news there. And even if she uses it — she should avoid getting into past stories (Navy, etc.) that have nothing to do with this."

The story was ultimately published.

John Nevergole, a business executive who was tapped in 2022 to serve another term on President Biden's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), previously worked as a senior adviser to Rosemont Seneca and strategized with Hunter on brokering business deals in western Africa years prior to his appointment in the current administration.

Emails show Nevergole’s relationship with Hunter dating back to at least 2011. In an Aug. 5, 2011, email chain, Schwerin, then-president of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, informed Hunter that Nevergole had requested to split a retainer fee 70/30 for helping broker a deal between Rosemont and Brazilian construction giant OAS.

BIDEN ADMIN'S COMMERCE APPOINTEE WAS LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER OF HUNTER BIDEN, EMAILS REVEAL

After Hunter pushed back on the price, Schwerin, who was also a member of ABD’s board of advisers for several years, said, "So, I am OK with 70/30 … Mainly because I think the relationship can bear fruit in other areas down the line, e.g. in Africa if we choose to focus there."

A few years later, Schwerin emailed Hunter on May 29, 2014, saying he "talked to John Nevergole yesterday, and he said you had mentioned to him you wanted to discuss natural gas at some point."

At the time, Hunter had just been appointed to serve as a board member for Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma Holdings, for which he had received intense scrutiny over several years that prompted him to later admit he used "poor judgment" and that he would not join the board again if he could do things over.

The two communicated frequently from 2010 to 2017.

Michael Hochman, a White House aide who has held multiple positions in the Biden administration, including White House deputy staff secretary, previously spent nearly two decades at a Delaware law firm that was heavily involved with corporate entities tied to Hunter, his business associates and other Biden family members.

Between January 2021 and June 2022, Hochman served as the White House deputy staff secretary before joining the White House’s recently created Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), which advises Biden on cybersecurity policy and strategy. Hochman started out as the deputy general counsel and deputy chief of staff before being promoted to chief of staff last November.

Fox's analysis found several emails between Hochman and Hunter sent during the Obama-Biden administration, in addition to nearly a dozen Biden-linked corporate entities that were registered through the law firm where Hochman spent most of his career.

TOP WHITE HOUSE AIDE WORKED AT LAW FIRM HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH CORPORATE ENTITIES TIED TO HUNTER, BIDEN FAMILY

The review found that Monzack Mersky McLaughlin and Browder had served as the registered agents for Owasco LLC, Rosemont Seneca Advisors, and Robinson Walker LLC, which is owned by Hunter's former business partner, Rob Walker. Fox News Digital previously reported that members of the Biden family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Walker's LLC and their Chinese business ventures involving CEFC affiliate State Energy HK in 2017.

Multiple Biden family accounts, including those belonging to Hunter, Hallie Biden and an unnamed Biden, also received approximately $1.038 million from the same Walker LLC account after Bladon Enterprises, which reportedly belonged to Gabriel "Puiu" Popoviciu, a Romanian tycoon, deposited over $3 million between November 2015 to May 2017. According to a 2017 email from Walker, which was obtained by the Senate Finance Committee, Walker viewed himself as a "surrogate" for Hunter and his uncle, Jim Biden, when "gauging [business] opportunities."

Less than six months before Hunter and his longtime business partner, Devon Archer, became board members at the Burisma energy company in Ukraine in 2014, email correspondence shows that a top aide to then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who announced this month that he was leaving the Biden administration to serve as an adviser for the Biden campaign, was telling some of his fellow State Department officials that Kerry and Hunter had a close friendship and that Hunter asked Kerry to speak to his Georgetown University grad students on March 18, 2014.

"Just spoke with Hunter Biden, good friend of S, who teaches a class at Georgetown on advocacy," David Wade wrote. "He'd like S to speak to his class on 3/18. If S is here, he'll for sure want to do this. Class would come here to HST."

EMAIL REVEALS HUNTER'S COZY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIGHEST LEVELS OF OBAMA'S STATE DEPT. AS FARA ACCUSATIONS SWIRL

On the day of the class, Archer told Hunter he would send a briefing he put together on Burisma ahead of Hunter's trip the following day to New York City to meet with him. It is unclear whether Kerry had knowledge of the conversations between Hunter and Archer about Burisma in March 2014 or in the weeks following the class. 

Kerry's stepson, Chris Heinz, was a business partner of Hunter and Archer at the time, but he reportedly severed ties with the firm later that year. And a spokesperson attributed their Burisma board memberships as a "major catalyst for Mr. Heinz ending his business relationships with Mr. Archer and Mr. Biden."

However, he still remained friendly with them in emails more than a year after they joined the Burisma board.

Hunter Biden and President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, served together on the board of the Truman National Security Project, a liberal foreign policy think tank, for roughly two years before Sullivan joined the president’s campaign in 2020.

Hunter, who started serving on the board in 2012, and Sullivan both served on the Washington-based nonprofit’s board between 2017 and early 2019, according to internet archives captured by Wayback Machine.

During that time, Hunter was also serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings and the Chinese private equity fund BHR Partners. The federal investigation into Hunter's foreign business dealings, which is still ongoing, also launched during the same time frame in 2018.

JAKE SULLIVAN SERVED ON A NATIONAL SECURITY BOARD WITH HUNTER BIDEN FOR 2 YEARS, RAISING QUESTIONS FROM GOP

Sullivan has been accused by former White House official Mike McCormick of being a "conspirator" in the Biden family's "kickback scheme" in Ukraine when Biden was vice president.

Sullivan denied the allegations, telling reporters that he had nothing to do with such an operation.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who led the federal COVID-19 pandemic response between early 2021 and April 2022, met Hunter multiple times in 2016, according to emails and White House visitor logs.

Zients met with Hunter Biden twice in February 2016 and on another occasion in May 2016, just months before Biden, the vice president at the time, was set to leave the White House.

Biden attended the first two meetings, both of which took place at the U.S. Naval Observatory, where the vice presidential residence is located.

Additionally, Anne Marie Muldoon, who was an assistant for then-Vice President Biden between 2014 and 2017, sent Hunter Biden an invitation to attend a potential fourth meeting with his father, Zients, David Bradley, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant and chair of media group Atlantic Media, and Eric Lander at the Naval Observatory on July 12, 2016. While it is unclear whether Hunter Biden joined the meeting, Muldoon sent him a copy of the meeting agenda after it took place.

Biden’s former White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, who stepped down last year, previously served as the chief of staff for Vice President Biden until the end of January 2011. In September 2012, Klain reached out to Hunter for help in raising $20,000 for the Vice President's Residence Foundation (VPRF), telling him to "keep this low low key" to prevent "bad PR," according to emails Fox News Digital previously reported on.

"The tax lawyers for the VP Residence Foundation have concluded that since the Cheney folks last raised money in 2007 and not 2008, we actually have to have some incoming funds before the end of this fiscal year (i.e., before 9/30/12 – next week) to remain eligible to be a 'public charity,'" Klain, who had left his chief of staff position in Vice President Biden's office a year earlier but was the foundation's chair at the time, said in an email to Hunter.

RON KLAIN SOLICITED MONEY FROM HUNTER BIDEN FOR VP RESIDENCE IN 2012, EMAILS SHOW: 'KEEP THIS LOW LOW KEY'

"It's not much – we need to raise a total of $20,000 – so I'm hitting up a few very close friends on a very confidential basis to write checks of $2,000 each," Klain continued. "We need to keep this low low key, because raising money for the Residence now is bad PR – but it has to be done, so I'm trying to just collect the 10 checks of $2,000, get it done in a week, and then, we can do an event for the Residence Foundation after the election."

Hunter then forwarded the email to Schwerin, who helped manage a majority of Hunter's finances, and the two discussed donating to the foundation, though it's not clear what was ultimately decided.

Klain's career with Biden dates back to his failed presidential campaign in 1988 and serving as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Annie Tomasini, an assistant to the president and the current director of Oval Office operations, was in frequent communication with Hunter, referred to him as her "brother" and often ended her emails with "LY" for "love you," according to emails dating from 2010 to 2016.

Biden publicly announced on Dec. 20, 2010, that Tomasini was stepping down to take a position with Harvard University, and Tomasini kept Hunter clued in on the details of that position before she took it, according to emails. The month prior, on Nov. 19, 2010, she forwarded information to Hunter about Harvard’s employee benefits and added, "Thanks."

"Hey – I looked at benefits[.] And they look pretty amazing. Any word on comp?" Hunter responded on Nov. 23, 2010.

"I'll keep you posted. Thanks for looking at all the background Hunt," Tomasini replied.

Tomasini was offered the job on Nov. 30, 2010, writing to Hunter, "Director of intergovernmental relations. > 120k ish – may be a little higher."

She later thanked him and said she was going to tell his father the news. Months later, Hunter gave a speech at Harvard but not before running the draft by Tomasini first.

Tomasini has accompanied Biden and Hunter to Camp David on multiple occasions.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with Hunter Biden at the State Department in July 2015 when he was serving as the deputy secretary of state in the Obama-Biden administration and Hunter was on Burisma's board, according to emails previously reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital.

The meeting was two months in the making after Hunter emailed Blinken in late May 2015, asking, "Have a few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossibly busy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things."

Blinken said "absolutely" and Hunter forwarded Blinken's full email response to Devon Archer, who was also serving on the Burisma board with him. However, the initial meeting appeared to have been canceled due to the admission of Hunter’s older brother, Beau Biden, to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland because of a recurrence of brain cancer. Beau died on May 30, 2015.

Less than two months later, Blinken and Hunter met, prompting Blinken to send a follow-up email saying it was "great to see" Hunter and "catch up."

In April 2023, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees that Blinken, as President Biden’s then-campaign senior adviser, "played a role in the inception" of the public statement signed by intelligence officials to assert that Hunter’s abandoned laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

Blinken denied having any role in getting the letter signed by members of the intelligence community and said, "One of the great benefits of this job is that I don't do politics and don't engage in it. But with regard to that letter, I didn't – it wasn't my idea, didn't ask for it, didn't solicit it."

Emails from Hunter's laptop that Blinken allegedly sought to discredit show that Hunter had ties to Blinken and his wife, Evan Ryan, dating back more than a decade. Those emails also show that Hunter scheduled meetings with Blinken while he was on the board of Burisma and Blinken was the deputy secretary of state.

Multiple profile pieces over the years said Blinken has advised Biden on more than just foreign policy in his decades-long friendship with the president and serving as a confidant. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., President Biden's reelection campaign co-chair, told CNN in 2021, "President Biden is personally close to both Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan, and Tony has been an incredibly loyal, capable and effective adviser, staffer and personal friend of the sort that is rare in Washington."

Elizabeth Alexander, the communications director for first lady Jill Biden, also has ties to Hunter. 

In 2014, Alexander, who served as Biden’s spokesperson when he was a senator and the vice president, reached out to praise Hunter for his statement after he was kicked out of the Navy Reserve for testing positive for cocaine.

"Hey Hunter – just wanted to write you a quick note to say David and I are thinking of you," she wrote in an email. "Your statement was perfect and gracious. Sending you a virtual hug from both of us and hoping you can get some peace this weekend."

Alexander is married to David Wade, a former State Department staffer who helped advise Hunter with rapid response as he was receiving increased public scrutiny about his lucrative position with Burisma.

Emails uncovered by Fox News Digital last year showed Hunter's firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, was paying Wade for communications consulting, and he strategized with Hunter and his partners on how to respond to inquiries by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Wade has visited the White House at least five times during Biden's presidency, according to visitor logs. 

Evan Ryan, Blinken's wife who is currently serving as White House cabinet secretary, communicated frequently with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, when she was working at the White House during the Obama-Biden administration.

Hunter tried to connect with Blinken on June 16, 2010, when he asked Ryan for his non-government email address, according to emails. Ryan, who also worked on Biden's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, then provided Blinken's personal email address to Hunter.

White House visitor logs also show that Schwerin, who was the president of Hunter Biden’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners for several years, met with Ryan at the White House's Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) in October 2010.

She was also in communication with Hunter and Schwerin about a couple of White House events that year, including the Mexico state dinner and the annual Easter Egg Roll.

"OVP has 250 tix to the Easter Egg Roll and your Mom has an additional 200. Family, etc is coming out of your Mom's allotment," Schwerin said in the email to Hunter, referring to Blinken's wife. "Evan is handling your Dad's and we can pass on names to her for outreach purposes. Let's discuss. I don't think we have 50 spots, but if we had 20 or so names we'd probably be fine."

"More importantly, OVP has 12 spots to fill for the Mexico State Dinner in May and needs to send in their names by Monday," he continued. "Evan is looking for any suggestions. Hispanic Americans or just any outreach related suggestions. Obviously they won't have trouble filling this number but is still looking for suggestions."

A couple of months later, Hunter and Ryan exchanged emails about the Mexico State dinner guest list, and she sent him the seating chart for his table.

Fox News Digital previously reported several other ties between Hunter and Ryan.

Kathy Chung, who is currently serving as the Pentagon's deputy director of protocol, communicated frequently with Hunter when she was serving as Biden's executive assistant during the Obama administration.

Throughout much of her five-year tenure working for Biden, Chung regularly shared information with Hunter about his father's schedule and passed messages directly from the then-vice president, according to emails.

Chung's relationship with Hunter also appears to date back to before she worked for his father. The emails showed that Hunter recommended Chung for the executive assistant role when the previous holder of the job, Michele Smith, departed the White House in the spring of 2012.

A month after Chung thanked Hunter for "thinking" of her and getting her to apply for a job in the vice president's office, Chung emailed Hunter Biden to inform him that she had been offered the job.

"I cannot thank you enough for thinking about me and walking me thru this," she said. "What an incredible opportunity! Thanks, Hunter!!"

In another email exchange shortly after the Obama-Biden administration concluded, Hunter suggested that Chung come work at his company. It does not appear that she ever joined Hunter's company.

Chung made headlines last year after she was reportedly questioned by federal investigators as part of the probe into the president's handling of classified documents.

Michael Donilon, a current senior adviser to Biden who served as his chief campaign strategist in 2020, was on dozens of emails with Hunter and other members of Biden's inner circle coordinating strategy meetings throughout the 2012 campaign, mulling over a 2016 presidential bid, and later plotting Biden's endeavors post-vice presidency.

In August 2015, Schwerin shared a Politico article with Hunter that said Donilon and a few other advisers from Biden's inner circle, including Hunter, are the only ones "involved in the real decision-making."

An email from February 2016 showed that Hunter, Donilon and a few others were also involved in the planning stages for the Biden Foundation. And shortly after Biden left office in 2017, Hunter, Donilon and others in his inner circle were invited to a meeting at Biden's residence in McLean, Virginia, according to emails. 

Days later, Hunter, Donilon and several others were invited to a meeting at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home where classified documents were recently discovered. The meeting took place on Feb. 7, 2017, the same day it was announced that the former vice president would be leading the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where classified documents were also found, and the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.

Donilon accompanied Biden a few months ago on the trip to Ireland, which included Hunter and Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens.

Steve Ricchetti, who currently serves as Biden's White House counselor, was also on dozens of emails with Hunter dealing with strategy meetings and helping Biden with post-VP life.

Fox News Digital reported last year that Schwerin visited the White House at least eight times in 2016, meeting with Ricchetti at least twice when he was serving as Biden’s chief of staff. 

Morell, the former CIA deputy director who testified in April, said he received a call in October 2020 from Ricchetti, who was serving as the chair of Biden's campaign at the time, following the Joe Biden's final debate against then-President Trump, when Biden said the Hunter laptop was a "Russian plant" and a "bunch of garbage." 

Morell said the call from Ricchetti was to thank him for spearheading the letter signed by intelligence officials that tried to debunk the laptop. 

In addition to the aforementioned top current and former Biden officials that Hunter was in frequent contact with during the Obama administration and years following, Hunter also had frequent contact with these other Biden administration officials and aides: first lady Jill Biden's senior adviser, Anthony Bernal; Louisa Terrell, an assistant to the president and the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs; State Department protocol officer Nancy Orloff; U.S. Representative to the European Union Mark Gitenstein; former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, among others.

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

Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.

Art dealer reveals Hunter Biden knew ‘sugar brother’ was top buyer, making WH ethics pledge a ‘sham’: Comer

Hunter Biden's New York City art dealer testified Tuesday that the president's son knew his "sugar brother" lawyer was the top buyer of his paintings, contradicting the White House's previously cited ethics plan to conceal his patrons' identities.

According to the readout of a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, Georges Bergès, who owns the Georges Bergès Art Gallery in Manhattan, revealed he never worked with the White House on such an ethics pact, and that Hunter knew who bought about 70% of his art work.

According to a July 2021 report by The Washington Post, Biden administration officials "helped craft an agreement under which purchases of Hunter Biden’s artwork — which could be listed at prices as high as $500,000 — will be kept confidential from even the artist himself, in an attempt to avoid ethical issues that could arise as a presidential family member tries to sell a product with a highly subjective value."

WATCH: NANCY MACE SHREDS HUNTER BIDEN FOR HAVING ‘NO B---S’ AFTER SURPRISE VISIT DERAILS HOUSE HEARING

The agreement was frequently cited by then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who now hosts an opinion show on liberal network MSNBC.

Of those purchases Bergès said Hunter was aware of, the most lucrative was from Kevin Morris, the Hollywood lawyer dubbed Hunter's "sugar brother" due to his financial support, help writing a book and lending a private jet to the president's son. He purchased $875,000 worth of artwork in a Jan. 2023 deal.

Bergès testified that Morris only paid 40% commission on the $875,000 purchase, and that the lawyer worked with Hunter to figure out the financial implications. He admitted to never having done an art deal like that before.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Another individual he testified Hunter knew of was Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who spent $42,000 on his art work in Feb. 2021, prior to being appointed by President Biden to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad that July. She bought another $52,000 worth in Dec. 2022.

According to The New York Post, Naftali has denied that she purchased the art to gain the president's favor, and that "any insinuation that her purchase of art was unusual or somehow improper" was false.

Bergès' spoke to the committee as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Biden. GOP lawmakers have accused Biden of using his status and name to enrich himself and his family.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

Republican investigators have suggested they are suspicious over whether Hunter's art career, which began in recent years, has led to any conflicts of interest between wealthy buyers and the White House.

"The Biden White House appears to have deceived the American people about facilitating an ethics agreement governing the sale of Hunter Biden’s art," Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement calling the agreement a "sham."

"The vast majority of Hunter Biden’s art has been purchased by Democrat donors, one of whom was appointed by President Biden to a prestigious commission after she purchased Hunter Biden’s art for tens of thousands of dollars shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration. The White House has a lot of explaining to do about misleading the American people," he added.

The White House's arrangement also previously took heat from a former Obama administration ethics chief, who called it a "perfect mechanism for funneling bribes." 

"So instead of disclosing who is paying outrageous sums for Hunter Biden’s artwork so that we could monitor whether the purchasers are gaining access to government, the WH tried to make sure we will never know who they are," Walter Shaub wrote in a 2021 thread on X, following The Washington Post's report. "That’s very disappointing."

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

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Biden’s handling of Defense Sec Austin’s mysterious absence faces backlash from former ambassador: ‘Alarming’

A former ambassador slammed President Biden's handling of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's mystery ailment and hospitalization, saying it's "alarming" that Biden did not notice he was "out of action" sooner.

The Pentagon alerted the media last Friday that Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1 and remains under the care of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Officials stated that he underwent an elective medical procedure last month and was hospitalized in the following days. On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced Austin was treated for prostate cancer.

Biden, along with the National Security Council and leaders at the Pentagon, including Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, were not informed for several days that Austin had been admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit for treatment on New Year's Day.

Now, James Gilmore, who served as ambassador to the U.S. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during the Trump administration, said it's worrisome that Biden is "so detached" from his Defense Department that he did not notice his absence.

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN, PENTAGON SAYS

"From my experience as ambassador, I know that our allies need to know that the United States is competent and organized to provide leadership in a time of global conflict," Gilmore, the former governor of Virginia with a background in military intelligence stemming from his military service during the Vietnam War, told Fox News Digital. "The world, allies and adversaries, watches the U.S. and its leadership every day for signs of strength or weakness."

"It is alarming that President Biden is so detached from his Defense Department, that he didn't even know the Secretary was out of action, and that the Defense leadership didn't feel the need to tell him," Gilmore said. "Biden is only an 'autopilot President', who daily shows he is not in control in this time of great danger to our country."

A Biden administration official responded to the critique by saying, "I'm not familiar with him" in a quote to Fox News Digital.

"But if he had nothing to say when Donald Trump outright lied to the American public about his covid case at the height of the pandemic, then I can’t hear him now," the official continued.

The ordeal has led to Trump saying Austin "should be fired immediately" and other Republicans demanding he step down from his post.

"He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was or might be," Trump said in a previous Truth Social post.

Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks told Axios over the weekend that Austin "has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by someone who will focus on making the military ready to fight and win wars instead of advancing woke political causes of the Biden admin."

Rep. Matt Rosendale's, R-Mont., office told Fox News Digital on Monday that the lawmakers was introducing articles of impeachment against Austin because he believes Austin "violated his oath of office" on multiple occasions, citing the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the migrant crisis at the border, and last year’s incident with a Chinese spy craft floating above the continental U.S.

"Sec. Austin knowingly put the American people in danger and compromised our national security when he allowed a spy balloon from a foreign adversary to fly over Malmstrom Air Force Base – home to ICBMs – and allowed the Chinese Communist Party to gather intel on American citizens," the Montana Republican said.

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN RESUMES DUTIES, WAS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR DAYS AS PUBLIC KEPT IN THE DARK

Others, such as Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, said Austin isn't "capable" of leading the Defense Department.

"And he just proved it again by keeping it a secret when he was very sick and in the ICU," Greene posted on X. 

The secret hospitalization has caused headaches for the White House, who told Fox News Digital on Monday morning that Biden has no plans to replace Austin and "continues to have full trust and confidence in the Secretary."

Though still hospitalized, Austin has resumed his duties and is now recovering.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the White House ordered cabinet officials to "evaluate their current policies for delegating authority when a secretary is incapacitated and to forward those procedures to the White House for review."

Karine Jean-Pierre blows up when pressed on Biden connection to Hunter’s business dealings: ‘No evidence!’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blew up Thursday when pressed by a reporter on President Biden "lying" about past interactions with his son Hunter's business associates, declaring there was "no evidence" the president did anything wrong.

Jean-Pierre also lashed out at House Republicans over the vote to approve an official impeachment inquiry against Biden, accusing them of "wasting their time," but the interaction began with New York Post reporter Steven Nelson asking why Biden interacted with so many of his family's business associates, which contributed to the inquiry's launch.

"What we're seeing from House Republicans is wasted time. And it is certainly, you know, a baseless political slant. That's what we're seeing. And they're leaving. House Republicans are leaving this week to go, you know, enjoy a nice holiday. Right? As most Americans should. But what happened to the funding to Ukraine?" Jean-Pierre responded. 

HUNTER BIDEN CLAIMED HE DIDN'T ‘STAND TO GAIN ANYTHING’ IN CONTROVERSIAL BURISMA ROLE DESPITE MAKING MILLIONS

She listed a number of other policy topics, including the border and potential government shutdown next year, and claimed Republicans had not done anything to help Democrats address those problems.

"There's been zero evidence, zero evidence. You can ask me about engagement and what the president has done with his family in conversation. But there's no evidence," Jean-Pierre said. 

Nelson attempted to push back, but Jean-Pierre stopped him.

"Wait, wait. But there's no evidence. There is no evidence that the president has done wrongdoing. There's none. Absolutely none. None. And that is just a fact. You've heard it from Republicans themselves. So they're wasting their time. Instead of doing the work on behalf of the American people, they go after the president's family. But that's a waste of time," she said.

WATCH: WHITE HOUSE SAYS BIDEN ‘PROUD’ OF HUNTER DESPITE MOUNTING LEGAL ISSUES, SUBPOENA DEFIANCE

Nelson noted that there was an easy counter to her claim, that there was evidence to show Biden had interacted with those associates, and that he was "lying" about it.

"The president is not lying about anything as it relates to what House Republicans are trying to do. It is baseless. It is a political stunt. And it has not proven that the president has done anything wrong, anything wrong. And so they are wasting their time. They are wasting the American people's time," Jean-Pierre responded.

"What they should be doing is the things that I just listed. They're going to go home, but they haven't taken care of what — We need to make sure that we are helping Ukraine. There's going to be potentially a shutdown next month. They have done nothing, nothing to avert that shutdown," she said before moving on to another reporter.

SUPPORT FOR BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY GROWS WITH A NOTABLE LEVEL OF DEMOCRAT BACKING: POLL

Last week, Biden was pressed during a press conference about why he interacted with "so many" of his son and brother's foreign business associates, but he denied having any such interactions, despite evidence to the contrary. 

"I'm not going to comment. I did not, and it's just a bunch of lies," Biden responded. "They're lies. I did not. They're lies." 

One of Hunter's former business associates reacted to President Biden's comments by telling Fox News Digital that his claim was "complete malarkey" and said there is "plenty of evidence" to refute his denial. 

WATCH: White House says Biden ‘proud’ of Hunter despite mounting legal issues, subpoena defiance

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that President Biden and first lady Jill Biden were "proud" of their son, Hunter, despite his defiance of a subpoena to testify before Congress and his mounting legal issues.

"When it comes to the president and the first lady, they are proud of him continuing to rebuild his life. They are proud of their son," Jean-Pierre said when asked during the White House press briefing whether Biden had watched Hunter's press conference outside the U.S. Capitol earlier in the day announcing his decision not to comply with the subpoena issued by House Republicans.

"The president was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say. And I think what you saw was from the heart, from his son," she added.

SUPPORT FOR BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY GROWS WITH A NOTABLE LEVEL OF DEMOCRAT BACKING: POLL

When asked if Biden was okay with Hunter defying the subpoena, Jean-Pierre refused to "get into the specifics" surrounding the president's view.

She also wouldn't say the last time Biden and Hunter had spoken, noting those were "private" conversations.

Jean-Pierre was later pressed on Biden previously stating that people who defied congressional subpoenas should be prosecuted, comments he made in 2021 amid a probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, but she declined to comment.

HUNTER BIDEN FACES BACKLASH AFTER DEFYING SUBPOENA WITH PRESS CONFERENCE ‘STUNT’: ‘HOLD HIM IN CONTEMPT!’

"I don't have anything to add to what you have, what you just quoted me from the president. I just don't have anything to add," she said.

At his press conference Wednesday morning, Hunter offered to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee, but declined to show for his scheduled closed-door deposition for which he was subpoenaed. 

He maintained that his father "was not financially involved" in the business dealings for which House Republicans are investigating him, and said there was "no evidence because it did not happen." 

WH SPURNS BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’ AHEAD OF LIKELY IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY VOTE, HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION

In his statement, Hunter blasted "MAGA" Republicans who he said "invaded" his privacy, "attacked" his family and "ridiculed my struggle with addiction."

Hunter is also facing a number of federal charges in California after being indicted last week.

The nine charges allege a "four-year scheme" when he did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden faces backlash after defying subpoena with press conference ‘stunt’: ‘Hold him in contempt!’

Hunter Biden is facing intense backlash after holding a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday in which he refused to sit for a deposition before Congress, and declared his father, President Biden, was never "financially involved" in his business dealings.

Calls to hold Hunter in contempt of Congress began almost immediately following the end of the press conference, while other critics pointed to the claims concerning his father's relationship to his business dealings as "goalpost shifting."

"They belittled my recovery, and they have tried to dehumanize me, all to embarrass my father, who has devoted his entire life to public service," Hunter said. "For six years I have been a target of the unrelenting Trump attack team. ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer. I am here." 

He added that "my father was not financially involved in my business," saying he was not involved in his dealings with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, or his Chinese investments and others in the United States.

HUNTER BIDEN WILL NOT SIT FOR DEPOSITION BY GOP, SAYS FATHER NOT ‘FINANCIALLY’ INVOLVED IN HIS BUSINESS

"We have moved from Joe Biden saying he never discussed business with Hunter to a new argument of Joe Biden wasn’t financially involved at all with Hunter’s business & most media haven’t covered the changing stories. Hold Hunter in contempt & impeach Joe," OutKick founder and Fox News contributor Clay Travis wrote on X.

"Hunter Biden refuses to comply with [Rep. James Comer's, R-Ky.] subpoena to be deposed behind closed doors and demands a public hearing so he can tell sob stories on TV. Reminder that Don Jr. testified behind closed doors for over 40 hours about the Russia hoax. Hold him in contempt!" conservative commentator Greg Price wrote.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee quickly reacted on social media, pushing back against Hunter's "stunt."

Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., both echoed those calls to hold Hunter in contempt, accusing him of mocking Congress with a "stunt," and calling his refusal an "obstruction of justice."

"Hunter Biden, this ain't Burger King. You can't Have It Your Way when it comes to congressional subpoenas. Quit the stunts, make your way to the deposition room, and let's talk," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., wrote. 

CALLS GROW FOR CONGRESS TO SUBPOENA JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S FLIGHT LOGS DESPITE DEMOCRAT ‘STONEWALLING’

Donalds also responded to Hunter's claim he was being targeted by "MAGA Republicans," declaring, "'MAGA Republicans' did not impugn Hunter Biden's character. Hunter Biden did that to himself."

"What’s Hunter Biden so afraid of?" wrote Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.

"This is one HELL of a new qualifier from Hunter Biden. Hunter now says, "My father was not financially involved in my business" FLASHBACK: Joe Biden used to say he has never talked about business with his family. This is a major shift from the Bidens," GOP communications strategist Steve Guest wrote.

WH SPURNS BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’ AHEAD OF LIKELY IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY VOTE, HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION

Abigail Jackson, the communications director for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., echoed Guest, noting that "we've gone from Joe Biden claiming he never even discussed business with Hunter to Hunter claiming Joe was never *financially* involved in his business. Big goalpost shifting and lots of lies from the Bidens."

"First, Joe Biden had no knowledge, then he had no involvement, and now he has no ‘financial’ involvement. Time to explain ‘10 held by H for the big guy,’ the reported bank records showing a money trail to Joe Biden, and Hunter's messages saying Joe Biden financially benefited," Republican National Committee strategic communications director Tommy Pigott wrote.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

WATCH: Biden repeats exaggerated house fire story he claims almost killed his wife in 2004

President Biden once again told his often exaggerated story about the time a minor fire occurred at his Delaware home as a result of a lightening strike in 2004 that he says almost claimed first lady Jill Biden's life.

Biden began his speech to a group of firefighters in Philadelphia on Monday with the story that didn't quite go as far as he'd taken it in the past, but still included the claim that his wife's life was in danger despite the fire being "small" and "contained to the kitchen."

"They also saved my home and my wife's life when I was away. It was the last day that the most famous guy doing ‘Meet the Press’ in Washington, D.C., and I was doing the program. And what happened was there was a lightning struck a little pond behind my house. It hit a wire and came up through the basement of my home and three stories," Biden said of his local fire department.

BIDEN FACES GRIM RE-ELECTION ODDS AS HE TRAILS LEADING GOP CANDIDATES IN TWO KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES: POLL

"And the smoke literally ended up being that thick, literally that thick. You've seen it. You guys have seen it. I wasn't there. And my wife was there and my dog and my cat and my '67 corvette. But all kidding aside, they saved my wife and got her out. They saved my home," he added.

According to a 2004 report from the Associated Press, lightning struck the Bidens’ home and started a "small fire that was contained to the kitchen." The report said firefighters got the blaze under control in 20 minutes and that they were able to keep the flames from spreading beyond the kitchen.

Despite those details, Biden once told the story in a way that included the house burning down with Jill still in it. 

WHITE HOUSE SPURNS BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’ AHEAD OF LIKELY IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY VOTE, HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION

Speaking on a New Hampshire bridge in 2021 about his bipartisan infrastructure plan, Biden said, "Without this bridge, as I said earlier, it’s a 10-mile detour just to get to the other side. And I know, having had a house burn down with my wife in it — she got out safely, God willing — that having a significant portion of it burn, I can tell: 10 minutes makes a hell of a difference."

Biden told the story again in August following the deadly Maui wildfires in an attempt to relate to the surviving victims who lost their homes and, in some cases, family members.

"I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it was like to lose a home," Biden said. "Years ago, now, 15 years, I was in Washington doing ‘Meet the press’… Lightning struck at home on a little lake outside the home, not a lake a big pond. It hit the wire and came up underneath our home, into the…air condition ducts.

KEY MCCONNELL ALLY MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CRUCIAL SWING STATE RACE THAT COULD FLIP SENATE RED

"To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette and my cat," he added.

He was later blasted by critics for making the comparison, with some calling it "disgusting," and "self-centered."

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News' Jessica Chasmar and Greg Whener contributed to this report.