Top Republican warns House GOP on border talks: ‘Wishful’ to ‘get everything you want’

The No. 3 House Republican is calling on GOP colleagues to be realistic about their expectations for border negotiations between the Senate and White House. 

"I think they should be bringing H.R. 2 back. That would seal the southern border, and that should be a Republican-Democrat priority. But if they don't bring it back in full, we just have to see what it is that they are bringing," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

It’s still unclear whether the bipartisan Senate group working on the border security deal with the White House will produce any results. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made clear House Republicans back H.R.2, the border bill they passed last summer. Democrats panned it as a "non-starter."

BORDER DEAL PRICE TAG LIKELY TO COST MORE THAN $14 BILLION, BUT GOP LAWMAKERS GROW RESTLESS TO SEE BILL TEXT

Some GOP hardliners in the House and Senate have signaled they will oppose anything less than H.R. 2, which includes provisions like Remain In Mexico and new border wall construction.

But Emmer warned his colleagues to view H.R. 2 as a starting point in the negotiations rather than the only option.

SEN. MARSHALL URGES GOP TO SAY 'HELL NO' TO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITHOUT TIGHTER BORDER SECURITY

"Our members get that we control one-half of one-third of the government. We don't have everything, so, you know, to get everything you want may be a little bit wishful," Emmer said. "But that's where we start. We start with H.R. 2, and then show us what you got, and we'll figure it out from there."

Asked if he was optimistic that a border security compromise could pass both the GOP-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate and then be signed by the White House, Emmer said he was "always hopeful."

But he warned that certain details that have purportedly been leaked would face opposition. For instance, a reported proposal that would give border agents the authority to expel migrants on sight after 5,000 daily encounters has faced heat from Republicans.

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

"If this administration and the Senate think that even one illegal coming across the southern border makes sense, you're not going to get agreement from our guys," Emmer said. "If those rumors are accurate, well, it's going to be really hard for them to pass the House."

And while he was pleased the Biden administration was even discussing the border crisis, Emmer accused President Biden of only paying attention to it as an election-year issue.

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"The only reason they're talking about it now is because it has risen to the point that it is a political liability for their re-election," Emmer said. "This is no longer Republicans or Democrats. This is Republicans and Democrats and others. More than 60% of the citizens in this country, by some polling, believe the border is a problem, and it needs to be solved. That's the only reason they're talking about it."

Marjorie Taylor Greene predicts Mayorkas impeachment articles will pass House without any Dem support

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is predicting that not a single House Democrat will vote in favor of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the migrant crisis at the border.

The House Homeland Security Committee is meeting Tuesday morning to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas – one for "willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law," and the second accusing him of a "breach of public trust."

"I still can't believe I had to force the floor vote on the House floor," Greene told Fox News Digital. "I guess I can be thanking these Democrats and these eight Republicans now that those articles of impeachment were moved, that my articles were moved to Homeland because… Chairman Mark Green and the other Republicans on Homeland, having dealt face-to-face and gone through all the hearings that we did, with all the witnesses that we brought in…they had the will to impeach Mayorkas."

WHITE HOUSE DEMANDS SPEAKER JOHNSON GIVE BIDEN ‘AUTHORITY AND FUNDING’ TO ‘SECURE THE BORDER’

Greene had attempted to bring her articles of impeachment for a vote twice in November. They were referred to committee the first time, avoiding the actual vote. She was persuaded to back down the second time after being assured the articles would go through the committee process.

The impeachment articles are likely to advance out of committee on party lines Tuesday. Then, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pledged a House-wide vote "as soon as possible."

Greene anticipated the impeachment articles will pass the House also along party lines, even with Republicans’ razor-thin majority, with no Democratic support.

TEXAS GOVERNOR DOING ‘EXACTLY RIGHT THING’ AMID CONSTITUTIONAL BATTLE OVER BORDER ENFORCEMENT: LEGAL EXPERTS

"You would think with the situation as severe as it is… you would think that every Democrat, or at least some of the Democrats, would vote for this, but sadly, we're not going to see any Democrats vote for it," Greene said.

An adviser to House GOP leadership credited Greene with pushing the impeachment resolution to the floor, arguing "she deserves a lot of the credit" 

"Let's be clear, the impeachment of Mayorkas would not be happening unless MTG held GOP leadership's feet to the flames," the adviser told Fox News Digital.

OPINION: DID BIDEN INTENTIONALLY CAUSE THE BORDER CRISIS?

Democrats have accused House Republicans of playing politics with the border crisis, including with the impeachment of Mayorkas.

Mayorkas’ defenders have repeatedly pointed out that he is part of bipartisan talks in the Senate on a border security compromise. 

But House Republicans have criticized those talks, arguing that the resulting deal probably would not go far enough. They’ve also heaped skepticism on Mayorkas’ role in particular, claiming he cannot be part of a legitimate solution.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a Sunday memo, "This markup is just more of the same political games from House Homeland Security Committee (CHS) Republicans. They don’t want to fix the problem; they want to campaign on it. That’s why they have undermined efforts to achieve bipartisan solutions and ignored the facts, legal scholars and experts, and even the Constitution itself in their quest to baselessly impeach Secretary Mayorkas."

‘Sugar brother’ Kevin Morris loaned Hunter Biden $6.5M for debts and back taxes, more than previous estimate

Kevin Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million — over $1 million more than originally estimated and discussed, his attorney revealed in a letter this week. 

Fox News obtained a letter Kevin Morris’ attorney sent to the House Oversight Committee this week. The letter shows a breakdown of the loans and when Morris wants those loans repaid.

KEVIN MORRIS GAVE 'MASSIVE' FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING CAMPAIGN FINANCE CONCERNS: COMER

Morris was subpoenaed to appear before the committee for a transcribed interview as part of the House impeachment inquiry.

During his interview, Morris testified that he loaned Hunter Biden at least $5 million and began paying his tax liability.

Morris and his attorney were estimating during the interview, a source told Fox News, and promised to follow-up with exact figures loaned to the first son.

The letter outlines an additional $1.6 million more than Morris had estimated during the interview.

Morris, on Oct. 13, 2021, gave Hunter Biden a loan for approximately $1.4 million. According to the letter, Hunter Biden was to repay the loan, with $500,000 paid by Oct. 1, 2026 and the remaining $417, 634 by Oct. 1, 2027, plus interest.

A few days later, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $2.6 million, with directions to repay the loan by Oct. 1, 2029. That loan, according to Morris’ lawyer, "was used to pay, among other debts, Mr. Biden’s tax debt to the IRS."

On Oct. 17, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $640,355 to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

HUNTER BIDEN LAWYER TESTIFIES THAT 1ST TRUMP IMPEACHMENT CREATED 'EMERGENCY' TO FILE UNPAID TAXES

On Dec. 30, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter $685,813.99, to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

On Dec. 29, 2023, Morris loaned Hunter approximately $1.2 million to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2028, with all interest paid by October 2029.

"As negotiated by separate attorneys for Mr. Morris and Mr. Biden, each of these notes has an interest rate of 5%, a set payment term, and were negotiated by separate attorneys for Mr. Morris and Mr. Biden," the letter states.

In the letter, Morris’ attorney, whose name is redacted, claimed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and "other members" have ignored "the request we made to refrain from mischaracterizing Mr. Morris’ testimony in a public statement." 

"One more time—I am asking that this letter and its information not be released out of its context of the questions and answers Mr. Morris gave at his transcribed interview on January 18, 2024," the attorney wrote. "Nothing in this letter shall be considered a waiver of any of my client’s rights, objections, or claims, all of which are expressly reserved." 

Morris told the House panel last week that "With respect to the loans, I am confident that Hunter will repay. I did not and do not have any expectations of receiving anything from Hunter's father or the Biden administration in exchange from helping Hunter, nor have I asked for anything from President Biden or his administration."

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid.

Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a "four-year scheme" in which the president's son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Weiss also indicted the first son on federal gun charges in Delaware last year. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. His attorneys are attempting to have that case dismissed.

Fox News' Lee Ross contributed to this report. 

Several senior House Republicans still silent on Trump 2024 amid growing pressure for party unity

Former President Trump’s decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary this week spurred several new endorsements from lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have so far been silent on the race.

Among the most notable pivots was House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., who endorsed Trump over the weekend minutes after his preferred candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, dropped out of the race.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trump has more than 120 House Republican endorsements – the majority of the House GOP Conference and far outpacing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley’s one backer.

Fox News Digital took a look at some of the senior House Republicans who have yet to weigh in despite mounting calls to unify behind the former president.

RAMASWAMY: HALEY SHOULD DROP OUT FOR GOOD OF COUNTRY AS OBSERVERS SAY SHE'S STILL ‘ALIVE AND KICKING’

Comer has not weighed in on the 2024 presidential primary publicly so far. It’s worth noting his hands have been full on Capitol Hill leading an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s rival, President Biden.

Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., who are also leading the inquiry, have both endorsed Trump

Fox News Digital reached out to Comer’s office but did not immediately hear back.

HALEY AND PHILLIPS OUTPERFORMED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT IT'S STILL A TRUMP VS BIDEN HORSE RACE 

Fitzpatrick, a more moderate member from a Pennsylvania swing district, also hasn’t picked a side in the 2024 primary.

When Trump was indicted in June over his handling of classified documents, Fitzpatrick was one of the few Republicans who did not rush to his defense. The former FBI agent urged people to respect the legal process and not rush to judgment.

"No one is above the law or beyond prosecution," he said. "No one should be targeted for prosecution merely because of their status, position or affiliation."

Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McMorris Rodgers is seen as one of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, but unlike Johnson, R-La., she has yet to weigh in on the 2024 presidential primary race. Johnson endorsed Trump late last year.

In December 2019, she was named a state honorary co-chair for Trump’s reelection bid, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper.

She made clear there was some distance between them after the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, reportedly telling constituents in August 2023 that efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss that day were "un-American."

BIDEN CHALLENGER DEAN PHILLIPS BLASTS PRESIDENT AS 'UNELECTABLE AND WEAK' AS BIDEN SET TO SKIP NEW HAMPSHIRE

But she reportedly said, "I also believe that Donald Trump, or any American, deserves due process."

Fox News Digital reached out to McMorris Rodgers' campaign for comment.

Roy went into the 2024 presidential primary cycle as one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most enthusiastic supporters. But unlike Freedom Caucus Chair Good, Roy has not stepped behind Trump so far in the two-candidate race

Trump threatened to recruit a primary challenger against Roy, who is popular in his district and running unopposed, for his support of Trump’s former rival.

Roy said on CNN in late December, "I was just at multiple events with Ron DeSantis, where he’s shaking their hands and looking them in the eye while Donald Trump hangs out in his basement in Florida, afraid to actually debate."

He said on "Fox Across America" on Thursday that Trump is "likely going to be the nominee" and called on him to "stand up in defense of the hardworking American family getting steamrolled by corporate America and by Republicans too weak-kneed to fight for them."

Roy's office pointed to his earlier comments when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday afternoon.

Moore stepped into House leadership after a crowded race for a position left by Johnson when he took the gavel in October.

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He’s rarely spoken out about Republican Party politics in the 2024 presidential primary, preferring to keep election discussions focused on the House of Representatives.

With his recent leadership role, Moore is also the highest-ranking House Republican to have voted in favor of a Sept. 11-style bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Fox News Digital tried to contact his campaign but did not immediately hear back.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Republicans probe DHS Secretary Mayorkas over role in housing migrants on federal lands

FIRST ON FOX: House Republican leaders on the Natural Resources Committee are probing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) role in placing migrants on federal lands in New York.

In a letter sent Monday to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who chairs the panel's oversight subcommittee, cited interviews they conducted with federal officials who confirmed DHS's involvement in the decision to house migrants at Gateway National Recreation Area's Floyd Bennett Field, managed by the National Park Service (NPS).

While DHS, according to the letter, intervened to ensure Floyd Bennett Field, in New York City's Brooklyn borough, would be leased to the local government for migrant housing, the land is managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and NPS. In one interview, a senior DOI official told congressional investigators that they "did what DHS asked us to do" when they moved forward with the plan last year.

"The Committee is deeply concerned with the Biden administration leasing NPS land for use as a migrant encampment, a use that is not only inconsistent with the National Park Service Organic Act, but publicly recognized as legally perilous by DOI," Westerman and Gosar wrote to Mayorkas. 

REPUBLICANS ACCELERATE PROBE INTO BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S ACTIONS TO HOUSE MIGRANTS ON FEDERAL LANDS

"Moreover, the Committee is concerned with the role DHS played in the process, particularly as you described it in the letters to Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul and as described to Committee staff by DOI and NPS officials," the Republican lawmakers continued.

MAYOR'S OFFICE AVOIDS SAYING WHETHER IT BACKS NONCITIZENS VOTING AFTER WARNING MIGRANT CRISIS WILL DESTROY NYC

In August, Mayorkas sent letters to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, hitting back at the officials over their handling of the surge of migrants in New York City, Politico reported at the time. He further noted "structural issues" with New York's handling of the crisis and implored the city and state to accept a lease DOI sent for the temporary use of Floyd Bennett Field to house migrants.

"DOI seeks to finalize that lease as soon as you are ready," Mayorkas wrote to Hochul and Adams, according to Politico.

Weeks later, on Sept. 15, DOI and the local parties executed the agreement to lease portions of Floyd Bennett Field's property. Officials then constructed temporary housing on land along the shore of Jamaica Bay.

However, the Republican leaders have pointed out that, prior to the decision to lease the property, Hochul noted the DOI had itself argued such an action would likely violate federal laws. The governor, who has called for federal assistance in dealing with her state's migrant influx, remarked one month prior that officials told her office "they do not allow for use of shelter on any of their properties."

REPUBLICANS FUME AT BIDEN FOR VACATIONING AS BORDER CROSSINGS EXPLODE: 'DERELICTION OF DUTY'

The Republicans have also probed how the White House Council on Environmental Quality appears to have allowed DOI to bypass the normal eco review process mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act. The 1969 law requires federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of projects and proposals on federal land before approval.

Meanwhile, the housing facility erected at Floyd Bennett Field has been heavily criticized by migrants as inhumane and, according to a Venezuelan mother of three interviewed by The City, "like a hell." Thousands of migrants at the encampment were evacuated earlier this month and sent to a New York City high school, forcing the school to cancel in-person classes.

The Natural Resources Committee's ongoing investigation comes as migrants continue to flood the southern border in record numbers and Republicans call for the Biden administration to make structural reforms to secure the border.

In December, more than 302,000 migrants were encountered attempting to cross the U.S. southern border, by far the largest single month figure ever recorded. The number also brought fiscal 2024 first-quarter numbers to 785,000 encounters, the highest number ever recorded.

DHS didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Republicans negotiate with president’s brother on deposition terms

President Biden’s younger brother, James Biden, is in active negotiations to appear for a deposition before House Republicans, Fox News has learned. 

The younger Biden was subpoenaed as part of the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden in November. 

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

The president’s brother was scheduled to appear for a closed-door deposition in early December, but that date came and went. Conversations continue between the House Oversight Committee and Biden’s legal team. 

HUNTER BIDEN'S HOLLYWOOD LAWYER ‘SUGAR BRO’ ALLEGEDLY VIOLATED PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT RULES: BAR COMPLAINT

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

The Washington Post reported in December that James Biden’s conversations were swept up in an FBI investigation, though he was not the target. 

HUNTER HAS TIES TO NEARLY 2 DOZEN CURRENT, FORMER BIDEN OFFICIALS AS FEDERAL CHARGES, HOUSE PROBES LOOM

According to the Post, Biden’s conversations were recorded as part of an FBI investigation into a Mississippi attorney named Richard "Dickie" Scruggs. 

The outlet reported that the FBI secretly recorded conversations involving Biden because of his relationship with Scruggs, who went to federal prison for a bribery conviction involving a judge. 

James Biden was not the subject of the FBI probe and was never charged or accused of wrongdoing by the bureau.

James Biden’s nephew, Hunter Biden, is scheduled for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28 after a public back and forth with the committee that almost led to a contempt of Congress vote.

‘Sense of hopelessness’: Michael McCaul sounds alarm on border patrol mental health crisis

MCALLEN, Texas — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul said he’s "profoundly" alarmed at the impact the ongoing border crisis is having on Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents’ mental health. 

The senior Republican spoke to Fox News Digital in the border city of McAllen, Texas, a bipartisan congressional delegation met with border and immigration officials while also touring facilities where migrants are brought and their asylum claims processed.

McCaul said the state of the border is "just worse" each time he’s seen it.

"Every time I come down here, it gets worse; the lack of detention space, the human tragedy you see here; what the Border Patrol has to deal with every day, day in and day out, looking at these migrants that are pouring in; this sense of hopelessness, that it won't stop," the Texas Republican said.

REPUBLICANS, DEMS SPAR AT MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING AS STATE AGS DESCRIBE IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS

"Profoundly, I worry about the mental health of our border patrol. The suicide rate is going up. They don't have the proper resources."

Seventeen CBP agents died by suicide in 2022 alone, Chris Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Congress in March 2023. That’s the highest number since CBP began tracking it in 2007. There were 19,357 CPB agents on the job in 2022.

Since then, the number of migrant encounters at the border has continued to see historic highs, most recently this past December, while CBP has struggled somewhat to replenish its retiring forces.

REPUBLICANS MOVE FORWARD WITH MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT AMID EMOTIONAL TESTIMONY: DEMS DECRY ‘MAGA SPECTACLE’

McCaul said the cartels on the other side of the border that are bringing a constant flow of drug and human trafficking are better equipped, in some ways, than the federal officials patrolling on the U.S. side.

"For instance, we only have 20 drones here in the Rio Grande Valley sector, and the cartels are way out numbering us. And that's just eyes and ears on the ground," McCaul said. "So, we're not equipping them. But most importantly, more than money, is just the lack of policy."

Cabrera spoke to the media during his recent border visit, describing what he said were regular instances of officers getting overwhelmed.

MEXICAN SOLDIERS FIND FACTORY PRODUCING DRONE BOMBS, GRENADE LAUNCHERS, FAKE MILITARY UNIFORMS

"There’s times when you’re out there, two, three agents, and you’ll have 100 people there," he said.

"But then you also have the medical emergencies: pregnant women, dehydration, kids with illnesses, people that have broken legs along the journey. And then we have people that fall off the wall. So, while we’re dealing with two, three hundred people, or 50 people, you’re also having to deal with medical emergencies and issues like that."

Experts bash White House claims of shrouding Hunter Biden’s art buyers: ‘Proved as abstract’ as his art

Top legal and ethical experts weighed in on art gallerist Georges Bergès' revelation of Hunter Biden's knowledge of his art buyers, saying the American people were "misled."

Fox News Digital reached out to several legal and ethical experts on Bergès' revelation during his closed-door, transcribed interview with the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees earlier this month.

Bergès told the committees that an agreement to shield the knowledge of Hunter Biden's buyers from him was not put in place for months after the White House's statement that a "system" had been "established" to do so.

HUNTER BIDEN KNEW 70% OF ART BUYERS, CONTRADICTING WHITE HOUSE NARRATIVE ON ‘ANONYMOUS' COLLECTORS: GALLERIST

Hunter Biden's gallerist said that the first son knew the identities of approximately 70% of those buyers.

"The White House effort was the ultimate example of closing the barn door after the horse has bolted," George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital.

"The clear message given repeatedly to Congress and the public was that an ethical plan was in place to prevent such knowledge," he continued.

"The ethical claims of the White House proved as abstract as Hunter's art pieces," Turley said. "In reality, the breach had occurred long before the ethical plan was implemented."

"The testimony that Bergès did not have interactions with the White House on the plan further undermines these claims. Indeed, Bergès admitted that he was reading these statements from the White House with no knowledge of what they were referencing. Yet, Bergès and the Bidens proceeded knowing that the public was being misled."

Former Bush administration ethics chief Richard Painter told Fox News Digital that the White House's "whole arrangement of keeping the buyers secret was completely the wrong way to go."

Painter said the White House "should have had nothing to do" with Bergès, and that the "best approach" for Hunter Biden would have been to "not sell the art at all during his father's presidency and certainly not sell it at those prices."

"The worst option is what they chose, which is to keep it all, to say it's all going to be confidential, and Hunter Biden won't know and nobody will know," Painter said. "And this is exactly what I said happens, is that the word gets around."

"Of course you find out who bought the art," Painter continued. "People hang the art on the wall."

"They don't stick it in closet," he added.

Attorney Sol Weisenberg said that we "don’t know right now the full ethical implications, if any, of this latest White House falsehood regarding Hunter Biden’s special privileges and ethical/legal lapses."

"It is simply another example of the Biden family’s leisurely approach to influence peddling," Weisenberg said. "As a citizen, I would rather know who is buying the paintings and how much they are paying than operating under the false illusion that Hunter and the family are being kept in the dark about the source of this latest largesse."

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

Bergès' interview with the committees came as part of the House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

House investigators, during his interview, showed Bergès a statement made by then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki on July 9, 2021.

"After careful consideration, a system has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards," she said. "All interactions regarding the selling of art and the setting of prices will be handled by professional galleries, adhering to the highest industry standards. Any offer out of the normal court would be rejected out of hand."

Psaki added, "The galleries will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities, with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection."

When pressed further, Psaki stressed that "it would be challenging for an anonymous person who we don’t know and Hunter Biden doesn’t know to have influence — so that’s a protection." 

However, Bergès testified that at the time of the White House’s July 2021 statement, he had an agreement with Hunter Biden which called for him, instead, "to disclose to Hunter Biden who the purchasers of his art were." Bergès said that contract was agreed to in December 2020. 

Bergès said that it was not until September 2021 that a new agreement with Hunter Biden was created. That agreement stated that "the gallery will not disclose the name of any buyers of artist’s artwork to artist or any agent of artist."

Bergès stressed, though, that there was not a "White House-involved agreement," and that Hunter Biden did know the identities of approximately 70% of the buyers of his art. Meanwhile, Bergès testified that he had spoken to President Biden both on the phone and in person.

The art gallerist previously told Fox News Digital he "never violated the agreement we had with Hunter Biden."

"If he knew the identities of some of the buyers — it’s because they were his friends or by happenstance," Bergès said. "My obligation to Hunter is to not disclose the buyers — which I haven’t." 

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed reporting.

Hunter Biden’s art dealer lashes out after testimony, says Congress is where ‘real’ influence peddling happens

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden's New York City art dealer lashed out in defense of the first son following his closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee last week, arguing the halls of Congress was where the "real" influence peddling happens.

In an email to Fox News Digital, Georges Bergès, owner of the Georges Bergès Art Gallery in Manhattan that showcases Biden's paintings, decried the focus on his business as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, all "while the pigs are at the trough in Washington, D.C."

"Broadly speaking, if the issue is selling influence — then no one needs to look outside Washington, D.C., as there are plenty of lobbyist[s] advertising all the influence they have for sale on K street," Bergès wrote. 

ART DEALER REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN KNEW "SUGAR BROTHER" WAS TOP BUYER, MAKING WH ETHICS PLEDGE A ‘SHAM’: COMER

"If the issue is fear of family members of powerful politicians leveraging their ties for personal gain, then ban former congressm[e]n and their relatives from ever becoming lobbyists, but that’s never going to happen because that’s where the real peddling is happening," he wrote.

"So they want us to focus on the gallery in [New York City] while the pigs are at the trough in Washington D.C.," he added.

Bergès also told Fox that he never violated the agreement his gallery had with Hunter in which he would conceal his buyers' identities to avoid ethical problems for the presidential family selling potentially high-value items.

HOUSE RULES PANEL PAUSES CONSIDERATION OF HUNTER BIDEN CONTEMPT AMID NEGOTIATIONS FOR NEW DEPOSITION DATE

"If [Hunter] knew the identities of some of the buyers — it’s because they were his friends or by happenstance," he wrote. "My obligation to Hunter is to not disclose the buyers — which I haven’t." 

The White House said in July 2021 that the "system" had been "established" to ensure the anonymity of Hunter's buyers' identities. But according to the transcript of his testimony, Bergès said that the agreement was not set up for several months following that statement and that the first son knew the identities of approximately 70% of those buyers.

Bergès’ testimony came after the House formalized the impeachment inquiry against Biden last month. It is being led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Comer, Jordan to issue new subpoena for Hunter Biden as deposition talks reignite

House Republicans signaled they would subpoena Hunter Biden again in the near future after the president’s son opened the door to a deposition with impeachment investigators. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell over the weekend stating that they would be willing to subpoena him a second time if that meant his cooperation in their probe.

"The committees welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena," the letter said. 

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

"Although the Committee’s subpoenas are lawful and remain legally enforceable, as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks."

It comes as House Republicans prepare a chamber-wide vote on holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for skipping out on an earlier subpoena for a closed-door deposition.

But a source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that Comer could recommend pumping the breaks on that contempt vote if Hunter Biden and his lawyers genuinely cooperate and work out a make-up deposition date.

HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER HUNTER BIDEN CONTEMPT RESOLUTIONS NEXT WEEK, SETTING UP FLOOR VOTE

Lowell wrote to the committee chairs on Friday arguing that the initial subpoena was invalid because it was issued before the House voted to formally authorize its impeachment inquiry last month.

"If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition," Lowell’s letter said. "We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden's behalf."

HOUSE COMMITTEES FORMALLY RECOMMEND TO HOLD HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

Hunter Biden and his lawyers had offered to come in for a public hearing, something the GOP committee chairs said they would be open to after a closed-door session had taken place.

Instead, he opted to make a surprise appearance outside the U.S. Capitol on the morning of his scheduled deposition, criticizing Republicans and their probe.

"They’ve invaded my privacy, attacked my wife and children," Hunter Biden said at the time. "Tried to dehumanize me and embarrass and damage my father."

He again made a surprise visit to the Capitol last week as the House Oversight Committee met to advance his contempt resolution.