Texas businessman connected to Ken Paxton impeachment arrested by FBI

The FBI has arrested a Texas businessman whose links to State Attorney General Ken Paxton were central to his historic impeachment last month. 

Online records show Nate Paul, a real estate developer, was booked into an Austin jail Thursday afternoon after being taken into custody by federal agents, according to online inmate records of the Travis County Sheriff's Office

It was not immediately clear what charges led to his arrest, and the records said only that he was being held on a federal detainer for a felony

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI and Paxton's lawyer for comment. 

The arrest comes a day after Paul's defense presented evidence that was intended to counter bribery allegations but raised new questions about his dealings with Paxton. 

TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON HIRES PROMINENT LAWYER FOR IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Paul's troubled real estate empire has been the focus of federal scrutiny for years, and agents searched his Austin offices and palatial home in 2019.

The next year, Paxton involved his office in the federal case, a move that prompted his top staff to report him to the FBI.

Their allegations of bribery and abuse of office by Paxton prompted a separate FBI investigation of the attorney general, which remains ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Trump says Biden family is ‘being protected’ by the ‘corrupt’ and ‘one-sided’ justice system

Former President Trump said President Biden and his family are "being protected" by the "corrupt" and "one-sided" justice system in the United States, while telling Fox News that he should not have been impeached—especially if officials were aware, at the time, of Hunter Biden’s "evil" laptop.

During a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity in Clive, Iowa Thursday night, Trump railed against the "witch hunts" that he’s faced throughout his political career, while illustrating a double standard between how he is handled versus Biden and his family.

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"They’re being protected, and it’s a one-sided system—it is a very unfair system, but they’re being protected," Trump said.

The former president referenced then-Vice President Joe Biden’s efforts to have a Ukrainian prosecutor fired and halt an investigation into Burisma Holdings—a Ukrainian natural gas firm where Hunter Biden sat on the board.

During a call in July 2019, Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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, and Joe Biden’s successful efforts in having the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, ousted.

Trump's request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats cited as a quid pro quo arrangement. Democrats also claimed Trump was meddling in the 2020 presidential election by asking a foreign leader to look into a Democratic political opponent.

But Trump’s questions about Hunter Biden were not unfounded. Hunter Biden, at the time of Trump’s first impeachment, had already been under federal criminal investigation for his tax affairs, prompted by suspicious foreign transactions, for more than a year.

FLASHBACK: EX-UKRAINE PROSECUTOR SAID HE WAS TOLD TO BACK OFF PROBE OF BIDEN-LINKED FIRM, FILES SHOW

That investigation, which is ongoing and being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Delaware, was opened in 2018.

Fox News Digital first reported the existence of some type of federal investigation involving Hunter Biden in October 2020, ahead of the last presidential election. It became known then that the FBI had subpoenaed the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in the course of an existing money laundering investigation.

"When you look at all of this criminality like the laptop has so much stuff on it," Trump said during the town hall Thursday. "It’s so bad. It's so evil, and yet, they don’t want to do anything."

Trump said the laptop "even affected the impeachment hoax number one." 

"If they read the laptop, and they had the laptop, it should not have proceeded, because I was right," Trump said. "It is a dual system of government."

Trump added: "You can’t have law and order in a country where you have such corruption."

The House voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on two counts— abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted for acquittal in February 2020. Trump was also impeached in January 2021 on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot—making him the first and only president to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice in history.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT PROBES INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM STORMY DANIELS TO RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

Meanwhile, Trump shifted, reflecting on the Russia investigation. 

"From the day I got in, I was under siege by people that had been in Washington for many years, put in there by different presidents," Trump said. "In most cases, people that were against me."

He added: "They spied on my campaign, they did all sorts of things. I was under investigation and under siege and so were my people." 

Trump said that if he "wasn’t tough," he "wouldn’t be here right now." 

"I guarantee that if I didn’t fight back, I wouldn’t be here," Trump said. "What they did was so bad, and they’ve been caught now." 

Trump was referring to Special Counsel John Durham’s final report, which Fox News Digital first reported last month. Durham, after years of investigating, found that the Department of Justice and FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" when it launched the Trump-Russia investigation.

TRUMP SAYS THERE 'MUST BE A HEAVY PRICE TO PAY' FOR COMEY, DEMOCRATS AFTER RELEASE OF DURHAM REPORT

Durham was appointed by former Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI's original Russia investigation, known as "Crossfire Hurricane." That investigation looked into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Durham also found that the FBI relied significantly on "investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump's political opponents." 

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"So far, nothing’s happened to them of consequence," Trump said. 

Durham is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on his investigation's findings later this month. 

Jordan takes on Dems in contentious exchange over whistleblower testimony

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, clashed with Democrats in a minutes-long argument during a hearing featuring FBI whistleblowers on Thursday.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-USVI, initially butted heads with Jordan over past testimony one of the witnesses had given to Republicans. The witness, FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen, had consented only to speak with Republicans in a previous hearing, and Plaskett requested that Democrats on the committee be provided with a transcript of that interview.

Jordan denied the request, leading to a lengthy argument that dragged in multiple lawmakers over the committee's rules.

"I'm not aware that you're able to withhold information from the minority that we would need to use," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz before being cut off by Jordan.

2011 EMAILS REVEAL HUNTER BIDEN HELPED BUSINESS ASSOCIATES GET ACCESS TO VP BIDEN, TOP AID

"When it comes to whistleblowers you are not [entitled]," Jordan said, repeating the phrase as Wasserman Shultz protested.

"That's not right," interjected Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

"It's shocking that the gentleman from New York would say that when you were part of an investigation with an anonymous whistleblower," Jordan said as Goldman continued to talk. Goldman had served as counsel during former President Trump's first impeachment.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS NEAR DECISION ON HUNTER BIDEN PROBE: REPORT

"I'm inquiring--" Wasserman Schultz said before once again being cut off.

"And I told you that when it comes to whistleblowers you are not entitled. It is at the discretion of Mr. Allen," Jordan said.

"Mr. Chairman, these individuals have been determined not to be whistleblowers," Wasserman Shultz said. "These are not whistleblowers. They have been determined by the agency not to be whistleblowers. Are you deciding that they're whistleblowers?"

"Yes, the law decides. Did you not listen to [the testimony]?" Jordan countered.

Jordan continued to bull through the complaints and ultimately allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to proceed with questioning.

Jordan and other Republicans on the committee released a report detailing the claims of various FBI whistleblowers, arguing that the organization had been infected with "politicized rot." Jordan said during a press conference prior to the hearing that his committee spoke with over two dozen FBI whistleblowers in compiling its report.

JOURNALIST MATT TAIBBI THREATENED WITH PRISON TIME FOR PERJURY BY TOP DEMOCRAT OVER TWITER FILES TESTIMONY

"If you're a parent attending a school board meeting; if you're a pro-lifer praying at a clinic, or you're a Catholic simply going to mass, you are a target of the government, a target of the FBI," Jordan said, adding that officials attempted to "inflate" their investigations to treat them as domestic and violent extremism cases.

Gaetz also spoke at the news conference, and detailed whistleblower claims that the Washington, D.C., field office is the source of much of the "rot" within the organization.

"A lot of the rot, the committee has learned, emerges out of headquarters, out of the Washington field office," Gaetz said. "[A whistleblower] described the conflict that existed as the Washington field office put pressure on other field offices around the country to engage in law enforcement work without predication."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces articles of impeachment against FBI Director Christopher Wray

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against FBI Director Christopher Wray. 

In the articles of impeachment, obtained by Fox News Digital, Greene claims that, under Wray’s watch, he has facilitated "the development of a Federal police force to intimidate, harass, and entrap American citizens that are deemed enemies of the Biden regime." 

Greene highlighted instances of what she regarded as abuse of the bureau’s authority. These instances included, among others, the FBI’s "unprecedented raid" on the home of former President Donald Trump on Aug. 8, 2022, and the bureau’s creation of a "terrorist threat tag" following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier that summer.

After the FBI raid, Greene filed articles of impeachment against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

TRUMP SAYS THERE ‘MUST BE A HEAVY PRICE TO PAY’ FOR COMEY, DEMOCRATS AFTER RELEASE OF DURHAM REPORT

President Trump nominated Wray in 2017 after firing then-director James Comey. Wray was sworn into the FBI on Aug. 2, 2017. 

Greene's introduction of articles of impeachment comes after Special Counsel John Durham released his final report on the FBI's investigation of alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign. 

Durham's report concluded that the FBI and DOJ jumped too hastily into the investigation and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI and the DOJ for comment, but has not yet heard back.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Trump calls Pence a ‘very honorable man’ after Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoena

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump called former Vice President Pence a "very honorable man" after Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Pence as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Pence was subpoenaed by Smith after months of negotiations between Pence’s legal team and federal prosecutors.

"Mike Pence is an honorable man," Trump told Fox News Digital on Friday in an exclusive interview, but he laid out a number of areas he hopes Smith will consider and look into as part of his investigation.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE SUBPOENAED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL OVERSEEING TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS

"Are they going to look for the people that spied on my campaign?" Trump asked, referring to the FBI’s original investigation into whether Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

That investigation was taken over by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017. After nearly two years, the investigation yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Special Counsel John Durham has been investigating the origins of that probe since 2019. 

"Are they going to look at Special Agent Charles McGonigal who was in charge of the Russia probe and just arrested for taking large amounts of money from Russia?" Trump asked, referring to McGonigal, who was recently indicted on charges of money laundering and other counts stemming from his "collusion" with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO EX-FBI OFFICIAL CHARGED OVER TIES TO RUSSIAN OLIGARCH

McGonigal, who was a former special agent in charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division, was charged for working on behalf of and taking money from Deripaska, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Deripaska was the same Russian oligarch who was working with Christopher Steele — the author of the infamous anti-Trump dossier that served as the basis for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

RATCLIFFE: HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS A PARTISAN DOMESTIC 'DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN'

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

As for the former vice president, it is unclear what prosecutors will seek from him, or whether Pence will invoke executive privilege.

In November, after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel, Trump told Fox News Digital that he "won’t partake" in the investigation against him, calling it "the worst politicization of justice in our country."

"I have been going through this for six years — for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore," Trump told Fox News Digital Friday. "And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this."

"I have been proven innocent for six years on everything — from fake impeachments to [former special counsel Robert] Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more?" Trump said. "It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political." 

Top Democrat on House Weaponization Subcommittee blasts GOP-created panel: ‘Weaponization of Congress’

The top Democrat on the House Weaponization Subcommittee said there is a "difference" between "legitimate oversight and weaponization of Congress," slamming the GOP-created committee as one that will be used to "showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda."

The subcommittee’s first hearing featured two panels of witnesses to present testimony and illustrate how the Department of Justice has allegedly compromised American civil liberties.

Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., opened the panel’s first hearing with a warning to Republicans on the committee.

WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT PANEL TO HOLD FIRST HEARING ON DOJ'S ALLEGED ATTACK ON AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES

"Nobody disputed the important role of congressional oversight. I know firsthand how important it is to ask questions and demand answers of the federal government," Plaskett said. "Congressional oversight can serve to protect the integrity of our Republic."

"But there is a difference, my colleagues, between legitimate oversight and weaponization of Congress and our processes, particularly our committee work, as a political tool," she said.

Plaskett, who served as an impeachment manager in the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, said she is "deeply concerned" that the Weaponization Subcommittee will be used "as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda that risk undermining Americans’ faith in our democracy."

The first panel included testimony from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. The two senators have teamed together in high-profile investigations involving the FBI, the Department of Justice, Hunter Biden, Big Tech and more.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who has been critical of the government for activities that have allegedly undermined freedom of speech, joined Johnson and Grassley on the first panel.

The second panel is set to feature George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley, who focused on censorship in the United States; former FBI agent Thomas Baker, who will speak to the need for an independent bureau; and former FBI agent Nicole Parker, who left the bureau after believing it had become weaponized for political purposes.

STEFANIK SAYS ‘ABUSE AND WEAPONIZATION’ OF BIDEN FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BE ‘ROOTED OUT’ BY GOP IN MAJORITY

Plaskett, ahead of witness testimony, blasted their experience, saying that the witnesses "would have us believe that the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are part of a deep state cabal."

"The Department of Justice and the FBI do not always get it right—history is full of examples of these agencies getting it very, very wrong," she said. "But in our current climate, with domestic terrorism on the rise and hate speech normalized by national politicians, the Department of Justice and the FBI are doing their best to protect us from sliding into chaos."

Plaskett said that she and Democrats on the committee "will resist any attempt by this subcommittee to derail ongoing legitimate investigations into President Trump" and others within his orbit.

Plaskett said that Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Republicans "continually use the moniker of protecting free speech."

MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES GOP MEMBERS APPOINTED TO HOUSE PANEL ON BIDEN ADMIN'S ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF GOVERNMENT

Plaskett’s opening statement came after Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization Subcommittee, delivered his opening statement, detailing the dozens of FBI whistleblowers who have come to him and to congressional Republicans to report politicization within the bureau. 

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

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries tapped former President Donald Trump impeachment officials for the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

Trump targeted: A look at probes involving the former president; from Stormy Daniels to Russia to Mar-a-Lago

Former President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday after a years-long investigation led by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. 

The former president of the United States and the leading Republican candidate for the White House in 2024 was charged Thursday, after weeks of speculation on whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would seek to indict him related to hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election. 

Trump's presidency was clouded by investigations — several probed whether he colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election, some focused on his finances, and others led to impeachment, making him the first president in United States history to have been impeached twice.

Trump’s post-presidential life is reminiscent of his days in the Oval Office, marred by probes which the former president and his allies say are all just part of an effort by his political opponents to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump was indicted on March 30, 2023 after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. 

TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. 

MANHATTAN DA'S OFFICE 'ASKED FOR A MEETING' WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AHEAD OF POSSIBLE TRUMP INDICTMENT

Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission. 

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

The charges stem from the $130,000 hush money payment then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. 

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to federal charges, including tax evasion, lying to Congress, and campaign finance violations. Cohen pleaded guilty to arranging payments to Daniels and model Karen McDougal to prevent them from going public with alleged affairs with Trump, which Trump has repeatedly denied. 

Cohen said Trump directed those payments. Federal prosecutors opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2018, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal.

Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through his own company and was later reimbursed by Trump's company, which logged the payments as "legal expenses." McDougal received $150,000 through the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer.

The Trump Organization "grossed up" Cohen’s reimbursement for Daniels' payment for "tax purposes," according to federal prosecutors who filed the 2018 criminal charges against Cohen for the payments. 

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with regard to the payments made to Daniels, and has repeatedly said the payments were "not a campaign violation," but rather a "simple private transaction." 

The Federal Election Commission in 2021 tossed its investigation into the matter.

The line of inquiry and potential charges come as part of an investigation opened in 2019 by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The probe was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester.

The investigation last year led to tax fraud charges against The Trump Organization, and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty.

TRUMP INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN DEPOSITION FOR NEW YORK AG JAMES' CIVIL INVESTIGATION

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith, a DOJ official, as special counsel to investigate Trump's alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home. 

Smith has also taken over the Justice Department’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021—specifically whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

President Biden is also currently under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Pence also had classified records at his home—a matter under review by the Justice Department. 

The appointment of a special counsel in the matter comes after the FBI, in August, in an unprecedented move, raided Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago in connection with an investigation into classified records the former president allegedly took with him from the White House.

The raid was related to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which said earlier this year that Trump took 15 boxes of presidential records to his personal residence in Florida. Those boxes allegedly contained "classified national security information," and official correspondence between Trump and foreign heads of state.

The NARA notified Congress in February that the agency recovered the 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago and "identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes." The matter was referred to the Justice Department by NARA.

FBI WOULD NOT LET TRUMP ATTORNEYS IN ROOMS AS AGENTS RAIDED MAR-A-LAGO, WARRANT FOCUSED ON NARA: SOURCE

Trump, earlier this year, said the National Archives did not "find" the documents, but that they were "given, upon request." Sources close to the former president said he had been cooperating and there was "no need" for the raid.

Classified material that was reportedly confiscated by the FBI during the raid Monday included a letter to Trump from former President Obama, a letter from Kim Jong Un, a birthday dinner menu and a cocktail napkin.

Last year, a federal appeals court paved the way for the House Ways and Means Committee to finally obtain Trump’s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service—something the panel had been trying to obtain since 2019, under a law that permits the disclosure of an individual's tax returns to the congressional committee.

Trump sought emergency intervention measures from the Supreme Court in an attempt to temporarily block any release of these tax records, but was denied. 

Democrats, in December 2022, released a report on Trump's tax returns. 

The committee claimed that the IRS failed to audit Trump effectively while he was in office. However, there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump administration and the IRS, nor are there any records of the former president pushing back against reviews of his tax information.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has been investigating Trump since she took office in January 2019. James brought a lawsuit against Trump in September alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets.

James’ claimed that Trump and his children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, as well as his associates and businesses, allegedly committed "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" regarding financial statements.

James alleged Trump "inflated his net worth by billions of dollars" and said his children helped him to do so.

Over the summer, Trump appeared in downtown New York City for his deposition before New York Attorney General Letitia James. James’ office has been conducting a civil investigation into the Trump Organization to find out whether Trump and his company improperly inflated the value of assets on financial statements in order to obtain loans and tax benefits. 

"I did nothing wrong, which is why, after five years of looking, the Federal, State and local governments, together with the Fake News Media, have found nothing," Trump said in a statement in August. 

"The United States Constitution exists for this very purpose, and I will utilize it to the fullest extent to defend myself against this malicious attack by this administration, this Attorney General’s Office, and all other attacks on my family, my business, and our Country."

TRUMP RAID LINKED TO DOJ, NATIONAL ARCHIVES PROBE INTO CLASSIFIED DOCS ALLEGEDLY TAKEN TO MAR-A-LAGO

"I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question," he continued. "When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice." 

"If there was any question in my mind, the raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, on Monday by the FBI, just two days prior to this deposition, wiped out any uncertainty," Trump said. "I have absolutely no choice because the current Administration and many prosecutors in this Country have lost all moral and ethical bounds of decency."

Trump added: "Accordingly, under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution."

A spokesperson for the New York State Attorney General’s Office confirmed that the office conducted Trump’s deposition.

"Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition during which Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination," the spokesperson said. "Attorney General James will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead."

When Trump took office in January 2017, the FBI was in the middle of conducting a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Donald Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 election. That investigation was referred to inside the bureau as "Crossfire Hurricane," and began on July 31, 2016.

That investigation was opened, despite then-CIA Director John Brennan briefing then-President Obama on July 28, 2016 about a purported proposal from one of Hillary Clinton's campaign foreign policy advisers "to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service."

In September 2016, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to then-FBI Director James Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: "Crossfire Hurricane."

Fox News first obtained and reported on the CIOL, which stated: "The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate."

DESPITE ACQUITTAL, DURHAM TRIAL OF SUSSMANN ADDED TO EVIDENCE CLINTON CAMPAIGN PLOTTED TO TIE TRUMP TO RUSSIA

 "An exchange [REDACTED] discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server," the referral states.

It is unclear how the FBI handled that memo.

Special Counsel John Durham is currently investigating the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia probe. 

After Trump’s victory and during the presidential transition period, Comey briefed Trump on the now-infamous anti-Trump dossier, containing salacious allegations of purported coordination between Trump and the Russian government. It was authored by Christopher Steele, an ex-British intelligence officer.

The DOJ inspector general later revealed that the unverified dossier helped serve as the basis for controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. 

It is now widely known that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier through the law firm Perkins Coie.

HILLARY CLINTON APPROVED DISSEMINATION OF TRUMP-RUSSIAN BANK ALLEGATIONS TO MEDIA, CAMPAIGN MANAGER TESTIFIES

During the early months of Trump’s administration, Jeff Sessions, who served as attorney general at the time, recused himself from oversight of the FBI’s Russia investigation, due to his involvement with the Trump campaign, per Justice Department regulations. Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was then tasked with oversight of the investigation.

Trump, in May 2017, fired then-FBI Director James Comey. Comey, during his June 2017 testimony to Congress, said he deliberately leaked a memo from a key meeting with Trump to a friend after he was fired in order to prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

"I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter—I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel," Comey testified.

Days after Comey was fired, Rosenstein appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to take over the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.

The Mueller investigation clouded the Trump administration for nearly two years.

DECLASSIFIED TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE DOCS TO DATE: WHAT TO KNOW 

Simultaneously, investigations into Trump-Russia allegations were launched on Capitol Hill—in both chambers of Congress.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Intelligence Committee opened investigations into whether Trump and members of his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential race. 

Neither the House nor Senate investigation found evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia. 

After nearly two years, Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller, though, did not draw a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice. At the time, then-Attorney General Bill Barr and Rosenstein concluded the evidence from the Mueller case was "not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

Once Mueller’s findings were made public, congressional Democrats seized on the issue of obstruction of justice, and began ramping up investigations on matters that spanned from Trump’s personal finances to security clearances for Trump administration officials, all whilst the drumbeat of impeachment built within the House Democratic caucus.

In March 2019, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced a wide-ranging probe into almost every aspect of Trump’s administration, business ventures, and family dealings, subpoenaing more than 81 individuals and entities to investigate "alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump." 

FLASHBACK: IMPEACHMENT DRUMBEAT BUILDS ON LEFT, AS HOUSE SHIFTS PROBES INTO HIGH GEAR

But Nadler wasn’t alone— a number of other House panels also stepped up inquiries.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, which was chaired, at the time, by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., dissolved the panel’s subcommittee on terrorism and re-directed those resources to a subcommittee dedicated, instead, to investigations related to Trump—specifically his relationships and communications with foreign officials, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Congressional committees, at the time, were also seeking access to State Department employees and contractors with knowledge of Trump's communications with Putin, including the "linguists, translators, or interpreters" who participated in or listened to Trump-Putin meetings.

FLASHBACK: SCHIFF SAYS THERE IS 'DIRECT EVIDENCE' OF COLLUSION BETWEEN TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who pushed the Trump-Russia collusion narrative for years, in 2019, continued his investigation into the matter, claiming he had evidence of collusion, despite Mueller’s findings.

Declassified transcripts from House Intelligence Committee interviews, which Fox News first reported on in 2020, revealed, among other things, that top Obama officials acknowledged they had no "empirical evidence" of collusion or a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election. 

Also in the spring of 2019, the House Ways and Means Committee sued the Trump administration, accusing officials of violating federal law by refusing to comply with the panel’s requests and subpoenas for documents related to Trump’s tax returns.

TRUMP SUES HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, NEW YORK STATE OFFICIALS TO PROTECT HIS TAX RETURNS

The House Oversight Committee, at the time, also subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA LLC for his financial information, including annual statements, periodic financial reports and independent auditor reports from Mazars, as well as all communications with Trump.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee also subpoenaed Deutsche Bank and Capital One over Trump’s financial statements.

In the middle of the congressional investigations into his finances, Trump’s business dealings were also being probed in two separate investigations in New York— one by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and the other by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump’s administration was even being investigated by the House Oversight Committee over security clearances given to officials, probing the process that gave clearances to White House staff.

FLASHBACK: DEM-LED HOUSE PANEL LAUNCHES NEW PROBE INTO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SECURITY CLEARANCES

But everything came to a head in July 2019—Trump had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

During that call, Trump pressed 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. Hunter Biden, at the time, was, and still is, under federal criminal investigation for his tax affairs, prompted by suspicious foreign transactions.

The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and some witnesses have cited as a quid pro quo arrangement. Democrats also claimed Trump was meddling in the next presidential election by asking a foreign leader to look into a Democratic political opponent.

Trump’s conversation with Zelenskyy prompted a whistleblower complaint, which led to the House impeachment inquiry, and ultimately, impeachment proceedings in the Senate.

FLASHBACK: IMPEACHMENT NUMBER ONE: SENATE ACQUITS TRUMP ON ABUSE OF POWER, OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESS CHARGES

The House voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on two counts— abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted for acquittal in February 2020.

"At some point, you got to ask, you know, the motive," Jordan said of the investigations. "And the motive is this guy came to town and shook up the place—he changed the clique that exists there in D.C., he took on the clique and the bureaucracy and everything else, and the folks there said, no, we just can't have this, and that's why they go after him so hard."

Weeks after Trump’s first acquittal, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, shutting down the U.S. economy and global markets, with millions of people around the world contracting the novel coronavirus.

Trump was accused, throughout, of not taking the virus seriously. Democratic senators, including now-Vice President Kamala Harris, called for an investigation into the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats also said they would create a 9/11-style commission to probe Trump’s response.

The Trump administration, though, launched Operation Warp Speed—a public-private partnership to create vaccines against the novel coronavirus, as the pandemic raged in 2020. Under his administration, the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. 

FLASHBACK: WARREN, SENATE DEMOCRATS CALL FOR INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS

Trump in December 2020 signed an executive order that would ensure all Americans had access to coronavirus vaccines before the U.S. government could begin aiding nations around the world. 

In another congressional probe, during the pandemic, Trump was hammered by Democrats over when he was briefed, and his response to Moscow, related to intelligence that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops.

A year later, during the Biden administration, officials admitted that intelligence was unverified.

Throughout 2020, Trump was also criticized for questioning the security of the upcoming presidential election, and for repeatedly saying it would be "rigged" due to the pandemic-era process of mail-in ballots.

Biden won the 2020 election, but Trump claimed it was stolen, and his legal team filed a slew of lawsuits in battleground states across the nation.

FLASHBACK: IMPEACHMENT NUMBER TWO: TRUMP ACQUITTED IN SECOND IMPEACHMENT TRIAL ON CHARGE OF INCITING JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results in favor of President Biden. Trump was permanently banned from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube after the riot.

The House of Representatives then drafted articles of impeachment against him again, and ultimately voted to impeach him on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot—making him the first and only president to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice in history.

Trump's legal team denounced the proceedings as an unconstitutional "sham impeachment" against a private citizen, driven by Democrats' "hatred" for Trump and desire to silence a political opponent. 

The Senate voted to acquit, but had Trump been convicted, the Senate would have moved to bar the 45th president from holding federal office ever again, preventing a 2024 White House run.

In Georgia, in early 2021, prosecutors in Fulton County opened a criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state, including his phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump suggested the Republicans "find" enough votes to change the results. 

And when Trump left office, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol began its probe into the Capitol riot.

JAN. 6 COMMITTEE AIMS TO SHOW 'TRUMP WAS AT THE CENTER' OF PLOT TO OVERTURN ELECTION WITH PRIMETIME HEARING

That committee spent more than a year investigating, and launched a series of hearings last summer, some during primetime, in an attempt to capture Americans’ attention before the November midterm elections—as they compete with record-high inflation, record-high gas prices, shortages in baby formula, a looming recession, and more for political attention.

When Republicans took the majority in the House of Representatives after the 2022 midterm elections, the Jan. 6 committee's work was completed, and the committee was shut down.

Special Counsel Jack Smith took over the Justice Department's Jan. 6 investigation. 

In Georgia, in early 2021, prosecutors in Fulton County opened a criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state, including his phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump suggested the Republicans "find" enough votes to change the results. 

A special grand jury last month released portions of a report detailing its findings in the investigation last month.

The report indicated a majority of the grand jury believes that one or more witnesses may have committed perjury in their testimony, and recommends that prosecutors pursue indictments against them, if the district attorney finds the evidence compelling.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that the report does "not even mention" Trump's name and has "nothing to do with the president because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong."

"The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do—in fact, as President, it was President Trump’s constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity," Cheung said. "Between the two calls, there were many officials and attorneys on the line, including the Secretary of State of Georgia, and no one objected, even slightly protested, or hung up."

He added: "President Trump will always keep fighting for true and honest elections in America." 

 

House Republicans ask FBI if it had Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop during Trump’s impeachment

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans are calling on the FBI to reveal whether it was in possession of a laptop, that reportedly contained emails by Hunter Biden, during the impeachment of President Trump -- and claiming the agency committed a “gross error in judgement” if did not inform the White House.