Ex-Trump impeachment manager accuses House GOP of ‘fishing’ for Biden crimes after bombshell report

A House Democrat who played a major role in the first impeachment of former President Trump is criticizing Republicans' own push against former President Biden.

"I don't see any evidence here. The problem is, is they wanted to try to create an impeachment, so they started with an impeachment and they went looking for evidence – fishing for it," Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital last week.

"There's just nothing there. And it's clear the report again confirms that. It's too bad we wasted so much valuable time in Congress going through that process."

Crow was one of seven House Democrats chosen by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to make the case for impeaching Trump in 2020. He was one of just two first-term lawmakers on that team.

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"Congress actually passed Ukraine funding. He withheld that funding, which is actually against the law – the president does not have the authority to withhold funding that's dedicated by Congress for a specific purpose," Crow said. "The job of the president is actually to make sure that funding is used appropriately and to implement it. So that happened, and then Congress investigated it, and then we went through an impeachment proceeding."

"Contrast that with the Republican approach, they just said they want to impeach Biden. And then they went looking for things to impeach him on – and, of course, didn't come up with anything."

His comments come after House Republicans released a report accusing Biden of committing impeachable offenses relating to his family's foreign business dealings.

It's the product of a years-long probe by the House committees on Oversight, the Judiciary and Ways & Means into whether Biden used his position as vice president to benefit himself or his family.

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Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, pushed back on Crow's comments via a spokesperson, telling Fox News Digital, "It comes as no surprise that a Democrat congressman who dismisses concerns about Joe Biden’s mental fitness to serve the remainder of his term also dismisses the clear evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business schemes. 

"Bank records don’t lie and reveal the Bidens and their associates raked in nearly $30 million by selling the Biden brand. Multiple witnesses have confirmed Joe Biden was involved in his family’s business schemes as he dined, spoke, had coffee, and met with nearly all of his family’s foreign business associates. This is blatant corruption and abuse of public office."

The report said that "overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family."

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"Among other aspects of this conspiracy, the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden," the report said.

The committees said the Biden family and its associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014.

The White House said in response to the report last week, "This failed stunt will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories. The American people deserve more from House Republicans, and perhaps now they will finally join President Biden in focusing on the real issues that American families actually care about."

Fox News Digital also reached out to the committees on the Judiciary and Ways & Means for comment on Crow's remarks but did not hear back by press time. 

Vulnerable Dem who demanded ‘fair’ Trump Senate trial changes tune on Mayorkas impeachment

Longtime Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey voted to kill the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week, but has a long track record of supporting impeachment proceedings when former President Trump was in the hot seat with Democrats. 

The Senate voted against two articles of impeachment Mayorkas faced last week, including one that charged Mayorkas with "willful and systemic refusal to comply" regarding immigration law, and a second article that charged him with a "breach of trust" after saying the border was secure. The Senate voted 51-48 and 51-49 against the articles. 

The votes were largely along party lines, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska serving as the only Republican who voted "present" when asked about dismissing the first article, and voted against dismissing the second article. 

Republicans were pushing for a trial of Mayorkas for "willfully" refusing to enforce immigration laws, while millions of illegal immigrants have poured across the border into the U.S. since he was sworn in as the Biden administration’s secretary of Homeland Security in 2021. 

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Casey was among the Democrats who voted to kill the impeachment trial of Mayorkas, but had largely been tight-lipped ahead of the vote. Fox News Digital reported last week ahead of the Senate vote that Casey had not yet revealed his plans, while Politico reported on April 10 that Casey "did not directly answer a question on whether or not he’d support a motion to dismiss the trial."

He did tell the outlet at the time that "the Senate should be spending time passing the bipartisan border deal" and that he has "no doubt at all" that Republicans would use the impeachment trial against him and other vulnerable Senate Democrats ahead of the election. 

Senate Democrats quashing impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas was historically significant, as he is still serving in his role in public office. It marks a first for an impeachment trial to be dismissed, tabled or effectively tossed without the accused official first exiting their role, Fox Digital previously reported. 

"The Senate has no constitutional authority to rule that the articles approved by the House do not state impeachable offenses," Andrew McCarthy, a former chief assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, said last week. 

McCarthy added that the House has the sole power to determine impeachable offenses, and the Senate deeming the articles of impeachment unconstitutional and killing the potential trial, "essentially nullifies the House’s important role in the impeachment process." 

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The Senate voting against carrying through with the trial of Mayorkas comes after Casey repeatedly publicly supported impeachment proceedings against Trump when he was president.

"There can be no justice without accountability for those involved in the insurrection against the federal government. As a Nation, we cannot advance our shared democratic values without consequences for those who have betrayed those values. Those who stormed the Capitol should face charges. President Trump should be impeached and removed from office because he betrayed his oath to the Constitution and incited a mob to violence," Casey said in 2021, following protesters breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of that year. 

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In 2020, when Democrats accused Trump of soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election, Casey said, "Americans deserve a fair trial" when touting articles of impeachment against the 45th president. 

"Soon the Senate will take a critical vote on whether we should hear from relevant witnesses like John Bolton. Americans deserve a fair trial. Anything less is a cover-up," he said on X at the time.

That same month, he also called for "answers, under oath, in full view of the American people," as part of Trump’s first impeachment.

He added in 2019 of the Trump impeachment that failing to pursue proceedings against Trump would be "an insult to our Constitution and to our values."

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"Our Constitution indicates that impeachment is for ‘treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ A failure by Congress to pursue impeachment in the face of grave offenses by the President is an insult to our Constitution and to our values."

Trump was ultimately impeached twice, an historical first for a president, and acquitted on all counts by the Senate. 

Casey has served in the Senate since 2007, and is anticipated to have one of the most closely watched elections this year as he gears up for a campaign against anticipated Republican challenger Dave McCormick. Pennsylvania holds its primaries Tuesday, which will solidify the expected race between Casey and McCormick

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The Pennsylvania Democrat and fellow vulnerable Senate members have now come under greater focus from the Republican Party following the Mayorkas vote, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) previously telling Fox Digital that their votes against proceeding with the trial will become a focal point of election season. 

"Joe Biden’s wide open border is going to be a top issue for voters headed into November," NRSC spokesperson Maggie Abboud told Fox News Digital in a statement last week. 

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"You can bet we are going to highlight Senate Democrats’ refusal to hold Joe Biden’s DHS Secretary accountable on the campaign trail, in advertising, and in every other way possible," she continued. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Casey campaign for comment on the Mayorkas vote and his previous remarks on Trump’s impeachment proceedings, and were directed to the Senate office. The Senate office did not immediately respond to the inquiry.  

"Together, Casey, Biden and Mayorkas have enabled drug cartels to flood Pennsylvania communities with deadly drugs like fentanyl," Elizabeth Gregory, a spokesperson for McCormick, said last week.

Immigration has become a top concern for voters ahead of November, alongside other concerns such as inflation, the economy and crime. Nearly 7.3 million migrants entered the U.S. between President Biden taking office and February 2024, a Fox News Digital analysis previously reported. The figure is more than the population of 36 individual states. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this report. 

Key Trump impeachment figure running for Congress as Democrat

Retired Army Col. Eugene Vindman, a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, is running for an open seat in the House of Representatives. 

Vindman had been a senior ethics lawyer on the National Security Council (NSC) in July 2019 when his brother, fellow NSC official and retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, reported Trump’s now-infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Eugene Vindman alluded to his role in the controversy in a Thursday campaign announcement: "Soldiers are trained to run towards fire, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I’m running for Congress – to defend our nation against the clear and present danger of Donald Trump and the 147 Members of Congress who voted to overthrow the will of the American people."

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"I want America to remain the land of opportunity, a refuge for families like mine, where hard work makes a difference, truth prevails, rights are protected, and we are all free to be who we are and pursue our dreams," he said in the statement.

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Eugene Vindman is running for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which is being vacated by Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., as she prepares to run for governor. 

"Abigail Spanberger served our district with integrity and passion, and I hope to follow her example," he said. "Families are struggling to pay for gas, groceries and housing, while Republicans in Congress fight among themselves. They have no interest in governing. America’s enemies relish in their dysfunction and the divisions they sow."

He’s the first Democrat to jump into the race, which is expected to be among the most closely watched House elections of the 2024 cycle. The district went to President Biden in 2020, but before that, Spanberger clinched it by unseating a Republican incumbent. 

Eugene Vindman launched his bid just as the former president is seeking to reclaim the White House for a second term.

He said that he and his twin brother were key to kicking off Trump’s impeachment over accusations of trying to get a foreign power to influence the 2020 election and obstructing Congress’ subsequent probe into the matter.

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Alexander Vindman had testified during a 2019 congressional hearing about Trump’s phone call with Zelenskyy, in which Trump pressed Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine.

Both brothers were dismissed from the NSC shortly after Trump was acquitted.

A May 2022 report by the Pentagon’s inspector general found that Eugene Vindman likely faced retaliation from his superiors after raising alarms about Trump with his brother.

Trump weighs in on Texas AG Ken Paxton impeachment trial, argues ‘establishment RINOs’ want to ‘undo’ election

Former President Trump weighed in on the historic impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought by the Republican-controlled state legislature. 

The message from Trump, the only federal official to ever be impeached twice, came as Paxton's attorneys were set to begin presenting their defense Thursday as the trial that will determine whether the Republican is removed from office winds down.

"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was easily re-elected last November, but now establishment RINOS are trying to undo that Election with a shameful impeachment of him," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social early Thursday. "Who would replace Paxton, one of the TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the Country? Could it be a Democrat, or even worse, a RINO? The voters have decided who they want! Democrats are feeling very good right now as they watch, as usual, the Republicans fight & eat away at each other. It’s a SAD day in the Great State of Texas!" 

Attorneys for the bipartisan group of lawmakers prosecuting Paxton’s impeachment rested their case Wednesday after a woman who was expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Paxton made a sudden appearance at the trial, but she never took the stand.

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The affair is central to the proceedings and accusations that Paxton misused his power to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was under FBI investigation and employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the articles of impeachment against Paxton alleges that Paul's hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe.

Olson was called to the stand Wednesday morning in the Texas Senate and waited outside the chamber. However, her testimony was delayed for hours before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as the trial’s judge, said toward the end of the day that Olson would not testify after all. He provided no further explanation but said both sides had agreed to it.

"She is present but has been deemed unavailable to testify," Patrick said.

Olson had been set to take the stand across from Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who is required to attend the trial but is not allowed to vote on whether her husband should be removed from office.

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Shortly after the announcement, prosecuting attorney Rusty Hardin said he was resting their side of the case. Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee then moved to end the trial on the grounds of insufficient evidence but later withdrew the request without a vote shorty before the trial adjourned for the day.

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Paxton, who was suspended from office pending the trial's outcome, is not required to attend the proceedings and has not appeared in the Senate since testimony began last week. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman accused of trying to profit off Ukraine war with defense contracts

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who made waves as a witness during the first impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump, is now being accused of trying to profit off the war in Ukraine by pitching lucrative defense contracts through his private company.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who was one of the sharpest critics of Vindman throughout the impeachment investigation, blasted him as an "opportunist," and accused him of undertaking continuous efforts to try and personally profit from his attacks against the Trump administration to his reported dealings in Ukraine.

The first impeachment of Trump centered around a July 2019 call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and some witnesses, including Vindman, cited as a quid pro quo arrangement.

"When conservatives speak the truth, the mainstream media panics and desperately attempts to provide cover for the left. They did this for Alexander Vindman, just like they did for Hunter Biden, Dr. Fauci and teachers unions," Blackburn said, referencing liberal media outlets' staunch defense of Vindman throughout his time as a witness during the impeachment investigation.

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"Alexander Vindman has always been a political activist and opportunist masquerading behind his career. He saw an opening for personal fame and profited by exploiting the media’s outrage against President Trump," she accused.

"Vindman has spent the last three years on MSNBC and CNN attacking Republicans. Now, new revelations suggest Vindman could be profiting off the war in Ukraine, just as he did by speaking out against the Trump administration," Blackburn added.

According to a report by Human Events, a conservative digital newspaper, Vindman has been pitching the government of Ukraine to obtain defense contracts through Trident International LLC, of which he is the CEO.

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The report stated that last year, Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, pitched a project worth $12 million that his company said would address the country's problems with managing the readiness, repair and maintenance of its weapons systems by developing a center within the country to essentially operate as a middle-man between NATO and the Ukrainian military.

The center would reportedly operate in such a way that equipment and weapons could be repaired in closer proximity to the front line and cut down on the time it takes for transpiration and maintenance. 

It's unclear, however, if the project has been approved as the report stated court documents showed there was an ongoing dispute over payments related to the project.

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According to Breitbart News, Vindman appeared to confirm Human Events' report in a now deleted tweet.

"Thanks for the advert. I’m trying to get logistics in place to help Ukraine win the war and secure America. Looking for philanthropic contributions to get it going. Reach out if you support the cause of democracy and US National Security," Vindman allegedly tweeted.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Vindman responded to the accusations by blasting Blackburn, accusing her of lying and contributing to him ultimately leaving the military.

"Ooh, Blackburn. She’s an idiot, an agent of chaos promoting disinformation. She has never said one true thing about me. Her attacks in 2019/20 contributed to an environment that made it impossible for me to continue my nonpartisan military service," Vindman said.

"More importantly, it’s the politicization of Ukraine, by the fringe right, that brought about this war, imperiling Ukraine, Europe, and most importantly the U.S.," he added.

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.

House Dems tap Trump impeachment officials for panel on Biden admin’s ‘weaponization’ of FBI

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Last pro-impeachment Republican faces almost certain defeat. How did the others fare in GOP primaries?

Ten GOP House members voted to impeach former President Trump, and many have lost their Republican primaries, with Rep. Liz Cheney facing voters Tuesday.

Last pro-impeachment Republican faces almost certain defeat. How did the others fare in GOP primaries?

Ten GOP House members voted to impeach former President Trump, and many have lost their Republican primaries, with Rep. Liz Cheney facing voters Tuesday.