House GOP advances effort to hold Hunter Biden in contempt

Posted on by Congress

House Republicans are one step closer to holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after he skipped a closed-door deposition last month.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 23-14, along party lines, to send a resolution and a report recommending the president’s son be held in contempt to the full House. The Oversight Committee is also expected to vote on Wednesday.

It paves the way for a dramatic showdown on the House floor, where Republicans will need near total unity among their two-vote majority to refer the president’s son to the Justice Department. Should they get there, DOJ will ultimately decide if Hunter Biden – who is already facing two criminal cases– will get slapped with new charges.

“He blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas. Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committee subpoenas is a criminal act,” Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said on Wednesday.

Hunter Biden also made a brief surprise appearance at the Oversight Committee meeting, prompting GOP anger. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said in the room: "I think he should be hauled off to jail right now." He left as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tried to start questioning him.

Speaker Mike Johnson, asked about the appearance, told reporters that doesn’t change that Hunter Biden hasn’t complied with the GOP’s subpoenas, and that he supports efforts to hold him in contempt. Spokespeople for Johnson didn’t immediately respond to a question on Wednesday about how quickly a vote could be scheduled on a contempt resolution.

House Republicans view Hunter Biden as a top witness in their sweeping impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, which has largely focused on business deals by his family members. GOP investigators are in the final stages of that probe, which has also looked at Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents and the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden.

While the House GOP has found evidence of Hunter Biden using his last name to bolster his own influence, and poked holes in previous statements by Joe Biden and the White House they’ve struggled to find clear evidence that proves Joe Biden took actions as president or vice president that were meant to bolster his family’s business deals.

Republicans are starting off the year juggling priorities, including an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that has gained new momentum after being on the backburner for months. That’s on top of calls to add Attorney General Merrick Garland and Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd to their list of Biden administration officials in line for impeachment.

At the same time, they’ve got a quickly approaching Jan. 19 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, with no plan yet for how to avoid it.

Wednesday’s vote comes after Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden late last year to meet with congressional investigators on Dec. 13. Instead, he skipped the closed-door interview, speaking briefly to reporters outside the Capitol to defend his father and reiterate that he would be willing to take part in a public hearing.

“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say. What are they afraid of? I am here,” Hunter Biden said at the time.

The move angered congressional Republicans, who said they received no heads-up about the move. They had publicly warned that they would pursue contempt if he didn’t appear before the deposition.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers have defended their decision to not comply with the GOP subpoena, arguing that a closed-door hearing would set up the possibility that his testimony would be selectively leaked. His legal team, the White House and congressional Democrats have roundly criticized Republicans for pursuing contempt – reminding them of comments by Comer earlier last year where he appeared open to a public hearing.

“We are here today because the chairman has bizarrely decided to obstruct his own investigation and is now seeking to hold Hunter Biden in contempt after he accepted the chairman’s multiple public offers to come answer the committee’s questions under oath before the American people,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said at Wednesday’s Oversight hearing.

White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement that “House Republicans are less than ten days from sparking a partial government shutdown that many of their far-right members are rooting for, but instead of working full-time to avoid it, they are wasting time on political stunts.”

Republicans have since rejected a public hearing, however, unless Hunter Biden first speaks with them behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear in court in California on Thursday over federal tax charges. Republicans’ effort to hold him in contempt could force the DOJ to weigh another politically contentious decision.

Congress has held 10 people in contempt since 2008, but only two have faced federal charges, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Congressional investigators spoke with Hunter Biden’s art dealer this week. Republicans are also still working to set up a closed-door interview with Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, whom they subpoenaed last year.

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McConnell unwittingly explains why Trump now owns the Republican Party

Posted on by Kerry Eleveld

During the same February 2021 impeachment trial speech in which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Donald Trump "practically and morally responsible" for the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, McConnell also argued that impeachment alone was never intended to be "the final forum" for justice.

"Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office—as an ordinary citizen," McConnell said as he sought to explain away the vote he had cast to acquit Trump.

"We have a criminal justice system in this country," McConnell continued. "We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one."

Yet on Tuesday when McConnell was asked if he still believes Trump isn't immune from prosecution, McConnell dodged the question, choosing instead to reframe the legal query as an electoral matter.

"Well, my view of the presidential race is that I choose not to get involved in it, and comment about any of the people running for the Republican nomination," McConnell responded.

Q: “You had argued, after voting to acquit the former president that presidents are not immune from prosecution is that still your view?” McConnell: “I choose not to get involved...and comment about any of the people running for the Republican nomination.” pic.twitter.com/uhVut62se8

— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) January 9, 2024

If anyone wonders why Trump now owns the GOP, they need look no further than the feckless leadership of McConnell, who has failed at every turn to challenge Trump's takeover of the party.

It's a point former Rep. Liz Cheney has made repeatedly during her book tour for "Oath and Honor." In the book, Cheney writes that McConnell originally seemed "firm in his view" that Trump should be impeached. But as the vote approached, he got squishy and ultimately folded.

“Leader McConnell, who had made a career out of savvy political calculation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, got this one wrong,” Cheney writes.

After years of McConnell worship by Beltway journalists, the fact that he 100% whiffed on the most consequential issue of our time might finally be sinking into the psyche of some political journalists and analysts.

As former U.S. attorney, deputy assistant attorney general, and “Talking Feds” host Harry Litman noted this week on NPR's “Trump Trials” podcast, we would never be here if McConnell hadn't "blinked" on convicting Trump.

"When you think of all the forks in the road over the last several years, that one moment with McConnell who was obviously saying that [Trump] was guilty and should have been convicted, stands out to me as the absolute road not taken," Litman observed.

That would have been the most "straight-forward" and appropriate way for McConnell to have "solved this national nightmare," Litman added, "and he blinked."

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Republicans, Dems spar at Mayorkas impeachment hearing as state AGs describe impact of migrant crisis

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Republicans and Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee clashed at the first hearing to examine whether DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached over his handling of the crisis at the southern border – and as state attorneys general explained how the crisis had harmed their states.

The committee held the first impeachment hearing at a time when the migrant crisis is setting records at the border, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, and a current release rate of over 85%. 

Republicans and Democrats have been deeply split over what has caused the crisis and those divisions were on display as Republicans pointed at the Biden administration, and Democrats accused Republicans of not working with them to fix the crisis. 

HOUSE HOMELAND DEMOCRATS BACK MAYORKAS, SLAM GOP ‘SHAM’ AHEAD OF IMPEACHMENT HEARING 

"Secretary Mayorkas has brazenly refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress and has enacted policies that knowingly make our country less safe," Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. "What we’re seeing here is a willful violation of the oath of office taken by Secretary Mayorkas."

Republicans have blamed an expanded catch-and-release, a rollback of Trump-era policies, an "abuse" of humanitarian parole to release migrants into the interior, and the ending of border wall construction as factors in what has encouraged a massive and historic migrant crisis. Green also said his committee’s investigation has uncovered 100 instances where Mayorkas has misled the public.

DHS and Democrats have rejected that narrative, pointing to what it says are a large number of recent removals and returns and saying that authorities need more funding and a comprehensive immigration reform package – including a $14 billion supplemental funding request currently being negotiated in Congress. 

Ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused Republicans of throwing "political red meat" to their base in an effort to keep campaign money coming in during an election year.

"It’s now campaign season, and Republicans recently rolled out their impeachment proceedings against the secretary like the pre-planned, pre-determined political stunt it is. This is not a legitimate impeachment," he said.

Thompson also defended Mayorkas' conduct in office.

"The facts show Secretary Mayorkas is doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement. Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law," he said.

Republicans invited three Republican attorneys general from the heartland to describe the impact the crisis had on their states. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen described an explosion of fentanyl pouring into the state, with authorities on track to have seized half a million dosage units in 2023, from over 6,000 in 2020. 

The drug is produced primarily in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then shipped across the southern land border. It can be fatal in tiny doses and is often hidden in other drugs so users don’t know they are ingesting fentanyl. Republicans have linked the fentanyl crisis to the border crisis. 

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Knudsen said he believed the border had been largely secured under the Trump administration, but that work had been undone under the leadership of Mayorkas.

"Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of that destruction. The American people are watching. They know that our border was secured just a few years ago. They see the devastation metastasizing in our communities from drugs and human trafficking. The conclusion is clear, Secretary Mayorkas has violated his oath, and I urge this body to impeach," he said.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described the crime his state had seen, citing stats that the Oklahama Department of Corrections is housing more than 500 illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes. 

"Illegal immigration cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $750 million each year with a minimal offset return," he said.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since 2021 is larger than the population of his state.

"These numbers are not an accident. There is only one reason eight million people illegally cross a sovereign nation's border – because they know that they can get away with it," he said. "There has been an orchestrated lack of enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. [Mayorkas] has failed to do that which is most fundamental to his mission. Protect our border."

Frank Bowman, a law professor at the University of Missouri, called as a witness by Democrats, was skeptical of the impeachment claims being made – warning that impeachment cannot be used for policy disagreements.

"Official conduct must meet a very high threshold of seriousness. It must also be of a type that corrupts and subverts political and governmental process, and it ought to be plainly wrong, regardless of legal," he said. "The most commonly encountered categories of impeachable conduct are official corruption, abuse of power, betrayal of the nation's foreign policy interests, subversion of the Constitution. There is no serious allegation of which I'm aware that the secretary has done any of those things."

Meanwhile, DHS issued a memo ripping into the impeachment effort, pointing to prior comments from Republicans who say the threshold for impeachment has not been met. It also argued that it has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined.

"Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws," the agency said.

Speaker Johnson speaks with Biden ahead of border, shutdown battle

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke with President Biden about the southern border amid the worsening migrant crisis, the House Republican leader’s office said on Wednesday.

"Speaker Johnson spoke with President Biden today. The speaker strongly encouraged the president to use his executive authority to secure the southern border," Johnson spokesman Raj Shah announced.

Shah said Johnson also reiterated topics discussed in a letter he sent Biden in late December similarly calling on him to act unilaterally on the border.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

It’s not immediately clear who initiated the call. Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital it had nothing more to add when asked. 

Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment on the conversation.

Johnson wrote to Biden at the time, "You have clearly undermined America’s sovereignty and security by ending the Remain in Mexico policy, reinstating catch-and-release, suspending asylum cooperative agreements with other nations, ignoring existing restraints on the abuse of parole, and halting border wall construction."

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING

The speaker has made the border crisis a cornerstone of the House GOP majority's priorities this year, leading a delegation of more than 60 lawmakers to Eagle Pass, Texas, earlier this month.

Their conversation comes just over a week before the first of two government funding deadlines. Congress must make a deal on how to avoid a partial government shutdown by Jan. 19, with another deadline coming on Feb. 2.

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

It’s not clear if they discussed that topic or if the conversation was solely about the border.

Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a deal aimed at avoiding a government shutdown on Sunday.

It would set discretionary government spending levels for the remainder of the fiscal year at $1.59 trillion, and include an added side deal of about $69 billion negotiated between ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Biden in the spring.

Johnson’s deal would offset about $16 billion of that funding for this year.

White House mum on whether Hunter Biden gave advanced notice he would appear at House contempt meeting

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say if the White House had advanced knowledge that Hunter Biden would visit Capitol Hill Wednesday to sit in a meeting to consider a resolution that would hold him in contempt of Congress, saying the first son "makes his own decisions."

Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena for a closed-door deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The subpoena was for a deposition on Dec. 13. Hunter Biden had offered to testify publicly — an offer rejected by House Republicans, citing the setting for other witness interviews, and vowing to release a transcript of his deposition.

HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER'S 'SCHEME' TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL 'IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE'

The president’s son, instead of complying with the subpoena, delivered a public statement on Capitol Hill and did not appear for his deposition.

On Wednesday, Biden, his attorney Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel considered whether to pass the resolution out of committee. Biden and his attorneys ultimately left before the vote on the resolution. 

When asked during the White House press briefing if President Biden or his staff was informed that his son would appear for the committee mark-up, Jean-Pierre did not respond, but said he is a "private citizen."

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

"So here's what I'll say. And I've said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen, he's not a member of this White House," Jean-Pierre said. "He makes his own decisions like he did today about how to respond to Congress."

She went on to refer "any further questions, any additional questions about this process" to Hunter’s attorneys.

When pressed again on whether the White House was informed in advance, Jean-Pierre said: "I don’t have anything — we don’t have anything else to share beyond that."

"He is a private citizen, and he makes his own decisions as it relates to this particular, you know, response, is potentially a response to the Congress," she said. "That’s something that he decides on, and I would refer to his representatives."

Fox News' Peter Doocy went on to press Jean-Pierre, reminding her that last time the first son was on Capitol Hill, on Dec. 13 to defy the subpoena, she told reporters that the president "was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say." 

Doocy pressed again, asking if the president helps his son "skirt congressional subpoenas." 

"That is not even true — that is a jump. That is incredibly disingenuous in that question," she said. "What I will say to you — I'm helping you out. I don't have anything else to share." 

Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, which, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

Comer and Jordan pointed to a statement made by Jean-Pierre on Dec. 13, after Hunter Biden defied his subpoena. She was asked whether the president had watched his son’s public statement. 

"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Biden was ‘certainly familiar with what his son was going to say,’" they wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel last month. "Ms. Jean-Pierre declined, however, to provide any further details about the President’s actions on whether the President approved of his son defying congressional subpoenas." 

WHITE HOUSE, HUNTER BIDEN’S TEAM KEEP SHIFTING GOALPOSTS IN DENYING DAD’S INVOLVEMENT WITH BUSINESSES

They added, though, that Jean-Pierre’s statement "suggests the President had some amount of advanced knowledge that Mr. Biden would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas." 

The chairmen pointed to the criminal code, citing the section which states that it is unlawful to "corruptly…endeavor to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any investigation or inquiry is being had by…any committee of either House or any joint committee of Congress." 

"Likewise, any person who ‘aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures’ the commission of a crime is punishable as a principal of the crime," they wrote. 

"In light of Ms. Jean-Pierre’s statement, we are compelled to examine the involvement of the President in his son’s scheme to defy the Committees’ subpoenas," they wrote, adding that the president "had advanced awareness" that his son would defy the subpoenas which "raises a troubling new question that we must examine: whether the President corruptly sought to influence or obstruct the Committee’s proceeding by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son from complying with the Committee’s subpoenas." 

"Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense," they wrote.

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee's meeting to consider the resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress stands in recess. The House Judiciary Committee is also considering the resolution. 

If passed out of committee, the resolution would come to the floor for a full House vote. 

Hilarious Jayapal gaffe proves Dems find saying ‘insurrection’ to be hard

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

A Democrat serving in the House of Representatives was at the center of an apparent blunder Wednesday when she claimed former President Donald Trump "incited an erection."

The comment from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., came during the House Judiciary Committee's consideration of a resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

"I think we're all outraged about many things, but if we're gonna talk about outrageous things that have happened or things that have never happened, let's talk about the fact that President Trump incited an erection."

Quickly realizing what she had said, Jayapal began laughing and said, "Maybe that, too."

JAYAPAL TELLS FELLOW DEMS NOT TO 'OUT-REPUBLICAN THE REPUBLICANS' ON IMMIGRATION AMID FUNDING TALKS

"You can talk about that too, I guess," Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., chimed in.

"Maybe we should talk about that, too," Jayapal responded.

Correcting herself and moving on from the awkward situation, Jayapal said, "The president incited an insurrection."

Jayapal is not the first Democrat to use the word "erection" instead of "insurrection" when talking about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and President Trump's actions on that day.

In January 2021, while pushing for an impeachment trial of Trump on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed the former president was responsible for an "erection."

"Make no mistake, there will be a trial and when that trial ends, senators will have to decide if they believe Donald John Trump incited the erection – insurrection – against the United States," Schumer said at the time.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Jayapal's colleague, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has also been guilty of using the word "erection" to describe the events from more than three years ago.

Schiff's slip-up came during a November 2021 appearance on "The View," where he responded to pressure from one host who asked him whether he regretted talking up the discredited Steele dossier.

"But let’s not use that as a smokescreen to somehow shield Donald Trump’s culpability for inviting Russia to help him in the election, which they did, for trying to coerce Ukraine into helping him in the next election, which he did, into inciting an erection…"

Catching himself immediately, Schiff corrected himself and used the word "insurrection" before continuing his comments.

Schiff also slipped up and used the word during a January 2021 appearance on CNN, where he claimed then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., incited an "erection."

WATCH: Nancy Mace shreds Hunter Biden for having ‘no balls’ after surprise visit derails House hearing

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden's surprise appearance at a Wednesday House Oversight Committee hearing on Capitol Hill set off a firestorm of reaction among the committee's members, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who accused the president of having "no balls."

Biden, alongside his attorneys, unexpectedly showed up at the hearing as the committee was preparing to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against his father.

"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That is my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of White privilege coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here and –" Mace said before being interrupted by a Democrat on the committee.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

The hearing spiraled into a screaming match with Mace accusing Moskowitz of not allowing a woman on the committee to speak.

Once Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., got the hearing back on track, Mace declared that Biden "should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail."

"Our nation is founded on the rule of law and the premise that the law applies equally to everyone no matter what your last name is —" she added, before being interrupted by another Democrat objecting to her statement.

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

In a point of order, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., then called on members of the committee to show respect by not interrupting each other before Comer called on Mace to continue.

"It does not matter who you are, or where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you Hunter Biden as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all," Mace said.

She argued that Biden had no privilege to claim to avoid a subpoena to appear before the committee for testimony, and said his team didn't contest the reasons the subpoena was issued. She accused him of "refusing" to comply.

Mace noted that former President Donald Trump's sons previously appeared for subpoenas, and that Biden broke the law "deliberately" and "flagrantly" by ignoring his.

"The question the American people are asking us is what is Hunter Biden so afraid of? Why can’t you show up for a congressional deposition? You are here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You are playing with the truth," she said. 

"Hunter Biden wasn’t afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he was in elected office. He wasn't afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddle influence, and share the ill gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden, he wasn't afraid to compromise the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden in shady business deals with our foreign adversaries," she said. 

Mace said she believed Biden should be held in contempt, and that "he should be hauled off to jail right now." She then accused Democrats of "hypocrisy" regarding a subpoena for Biden versus past subpoenas for Republicans.

"It brings no joy for us to do this but the president’s son broke the law and must be held accountable in the same way anybody else would. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do so," she said. 

"My last message to you, Hunter Biden: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes," she added.

House GOP eyes new ‘gross incompetence’ threshold for Mayorkas impeachment

Posted on by Congress

House Republicans kicked off their push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday with a new proposed standard for recommending the ouster of a Cabinet official: "gross incompetence."

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee claim that surging migration on the U.S.-Mexico border shows Mayorkas is in “dereliction of duty,” pointing to record-high crossings in recent months. Democrats have dismissed their effort as a political attack that misuses a congressional tool designed to punish egregious behavior such as criminal activity — but the GOP made clear it sees Mayorkas' management as meeting the standard.

“The constitutional history is overwhelmingly clear on this subject. The Founders designed impeachment not just to remove officials engaged in criminal behavior, but those guilty of such gross incompetence that their conduct had endangered their fellow Americans, betrayed the public trust, or represented a neglect of duty,” Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said.


The GOP's move to impeach Mayorkas without evidence of criminal or other improper activity beyond its policy dispute with him is unprecedented. Republicans argue that Mayorkas is not upholding existing immigration laws, but Democrats counter that the entire affair is designed to appeal to their base in an election year.


"They know their already razor-thin majority is slipping away and think impeaching Secretary Mayorkas, even though there's absolutely no basis for it, will keep them in control of the House," said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the committee.

While the authority to impeach Cabinet secretaries is clear in the constitution, it has only happened once before in the nation’s history; the House impeached Defense Secretary William Belknap in 1876 over bribery.

Wednesday's hearing was the first of what is expected to be a series of impeachment proceedings in the panel. While Mayorkas has been invited to appear in an open hearing, he has not yet responded to the committee. It is not yet clear what specific charges the House GOP will bring, if or when articles of impeachment are eventually drafted.

The hearing featured top law enforcement officials from Missouri, Montana and Oklahoma, who testified about the impact that the situation at the border is having in their states. It came as Mayorkas remains actively involved in bipartisan Senate negotiations on border and migrant policy changes designed to shake loose a major foreign aid package that's stalled on the Hill.

“Mayorkas is gearing up President Biden’s policies — that’s what a secretary is going to do,” top border negotiator Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told reporters. “So, you can swap secretaries. The policies are going to be exactly the same.”

Lankford’s stance, and his willingness to engage with Mayorkas on border policy, illustrates how little traction the House's impeachment push has in the Senate. The upper chamber is unlikely to remove him from office, if or when the House ever formally votes to impeach. While a handful of Senate Republicans are cheering on the House GOP, more are wary and don’t want the topic landing on their plate.

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

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Hunter Biden makes shocking appearance at his own contempt hearing

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The House Oversight Committee met for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT, JUDICIARY TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING HUNTER BIDEN BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a similar markup on the measure recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. 

Hunter Biden, his attorney Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel consider whether to pass the resolution out of committee. 

If the resolution advances out of committees Wednesday, sources said a full contempt of Congress vote on the House floor could take place in the coming days. 

"Our investigation has produced significant evidence suggesting President Biden knew of, participated in and benefited from his family cashing in on the Biden name," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in his opening statement.

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

"We planned to question Hunter Biden about this record of evidence during our deposition, but he blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas." 

Comer said, "Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act" that "constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law."

"We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name," Comer said. "All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens." 

Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol.

Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there "is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath and on a day of the committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed." 

During the meeting Wednesday, lawmakers acknowledged Hunter Biden was in the audience, with Democratic lawmakers asking to have Hunter Biden take questions during the session--a request Republicans rejected. 

"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That's my first question," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. "Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming in to the oversight committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here." 

"I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now. Go straight to jail," Mace cotninued. "Our nation is founded on the rule of law. The law applies equally to everyone, no matter what your last name." 

She added: "It does not matter who you are, where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you, Hunter Biden, as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all." 

Mace asked the first son: "Why can't you show up for a congressional deposition? You're here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You're playing with the truth." 

But Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., fired back, saying if the committee wants to hear from Hunter Biden, the panel should vote and "hear from Hunter right now." 

"Who wants to hear from Hunter right now, today? Anyone? Come on," Moskowitz said. "Who wants to hear from Hunter? Yeah, no one. So I'm a visual learner, and the visual is clear. Nobody over there wants to hear from the witness." 

Hunter Biden and his attorneys ultimately left the markup session before the vote on the resolution. 

"Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father," Abbe Lowell told reporters after they left the meeting. "And, despite their improper partisan motives, on six different occasions since February of 2023, we have offered to work with the House committees to see what and how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided." 

Lowell claimed that their "first five offers were ignored." 

"And then in November, they issued a subpoena for a behind closed doors deposition, a tactic that the Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said," Lowell said. 

Lowell pointed to Comer's "explicit offer that people like Hunter…had the option to attend a deposition or a public hearing, whichever they chose." 

"Hunter chose a hearing where Republicans could not distort manipulate, or misuse that testimony," Lowell said, calling the move to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress "unprecedented" in light of his offer to "publicly answer all their proper questions." 

"The question there is, what are they afraid of?" Lowell asked, before departing the Capitol. 

Meanwhile, last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son's "scheme" to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, conduct, they say, "could constitute an impeachable offense." 

Hunter Biden, when making his public statement last month, said his "father was not financially involved in my business." 

"No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen," he said. 

The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.