Former Vice President Pence said there is an ‘ethical cloud’ hanging over the Biden family and President Biden’s administration, telling Fox News Digital he would support an impeachment inquiry led by House Republicans.

During a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital, the former vice president said he feels it is ‘such a benefit to the nation’ that House Republicans are ‘following the facts’ in their investigations into the Biden family business dealings and alleged politicization in the Justice Department’s years-long federal probe into Hunter Biden.

‘There are so many questions about Joe Biden’s involvement and connection to his son’s businesses when he was vice president of the United States,’ Pence said.

‘I must say, you know, I can’t relate,’ he continued. ‘When I was vice president, my son wasn’t sitting on the board of foreign corporations,’ he said in reference to Biden’s son, Hunter. ‘He was sitting in the cockpit of the F-35 and flying for the Marine Corps.’

Biden had another son, Beau, who deployed to Iraq with Delaware’s Army National Guard. He died of a brain tumor in 2015.

Pence said the ‘very idea that these things were happening is something the American people deserve to get to the bottom of.’ 

The House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and whether Joe Biden benefited while serving as vice president.

The White House has previously said the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and had no knowledge of them. The president himself has also denied ever having spoken to his son about his business dealings or being involved in them.

This summer, the White House said Biden ‘was not in business with his son.’

Separately, but related, Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith are leading a joint-congressional investigation into whistleblower allegations that prosecutorial decisions made in the DOJ’s Hunter Biden investigation were influenced by politics.

Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. That plea agreement, which Republicans have blasted as a ‘sweetheart plea deal,’ collapsed in court.

Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.

Since then, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, who has been leading the probe since 2018, to serve as special counsel with jurisdiction over the Hunter Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.

‘I welcomed the appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case,’ Pence said.

On Wednesday, Weiss’ team signaled that it would indict Hunter Biden on the federal gun charge by the end of the month.

‘I’m heartened that it appears charges are going to be now brought at least on one aspect of the charges,’ Pence said.

As for the potential for an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, Pence said he supports House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his ‘posture to let the House work its will.’ 

‘That’s different than Nancy Pelosi who unilaterally brought in impeachment process over a phone call by the President of the United States,’ Pence said, referring to the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump in 2019.

Trump, in July 2019, had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During that call, Trump pressed Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. Hunter Biden, at the time, was, and still is, under federal criminal investigation for his tax affairs, prompted by suspicious foreign transactions.

The House voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on two counts— abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted for acquittal in February 2020.

Trump was impeached again in January 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He was acquitted in the Senate. 

‘I think, particularly at a time when so many Americans have lost confidence in equal treatment under the law, so many Americans, understandably, are concerned about a dual standard of justice in this country,’ Pence continued. ‘Now, more than ever, we need House Republicans to follow the facts, bring the facts to the American people, and if an impeachment inquiry facilitates that I would hardly support it.’

At this point, it is unclear if House Republicans will move forward to officially launch an impeachment inquiry. The House returns from recess on Tuesday, September 12. 

A New York judge said Wednesday that 10 employees fired by the New York City Department of Education for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine must be reinstated with back pay.

In a major victory for vaccine mandate opponents, State Supreme Court Judge Ralph J. Porzio held that the city’s denials of religious accommodation to certain employees were unlawful, arbitrary and capricious. The case, DiCapua v. City of New York, concerned school principals, teachers and other educators who sued after city officials rejected their claims for a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate. 

‘This Court sees no rational basis for not allowing unvaccinated classroom teachers in amongst an admitted population of primarily unvaccinated students,’ Porzio wrote in a 22-page opinion. ‘As such, the decision to summarily deny the classroom teachers amongst the Panel Petitioners based on an undue hardship, without any further evidence of individualized analysis, is arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. As such, each classroom teacher amongst the Panel Petitioners is entitled to a religious exemption from the Vaccine Mandate.’ 

New York City’s vaccine mandate for all Department of Education workers was in effect from Oct. 1, 2021, to Feb. 10, 2023. Thousands of teachers and other education workers lost their jobs under the policy for refusing to comply with the mandate. 

Sujata Gibson, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, celebrated the victory as a ‘watershed moment in the teachers’ two-year fight for relief,’ according to a news release by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit founded by vaccine skeptic and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘The Court’s decision not only grants relief to these ten teachers, but it also sets important precedent for all other teachers denied religious accommodation,’ Gibson said.

Porzio’s ruling in favor of the fired educators did not extend to petitioners who had not initially applied for religious accommodation under the city’s vaccine mandate, which a federal court struck down as unconstitutional in 2021. 

‘The Court agreed that employees were not required to submit applications through the prior unlawful process but still declined to award relief to those plaintiffs on the grounds that there were contested issues of fact as to whether these plaintiffs submitted applications under the new process,’ said Gibson. ‘This is an error, and we will be making a motion to reargue on their behalf.’

The court also rejected plaintiff motion for class certification, stating that the proposed class was ‘overbroad.’

‘The judge’s ruling yesterday, while not everything we wanted, is a precedent-setting victory,’ said Gibson. ‘The court’s ruling in the class certification still leaves the door open to future relief for thousands of teachers negatively affected by the vaccine requirement. We intend to file a motion of reconsideration on a narrower basis. Rather than waste public resources clogging the courts with so many individual lawsuits, legal action that will remedy these discriminatory policies for all impacted workers only makes sense.’

The New York City Department of Education and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

‘Today’s ruling is bittersweet,’ said Michael Kane, a New York teacher who lost his job after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. ‘While it’s an important step in the right direction, justice for only 10 of us doesn’t even scratch the surface of the injustice suffered by NYC workers as a result of this illegal mandate.’

RYE, N.H. – South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is pointing fingers at his ‘opponents’ in the race for the Republican presidential nomination for recent stories spotlighting his unmarried status. 

He also suggested that the media headlines were an effort to overshadow his ‘rise in the polls.’ 

Scott – who if elected president would be the first bachelor in the White House in more than a century – was the subject of a recent article by Axios, which suggested some Republican donors are concerned about him being unmarried.

Fox News Digital asked the 57-year-old senator about the recent headlines as Scott, who was accompanied by New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, visited Lago’s Ice Cream in Rye on Thursday.

‘People plant stories that have conversations to distract from our rise in the polls, to distract from our size of our audience,’ Scott replied.

He added, ‘What we’ve seen is that poll after poll says that the voters don’t care, but it seems like opponents do care and so media coverage that opponents plant — it’s okay. Good news is we just keep fighting the good fight.’

Scott did not mention a specific rival campaign when placing blame.

Scott has been reluctant to share much about his private life. In a handful of interviews earlier this year, he did reveal that he is dating a woman, but he kept her identity private.

‘There’s always time for a great relationship with a wonderful woman, and I thank God that that is happening,’ Scott told NBC News in May.

In an interview with Axios around the same time, he touted the benefits of having a bachelor in the White House, saying ‘I probably have more time, more energy, and more latitude to do the job.’

Grover Cleveland, who first won the White House in 1884, was the last unmarried president elected, but he tied the knot two years later.

James Buchanan, who served one term from 1857-1861, was the last president to remain a lifelong bachelor.

Four years ago as he ran for president, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker’s bachelor status also made a few headlines.

Fox News’ James Levinson contributed to this report

The number of convicted felons under investigation for voting in recent Wisconsin elections remains a miniscule proportion of the total ballots cast, according to a new report from the state elections commission.

The report is further evidence that there has been no widespread voter fraud in the state, despite false claims to the contrary that former President Donald Trump and his supporters have been spreading since the 2020 election. President Joe Biden defeated Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review and numerous state and federal lawsuits.

In the 2022 midterm, the Wisconsin Elections Commission referred 23 cases of felons voting to district attorneys, and five other cases remain under review, the commission said in a report prepared for its meeting on Thursday. That’s a smaller percentage of the total vote than in the 2018 midterm, when around 0.0019% of ballots cast were referred to prosecutors.

Convicted felons currently serving any part of their sentence, including probation or parole, may not vote in Wisconsin. The state Department of Corrections, local clerks and the elections commission audit voters in every state or federal election to ensure that felons have not illegally cast ballots.

In an audit of the state’s most recent election, a special race to fill a vacant Assembly seat, no voters were flagged as matching the Department of Corrections’ records, the commission said.

Before that, 24 voters were flagged in an April election for state Supreme Court. Of those voters, 21 remain under investigation by the elections commission and none have been referred for prosecution.

The number of cases referred to prosecutors trends higher in presidential races, comprising roughly 0.003% of the total vote in Wisconsin in 2016 and 2020.

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An Ohio school board meeting took a shocking turn this week after two members got into a heated exchange, leading one of those involved in the dispute to give a Nazi salute to the board’s president.

During the Tipp City Board of Education meeting Tuesday evening, the board members found themselves involved in a back-and-forth over the transparency of the board’s actions and votes of approval for projects.

While discussing the issue, Tipp City School Board of Education President Simon Patry, who resigned from his position after the meeting, was briefly interrupted by fellow board member Anne Zakkour.

‘I’m talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I will, I will not tolerate it. Stop talking,’ Patry told Zakkour, according to footage from the meeting.

‘Oh, Sieg Heil,’ Zakkour responded as she raised her arm toward Patry in a Nazi-style salute.

Patry, along with other members of the board, did not react to Zakkour’s gesture and continued speaking.

Following the meeting, Zakkour provided a statement to Dayton’s WDTN about the ‘sarcastic’ gesture and suggested Patry was behaving like a ‘dictator.’

‘Mr. Patry has been acting like a dictator on our board for years and last night I had enough of his demands of total obedience,’ Zakkour told the outlet. ‘He has cost this district thousands of dollars in baseless allegations and a witch hunt against me and two other women. My reaction last night was symbolic and a sarcastic gesture of submission to a board officer acting as a dictator. Enough is enough!’

Zakkour, who did not appear to be in any danger at the meeting, also told the outlet that sitting next to Patry was ‘horrifying and scary.’

‘Sitting next to him was horrifying and scary wondering what he was going to do … beat me or smack me or call for another censure,’ she said, according to the outlet. ‘This type of aggression and hostility from Mr. Patry shouldn’t be tolerated. It looks like a domestic abuse situation where the person standing up for herself gets demonized.’

At the end of the board meeting, Patry announced his resignation board president.

‘At this time, I would like to announce that effective at midnight tonight, I will be resigning from the school board of education,’ Patry said.

While it is unclear whether his resignation had anything to do with Zakkour’s gesture, Patry later offered a motion to have the board’s vice president, Amber Drum, assume his role as the board’s president for the rest of the calendar year.

‘I was just in complete and utter shock that it was something that was done in such a public forum,’ Josh Dziedzicki, a resident of Tipp City, told WDTN. ‘It’s not something that would be tolerated within the school district by a student or other administrators. And it’s not something that we should just give someone a pass on because someone was speaking to them in a, I guess, aggressive manner.’

Dunn was installed as the board’s interim president and board member Richard Maines Sr. filled the role of vice president. The changes were quickly reflected on the school district’s website.

Earlier this year, Oregon state Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, a Republican, faced pressure to resign after a photo of her son giving a Nazi salute next to a World War II German airplane surfaced.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is being showered with support in the face of a media onslaught from the White House over his holds on approving hundreds of President Biden’s military nominations in bulk.

Biden administration officials have taken to numerous media outlets this week to rail against Tuberville. Tuberville has continued to prevent Senate Democrats from approving Biden’s military nominations by a ‘unanimous consent’ voice vote because of the Pentagon’s new policy that reimburses the cost of transportation for service members and their families who travel to get an abortion.

Despite assertions that Tuberville’s holds are ‘dangerous’ and putting national security ‘at risk,’ the Biden administration has refused to call on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring any of the nominations to the floor for a vote individually — something Tuberville cannot prevent — telling Fox News Digital that such a move would set a bad precedent for future administrations.

‘Woke bureaucratic Secretaries are quick to throw baseless accusations [at Tuberville] simply for fighting for the right to life. They’ve completely deviated from their department missions to focus on social justice nonsense,’ Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Biggs was responding to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro accusing Tuberville of ‘aiding and abetting’ communists with his holds.

Del Toro’s ‘remarks are totally inappropriate,’ Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ‘can solve this immediately by rescinding DoD’s abortion travel policy. And nothing is stopping [Schumer] from bringing these officers to the floor today but his own political agenda.’

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called Del Toro’s remarks ‘rich,’ arguing Del Toro was ‘aiding & abetting the destruction of our military with woke social engineering in an administration aiding & abetting terrorists & cartels through open borders.’ 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote that ‘politicians’ running the Pentagon could expedite the confirmations of Biden’s nominees by ‘abandoning their months-long effort to flout federal law, as they have done by using U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism.

‘In slandering one of the most courageous men in Washington, Secretary Del Toro has debased himself and the Department of Defense.’

‘The Democrats and DoD could call for an individual vote on any of these nominations, but they have chosen not to because they don’t want to discuss the policy. Giving free annual leave — all expenses paid — for an abortion but not for the death of a family member is one of many examples of how the military has been politicized,’ Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox.

Blackburn was joined by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who told Fox, ‘Let’s be clear— Senator Schumer is the only Senator with the power to schedule votes, yet he refuses to bring a single military promotion or nomination to the floor. Instead, Senate Democrats are in lock-step defending the Biden Administration’s radical policy to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on facilitating elective abortions up to the moment of birth.’

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins also echoed that sentiment, writing that Schumer and his fellow Democrats were ‘refusing’ to hold a vote on any nominations because they were ‘promoting abortion over the military.’

‘Floor votes could be held on military nominations; they are choosing not to,’ he added.

Tuberville has also received the backing of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank whose leaders also took to X to defend the senator from the Biden administration’s onslaught.

‘The Senate worked from 3 p.m. on Tuesday to 2 p.m. on Thursday. But no time to debate or vote on our highest-ranking military officials! In [Schumer’s] words, they simply can’t be ‘burdened’ with that,’ Heritage’s Cody Sargent, a former spokesperson for Tuberville, wrote.

Ryan Walker, the group’s acting executive director and vice president of government relations called Del Toro’s statement ‘unconscionable,’ and argued the secretary ‘swore an oath to defend the Constitution, the very document that gives [Tuberville] the authority to address grievances.’ 

He then accused the Biden administration of ‘prioritizing abortion over defense.’

Schumer’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on why there has not been urgency to bring individual military nominations to a vote in the Senate considering the threat the administration claims Tuberville’s holds pose.

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating alleged misconduct by a prosecutor on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team, accusing the office of engaging in ‘abusive tactics.’

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Thursday sent a letter to Smith notifying him that the panel has launched an investigation into DOJ prosecutor Jay Bratt— a senior prosecutor in the special counsel’s office.

Jordan said Bratt allegedly improperly pressured a lawyer—Stephen Woodward— representing Trump valet and aide Waltine Nauta on charges stemming from the special counsel’s investigation of former President Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Nauta pleaded not guilty to the charges.

‘The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing its oversight of the Biden Justice Department’s commitment to impartial justice and its handling of a special counsel investigation against President Biden’s chief opponent in the upcoming presidential election,’ Jordan wrote. ‘Last year, Jay Bratt—one of your senior prosecutors and top aides—allegedly improperly pressured Stanley Woodward, a lawyer representing a defendant indicted by you, by implying that the Administration would look more favorably on Mr. Woodward’s candidacy for a judgeship if Mr. Woodward’s client cooperated with the Office of the Special Counsel.’

‘This attempt to inappropriately coerce Mr. Woodward raises serious concerns about the abusive tactics of the Office of the Special Counsel and the Department’s commitment to its mission to uphold the rule of law and ensure impartial justice,’ Jordan added.

Jordan said that Bratt’s alleged ‘attempt to bully Mr. Nauta in cooperating, first by extorting his attorney and then by alleging a conflict of interest that precludes his attorney from the case, seriously calls into question your team and your ability to remain impartial and uphold the Department’s mission.’

Jordan demanded Smith turn over all records of communication referring to any meetings with Woodward at the Justice Department and communications with Woodward and the Justice Department.

Jordan demanded Smith provide the requested material to the House Judiciary Committee by Sept. 21 at 5:00 p.m.

Jordan and his committee are conducting an oversight probe into Smith’s office.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Smith was appointed as special counsel in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump’s alleged improper handling of classified records.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

On July 27, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

Smith was also investigating whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted out of Smith’s Jan. 6 probe. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

That trial is set to begin on March 4, 2024, the day before the Super Tuesday primaries. 

A federal judge has dealt another serious setback to the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota, dismissing the company’s lawsuit that sought to regain the critical mineral rights leases that the Biden administration cancelled.

The ruling Wednesday was the latest blow to the stalled $1.7 billion project, which has faced stiff opposition from environmental and tourism groups that say it would pose an unacceptable threat to the pristine wilderness along the U.S-Canadian border.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., ruled that the lawsuit failed to meet the legal requirements to proceed, essentially saying the court didn’t have jurisdiction to overrule a series of federal agency decisions against the company.

Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the Chilean mining company Antofagasta, said in a statement that it was ‘disappointed’ by the decision and was ‘working to determine next steps.’ Company spokeswoman Kathy Graul said in an email Thursday that she was not able to say what those next steps might be or whether they would include appeals to higher courts.

Groups that have been fighting the project for years hailed the ruling as a huge victory.

‘Twin Metals was making a Hail Mary pass in its hope to get around the law and facts. The court saw through this and in its decision to toss out the case, affirmed science, affirmed the law, and protected some of the cleanest water in the country,’ Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, said in a statement.

The Obama administration declined to renew Twin Metals’ mineral rights leases in its final weeks in office in 2016, citing the threat of acid mine drainage to the Boundary Waters, the country’s most-visited federally designated wilderness area. The Trump administration reinstated those leases in 2019 as part of its push to lessen U.S. dependence on imported metals.

But the Biden administration took up where the Obama administration left off, canceling the leases last year and and imposing a 20-year moratorium on mining in an area of the Superior National Forest upstream from the wilderness that includes the Twin Metals underground mine site near Ely, a community of about 3,000 people. The state of Minnesota then ended its environmental review of the project. Twin Metals sued the federal government last summer to try to undo its decisions.

Peter Marshall, a spokesman for Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, suggested that Twin Metals, instead of pursuing the project further, should turn to the Court of Federal Claims to seek compensation for the more than $550 million it has invested.

‘We are one step closer to permanent protection for the Boundary Waters watershed,’ Ingrid Lyons, executive director of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement.

Groups that back Twin Metals said in statements Thursday that the court decision and the Biden administration’s actions against Twin Metals conflict with a Department of Energy announcement on Wednesday. The department said it was investing $150 million to promote domestic production of critical minerals, including copper, nickel and other metals that Twin Metals wants to mine, that are needed for the transition to cleaner energy.

‘You cannot combat the climate crisis through green energy technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels or windmills without the minerals that are located in northeast Minnesota,’ the Jobs for Minnesotans business-labor coalition said in a statement. ‘We as a country cannot continue to shut out an industry in one breath and then expect to have the ability to make this critical clean energy transition in another.’

The Twin Metals project is separate from two other proposed copper and nickel mines in northeastern Minnesota. The NewRange mine near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes, formerly known as PolyMet, has been stalled by court and regulatory setbacks for several years. The Talon Metals project near Tamarack is at the very early stages of its environmental review.

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