The unprecedented cover-up of Joe Biden is finally seeing sunlight. 

Critics of the legacy media have long accused news organizations of shielding the 46th president from bad press, particularly when it came to revelations of his family's shady financial dealings as well as his cognitive decline, which was put on full display at last year's CNN debate resulting in his exit from the 2024 presidential race. 

Efforts to cover up for Biden began as early as May 2019 as the primary race for the 2020 Democratic nomination was underway. Last week, former Politico reporter Marc Caputo shed light on a report he had written at the time that stemmed from opposition research from the campaign by one of Biden's Democratic rivals. The report involved a "tax lien" on Biden's son Hunter pertaining to his work at Ukrainian energy company Burisma. At the time, the former vice president held a substantial lead over Democratic candidates in the polls. 

"And I wrote what would have been a classic story saying, you know, ‘The former vice president’s son was slapped with a big tax lien for the period of time that he worked for this controversial Ukrainian oil concern, or natural gas concern, which is haunting his father on the campaign trail.' That story was killed by the editors. And they gave no explanation for that either," Caputo said on the "Somebody's Gotta Win" podcast.

EX-POLITICO REPORTERS REVEAL EDITORS QUASHED, SLOW-WALKED NEGATIVE BIDEN STORIES ‘WITH NO EXPLANATION’

Fast-forward to October 2020. Biden had secured the Democratic nomination and maintained a narrower lead in the polls against then-incumbent President Trump. The New York Post published its bombshell report on Hunter Biden's laptop, offering unprecedented insight into his overseas finances and their potential ties to his father. 

"I was covering Biden at the time, and I remember coming to my editor and saying, ‘Hey, we need to write about the Hunter Biden laptop.’ And I was told this came from on high at Politico: Don’t write about the laptop, don’t talk about the laptop, don’t tweet about the laptop," Caputo said. 

Caputo, now with Axios, called out Politico's one and only story about the laptop, which he referred to as the "ill-fated headline" that read "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say." The report cited an open letter signed by 51 intelligence officials declaring that the material from the laptop had "all the earmarks of a Russian intelligence operation."

Then-candidate Biden cited the open letter while dismissing the laptop revelations as a "Russian plant" during the second presidential debate with Trump.

Politico wasn't the only one that was caught turning a blind eye towards Hunter Biden's laptop. A leaked audio recording obtained by Project Veritas showed top CNN executives directing staff not to cover the controversy. 

"Obviously, we're not going with the New York Post story right now on Hunter Biden," CNN political director David Chalian said during a conference call on Oct. 14, the same day the Post published its first story on Hunter Biden's emails. Chalian later insisted the report was "giving its marching orders" to the "right-wing echo chamber about what to talk about today."

"The Trump media, you know, moves immediately from – OK, well, never mind – the [Michael Flynn] unmasking was, you know, found to be completely nonsensical to the latest alleged scandal and expects everybody to just follow suit," then-CNN president Jeff Zucker told his staff on Oct. 16. "So, I don't think that we should be repeating unsubstantiated smears just because the right-wing media suggests that we should." 

FROM ‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’ TO ‘RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION,’ LIBERAL MEDIA TEAMED UP TO DISMISS HUNTER BIDEN STORY

Several CNN stars echoed their bosses' dismissive stance on the brewing scandal to their viewers.

"There's a lot about this story that does not add up," CNN's Brian Stelter told his viewers at the time. "And, I mean, for all we know, these emails were made up, or maybe some are real and some are fakes, we don't know. But we do know that this is a classic example of the right-wing media machine."

"The right wing is going crazy with all sorts of allegations about Biden and his family. Too disgusting to even repeat here," Jake Tapper said during a segment. "I mean, some of the ones I've seen from the president's son and some of the president's supporters are just wildly unhinged."

Much of the legacy media either offered minimal coverage rejecting the scandal or offered zero coverage altogether. ABC News' George Stephanopoulos completely avoided mentioning the laptop during a Biden town hall he moderated. Social media giants blocked users from sharing  The New York Post's reporting on their platforms. 

NPR public editor Kelly McBride addressed a listener's question about the news outlet's blackout of the Hunter Biden story. After claiming that the Post's reporting had "many, many red flags," including its potential ties to Russia, NPR apparently determined that the "assertions don’t amount to much."

"We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don't want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions," NPR managing editor Terence Samuel told McBride. "And quite frankly, that's where we ended up, this was … a politically driven event, and we decided to treat it that way."

LOOKING BACK ON 2024: LIBERAL MEDIA INSISTED BIDEN WAS STILL SHARP UNTIL DEBATE DEBACLE EXPOSED HIM

Last year, veteran NPR editor Uri Berliner came forward suggesting that the decision not to cover the laptop was politically motivated.

"The laptop was newsworthy. But the timeless journalistic instinct of following a hot story lead was being squelched. During a meeting with colleagues, I listened as one of NPR’s best and most fair-minded journalists said it was good we weren’t following the laptop story because it could help Trump," Berliner wrote in a tell-all essay about NPR for The Free Press. 

Berliner was later forced out of NPR and has since joined The Free Press as an editor. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald similarly blew the whistle on The Intercept, the news outlet he co-founded, alleging "repression, censorship and ideological homogeneity" from its editors aiding Biden's campaign just days before the 2020 election. 

"The Intercept’s editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the candidate vehemently supported by all New-York-based Intercept editors involved in this effort at suppression," Greenwald wrote in October 2020.

Even after Biden won the presidency and was sworn into office, reporting about his scandal-plagued son was still being slow-walked, at least according to former Politico reporter Tara Palmeri, who broke the story of Hunter Biden's gun incident that led to a felony charge for lying about his drug use on a gun form. 

"I spent three months on it, I went to the laptop shop, and I did all of the reporting in Delaware, and I did all of that. But yeah it had, it had to be like much- it had to be 100% nailed down," Palmeri told Caputo on the podcast. "I had everything, you know, the police reports… I’m a solid reporter. But I do wonder if it could have, if it would have been published a little quicker if it was a different type of story."

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Palmeri expanded on how her bosses dragged their feet before running her story.

"I certainly had to push very hard to get that reporting published. Like, it was a constant, 'Hey, when are we going to do this? Hey, when are we going to get this out there? Hey, when we're going to do this?' Because it was so difficult. Like it was kind of a known feeling that like, it's gonna be difficult to report stuff that's really tough on the Biden administration and family. It's just like a culture." Palmeri told Fox News Digital last week. "And I think when the culture is that a reporter has to push so hard that it just creates a feeling that there's not an interest in that type of reporting. And ultimately, you know, we work to be published and to get our editors to support our work."

BIDEN LASHES OUT AT REPORTERS ASKING ABOUT AGE CONCERNS AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT: 'THAT IS YOUR JUDGMENT!'

Palmeri, now with Puck News, said she first obtained the police report shortly after Biden's inauguration in January 2021, but her story wasn't published until late March 2021.

"I just think if it was a Trump kid, it would have been published much sooner," Palmeri said. "I just had to work really hard to like- you're like 'Hey, what's going on with the story? Hey, what's going on with the story? Like, what's going on with the story?' We gave the White House a lot of time, like a week or so to respond. I don't know if that would have been the case for a Trump story."

The former Politico journalist went on to cite the "honeymoon phase" of the Biden administration as being a factor behind the slowed pace of her story.  She also suggested her bosses wouldn't run the story unless she was able to link it to a federal agency.

"It had to be about the fact that the Secret Service was involved," Palmeri told Fox News Digital. "The blanket fact that he lied on the gun form, which I had. I had the gun form and I pointed out that he lied on it. But in the piece, we downplayed it and said, ‘Although many people lie on gun forms and are not prosecuted for it’ which is true, by the way. But it's not like the headline wasn't ‘Hunter Biden lies on gun form,’ which is a felony. That was not the headline even though I had the gun form in which he lied."

It wasn't until 2022 that the media began conceding legitimacy to the controversies surrounding Hunter Biden. Several news organizations that dismissed the laptop like Politico, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News and CBS News ultimately verified the laptop. 

The shielding of Joe Biden evolved to encompass not just questions about his family's finances but about the president's own health. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Biden was having "good days and bad days" for White House staff to deal with as early as spring 2021. 

"Yet a sign that the bruising presidential schedule needed to be adjusted for Biden’s advanced age had arisen early on—in just the first few months of his term. Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes," the Journal wrote. 

BIDEN ADMIN OFFICIALS NOTICED STAMINA ISSUES IN PRESIDENT'S FIRST FEW MONTHS IN OFFICE: REPORT

It appears White House staff weren't the only ones aiding Biden. Former ESPN host Sage Steele revealed her March 2021 interview was "scripted" by network executives. 

"That was an interesting experience in its own right because it was so structured," Steele told Fox News Digital in April 2024. "And I was told, ‘You will say every word that we write out, you will not deviate from the script and go.’" 

"To the word. Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate," Steele said. "It was very much ‘This is what you will ask. This is how you will say it. No follow-ups, no follow-ups. Next.' … This went up to the fourth floor, as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, the decision makers are, the president of our company, the CEO, where they all worked."

Two other Biden interviewers, on the condition of anonymity, previously spoke with Fox News Digital about their experience with the president's frailty. 

"I was left with the impression that he is old, and it's impossible not to notice this and be focused on it. His voice is so soft," one interviewer said. The other said "I will say he was careful not to go on at length with answers. It was clear he was trying to edit himself, possibly because he’d been coached to keep answers short." Both noticed his "stiff" physical presence. 

The media's efforts to dismiss concerns over Biden's mental decline went into high gear in 2024, particularly when he became the presumptive Democratic nominee. News organizations seethed after the February release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's damning report on Biden's handling of classified documents that described him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." 

The New York Times went with the "Republicans pounce" framing when covering Biden's reported memory issues, Jeffrey Toobin returned to CNN to insist Hur made "unnecessary points" about Biden’s advanced age, and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow gushed that everything is fine because Biden still "rides a bike." 

Later in the year, the media ran the White House's talking points that accused conservatives of peddling "cheap fakes" when moments that showed Biden wandering or freezing up went viral. 

"Experts have warned that while advanced technology like generative artificial intelligence can spread misinformation, so-called cheap fakes that often use only minor or selective editing can be more effective at spreading false narratives," NBC News wrote in reaction to one viral moment. 

LIBERAL MEDIA OUTLETS ‘RUNNING COVER’ FOR BIDEN BY CALLING VIRAL CLIPS ‘CHEAP FAKES,’ CRITICS SAY

The Washington Post similarly elevated the term "cheap fakes," telling readers such "deceptively edited videos… misrepresent events simply by manipulating video or audio, or by leaving out context" and that they've "become staples of Republican attacks against Biden." 

MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace condemned the "highly misleading & selectively edited videos" while refusing to show the raw footage to viewers. CBS News released a report sounding the alarm on "cheap fakes" and their impact in the upcoming election, echoing the White House's claim that Biden is "victim to a simpler version of ‘deepfakes.’"

The Associated Press ran its own fact-check on the video showing Biden standing still at his star-studded LA fundraiser until former President Obama was seen grabbing his wrist and guiding him off the stage with his hand behind Biden's back. 

"CLAIM: Biden froze onstage during his fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night and had to be led away by Obama," AP wrote at the time. "THE FACTS: Biden paused amid cheers and applause as he exited the stage with his predecessor following an interview moderated by late-night host Kimmel."

Notably, actor George Clooney, who attended the LA fundraiser that the AP fact-checked, came clean in the now-infamous New York Times op-ed revealing the Biden he saw just weeks prior "was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

In June, just weeks before the CNN debate, The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report about Biden's "signs of slipping" behind closed doors. It was met with strong hostility from liberal pundits. MSNBC's "Morning Joe" declared the report was a "Trump hit piece on Biden." Then-CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy accused the paper of "playing into a GOP-propelled narrative" and that it "owes its readers — and the public — better." 

It wasn't until after Biden's disastrous debate performance and his exit from the 2024 race that journalists began expressing regret over their lack of coverage of his cognitive decline.

New York Times correspondent Peter Baker suggested journalists broadly need to do some "soul-searching" on how they handled covering Biden. 

NYT, MSNBC, PBS JOURNALISTS PRESSED ON HOW THEY COVERED BIDEN'S AGE: WE PROBABLY NEED TO DO ‘SOUL-SEARCHING’

"It's very personal. Anybody who's had a father or mother whose age and you talk to them by taking away their keys, these are not easy issues… And how do you write something in the appropriate way, balanced and yet tough," Baker said in September during a panel discussion at the Texas Tribune Festival. "I can sit down and make the case that we did too little about it. I can make the case we did too much. I can play it either way. But the truth is, it's an important issue."

"We weren't relentlessly covering, the way some of my peers were, Biden's age necessarily, even all the way up until the debate," PBS NewsHour's Laura Barrón-López said in the same panel. "It is and was a valid question. Many times when I was on the trail, even before the debate, voters would bring it up. Almost every single voter I spoke to would bring it up, even if they were planning to vote for President Biden."

The Guardian's David Smith, also on the panel, conceded the possibility of bias: "There was perhaps, even on an unconscious level, the notion that if you focus so much on Joe Biden's age, you are somehow helping Donald Trump." 

In December, ex-CNN editor-at-large Chris Cilizza offered an "apology" for not pushing hard enough to question Biden's mental health, admitting he felt guilty of "age shaming" by the president's allies. 

"While I did ask the question from time to time… I didn't really push on it, if I'm being honest," Cillizza said in a video message. "I probably should've pushed harder on the Biden age stuff because, in retrospect, it's clear that the people close to him knew that at best, he had some good days and some bad days."

"And so I think it's a lesson that we have to learn going forward. Because again, Donald Trump will be the oldest person ever to hold office if he serves for four years, and I will be mindful of that. Because again, asking those questions isn't a partisan thing. Asking those questions is a journalism thing, and I should have pushed harder and not been as willing to accept the 'Nah, he's fine. Look at him when he's in public' campaign," he added. 

A writer from The Atlantic admitted dozens of intelligence officials "left the impression that they were on the Democratic team" by attempting to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story.

President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of 51 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation." The officials had released a public letter in 2020 shortly before the election, claiming that even though the laptop did not have "any evidence of Russian involvement," it looked like a Russian information operation nonetheless.

The letter came after the New York Post reported on emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company.

Atlantic writer Graeme Wood marveled at the turn of events in a piece headlined, "Turns Out Signing the Hunter Biden Letter Was a Bad Idea." He argued that while yanking the clearances was "petty and personal" amid a flurry of executive orders, it was one of the easier to defend.

TRUMP ‘MISREPRESENTED’ HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP LETTER, JOHN BRENNAN COMPLAINS AFTER LOSING SECURITY CLEARANCE

"Why these titans of intelligence were willing to risk their hard-won credibility on the possibility that Hunter Biden might not be a slimeball is deeply mysterious," Wood wrote. "Even considering their caveats, somehow they signed and published their letter without due diligence and without the slightest consideration that Hunter was, in fact, prone to shady behavior. No doubt they felt that the laptop story was urgent, because it could affect the election in a few weeks."

The staff writer then juxtaposed how their job, in theory, "was to seek facts and judge them with restraint" with how "in this case, minimal fact-seeking would entail asking the Bidens if the sordid laptop was real, and restraint would entail not venturing wild accusations." He later argued that the letter overall "exhibited extremely shoddy analytic craftsmanship."

He outlined that the conduct of these intelligence officials ultimately discredited them before the American people.

"Because they were excessively generous to one candidate over the other, the letter signers left the impression that they were on the Democratic team—and, moreover, that they would lower their standards in order to influence an American election," the Atlantic writer argued. "Connoisseurs of irony will note that the CIA has, historically, had few scruples about influencing foreign elections, and will ask why they would hesitate to influence an American one. But to influence even a foreign election takes approval from the White House, and to influence a domestic one is flagrantly illegal."

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY': HOUSE GOP REPORT

Fox News Digital counted at least 13 letter signers who publicly endorsed Biden in 2020, including ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and ex-CIA Directors John Brennan, Leon Panetta and Michael Hayden.

The Atlantic author hedging that the motivations of the intelligence officials were "deeply mysterious" sparked mockery on social media. 

"Yeah it's a huge mystery why they all did that," The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller joked, before referencing the show "Unsolved Mysteries." "Somebody dig up Robert Stack and get him on the case. We may never know the answer to this one."

He quipped further that the author’s phrase "titans of intelligence" should be "The Atlantic's masthead slogan."

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"Dumbest headline in history, maybe," PJ Media columnist David P. Goldman suggested.

President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of more than 50 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

A total of 51 former national security officials released a public letter in 2020 claiming that even though the laptop did not have "any evidence of Russian involvement," it looked like a "Russian information operation."

The letter came after the New York Post reported they had emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company. 

REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS TRUMP SHOULD NOT PARDON HUNTER BIDEN

Included on the list are former director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr., former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden, John Brennan, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice were aware that Hunter Biden’s laptop was not manipulated and contained "reliable evidence." 

Republican lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have previously suggested withdrawing the security clearances of these officials. 

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY': HOUSE GOP REPORT

The order was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump approved on Inauguration Day, joining directives like withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015. 

Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020. 

Other executive orders Trump signed on day one include rescinding nearly 80 executive orders and memoranda issued under Biden, issuing a regulatory and hiring freeze upon the federal government, preventing "government censorship" of free speech, and directing every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis. 

David Spector contributed to this report. 

In the final hours of his presidency, Joe Biden shattered norms by issuing preemptive pardons, something the legacy media had demonized President Trump for after he allegedly floated them before leaving office in 2021. 

Biden issued two rounds of pardons on Monday in hopes of them being drowned out by the events of Trump's Inauguration Day. The first round went to Trump critics like Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, as well as January 6 Committee leaders former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. The second round, according just minutes before Trump was sworn into office, went to members of Biden's own family including siblings James Biden, Valerie Biden Owens and Francis Biden. Those pardons came weeks after the former president's wide-ranging pardon of his son Hunter.   

Meanwhile, Trump himself faced scorn from the media after it was reported he was entertaining preemptive pardons following his defeat in 2020.

BEFORE BIDEN PARDONED HUNTER, THE MEDIA SPECULATED TRUMP WOULD PARDON HIS CHILDREN AHEAD OF LEAVING OFFICE

On Dec. 1, 2020, The New York Times ran the headline "Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani," alleging that the then-president was mulling "pre-emptive pardons" to Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The report even alleged that Trump was considering issuing pardons "for crimes they have not yet committed — essentially a prospective get-out-of-jail-free card."

Ultimately, Trump never issued pardons for his adult children nor Giuliani, but other news organizations followed the Times' lead. 

"If you had to build a 2020 time capsule in advance, this is probably something that you would have invented to put into the 2020 time capsule," MSNBC star Rachel Maddow told viewers with a grin while holding up a copy of the Times report. 

"The idea of a kind of prospective pardon, this sort of permanent federal Get Out of Jail Free card, That seems to be what we're talking about in the case of this, right?" Maddow's MSNBC colleague Chris Hayes said. "With Giuliani and his three eldest children, who, as far we know, have not been convicted of a crime. Maybe they've committed a lot and they don't want to face action. I don't know. It's weird. I wouldn't ask for a pardon. I don't think I deserve one because I don't think I've done anything criminal. But like, where does that come from? That concept you can just kind of wave your magic pardon wand?"

GOP LAWMAKERS PLEDGE TO INVESTIGATE BIDEN'S LAST-MINUTE PARDONS: ‘CALL THEM ALL BEFORE CONGRESS’

CNN ran a similar report titled "The legal threats and headaches fueling pardon appeals from Trump’s family and friends," noting "Trump’s three eldest children have faced various legal entanglements" over the years, citing Don Jr. and Kushner's involvement in the Trump Tower meeting with Russians who claimed to have had dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, which was investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Neither Don Jr. nor Kushner were ever charged with any crimes by Mueller. 

"In our politics lead now, a source tells CNN that President Trump, the outgoing president, is discussing preemptive pardons for people close to him. That could include his three eldest children, Don jr. Ivanka and Eric, his son in law, Jared Kushner and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, none of whom, as of this afternoon, have been even charged with. much less convicted of any crime," CNN's Jake Tapper said on air.

"Is the president now considering pardons for members of the Trump family, including himself? ABC News' David Muir teased at the beginning of "World News Tonight."

"Pardoning the presidents kids? Why President Trump and his top allies believe Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr, and Eric, could need what’s being called a preemptive pardon," Norah O'Donnell of "CBS Evening News" said to viewers. 

NBC News ran the headline "President Trump has discussed possibility of pardons for family members, sources say," telling readers "One source said the conversations in recent days were within the context of a president who feels embattled, and not because Trump believes he or any of his family members had done anything illegal." 

The Peacock network published a follow-up report asking "Could Trump pardon family members if they haven't been charged with crimes?" to which it answered "undoubtedly yes."

Washington Post columnist Philip Bump posed a similar question and answer, "How much protection can Trump offer his family with his pardon power? A lot."

"There’s not much risk to Trump in attempting to grant such a blanket pardon. He might issue a sweepingly broad pardon — say, giving Jared Kushner a pass on any federal crimes committed from the moment of his birth until the moment the pardon was issued — with the understanding that, should someone seek to prosecute Kushner, they would have to persuade a court to let them do so," Bump wrote. "They might be able to do that, particularly if the pardon is as vague as the one just mentioned. But, from Trump’s perspective, what’s the harm in trying? Particularly since there’s no accountability mechanism in place to prevent Trump from doing so."

BIDEN COMMUTES NEARLY 2,500 MORE SENTENCES IN FINAL DAYS OF PRESIDENCY

NPR also delved into Trump's legal powers with the story titled "Talk Of 'Preemptive' Pardons By Trump Raises Questions: What Can He Do?" featuring an image of Don Jr. at the top.

Vanity Fair was far more presumptive, running the headline "Of Course Trump Is Going To Pardon Jared, Ivanka, and Maybe Even Don Jr."

The liberal news blog Slate even speculated that Trump pardoning his children could "make him a bigger criminal target," writing "If Trump were to distribute such broadly worded pardons liberally among his circle, he would make them all subject to subpoena to testify about not only their own conduct, but his."

MSNBC and CNN went wall to wall hyping the narrative, even turning to then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was just elected senator, to bash the president. 

"Have you ever heard of somebody getting a preemptive pardon who was innocent of all crime, who's just an innocent person? Have you ever heard of that, just somebody getting a blanket pardon and they're an innocent person?" MSNBC's Joy Reid asked. 

"No," Schiff responded. "It's the president's own family. It's people that have been covering up for the President, in addition to his own family."

"Would you see that… as essentially an admission of guilty?" CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked in a separate interview. 

"I certainly would view it that way," Schiff told Blitzer. "I think millions of Americans would view it that way. If there was no belief in criminality, why would he think a pardon was necessary?" 

After winning the 2020 election, Biden was asked about Trump's preemptive pardons during a sit-down with CNN's Tapper. 

"Well, it concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice," Biden told Tapper, later adding "you’re not going to see in our administration that kind of approach to pardons."

President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of more than 50 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

A total of 51 former national security officials released a public letter in 2020 claiming that even though the laptop did not have "any evidence of Russian involvement," it looked like a "Russian information operation."

The letter came after the New York Post reported they had emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company. 

REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS TRUMP SHOULD NOT PARDON HUNTER BIDEN

Included on the list are former director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr., former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden, John Brennan, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice were aware that Hunter Biden’s laptop was not manipulated and contained "reliable evidence." 

Republican lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have previously suggested withdrawing the security clearances of these officials. 

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY': HOUSE GOP REPORT

The order was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump approved on Inauguration Day, joining directives like withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015. 

Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020. 

Other executive orders Trump signed on day one include rescinding nearly 80 executive orders and memoranda issued under Biden, issuing a regulatory and hiring freeze upon the federal government, preventing "government censorship" of free speech, and directing every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis. 

David Spector contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is requesting President-elect Trump’s Justice Department investigate and prosecute President Biden’s brother, James Biden, for allegedly making false statements to Congress, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter that Comer, R-Ky., sent to Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, encouraging the DOJ to "hold James Biden accountable for lying to Congress to protect his brother, the soon-to-be-former President Biden." 

House Republicans in June sent criminal referrals for James Biden and Hunter Biden to the Justice Department recommending they be charged with making false statements to Congress about "key aspects" of the impeachment inquiry of President Biden. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS REFER HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Specifically, Comer at the time said the alleged false statements implicated President Biden’s "knowledge and role in his family’s influence-peddling schemes" and that they appeared "to be a calculated effort to shield Joe Biden from the impeachment inquiry." 

Comer, along with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., led the impeachment inquiry into President Biden and found that he engaged in "impeachable conduct," "abused his office" and "defrauded the United States to enrich his family." 

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE'S TEXT MESSAGES INDICATE MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN

Comer, in his letter to Bondi this week, pointed to Biden’s "full and unconditional pardon" for his son, Hunter Biden. 

"President Biden’s latest scheme to cover his family’s grift cements his legacy as leading the most corrupt political family to attain the presidency in American history," Comer wrote to Bondi. "But it also appears incomplete. President Biden has displayed to the American people that his son is beyond accountability in a court of law for his crimes." 

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN IN 2017 SENT 'BEST WISHES' FROM 'ENTIRE BIDEN FAMILY' TO CHINA FIRM CHAIRMAN, REQUESTED $10M WIRE

But Comer said he wanted to "remind incoming Department of Justice leadership of Hunter Biden’s main accomplice in his influence peddling schemes (aside from Joe Biden himself), whom the House Committees on Oversight, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means previously identified to Attorney General Merrick Garland as having misled Congress regarding Joe Biden’s participation in his family’s influence peddling and deserving of prosecution under federal law: James Biden, the President’s younger brother." 

Comer reminded Bondi that he and House Republicans referred James Biden to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, saying the president’s brother "made materially false statements to the Oversight and Judiciary Committees." 

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT

"The nature of both his and Hunter Biden’s false statements is not lost on the Committees: every instance implicates Joe Biden’s knowledge of and role in his family’s influence peddling," Comer wrote. "James Biden’s denial of Joe Biden’s meeting with James Biden, Hunter Biden, and Hunter Biden’s business associate for a Chinese transaction, Tony Bobulinski — despite evidence being placed in front of him and being given multiple opportunities to amend his response — appears to be a clumsy attempt to protect Joe Biden from the reality that Joe Biden has indeed met with his family’s business associates." 

JOE BIDEN RECEIVED $40K IN 'LAUNDERED CHINA MONEY' FROM BROTHER IN 2017, COMER SAYS

Comer and House Republicans in June said James Biden "stated unequivocally during his transcribed interview that Joe Biden did not meet with Mr. Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of James and Hunter Biden, in 2017 while pursuing a deal with a Chinese entity, CEFC China Energy."

"Specifically, James Biden stated he did not attend a meeting with Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Tony Bobulinski on May 2, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel," Comer, Jordan and Smith said in their criminal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland last year. "These statements were contradicted not only by Mr. Bobulinski, but Hunter Biden."

They also noted that Bobulinski "produced text messages that establish the events leading up to and immediately following his meeting with Joe Biden on May 2, 2017." 

In his letter to Bondi, Comer blasted President Biden, claiming he obstructed the committee’s impeachment inquiry and that in itself was "impeachable conduct." 

SPECIAL COUNSEL WEISS BLASTS BIDEN IN FINAL HUNTER PROSECUTION REPORT

"The legacy President Biden leaves behind is having led the most dishonest and corrupt administration in American history," Comer wrote. 

Biden, last month, made the decision to grant his son a "Full and Unconditional Pardon" covering nearly 11 years of conduct, including conduct related to both convictions Special Counsel David Weiss obtained.

Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. 

Weiss released his highly anticipated report on his yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden last week and blasted Biden for having "unfairly" maligned Justice Department public servants and casting doubt on the U.S. justice system with "wrong" claims that his probe was political. 

"President Biden repeatedly told—or used White House personnel to tell—the American people he would not pardon his son. That was a lie," Comer wrote to Bondi. "President Biden continues to lie, now falsely claiming ‘[n]o reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.’" 

Comer added, "Though President Biden’s saccharine (and wholly ironic) rantings of political persecution and weaponized prosecution of Hunter Biden are specious, they are inapplicable to the non-prosecution of his brother, James Biden, who has lied to the United States Congress and has faced no accountability to date." 

"I write to encourage the Department under your leadership to hold James Biden accountable for lying to Congress to protect his brother, the soon-to-be-former President Biden," Comer continued. "No one should be above the law, regardless of his last name." 

FIRST ON FOX: FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss blasted President Biden in his highly-anticipated report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden, saying the commander-in-chief's characterizations of the probe into his son were "wrong" and "unfairly" maligned Justice Department officials, while admitting that the presidential pardon made it "inappropriate" for him to discuss whether any additional charges against the first son were warranted. 

Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Weiss's final report after his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden.

The Justice Department transmitted the report to Congress on Monday evening. 

Weiss, in his report, chided President Biden for his Dec. 1, 2024 decision to grant his son a "Full and Unconditional Pardon" covering nearly eleven years of conduct, including conduct related to both convictions the special counsel obtained. 

Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. 

HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED

The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but his father, President Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December. 

Weiss, in the report, blasted the president's decision to pardon but also the press release that was sent out to the public that "criticized the prosecution of his son as ‘selective,’ ‘unfair,’ ‘infected’ by ‘raw politics,’ and a ‘miscarriage of justice.'"

"This statement is gratuitous and wrong," Weiss wrote in his report. "Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations." 

Weiss also pointed to a comment made by Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who said: "The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history." 

"These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics," Weiss wrote in his report. "Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives." 

Weiss added: "Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law." 

In another section of the report, Weiss notes that, in light of the presidential pardon, he "cannot make any additional charging decisions" and said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss "whether additional charges are warranted." 

"Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public's confidence in our criminal justice system," Weiss wrote. "The President's statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith." 

Weiss added: "The President's characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong." 

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in November 2018. 

But it wasn't until 2023 that whistleblowers from the IRS, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of politicization in the federal probe of Hunter Biden to Congress. 

The two alleged that political influence had infected prosecutorial decisions in the federal probe, which was led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who they said had requested to become a special counsel. 

BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE

After Shapley and Ziegler testified publicly, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to continue his investigation of the first son and, ultimately, bring federal charges against him in two separate jurisdictions — Delaware and California. 

Justice Department regulations require Weiss to transmit any final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has pledged to release as much as possible to the public. 

The Justice Department and Special Counsel Weiss’ office declined to comment. 

Meanwhile, President Biden's pardon of his son came after months of vowing to the American people that he would not do so. 

But last month, the president announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. 

"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," Biden said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Biden added, "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision." 

As he leaves office next week, President Biden will primarily be remembered for his astounding incompetence. As a new generation of officeholders from both parties battles the devastating consequences of his failed leadership, his destructive impact on his own party, agenda and voters will cast a long shadow.  

Among the myriad failures, five stand out as a cautionary tale for future leaders.

Even in the corrupt world of politics, Biden stood out for his obvious lack of integrity. His administration will be synonymous with gaslighting and influence-peddling. 

He lied about small things – like graduating in the top half of his law school class or leadership in the civil rights movement. He lied about personal things – like falsely claiming his son died in Iraq, and that members of his family were killed by a drunken driver.

WHY WE MUST EXPOSE THE CRIMINAL FRAUD OF THOSE BEHIND BIDEN'S DISASTROUS PRESIDENCY

He lied about blatantly obvious things, like inflation rates, student loan forgiveness and his promise not to pardon his son’s many crimes. He lied about matters of global significance – like the border being secure, the Afghanistan withdrawal being a success, and his own direct involvement in his family’s influence peddling. 

Nothing from his administration could be trusted – not even the jobs numbers. 

He governed the way he campaigned in 2020 – from the figurative basement. We seldom saw him. He would occasionally choose to bloviate on some issue to propagate a narrative, but he seldom took questions.

THE THREAT FROM RADICAL ISLAM IS NOW INSIDE OUR GATES. BIDEN IGNORED IT. TRUMP MUST ACT

He rarely interacted with the media and when he did, it was with a pre-scripted select few. His incessant vacations rarely appeared to involve any actual work. He demonstrated little familiarity with facts. 

It is unclear to what degree he was even engaged in making decisions. He spent roughly 40% of his time away from the White House.

He failed on the basic principles of presidential leadership. Our enemies did not fear us. Our allies took advantage of us. Our bureaucracy was weaponized against us.  

BIDEN KEEPS INSULTING AMERICANS WITH LAST MINUTE MOVES. REPUBLICANS CAN STOP IT

Biden made no attempt to bridge political divides. The justification for his candidacy was his knowledge of Washington and his promise to unite. There is no evidence any success bringing the country together.  

Rather than laying the groundwork for a prosperous future, he spent his political capital going after his political opposition. Most destructive to his party was his failure to lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership.  

Even a great leader could not succeed on an agenda that imports rampant criminality, maintains unprecedented spending levels, pursues economically devastating energy policies, and prioritizes foreign aid over American prosperity. 

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If Democrats have policy ideas that actually work, Biden apparently never embraced them. Immigration, crime, foreign policy, woke policies and, of course, the economy all failed and were rejected resoundingly by the voters four years later.

Biden will be remembered for looting the treasury on his way out the door.  

In an undercover video, one EPA adviser described Biden’s approach to climate initiatives as "throwing gold bars off the Titanic" – a metaphor we are likely to find described most of government in the waning days of the Biden administration.  

In a petty effort to sabotage his successor, Biden has locked in regulations that prevent offshore drilling, commit the United States to costly climate initiatives, obligate us in long-term international conflicts, flood the country will millions who are here illegally, and embed loyalists in the bureaucracy while ensuring many didn’t need to come into the office in the next five years. These efforts not only undermine the future administration, they undermine American prosperity.

As bad as it all looks now, the generational impacts of Biden’s failures will etch his legacy of failure in stone. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JASON CHAFFETZ

Snopes CEO Chris Richmond said Saturday that the U.S. government was to blame for the censoring of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, and argued that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was complying with the administration at the time.

"Let's look at the most famous example of Facebook censoring content, and that was the Hunter Biden laptop story. And we say, well, it was fact-checkers, right, who told Zuckerberg to limit the reach of that? No, it was the government. So, Facebook complied with the government, and then the fact-checkers get the blame," Richmond told MSNBC's Ali Velshi on Saturday.

Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that the company would be ending its fact-check program on Facebook and Instagram. 

"If Kamala Harris would have won, would he be taking any of these same actions now? No. He complied with what the government wanted then and is complying what the new administration wants now," Richmond said.

TRUMP SAYS META HAS ‘COME A LONG WAY’ AFTER ZUCKERBERG ENDS FACT-CHECKING ON PLATFORMS

The New York Post published a report on the Hunter Biden laptop in October 2020 that was effectively buried by Big Tech, including Twitter and Facebook. 

Zuckerberg said he wanted to institute a program similar to Elon Musk's community notes on X, which Richmond said was a good system in theory.

"I agree that the community note system is great. It should be transparent. The problem is that Facebook has this black box system that they can do what they want and just pass off the blame, like we want a more transparent system. We should be pushing to community notes. But to say that you’re going to remove fact-checkers as part of the process, I think that’s where the issue is," he added. 

Zuckerberg spoke to podcast host Joe Rogan in an episode posted on Friday, where the CEO shared that members of the Biden administration regularly demanded they take down social media posts about side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Zuckerberg spoke further about the "government censorship," much of which he says has been covered by the congressional investigation, where he said, "I mean basically these people from the Biden administration would call up our team and like scream at them and curse, and it's like… these documents are, it's all kind of out there."

Zuckerberg summarized that the conflict between his company and the government "basically got to this point where we were like, ‘No, we're not going to, we're not going to take down things that are true.' That's ridiculous."

Fox News' Alex Hall contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss is expected to release his final report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden as soon as next week, Fox News has learned. 

Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. 

HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED

The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but his father, President Joe Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December. 

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in November 2018. 

But it wasn't until 2023 that whistleblowers from the IRS, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of politicization in the federal probe of Hunter Biden to Congress. 

The two alleged that political influence had infected prosecutorial decisions in the federal probe, which was led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who they said had requested to become a special counsel. 

BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE

After Shapley and Ziegler testified publicly, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to continue his investigation of the first son and, ultimately, bring federal charges against him in two separate jurisdictions — Delaware and California. 

Justice Department regulations require Weiss to transmit any final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has pledged to release as much as possible to the public. 

The Justice Department and Special Counsel Weiss’ office declined to comment. 

Meanwhile, President Biden's pardon of his son came after months of vowing to the American people that he would not do so. 

But on last month, the president announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. 

"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," Biden said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Biden added, "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision." 

Bill Maher appeared on an episode of the "Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade" podcast on Wednesday, where the three comedians got into a discussion about the media's lack of coverage around Doug Emhoff's #MeToo accusations, and "Saturday Night Live" ignoring them completely.

The podcasters welcomed Maher and recounted the SNL skit last month where Spade returned to the show to play Hunter Biden, while Carvey portrayed his old character "Church Lady." Spade expressed surprise that the troubled son of the president hadn't been lampooned before.

Spade said he "was always curious as to why they never had anyone play Hunter Biden. It was just sort of ripe for the pickings," adding, "I thought of maybe a hot-tub talk show with guests and girls."

BILL MAHER TELLS ACTOR HE’S ‘CRAZY WOKE’ FOR REFUSING TO 'JUDGE' ISLAM OVER ITS TREATMENT OF WOMEN

Maher then flipped the conversation to other missed opportunities by SNL, asking "How about, why didn’t they make fun of Kamala’s husband when he got 'me-too’d'?," adding that "it is amazing the way this country is so partisan, including in the media and the entertainment parts of it, that when something happens for your team that’s bad, it’s like, you know, the angel of death just flying over the house on Passover. Like, ‘we don’t see a thing here.’ Because, you know, Doug Emhoff was credibly accused of things that others have been accused of."

Spade followed up by noting, "Yeah, and that wasn’t plastered everywhere."

‘YOU BLEW IT’: BILL MAHER TORCHES DEMS’ ‘ANTI-COMMON SENSE AGENDA’

Maher criticized SNL for having Andy Sandberg portray Emhoff as a "funny kind-of dorky Doug" when the allegations against him were "as credible as many other accusations I've heard."

A report emerged during the presidential campaign that Emhoff had once slapped his ex-girlfriend in 2012, which a spokesperson denied. The second gentleman also admitted that he had an affair during his first marriage.

Maher added that "it’s just wrong, you know? If you're going to make fun of people, go both sides, don’t play that game, I don’t like that," alluding to SNL refusing to make fun of certain politicians on the left while constantly going after politicians on the right.

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Carvey played President Biden during the 2024 campaign on SNL, often lampooning his age and moments of confusion. In 2020, the show openly supported Biden's bid for the presidency but mocked him with more fervor in the most recent election season.

"They went for it because I guess he wasn’t running anymore, but the rules all changed after Biden was no longer the nominee, they became a lot looser with it," Carvey said.

President Biden is seen in newly uncovered photos meeting with Hunter Biden’s Chinese business associates in China while he served as vice president, bringing further scrutiny to his claim he "never" discussed business with his son.

The photos, obtained by conservative-leaning America First Legal through litigation against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), appear to show then-Vice President Biden introducing his son to Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Vice President Li Yuanchao. Other photos show Joe Biden posing with Hunter’s business associates from BHR Partners, including Jonathan Li and Ming Xue.

"These images shed light on the connections between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter and his Chinese business associates, and Chinese government officials including President Xi Jinping," America First Legal said in a press release this week. "Lawyers and representatives for President Biden and President Obama delayed NARA’s release of these photographs, as they did with other records, until after Election Day."

"These photos corroborate the House Oversight Committee’s investigative findings that Hunter Biden arranged for his father to meet with Jonathan Li and other BHR executives during the 2013 China trip, where ‘Mr. Li sought— and received — access to Vice President Biden’s political power, including, for example, preferential access to then-U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus … a condition of Hunter Biden and his associates participating in the BHR deal,’" America First Legal wrote.

HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED

America First Legal also wrote that, according to the committee's investigation, "the Biden Family benefited from their business dealings with BHR."

Hunter Biden was asked earlier this year by the House Oversight Committee about his meetings while traveling to Asia with his father.

"When we returned from an event to the hotel, there was a rope line, and Jonathan Li was in the lobby of the hotel where I was going to meet him for coffee," Hunter Biden said at the time. "In that line, I introduced my dad to Jonathan Li and a friend of his, and they shook hands and I believe probably took a photograph. And then my father went up to his room, and I went to have coffee with Jonathan Li."

Hunter Biden added that he didn't tell his father "anything" about who Li was.

Joe Biden has repeatedly denied any role in his son's businesses. 

HUNTER BIDEN WAS PAID $100K THROUGH JOINT VENTURE WITH CHINESE ENERGY FIRM, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIED

"I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings," Joe Biden said on the presidential campaign trail in 2019.

But emails sent to and from Hunter Biden have cast doubt on that, including a 2017 email obtained by Fox News that shows Hunter requesting keys for Joe and Jill Biden, along with his uncle, Jim Biden, for space he planned to share with an "emissary" to the chairman of a now-bankrupt Chinese energy company.

In another 2017 email also obtained by Fox News, Biden wrote to the same Chinese energy company's chairman extending "best wishes from the entire Biden family," and urging the chairman to "quickly" send a $10 million wire to "properly fund and operate" the Biden joint venture with the company. 

JOE BIDEN SAYS HUNTER HAS DONE 'NOTHING WRONG.' REALLY? LET'S COUNT THE WAYS

Devon Archer, a former business partner and longtime friend of Hunter Biden, sat for hours before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door hearing last year and contradicted the president's claim, saying Hunter put his father on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times. 

Archer described how Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand."

The photos drew strong criticism on social media in light of President Biden’s frequent claims he never discussed business with his son.

"Astonishing," Red State writer Bonchie posted on X.

"These photos are incredibly damning and speak volumes," author and journalist Peter Schweizer posted on X.

"It is such a disgrace that only through litigation, and only at the conclusion of the Biden administration is its corruption by ties to the Chinese Communist Party fully coming into focus," Real Clear Politics editor Benjamin Weingarten posted on X.

"The Biden Crime Family Christmas card just dropped," GOP Rep. Eric Burlison posted on X.

"China has the Bidens in its back pocket," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton posted on X.

The newly unearthed photos of the Bidens meeting with Hunter's Chinese business associates renews scrutiny of an email exchange previously reported by Fox News Digital. The 2014 email exchange reveals Hunter Biden once said he would be "happy" to introduce his business associates to a top Chinese Communist Party official to discuss potential investments after that official allegedly sat at Hunter's table during a 2013 dinner in Beijing to welcome his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Hunter's 2014 email exchange with James Bulger referred to the same China trip referenced in the America First Legal press release.

Bulger, who goes by "Jimmy," served as the chairman of Boston-based Thornton Group LLC, a firm that joined forces with Hunter’s now-defunct Rosemont Seneca to launch its joint venture with Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital to create BHR Partners shortly after the Bidens traveled to China. BHR Partners is controlled by Bank of China Limited.

In the 2014 email, Bulger asked Hunter to introduce BHR CEO Jonathan Li and Andy Lu, who was a BHR committee member, to "Mr. Tung," which refers to C.H. Tung, a former governor of Hong Kong and billionaire who served as vice chairman of the CCP-linked Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, to discuss "BHR investment targets" and "fundraising." 

The email alleged Hunter sat next to Tung at the December 2013 dinner welcoming Vice President Joe Biden to Beijing. Fox News Digital previously reached out to the White House multiple times requesting the seating chart for the Beijing dinner, specifically Hunter's table, but it did not respond.

"It is my understanding that during the trip to Beijing that you made with your father, President Xi hosted a welcome dinner," Bulger wrote. "[A]t that dinner, you were seated right next to Mr Tung, therefore J and Andy believe it would be very helpful if you could please send a brief email to Mr Tung laying out that you are a partner and Board Member of BHR and that You would be grateful to Mr Tung if he could meet your local partners to discuss the Fund.

"Please let me know if you can introduce these two to Mr Tung by email it is very important to our BHR intiative [sic] at this moment."

Hunter responded that he was "happy" to fulfill the request but said he couldn’t recall the names of the gentlemen who sat next to him at the dinner.

It appears that the Beijing "welcome dinner" hosted by President Xi that Bulger was referencing in his initial email occurred during the evening of Dec. 4, 2013, after then-Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao met with Joe Biden earlier in the day to discuss strengthening U.S.-China relations. 

President Biden pardoned his son earlier this month for any crimes potentially committed dating back to 2014. 

"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," Biden wrote in a statement at the time. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.

"There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution," the 82-year-old father wrote. "In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Fox News Digital has previously reached out to the White House about why the pardon was so broad but did not receive a response.

"Even while President Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, for anything and everything ‘he has committed or may have committed or taken part in’ going all the way back to the year 2014, more evidence comes out each day showing how his family leveraged Joe Biden’s even longer career in public office for private gain," America First Legal Counsel Michael Ding said in a statement. 

"America First Legal will not stop fighting to uncover the full story of the Biden Family’s corruption."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Hunter Biden’s legal team and the Chinese businessmen in the photos but did not receive a comment.

Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar Brooke Singman, and Tyler Olson contributed to this report

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s last year on the job was marked by what many saw as more embarrassing clarifications behind the podium.

In 2024, Jean-Pierre dealt with several major political events surrounding President Biden, such as ongoing concerns over his mental acuity, his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, and the pardon of his son Hunter after repeatedly insisting he wouldn’t.

White House reporters challenged Jean-Pierre on not just Biden’s responses to these issues but her own as well, accusing her of going back on her previous statements. This led to more numerous heated confrontations with the press.

Here are some of the more memorable interactions of 2024:

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE'S MOST MEMORABLE CLASHES WITH REPORTERS THROUGHOUT 2023

In January, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about polling that showed Americans having less trust in Biden’s mental acuity ahead of the presidential election. He specifically cited an ABC poll showing Biden’s rating for health down by five points since the previous May.

"You know, I have to say that's a little confusing for me, because if you look at what this president has done the last three years, historical pieces of legislation, right? When it comes to bipartisan infrastructure deal, many presidents before, like your favorite president, had said that—," she responded. 

"Who’s my favorite president?" Doocy interjected.

Jean-Pierre remarked, "Why don’t you … why don’t we let the American people guess?"

The two went back and forth for a few seconds as he pressed her further to explain her remark.

"I don’t understand what you’re getting at," Doocy said.

"Let me finish. Let me finish," Jean-Pierre insisted.

She went on to boast about the state of the economy, calling Biden a "pretty effective president" considering the legislation passed under him.

In March, Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence asked Jean-Pierre about the president being seen with notecards at multiple recent events.

Jean-Pierre shot back, "You're upset because the president has notecards? You're asking me a question about the president having notecards?"

Lawrence replied, "I’m asking why does he rely so heavily­–"

She cut him off, stating, "The president who has had probably one of the most successful first three years of an administration than any modern-day president? He's done more in the first three years than most presidents who have two terms. You're asking me about notecards? I don't think–"

When Lawrence followed up, Jean-Pierre deflected again, saying, "I think what's important here and what the American people care about is how this president is delivering for them. And that's what he's doing and that's what's the most important thing here."

In June, about one month before Biden stepped down from the race, several videos went viral showing the president wandering around aimlessly and looking frail, reigniting concerns over his age.

In response to these questions, Jean-Pierre referred to them as "a rash of videos that have been edited to make the president appear especially frail or mentally confused," and labeled them "cheap fakes," a phrase she attributed to the Washington Post, "pushing misinformation, disinformation."

"It tells you everything that we need to know about how desperate Republicans are here," Jean-Pierre said. "And instead of talking about the president’s performance in office, and what I mean by that is his legislative wins, what he’s been able to do for the American people across the country, we’re seeing these deepfakes, these manipulated videos. And it is, again, done in bad faith."

Despite her claim, one of the viral videos included a fundraiser with actor George Clooney, an event that eventually led to the actor calling for Biden to leave the presidential race.

JEAN-PIERRE BRISTLES WHEN PRESSED ON PAST 'DEMOCRACY' WARNINGS: 'DO NOT APPRECIATE HAVING MY WORDS TWISTED'

Weeks before Biden left the race in July, the New York Post released a series of reports revealing Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed Military Medical Center who specializes in Parkinson's disease, visited the White House and met with Biden’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, several times over the past year.

Although Dr. Cannard’s name was listed on public visitor logs, Jean-Pierre refused to say any names, igniting a feud with CBS reporter Ed O'Keefe.

"It's a very basic, direct question," O'Keefe shouted, grabbing her attention. "That's what you should be able to answer by this point."

"No, no, no, no, no," Jean-Pierre immediately pushed back. "Ed, please. A little respect here. Please."

O’Keefe received help from NBC correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, who reiterated that the names were part of the public record.

"There's no reason to go back and forth with me in this aggressive way," Jean-Pierre scolded the reporters. 

"Well, we are miffed around here about what has been shared with the press corps about him," an exasperated O'Keefe said. 

Just days after the second assassination attempt against eventual President-elect Donald Trump in September, Jean-Pierre rebuffed questions about whether Biden planned to stop referring to Trump as a "threat" to democracy.

"How many more assassination attempts on Donald Trump until the president and vice president and you pick a different word to describe Trump, other than ‘threat’?" Fox News' Peter Doocy asked.

She answered, "If anything from this administration, I completely disagree with the premise of your question. The question that you're asking also is incredibly dangerous in the way that you’re asking it because the American people are watching. And to say that, to say that from the administration who has consistently condemned political violence, from an administration where the president called the former president and was thankful, grateful that he was okay, from an administration that has called out Jan. 6, called out the attack on Paul Pelosi, called out and said we need to lower the temperature after the Butler incident."

"And now for you to make that kind of comment in your question because your question involved a comment and a statement, and that is also incredibly dangerous," Jean-Pierre said.

She also justified calling Trump a threat to democracy by invoking Jan. 6.

"I mean, if that's not a threat to our democracy, when it was one of the darkest days of our democracy – January 6th, one of the darkest days – then what is?" Jean-Pierre asked.

With just weeks to go in his presidency, Biden pardoned his son after previously emphatically insisting that he wouldn’t. 

Jean-Pierre had repeatedly said at the podium that a pardon was not on the table, even as a conviction was possible. A few days after Hunter Biden’s pardon, she was confronted about her comments.

"You were asked about the president pardoning his son, and you said, ‘It's a no. It will be a no. It's a no,'" AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller said, recounting Jean-Pierre's statements.

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"When you look at the statement, it's pretty comprehensive," Jean-Pierre said, referring to Biden's full statement justifying the pardon, adding that the "circumstances have changed."

Miller pushed back on this answer, reminding her of her promises when taking the job as press secretary.

"In your first briefing here as press secretary, you committed to speaking ‘in a transparent way, in a truthful way, and in an honest way,'" Miller told Jean-Pierre.