Category: Fox News

Biden takes leisurely bike ride at Delaware vacation home as Hunter Biden scandal surges

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden embarked on a leisurely bike ride with Secret Service agents and a golf cart full of medical staffers in Delaware on Wednesday.

Biden pedaled past reporters with the White House press corps who were holding position near the trail. The ride comes as the president faces a growing scandal relating to his involvement in his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and elsewhere.

"How are ya?" Biden shouted to reporters in a jovial tone as he passed them by Wednesday.

Biden was followed by a single Secret Service agent on a bike. A train of other bikers and golf carts also trailed behind him, carrying other agents and medical staffers.

REPUBLICANS FLOATING BIDEN IMPEACHMENT RISK MAKING UNPOPULAR PRESIDENT A ‘MARTYR’: CRITICS

EX-VA GOV WHO SAW CONVICTION BY JACK SMITH THROWN OUT SAYS PROSECUTOR WOULD RATHER WIN THAN BE RIGHT

Biden's stay in Delaware this week comes after former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer testified in a closed door congressional meeting on Monday.

Archer spoke with House Oversight staff for roughly five hours, telling lawmakers that Biden was on the phone with Hunter's business partners at least 20 times over a 10-year period. Republicans argue the testimony shows culpability for Biden, who has said multiple times that he has never discussed nor participated in business with his son.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY 'COERCED' BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

Democrats have sought to dismiss the testimony, however, arguing that Biden may have spoken on the phone with Hunter's business partners, but he did not participate in their dealings.

"Like many people, Hunter spoke with his father every day and would often put his father, occasionally would put his father on to say hello to whomever he happened to be caught at dinner with, and Mr. Archer clarified that was sometimes people that they were having, you know, they were trying to do business with, and it was sometimes friends or other social engagements," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said on CNN this week.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Republican critics argue Biden was assisting Hunter's deals by taking the phone calls, which reinforced Hunter's impression that he could influence his father's policy decisions.

Comer jokes special counsel ‘plagiarized’ notes on Biden but put in Trump’s name

Posted on (Updated by Tara Suter

In an interview on Fox News in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s third indictment, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said he feels like the charges Trump is now facing mirror his committee’s own observations about President Joe Biden.

“I feel like someone broke into our notes on the Oversight Committee and plagiarized them, only they put them down for Donald Trump instead of Joe Biden,” the Kentucky congressman said. 

Comer went on to say Biden has damaged the American “system of government” and is causing a loss of trust in multiple government institutions like the FBI and Department of Justice. He said Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland are using the investigations for their own “self-preservation,”

“That's the ultimate goal for the deep state bureaucracy in Washington D.C.,” Comer said. 

Trump indicted on charges out of Special Counsel probe into Jan. 6

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump was indicted Tuesday on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of the probe, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

This is the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

This is the second time in U.S. history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

"The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was the forty-fifth President of the United States and a candidate for re-election in 2020. The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election," Smith’s indictment states. "Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power."

Smith alleged that "for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020," Trump "spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won."

"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false," Smith alleged. "But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election."

Smith alleged that Trump, between Nov. 14, 2020 and Jan. 20, 2021, "did knowingly combine conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to defraud the United States by using dishonest, fraud and deceit to impair, obstruct and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government."

There are six unnamed co-conspirators in the indictment.

Reacing to the charges, a Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "this is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins."

TRUMP SAYS HE IS DOJ JAN. 6 GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION TARGET

"But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?" the spokesperson asked.

"The answer is, election interference!" the spokesperson continued. "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes."

"President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys," the spokesperson said. "These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before."

The spokesperson added: "Three years ago we had strong borders, energy independence, no inflation, and a great economy. Today, we are a nation in decline. President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!"

The indictment comes after Trump had announced he received a target letter from the Justice Department, which also asked that he report to the federal grand jury. Trump said he anticipated "an arrest and indictment."

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 37 FEDERAL FELONY CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE

Smith was investigating 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.

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.

The House of Representatives 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 in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice.

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.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI 'FAILED TO UPHOLD' MISSION OF 'STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW' IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

Elsewhere, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga. are looking to wrap up their criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

A special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, released portions of a report detailing findings from the investigation earlier this year, which indicated a majority of the grand jury believes 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.

The special grand jury spent about seven months hearing testimony from witnesses, including high-profile Trump allies, such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and high-ranking Georgia officials, including Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Trump says he expects indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former President Trump said he expects to be indicted out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Jan. 6 on Tuesday evening, and slammed the looming charges as election interference.

"I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M." Trump posted on his Truth Social. "Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long?"

He added: "Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial Misconduct!"

This would be the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 37 FEDERAL FELONY CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

This would be the second time in U.S. history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

Trump had announced he received a target letter from the Justice Department, which also asked that he report to the federal grand jury. Trump said he anticipated "an arrest and indictment."

Smith was investigating 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.

DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI 'FAILED TO UPHOLD' MISSION OF 'STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW' IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

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.

The House of Representatives 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 in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice.

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.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Elsewhere, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga. are looking to wrap up their criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

5 key takeaways from explosive witness account of Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, Joe’s role

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer appeared Monday on Capitol Hill, detailing what members of Congress familiar with the closed-door interview described as proof President Biden "lied" about having no knowledge of his son's business dealings.

Here are five key takeaways from Archer's hours-long interview with members of the House Oversight Committee investigating the Biden family finances:

1. Archer said Biden repeatedly spoke to Hunter's business partners to sell "the brand"

Speaking with Fox News Digital following the hearing, Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Archer detailed how Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Biden, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times. He said Archer described how Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand."

DEVON ARCHER CONFIRMS JOE BIDEN ‘LIED’ ABOUT KNOWLEDGE OF HUNTER'S BUSINESS DEALINGS, COMER SAYS

"Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family," Comer said. "When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times."

Another source also told Fox that Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand." These phone calls included a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li of BHR, a Chinese investment firm.

Archer said that the value of adding Hunter to Ukrainian energy company Burisma’s board was "the brand," the source said. He also stated that Burisma would have gone under if not for "the brand."

2. Archer's account appears to contradict Biden's claim to have had no knowledge of Hunter's business dealings

Biden has consistently claimed that he had no knowledge of Hunter's business dealings, saying as early as 2019 that he had "never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their business, period."

"There wasn't any hint of scandal at all when we were there. It was the same kind of strict, strict rules. That's why I never talk with my son or my brother or anyone else, even distant family about their business interest, period," he added at the time.

But Archer's testimony concerning the numerous phone calls Hunter placed to Biden connecting him with his business associates suggests otherwise.

"Why did Joe Biden lie to the American people about his family’s business dealings and his involvement?" Comer posed while speaking with Fox. "It begs the question what else he is hiding from the American people."

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

3. Hunter Biden, Burisma execs ‘called DC’ to get Ukrainian prosecutor fired

Archer said that Hunter and top executives of Burisma Holdings, CEO Mykola Zlochevsky and Vadym Pozharski, "called D.C." in December 2015 to ask the Obama administration to help fire the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm, a source familiar with his testimony told Fox.

Archer said Zlochevsky and Pozharski "placed constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from D.C." in getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin ousted. Shokin was investigating Burisma for corruption.

According to the source, Archer revealed that in December 2015, Hunter Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski "called D.C." to discuss the matter. Archer recounted how Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski stepped away to take make the call.

It is unclear if Hunter and the Burisma executives spoke directly to Joe Biden on the matter, who, at the time, was in charge of the administration's U.S.-Ukraine policy.

WITNESS SAYS JOE BIDEN TALKED TO HUNTER'S BUSINESS ASSOCIATES; GOP SEES SMOKING GUN, DEMS DOWNPLAY

4. Archer's appearance will add fuel to Republicans' impeachment push

Speaking with Fox News Digital following the hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Archer's testimony proving Biden "lied" meant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's openness to a potential impeachment inquiry against the president was "the right thing to do."

Greene was not in the hearing herself, but said she was getting frequent updates from her staff.

Appearing on Fox News' "Hannity" last week, McCarthy escalated his talk about potentially impeaching Biden by saying "this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry." The speaker said evidence uncovered by the House's investigations into the president may necessitate a full inquiry to gather more evidence of alleged corruption by the Biden family.

DEVON ARCHER INTERVIEW ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ IN BIDEN FAMILY PROBE, JORDAN SAYS

5. Democrats attempted to spin - but didn't deny - Archer's account of events

On the other side of the aisle, freshman Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told reporters that Archer said Biden was on the phone when he was working with Hunter. But Goldman said they discussed "casual niceties" and "the weather" rather than topics of business.

"Like many people, Hunter spoke with his father every day, and would often put his father, occasionally would put his father on to say hello to whomever he happened to be caught at dinner with, and Mr. Archer clarified that was sometimes people that they were having, you know, they were trying to do business with, and it was sometimes friends or other social engagements," he said.

"As he described it, it was all casual niceties, the weather, what's going on," Goldman added. "There wasn't a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had."

Fox News' Brooke Singman, Elizabeth Elkind, Houston Keene and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

Democrats not ready to ditch Biden over Hunter scandal fallout, strategists say

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

They aren’t thrilled with 80-year-old President Biden as their party’s standard-bearer in the 2024 election, but Democrats appear far from ready to cut bait with the president due to his connections to his son Hunter Biden’s expanding legal scandals.

Former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer on Monday told members of the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview that the younger Biden included his father on speakerphone while meeting with business associates at least 20 times. The Republican controlled panel is investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings with foreign companies and what, if any, role his father played in those interactions.

The closed-door interview revelations will likely fuel Republican attempts to link the president to Hunter Biden’s business transactions, which could politically wound the elder Biden as he runs for re-election in 2024 to a second term in the White House.

But a Democratic lawmaker on the committee argued that Archer’s testimony does not show that then-Vice President Biden was involved in son Hunter’s business dealings.

A TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS DEVIN ARCHER INTERVIEW ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ IN BIDEN FAMILY PROBE

"The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10 year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings," Rep. Dan Goldman of New York told reporters on Capitol Hill.

"As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, ‘What’s going on?’" Goldman added. And he emphasized that "there wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had."

WHAT FORMER HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE SAID ON CAPITOL HILL

Devon Archer’s interview comes in the wake of a whistleblower’s allegations that the FBI and the Justice Department are in possession of an unverified document that claims a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently floated that the Republican majority in the chamber could consider an impeachment inquiry into the president over the unproven claims of financial misconduct.

The president’s approval ratings have been underwater for nearly two years and polls suggest Democrats are anything but enthused with Biden seeking a second four-year term in the White House. But regardless, Democrats don't appear buying – at least right now – what the Republicans appear to be selling.

Veteran Democratic consultant and pollster Doug Schoen argued in an opinion piece this past weekend that Hunter Biden’s multiplying legal controversies "are now Joe Biden’s problems." 

But Schoen, a top political adviser to then-President Bill Clinton and on Michael Bloomberg’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, told Fox News Digital on Monday that "from what I have seen, there still has been no direct evidence, or even testimony today from Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former partner, that President Biden was involved in their business dealings."

"At this point there is nothing to lead me to say anything about the president's likely candidacy being impacted by any developments in the Hunter Biden case," Schoen emphasized.

WHAT THE COLLAPSE OF THE HUNTER BIDEN PLEA DEAL MEANS FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN IN 2024

Asked if Democrats would look to jettison Biden as their party’s nominee if the president becomes increasing entangled in his son’s legal predicaments, Democratic strategist and communicator Chris Moyer told Fox News "no way."

Moyer, a presidential campaign veteran, scoffed at suggestions that party leaders would consider asking Biden to step aside in 2024, adding that "Republicans are always going to try to find something to drum up."

"There’s good news about the economy almost every day. That’s what’s going to matter most not just to Democrats but also to key swing voters in the general election," he argued.

Longtime political scientist Dante Scala of the University of New Hampshire emphasized that "until Democrats are confronted with incredibly solid evidence that the father himself has some wrongdoing in all this, their default is to confine the sins of Hunter Biden to Hunter Biden."

Hunter Biden’s legal saga and the mounting inquiries come as the battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is heating up, and as Biden faces long-shot Democratic presidential primary challenges from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - the environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine critic, and scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty – and best-selling author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who’s making her second straight White House run. And progressive activist and professor Cornel West has launched a third-party bid for president that has some in the party nervous he might siphon votes from Biden in November 2024.

"The Hunter Biden circus is a concern for Democrats if President Biden’s opponents in the primary begin to bang the same drum as Republicans," warned longtime progressive strategist and communications consultant Michael Ceraso.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ceraso, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and now-Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 White House bid, noted that "we have a short-term memory in politics, but Bernie benefited from the allegations stacked against Secretary Hillary Clinton. Her past propelled him to be competitive. Whether West or RFK lean in and step in line with Republicans to propel themselves in the primary is anyone’s guess. But six months of weathering Hunter-related attacks from primary challenges before advancing to the general election is not ideal for the president - especially when he needs to drum up support from voters around the policies the Democrats and his White House passed."

"Many Americans - those who are likely to elect to stay home on Election Day, or flip parties based on the candidate and their personality, and not the issues - need convincing that the president deserves a second term," Ceraso argued.

Pence’s political advocacy group calls for Congress to declare an invasion at southern border

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s political advocacy group is calling for a declaration of an invasion at the southern border as part of a legislative agenda to tackle the ongoing migrant crisis.

Advancing American Freedom, which was founded by the 2024 presidential candidate, released its agenda Monday to secure the border and end illegal immigration.

It calls for legislation to declare an "invasion" in response to the crisis that has seen record numbers of migrants hit the southern border since 2021.

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY BORDER IS IN CRISIS OR ‘MAJOR PROBLEM’: POLL

"The United States Constitution declares that the federal government shall protect states from invasion. So long as the Biden administration refuses to do this job, Congress should officially declare an invasion so that states have the legal authority to secure the border for themselves," the agenda states.

The use of the term "invasion" has grown in Republican circles in recent years to describe the crisis. Both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have used the term as part of their presidential campaigns – with DeSantis promising to "stop the invasion" as part of his border strategy.

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has cited the "invasion" clause to authorize the return of illegal immigrants to the border with Mexico. That comes after there were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 2021 and 2.4 million in FY 2022.

Democrats have taken aim at the use of the term, saying it is dangerous and encourages anti-immigrant sentiment.

"The invasion narrative some members push in this hearing room is bigoted, fact-free and dangerous," Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee ranking member, said at a hearing last week.

The policy proposals put forward by Pence’s group also call for Congress to explore a possible impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas – something that has been called for by a number of House members. 

DHS has responded to those calls by urging Congress to pass legislation to fix a "broken" immigration system and provide the funding requested by the Biden administration.

DOJ TO SUE TEXAS OVER FLOATING BORDER BARRIER; ABBOTT SAYS 'SEE YOU IN COURT' 

Separately, the AAF agenda calls for an end to "chain migration" – which allows for immigrants to sponsor relatives for green cards into the U.S. – and also for reforms to temporary visa programs like the controversial H-1B visa program. Critics have said such visas are used by companies to replace American workers with cheaper foreign nationals.

It also backs legislation already introduced in Congress – including the GOP House border security package passed earlier this year. Other bills supported are Kate’s Law, as well as measures to end the visa lottery, allow victims of illegal immigrant crime to sue sanctuary cities, reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, and continue border wall construction at state level.

 "Congress needs to hold President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and the Department of Homeland Security accountable for their dangerous failings at the border, while also passing legislation that gives our border agents the resources and restored powers they need to do their jobs and enforce the law, AAF Executive Director Paul Teller said in a statement. "Advancing American Freedom believes that a country without a secure border and the rule of law isn’t a country at all and will continue to call for decisive action from Congress and the administration to keep our country safe." 

The policy rollout, which will be followed by a visit by AAF staff this week, is the latest indicator of how the border crisis is likely to continue to be a top political and 2024 issue – even as the Biden administration has touted a recent drop in numbers at the border since the end of Title 42 in May.

Republicans have blamed the crisis on the Biden administration, with 2024 candidates rallying around calls to restore policies implemented when Pence was vice president. The Biden administration has said it is expanding lawful pathways while punishing illegal immigration as part of its post-Title 42 strategy.

However, the recent torpedoing of its asylum rule after a left-wing legal challenge has raised new fears that a potential new surge could be coming soon.

Witness says Joe Biden talked to Hunter’s business associates; GOP sees smoking gun, Dems downplay

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden’s former associate Devon Archer said Hunter would sometimes put then-Vice President Joe Biden on speakerphone while meeting with business partners, two lawmakers said Monday.

Archer spoke to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday in a closed-door meeting. The panel is investigating Hunter Biden and what, if any, role his father played in his foreign business dealings.

But Republicans and Democrats were split on whether Archer's comments were a sign that now-President Biden has been working closely with his son's business deals, something the White House has denied.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital that Archer’s admission proves Biden "lied" about not being involved in his son’s foreign dealings.

BIDEN'S NARRATIVE ON NEVER DISCUSSING BUSINESS DEALS WITH HUNTER CONTINUES TO CRUMBLE

Greene, who was not in the meeting but said she is getting regular updates from her staff, said that Archer "said specifically, he heard Hunter Biden speak to Joe Biden more than 20 times" and said Archer recalled the conversations were "about their business deals."

"Not about lunch or the weather or just getting dad on the phone. It's about their business deals. He also said that the Bidens were in the business of influence peddling. And that is significant. Very significant," Greene said.

"What that does is that proves Joe Biden lied…think about how significant that is. That means Kevin McCarthy calling for an impeachment inquiry is the right thing to do," she said.

On the other side of the aisle, freshman Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told reporters that Archer said Biden was on the phone when he was working with Hunter. But Goldman said they discussed "casual niceties" and "the weather" rather than topics of business.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CHEER ‘BIG WIN FOR THE RULE OF LAW’ AFTER HUNTER BIDEN’S ‘SWEETHEART’ DEAL COLLAPSES

"Like many people, Hunter spoke with his father every day, and would often put his father, occasionally would put his father on to say hello to whomever he happened to be caught at dinner with, and Mr. Archer clarified that was sometimes people that they were having, you know, they were trying to do business with, and it was sometimes friends or other social engagements," he said.

"As he described it, it was all casual niceties, the weather, what's going on," Goldman added. "There wasn't a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had."

Greene, however, accused Goldman of covering up for the president and his family. She pointed out that before coming to Congress, Goldman first gained national attention as House Democrats’ lead counsel during the first impeachment of former President Trump.

"Dan Goldman is a former prosecutor on the impeachment team of President Trump, and now has basically just declared himself the de facto attorney for Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. And so he's standing out there trying to downplay this and spin this, but that's not what was said," Greene said.

HUNTER BIDEN'S PLEA DEAL WAS MEANT TO ‘PROTECT’ BIDEN'S CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT: TED CRUZ

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told reporters that he believes Archer's testimony "implicated the president" but said of the phone calls with business associates, "The substance of the conversations were pleasantries."

Archer said that Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand," a source told Fox News. These phone calls included a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li of BHR.

Archer testified there was value of adding Hunter Biden to Burisma’s board was "the brand," the source said. The argument was that then-Vice President Joe Biden brought the most value. Archer also stated that Burisma would have gone under if not for "the brand."

User’s Manual to Devon Archer’s closed door interview tomorrow

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former Burisma Board member Devon Archer appears tomorrow morning before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door, transcribed interview. 

Fox is told that Archer is expected to appear this time - even though he ducked the committee three times before and is under subpoena. 

Moreover, one senior Republican close to the investigation believes the DOJ tried "an intimidation tactic" Saturday, asking a judge to set a date for Archer to report to begin serving jail time. 

Archer was found guilty of defrauding Native American tribes in 2022. 

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO HOW HUNTER BIDEN'S LEGAL WOES COULD ACCELERATE AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Fox is told investigators intend to ask Archer about previously undisclosed bank records and the purpose of those transactions. In particular, the committee wants to know what role if any the President had in those transactions. 

'IMPEACHMENT WEEK'

There are also questions as to whether legal counsel for the Bidens contacted Archer. 

The committee believes Archer will tell investigators about meetings or phone calls he had with President Biden regarding potential business deals. 

IMPEACH BIDEN OR MAYORKAS? WHAT IT TAKES FOR 'IMPEACHMENT' PROCEEDINGS TO SUCCEED IN THE HOUSE

Archer is slated to appear at 10 am ET. The discussion is scheduled to go for four hours, total. Two hours per side. 

The Republicans will go for an hour. The Democrats for an hour. And so on. 

With breaks, this likely does not conclude until 3 pm ET or so. 

Fox is told to expect maybe a couple of lawmakers there. Fox is told that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio will likely attend. 

Fox is also told that the committee intends to release the transcript of the transcribed interview "in three or four days."

House Republican warns GOP to be ‘better than Nancy Pelosi’ in possible Biden impeachment: ‘Follow the facts’

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., admitted that Republicans are currently split over the possibility of impeaching President Biden over allegations related to possible involvement with his son Hunter Biden's business dealings, warning that if it does happen, her party has to make sure they have a strong case.

In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," the South Carolina Republican noted that the GOP can use an impeachment inquiry as "another tool in the toolbox" without taking the step of impeachment itself, while warning that controversial moves like impeachment can come with a price.

"I will tell you, every time we walk the plank we put moderate members – members that won Biden-won districts – we are putting those seats at risk for 2024. We are putting the majority at risk," she said, noting that this applies to other polarizing issues as well, like abortion.

Mace also accused Democrats of politicizing the impeachment process with their impeachments of former President Donald Trump, noting that Republicans need to base their actions on their findings, not on any political agenda.

REPUBLICANS FLOATING IMPEACHMENT RISK MAKING UNPOPULAR BIDEN A ‘MARTYR,' CRITICS WARN

"Whatever the evidence shows us, we ought to follow the facts, and we have to be better than Nancy Pelosi," Mace said. "Pelosi really politicized the impeachment process. We do not want to do that here."

Mace approached the subject of impeaching a president seriously, stating that if the House were to take that step, she and her colleagues would need to have a strong case.

"We have to show overwhelming, undeniable evidence in order to move this thing forward, and if we can’t then we should not. But if we do, then we ought to use every tool in the toolbox to make sure the American people see it for what it is, and we can hold everyone accountable."

MCCARTHY: BIDEN CASE WILL RISE TO IMPEACHMENT AS 16 ROMANIAN PAYMENTS TO ‘SHELL COMPANIES’ SURFACE

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on "Hannity" last week that the situation was "rising to the level of impeachment inquiry," but Mace is not the only Republican to note that impeachment should be based on standards, not politics. 

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., said Wednesday it is irresponsible for Republicans to be "raising the I-word" because it "sends a message to the public and sets expectations. Buck did acknowledge that House committees' probes are fair and that such an investigation is indeed the chamber's responsibility.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., also added that no official should be impeached unless the threshold of "high crimes and misdemeanors" has been definitively reached.

"I'm not going to support impeaching somebody just because I don't like their politics," he said.

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.