DHS tapped left-leaning firm for potential Mayorkas impeachment efforts over southern border crisis

The private law firm retained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for potential impeachment proceedings against secretary Alejandro Mayorkas employs individuals that heavily favor Democrats through political contributions, has aided the Democratic Party in their impeachment trial against President Trump, and has worked on several issues alongside left-wing groups, including immigration matters.

DHS tapped the New York-based Debevoise & Plimpton law firm to "help ensure the department's vital mission is not interrupted by the unprecedented, unjustified and partisan impeachment efforts by some members of Congress, who have already taken steps to initiate proceedings," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

"DHS will continue prioritizing its work to protect our country from terrorism, respond to natural disasters, and secure our borders while responding appropriately to the over 90 Congressional committees and subcommittees that have oversight of DHS," the spokesperson continued.

According to government records, DHS entered into a potential $1.5 million contract with Debevoise & Plimpton on Jan. 26 that will disburse cash based on their work. The records show that the award runs until early January 2025 and could reach up to $3 million. 

DHS BRINGING ON PRIVATE LAW FIRM TO HELP WITH POTENTIAL MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS 

The Biden administration contract will potentially push cash to a firm whose employees give overwhelmingly to Democratic causes, including Biden's past candidacy. During the 2022 election cycle, individuals at the firm donated $289,000 of their nearly $310,000 in political contributions - or 95 percent - to liberal campaigns and committees, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets. 

These figures followed even higher 2020 figures where Debevoise & Plimpton employees showered liberal committees with 97 percent of their contributions. During that cycle, the firm's individuals combined to provide Democratic committees with slightly more than $1 million in donations. The largest recipient that cycle was Biden, who received nearly $245,000 from the firm's employees.

David O'Neil, a Debevoise & Plimpton partner, will lead Secretary Mayorkas' defense team if needed, Law.com reported. O'Neil is no stranger to impeachment efforts, as he aided House Democrats in their impeachment efforts against former President Trump.

Attorneys Anna Moody and Carter Burwell, former counsel to Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, will join O'Neil if impeachment efforts progress. 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN FILES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST DHS SEC. MAYORKAS

Debevoise & Plimpton has joined several left-wing groups on past matters, including working on asylum issues with Democracy Forward, which counts Democratic mega-lawyer Marc Elias as its board chair. The firm also touts its pro bono work with LGBTQ+ immigrants.

A DHS official told Fox News Digital that outside counsel is needed because the department's in-house lawyers don't have impeachment expertise. The official also pinned the blame on any potential outside counsel spending on what they described as reckless actions of some House Members.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., is introducing a new impeachment article against Mayorkas, accusing him of violating his oath of office and failing to enforce U.S. immigration law.

MAYORKAS SAYS HE WILL NOT RESIGN OVER BORDER CRISIS, INSISTS HE IS PREPARED FOR GOP INVESTIGATIONS

Biggs, who repeatedly has called for Mayorkas' removal, first introduced the articles in 2021 and accused him of having" engaged in a pattern of conduct incompatible with his duties as an Officer of the United States."

Mayorkas, a Cuba native who grew up in Beverly Hills, California, after his family fled the Castros, has been under fire for his handling of the southern border crisis. Republicans claim he has failed to adjudicate standing federal immigration laws and instead has overseen a deluge of illegal immigrants.

Mayorkas has said he will not resign over his handling of the border crisis and insisted he will be ready for future investigations by House Republicans while continuing to fulfill his daily responsibilities. 

Debevoise & Plimpton did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

Sarah Sanders delivers GOP rebuttal to Biden SOTU, says Americans have a choice ‘between normal or crazy’

Newly-elected Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders delivered the GOP rebuttal to President Biden's second State of the Union address Tuesday, calling for a "new generation of Republican leadership" and describing the choice between Democrats and Republicans as a choice "between normal or crazy."

"Being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe every story I hear. So forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden. From out-of-control inflation and violent crime to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you," Sanders said.

"It’s time for a change. Tonight, let us reaffirm our commitment to a timeless American idea: that government exists not to rule the people, but to serve the people. Democrats want to rule us with more government control, but that is not who we are," she added.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE SPEECH 

Sanders noted that she and Biden didn't have a lot in common because she is "for freedom" and he's "for government control," and went on to note the four decades difference in their ages.

"At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country. At 80, he’s the oldest president in American history. I’m the first woman to lead my state. He’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is," she said.

"In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country," she added.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT OF HOMELAND SECRETARY MAYORKAS AHEAD OF STATE OF THE UNION

She described the Biden administration as "completely hijacked by the radical left," and said that America's "dividing line" was no longer a separation between right and left.

"The choice is between normal or crazy," she said. "It is time for a new generation of Republican leadership."

She went on to tout her efforts in Arkansas to combat indoctrination and other Democratic policies like critical race theory and shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that Americans wanted common sense from their leaders, but that Biden was busy "doubling down on crazy."

"President Biden inherited the fastest economic recovery on record. The most secure border in history. Cheap abundant, home-grown energy. Fast-rising wages. A rebuilt military. And a world that was stable and at peace. But over the last two years, Democrats destroyed it all," Sanders said.

"Despite Democrats’ trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in American history," she added.

BIDEN PLAGUED BY NEGATIVE APPROVAL RATINGS AHEAD OF SECOND STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

Sanders expressed the need to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, a drug responsible thousands of deaths every month, railed against Democratic calls to defend the police, and blasted Biden's "weakness" on foreign policy, especially China.

"Make no mistake: Republicans will not surrender this fight. We will lead with courage and do what’s right, not what’s politically correct or convenient," she said.

"Republicans believe in an America where strong families thrive in safe communities. Where jobs are abundant, and paychecks are rising. Where the freedom our veterans shed their blood to defend is the birthright of every man, woman, and child," she said.

Sanders vowed that under the leadership of Senate Republicans and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republicans would hold the Biden administration accountable.

"America is great because we are free. But today, our freedom is under attack, and the America we love is in danger. President Biden and the Democrats have failed you. It’s time for a change. A New Generation of Republican leaders is stepping up… not to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be change makers for the American people," she said.

"We know not what the future holds, but we know who holds the future in His hands. And with God as our witness, we will show the world that America is still the place where freedom reins and liberty will never die," she added.

Sanders, who served as White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump, never held elected office prior to being elected as Arkansas' governor. She is also the daughter of the state's former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Sarah Sanders delivers GOP rebuttal to Biden SOTU, says Americans have a choice ‘between normal or crazy’

Newly-elected Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders delivered the GOP rebuttal to President Biden's second State of the Union address Tuesday, calling for a "new generation of Republican leadership" and describing the choice between Democrats and Republicans as a choice "between normal or crazy."

"Being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe every story I hear. So forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden. From out-of-control inflation and violent crime to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you," Sanders said.

"It’s time for a change. Tonight, let us reaffirm our commitment to a timeless American idea: that government exists not to rule the people, but to serve the people. Democrats want to rule us with more government control, but that is not who we are," she added.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE SPEECH 

Sanders noted that she and Biden didn't have a lot in common because she is "for freedom" and he's "for government control," and went on to note the four decades difference in their ages.

"At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country. At 80, he’s the oldest president in American history. I’m the first woman to lead my state. He’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is," she said.

"In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country," she added.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT OF HOMELAND SECRETARY MAYORKAS AHEAD OF STATE OF THE UNION

She described the Biden administration as "completely hijacked by the radical left," and said that America's "dividing line" was no longer a separation between right and left.

"The choice is between normal or crazy," she said. "It is time for a new generation of Republican leadership."

She went on to tout her efforts in Arkansas to combat indoctrination and other Democratic policies like critical race theory and shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that Americans wanted common sense from their leaders, but that Biden was busy "doubling down on crazy."

"President Biden inherited the fastest economic recovery on record. The most secure border in history. Cheap abundant, home-grown energy. Fast-rising wages. A rebuilt military. And a world that was stable and at peace. But over the last two years, Democrats destroyed it all," Sanders said.

"Despite Democrats’ trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in American history," she added.

BIDEN PLAGUED BY NEGATIVE APPROVAL RATINGS AHEAD OF SECOND STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

Sanders expressed the need to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, a drug responsible thousands of deaths every month, railed against Democratic calls to defend the police, and blasted Biden's "weakness" on foreign policy, especially China.

"Make no mistake: Republicans will not surrender this fight. We will lead with courage and do what’s right, not what’s politically correct or convenient," she said.

"Republicans believe in an America where strong families thrive in safe communities. Where jobs are abundant, and paychecks are rising. Where the freedom our veterans shed their blood to defend is the birthright of every man, woman, and child," she said.

Sanders vowed that under the leadership of Senate Republicans and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republicans would hold the Biden administration accountable.

"America is great because we are free. But today, our freedom is under attack, and the America we love is in danger. President Biden and the Democrats have failed you. It’s time for a change. A New Generation of Republican leaders is stepping up… not to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be change makers for the American people," she said.

"We know not what the future holds, but we know who holds the future in His hands. And with God as our witness, we will show the world that America is still the place where freedom reins and liberty will never die," she added.

Sanders, who served as White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump, never held elected office prior to being elected as Arkansas' governor. She is also the daughter of the state's former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee.

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." 

 

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