Hunter Biden appears to have not been invited to Wednesday’s state dinner for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after facing backlash for attending others amid his ongoing legal issues and probes into his international business dealings.

Hunter was nowhere to be found on the guest list released by the White House ahead of the dinner, but other family members, including his three daughters, an aunt, uncle and two cousins, were invited.

He previously attended two state dinners while he was at the center of a years-long federal investigation into his business dealings and tax affairs, which continues today, including one on June 22 for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and another on Dec. 1 for French President Emmanuel Macron.

Hunter’s appearance at the dinner on June 22 came just two days after it was announced he had struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors that included misdemeanor tax crimes and a diversion agreement on a felony gun charge, a deal that later fell apart.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who leads the Justice Department and has faced scrutiny over its handling of the investigation in Hunter, also attended the state dinner in honor of Modi.

Hunter faced heat from across the political spectrum, including from hosts of ABC’s liberal daytime gabfest ‘The View’ as co-host Sara Haines argued he shouldn’t have gone to the dinner after he agreed to plea guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors. The other co-hosts were split on the issue.

Others defended Hunter’s attendance, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who called it a ‘separate thing’ from his legal woes.

Hunter has pled not guilty to multiple charges in federal court, including making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer, and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

With all counts combined, the total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar, Cameron Cawthorne, Brooke Singman and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department ‘limited’ a former U.S. attorney’s 2020 investigation into Biden family business dealings in Ukraine, according to testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

Former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady appeared for a transcribed interview behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee this week, Fox News Digital has learned.

Brady was tasked in 2020 by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to run an assessment investigating information brought to the Justice Department related to Ukraine. Some of that information was brought to the DOJ by former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani related to Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine.

Brady told House investigators that his review of that material was limited to accepting information from any member of the public, and vetting the information through open-source databases, publicly available resources and pre-existing FBI records.

‘It was limited by both the scope of what we were to look at and the tools that were available to us,’ Brady said. ‘It was really a vetting to assess credibility. It was not to make determinations about whether there was evidence sufficient to open criminal investigations, anything like that.’

Fox News Digital first reported that Brady’s investigative work was limited and lacked subpoena power since they had no authorization for a grand jury. That information was revealed in a letter Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland which was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital Wednesday.

Brady stressed that he did not have tools that ‘could compel testimony or the production of documents.’

‘Witnesses, bank records, emails, we weren’t able to access any of those kinds of things or compel them from third-parties,’ he said.

‘It was really to say, yes, we believe that this, again, as I said, is credibility, has indicia of credibility, and then pass it on to one of the offices with the predicated jury investigation,’ he said.

Brady told House investigators the same, while noting that he would pass credible information along to other U.S. Attorneys Offices that had relevant, existing investigations.

Brady said he provided briefings to U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss — now a special counsel — who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018. He also briefed the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Brady said that special agents from the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office were present for the briefing provided to Weiss.

But Brady said after he gave the briefings, his team was not involved.

‘We had no visibility into what they did with that after we gave our briefings,’ he said.

During Brady’s assessment of Ukraine information, a 2017 FD-1023 was discovered referencing Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma. A re-interview of the confidential human source was requested, and later completed in June 2020.

‘A confidential human source in a previous 1023 had identified an interaction with a Ukrainian national who discussed—it wasn’t the focus of that 1023 form several years prior but had made reference to Hunter Biden serving on the board of Burisma,’ Brady explained. ‘At my direction, we asked the FBI to re-interview the CHS.’

That FD-1023 alleges a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and the founder and CEO of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky.

Brady told House Judiciary Committee investigators that he had determined that source to be highly credible and worked with the FBI in other investigations dating back to the Obama administration. Fox News Digital first reported that earlier this year.

Brady also told investigators that Giuliani was not the source for details included in the FD-1023 in question.

That FD-1023 is currently in the hands of Weiss, whose investigation is ongoing. Brady told investigators that his office corroborated information, by obtaining the source’s travel records which matched the dates of the foreign meeting. contained in the FD-1023 before sharing it with Weiss.

Meanwhile, Brady said that even ‘simple’ requests to the FBI and DOJ, like ‘extending the assessment,’ required a renewal every 30 days. Brady said it required ’17 different people, including mostly at the headquarters level to sign off on it before the assessment could be extended.’

‘We were told by the special agents that they had to go pens down sometimes for 2 or 3 weeks at a time before they could re-engage and take additional steps because they were still waiting on, again, someone within the 17 chain signify to approve,’ he said.

When asked if he had ever seen a ’17-person signoff required by the FBI,’ Brady replied: ‘Never in my career.’

Brady testified about a September 2020 report he sent to the Justice Department about his findings, which Fox News Digital first reported earlier Wednesday. In that report, Brady recommended further investigative steps be taken related to the findings, including on the FD-1023.

Brady then told investigators he briefed U.S. attorneys at SDNY, EDNY and Delaware in October 2020.

Brady’s interview comes as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the alleged politicization of the Justice Department and FBI, and on whether politics influenced the federal investigation 

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently announced he was running as an independent after initially running as a Democrat, has a long history of supporting two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, despite campaigning as a voice critical of the Washington, D.C. establishment. 

In 2000, Kennedy touted Clinton’s ‘character’ in a campaign ad supporting her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in New York. 

Eight years later, Kennedy reaffirmed his support for Clinton by endorsing her 2008 presidential run.

‘Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially devastating effects of global warming,’ Kennedy said in a press release. 

‘I watched proudly as Hillary won over New Yorkers across the state in her race for the Senate seat my father once held. Since then, she’s been reelected in a landslide victory and proven that she is ready to lead this nation from her first day in office. Hillary will inspire the real change America needs.’

Kennedy stumped for Clinton on the campaign trail in her quest for the White House against eventual President Barack Obama and once Obama had won, Kennedy praised her appointment as Obama’s Secretary of State calling her ‘great.’

When Clinton ran again for president in 2016 in a race won by Donald Trump, who had donated to Democrats including Hillary Clinton in the past, Kennedy continued his vocal support with an endorsement.

‘I’m solidly for Hillary,’ Kennedy told Larry King in an interview about his ‘long term’ friend. ‘I think Hillary is going to be a very, very good president.’

On the campaign trail as an independent candidate, Kennedy has distanced himself from both political parties writing in a Fox News opinion piece this month that he ‘declared independence from the two political parties and the corrupt interests that dominate them, and the entire rigged system of rancor and rage, corruption and lies, that has turned government officials into indentured servants of their corporate bosses.’

Critics have voiced concerns about where Kennedy stands on issues including Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning who wrote at Townhall.com that the presidential candidate is ‘far-left ideologue and radical environmentalist’ and a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

At the same time, Kennedy Jr. has ruffled liberal feathers by expressing support for the 2nd Amendment and a stronger southern border. He has also faced scrutiny over ‘hurtful’ COVID-19 comments.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Kennedy campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
 

North Korea is accusing Israel of masterminding the ongoing violence between themselves and Hamas — and claiming the U.S. is an accomplice.

North Korean media accused Israel of responsibility for the recent explosion near al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip. 

‘What should not be overlooked is that Israel’s such criminal act was openly committed under the undisguised patronage of the U.S.,’ a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson told state media outlet Korean Central News Agency.

‘Immediately after the bombing of the hospital by Israel, the U.S. covered such crime, making absurd sophism that the incident seemed to be committed by other forces rather than Israel,’ the North Korean spokesperson continued. ‘This shows that the U.S. is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel’s genocide.’

Hamas has claimed Israel was behind the Oct. 17 explosion that killed hundreds of people, but the source of the rocket has been disputed. 

President Biden has asserted intelligence networks’ belief that the explosion was caused by a misfire from Gaza militants themselves.

‘I was outraged by the bombing of the hospital yesterday. Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by the other team. Not you,’ Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a press conference on Oct. 18. ‘But there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure.’

Following an investigation, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) provided its findings with regard to the source of the airstrike.

‘An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the al-Ahli [Baptist] hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,’ IDF officials said. ‘Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.’

North Korea has been a consistent supporter of Hamas and the group’s violence in Israel since the terrorist attack earlier this month that killed approximately 1,400 people in one day.

Russia has boasted similar rhetoric to North Korea, blaming U.S. interventionism for the terrorism and violence plaguing the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un have significantly strengthened relations between the countries — most recently with a rare diplomatic envoy from the hermit kingdom.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced President Biden’s nominee pick for ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, on Wednesday, despite mounting Republican opposition. 

In a 12-9 vote, committee members voted to advance Lew during a closed business meeting. His nomination now heads to a full floor vote. Sen. Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer D-N.Y., indicated last week Democrats would move to quickly confirm him as war rages on in Israel.

Every Republican on the committee, except Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., opposed Lew’s passage. Every Democrat voted in favor.

‘I think it’s important in the middle of a war to have an ambassador. I think it’s important to have a representative from the United States,’ Paul told Fox News. ‘I met with him privately. I think he’s a thoughtful individual and I think he will do a good job.’

Republicans began voicing opposition to Lew in the days leading up to his hearing last week over his past work on Iran sanctions.

In 2018, a Senate report by the investigative subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that Lew, during his tenure as secretary to the Treasury under the Obama administration, ‘granted a specific license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system.’  

In response, Lew said during the hearing: ‘I want to be clear, Iran is a threat to regional stability and to Israel’s existence. If confirmed, I will uphold President Biden’s commitment to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.’ 

The report found that the administration tried to convert $5.7 billion from U.S. banks to Iranian assets. It noted that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ‘encouraged two U.S. correspondent banks to convert the funds.’

In January 2016, then-President Barack Obama announced a $400 million cash transfer to Iran that was part of a larger installment of a $1.7 billion settlement, for which Lew faced scrutiny. The settlement was part of a long-standing disagreement over an arms deal that was signed before the 1979 Iranian revolution, signifying the end of the nation’s historical monarchy.

Lew — who also served during the Clinton administration as special assistant to the president’s office — faced scrutiny for the transfer. The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that the payment was conducted using a combination of Swiss and other foreign currencies, then transported to Iran on unidentified cargo planes.

Senators during the hearing cited these reports in their questioning last week.

‘During Obama’s administration, Mr. Lew was working directly under the table to get Iran back into the financial system,’ ranking member Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said during the closed business meeting Wednesday. ‘As a result I will vote today to support Israel and vote no on Mr. Lew. It should be someone the Israelis will have trust in, and this committee will have trust in. I don’t have trust in him at this time.’

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital last week Lew is an Iran ‘sympathizer.’

‘I know my Democratic colleagues contend that we should confirm Jack Lew properly to show our support for Israel, but I would turn that around. We should defeat Jack Lew’s nomination to show that our nation has a new policy towards Iran.’ Cotton said.

Lew’s vote on the Senate floor could happen as early as next week. 

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie and Kelly Phares contributed to this report. 

A co-ed Israeli combat squad eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists while protecting towns along Israel’s borders, and the unit’s female commander says their heroic actions leave ‘no more doubts about female combat soldiers,’ according to a report.

Lt.-Col. Or Ben-Yehuda commands the Caracal Battalion, a mixed-gender infantry combat unit that has been protecting Israel near the southern Gaza Strip from Hamas infiltration, the Jerusalem Post reported.

‘Their training and performance on the battlefield have erased any doubts. They fought bravely, saved lives, and emerged as heroes,’ Ben-Yehuda said of the female troops, according to the newspaper.

Ben-Yehuda received reports of Hamas terrorists near the Sufa and Nirim kibbutzim along the border near the southern Gaza Strip, the report said. She reportedly led her troops to Sufa and learned that terrorists had entered a military base. 

The Israeli squad encountered a convoy of nearly 50 terrorists and the two parties exchanged fire, the report stated. 

The fighting dragged on for nearly four hours, according to the report, with Ben-Yehuda and the Caracal Battalion thwarting the terrorists’ attempts to outflank them. The report said Israeli forces used light anti-armor missiles to help eliminate and disperse the terrorists.

Israeli naval forces eventually arrived to help clear terrorists from the base, which was fully secured after 14 hours, according to the newspaper.

Ben-Yehuda said the female soldiers in the battalion played a significant role in protecting towns and repelling the militants. She said her unit killed around 100 terrorists during the fighting.

‘There are no more doubts about female combat soldiers, who have triumphed in every encounter with terrorists,’ Ben-Yehuda said, according to the outlet. ‘At present, we are responsible for 11 towns and are preparing for any potential ground maneuvers to ensure the safety of the southern Gaza border area and the Egyptian border.’