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Joe and Hunter Biden go Black Friday shopping as Republicans prepare investigations into business deals

Source image: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/joe-hunter-biden-black-friday-shopping-republicans-prepare-investigations-into-business-deals

President Joe Biden and his son Hunter went shopping the day after Thanksgiving together, despite ongoing criticisms that the two have engaged in suspicious business deals with Chinese officials, a Ukrainian firm, and others.

The elder Biden, 80, and Hunter, 52, spent Friday on Nantucket, an island off of mainland Massachusetts, where they visited several shops. According to the New York Post, the president later had lunch without his son at Brotherhood of Thieves, a bar and grill located on Broad St.

First lady Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley Biden, Hunter Biden’s wife Melissa Cohen and Biden’s grandson Beau joined along. The family later visited Craftmasters of Nantucket and a Christmas tree lighting festival that same evening.

The casual outing likely does little to assuage Republicans who claim the two have conspired in pay-to-play business dealings that allegedly traded access to the White House in exchange for enormous personal wealth to the Biden family.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ALLEGE BIDEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH SON HUNTER BIDEN

The Bidens have denied any wrongdoing and the president has gone as far as to deny coordinating business deals with his son.

The FBI is already investigating Hunter Biden over alleged money laundering and potentially illegal foreign lobbying.

Republicans have promised to launch their own investigation of the Bidens’ business relationship when they retake a majority in the House of Representatives — and the power of investigative authority — next year.

As recent as this week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called President Biden “the Godfather” of the Biden business empire and called on Republicans to pursue him, not just Hunter.

“It’s not about the poor schlub who got caught. It’s about the boss,” Cruz said on an episode of his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”

CRUZ SAYS REPUBLICANS SHOULD FOCUS ON PRESIDENT BIDEN, NOT HUNTER: ‘JOE BIDEN IS THE GODFATHER’

He added: “It’s about the big guy. It’s about the Godfather, Joe Biden is the Godfather. He is the one who ultimately is profiting on this corruption,” Cruz said. “He is the one who is abusing official authority to further the criminal activity of his family members. And that’s why this is an issue of public corruption.”

As for any Republican investigation, Cruz advised: “The focus needs to be on Joe Biden, this is not about Hunter Biden.”

US President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and the Presidents daughter, Ashley Biden, leave Nantucket Bookworks after having lunch in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022.

US President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and the Presidents daughter, Ashley Biden, leave Nantucket Bookworks after having lunch in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022.
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“And now when he’s President of the United States, personally enriching himself enriching his family by selling official favors to enemies, hostile foreign governments — that is an issue of highest importance,” the Texas Republican claimed.

A senior House Republican has said similar.

At a press conference last week, Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, said the House oversight committee that he will helm in January 2023 will subpoena testimony and evidence to “evaluate whether this president is compromised or swayed by foreign dollars.”

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATIONS: REPUBLICANS WELCOME PROBES INTO PRESIDENT’S SON, DEMS DECRY ‘MISUSE OF POWER’

Comer specifically called his eventual investigation “an investigation of Joe Biden.”

US President Joe Biden watches a Christmas tree lighting ceremony with (R-L) First Lady Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden, grandson Beau, and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022.

US President Joe Biden watches a Christmas tree lighting ceremony with (R-L) First Lady Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden, grandson Beau, and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022.
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

After Republicans drummed up concern over Hunter Biden’s laptop earlier this week, the White House accused them of launching “politically motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories.”

“Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans’ top priority is to go after President Biden with politically motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories,” Ian Sams, a White House Counsel’s office spokesman, said Thursday.

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He added: “President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans’ priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge.”

Democrats currently control a majority in the House and have chosen not to investigate the alleged wrongdoing. They do, however, continue to investigate former President Donald Trump.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/joe-hunter-biden-black-friday-shopping-republicans-prepare-investigations-into-business-deals

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Dianne Feinstein described by WaPo, NYT, AP as ‘centrist’ Dem despite progressive voting record

The liberal media are portraying the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein as a “centrist Democrat” despite her progressive voting record. 

Feinstein, who died Thursday night at age 90, is being widely remembered as a trailblazer for women in the Congress. 

According to FiveThirtyEight’s congressional voting tracker last updated at the conclusion of the 116th Congress in January, Feinstein’s record was “100%” aligned with President Biden

However, obituaries published by several news organizations are raising eyebrows for how they describe her politics. 

CNN DECLARES MCCARTHY PUSHED ‘UNPROVEN CLAIMS’ ON BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, QUIETLY ADMITS THEY WERE ‘TRUE’

Senator Dianne Feinstein obituary photo

Senator Dianne Feinstein has died at age 90.  (Fox News)

The Washington Post ran the headline “Dianne Feinstein, centrist stalwart of the Senate, dies at 90” while also calling her a “centrist Democrat” on social media. 

In the obituary, The Post declared she was “centrist from the start,” citing the fact that “for a time, Mrs. Feinstein owned a handgun” and quoting her biographer who once said how early in her career she “started talking about how the center is so important.” The Post then quickly pivoted to her work pushing the federal assault weapons ban in the 1990s. 

The New York Times similarly reported that Feinstein “called herself a political centrist” but went even further by saying she “often embraced conservative ideas.”

BRUTAL WAPO COLUMN URGING BIDEN TO BOW OUT OF 2024 BECOMES LATEST IN LIBERAL MEDIA PILE-ON OF EMBATTLED POTUS

Washington Post Feinstein headline

The Washington Post declared Feinstein the “centrist stalwart of the Senate” in its obituary of the Democrat lawmaker.  (Fox News Digital)

NBC News wrote about Feinstein, “A centrist Democrat, she was known for trying to find common ground with Republicans, sometimes drawing criticism from her party’s liberal members.”

The Daily Beast alleged Feinstein was “steeped in centrist policies no longer fit the times,” citing her “warm embrace” of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during the contentious 2020 Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett as an example. 

The Associated Press tried to have it both ways, calling her a “centrist Democrat” who was a “passionate advocate for liberal priorities.” The AP’s report was aggregated by several news outlets including PBS NewsHour. 

BIDEN’S FICTIONAL TALES FACT-CHECKED BY WAPO, NY TIMES BUT OUTLETS STOPPED SHORT OF DECLARING THEM ‘LIES

The Los Angeles Times said she “was a centrist who leaned left.”

“She often irked Democratic constituencies. Her party moved sharply to the left on immigration over her time in the Senate, but Feinstein maintained more centrist positions,” the California paper wrote. “She favored stiffer security at the border, punishment for those who illegally employed migrants, and penalties for the so-called coyotes who smuggled them into the United States.”

Dianne Feinstein 1992

Dianne Feinstein the Mayor of San Francisco at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 running for Senate. (Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Politico cited a 2015 profile of Feinstein from The New Yorker in its obituary, quoting, “Feinstein is sometimes described as a centrist, but it is because her views are varied, not because they are mild; she thinks of herself, more accurately, as a pragmatist.”

Other outlets suggested there was a debate over Feinstein’s politics among critics. ABC News wrote, “Her independence was often seen in more recent years as too moderate compared to other Democrats, especially as a representative of one of the country’s most reliably blue states,” despite her 100% voting record with Biden. 

Deadline Hollywood called her a “moderate Democrat” in its report but wrote on social media she was “considered by some to be a centrist Democrat and to the Right a far-left advocate.”

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House Republicans to vote on ‘clean’ stopgap funding bill despite conservative outrage

The House of Representatives will vote Saturday on a short-term spending bill aimed at avoiding a government shutdown.

The funding patch would last for 45 days past the end of the fiscal year, which concludes at midnight Sunday, Oct. 1. The bill would also include $16 billion for U.S. disaster relief aid that President Biden requested over the summer, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Saturday. 

The bill would also be a “clean” extension of the current year’s funding priorities, which were set by the Democrat-held Congress last year.

It comes after House Republicans tried and failed to pass a stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), filled with conservative policy items like border security and spending cuts.

The bill is being expedited past normal processes, and will need two-thirds of the House for approval — meaning Democrats will have to vote in favor of the plan for it to pass.

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO A POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters just after the Republican majority in the House narrowly passed a sweeping debt ceiling package as they try to push President Joe Biden into negotiations on federal spending, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2023.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“We need more time to get the job done,” McCarthy told reporters ahead of the vote. McCarthy said he did not want to “punish” military service members or border agents for the House’s failure to pass a budget that ends wasteful spending and addresses border security.

“The House is going to act so government will not shut down. We will put a clean funding stopgap on the floor to keep government open for 45 days for the House and Senate to get their work done,” McCarthy also said. “We will also, knowing what had transpired through the summer, the disasters in Florida, the horrendous fire in Hawaii, and also disasters in California and Vermont, we will put the supplemental portion that the president asked for in disaster there too.”

Republicans’ previous CR proposals did not get any Democratic support, and failed after enough GOP hardliners opposed them. Holdouts argued that a CR on principle is an extension of the previous Democratically-held Congress’ priorities, and is the antithesis of the House GOP majority’s promise to pass 12 individual spending bills laying out conservative priorities in the next fiscal year.

The Democratic leaders

Top Democrats huddled for an emergency meeting after the CR was proposed (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

But the majority of lawmakers on both sides have acknowledged that some kind of stopgap is needed to give them more time to cobble those deals together. The current fiscal year ends at midnight tonight, meaning that if no agreement is passed by the House and Senate, thousands of government employees will be furloughed and “nonessential” federal programs will grind to a halt.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WOULD ‘UNDERMINE’ BIDEN ADMIN’S ECONOMIC ‘PROGRESS’: YELLEN

And despite Democrats clamoring for a “clean” CR, it’s not immediately clear if they will support the bill being put forward by the GOP now. 

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital that he believes Democrats will vote against the CR to hold out for the Senate’s proposal, which also includes funding for Ukraine aid – something a large share of House Republicans oppose.

U.S. President Joe Biden

The GOP proposal includes President Biden’s call for disaster relief aid. (Photographer: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I think this may fail because Democrats in the House want a Senate CR,” Barr said. “So what could happen is a pretty low vote number on this…you’ll have Democrats who are voting to shut the government down. And that’s what you’re gonna see. Democrats want to politicize this, and they’re gonna vote to shut the government down.”

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would not say where he would fall when speaking to reporters before the vote but complained about Republicans having “dropped this on us in the 11th hour.”

House Republicans “lied every single step of the way,” Jeffries said.

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Ramaswamy, Burgum reject Gingrich’s claim that ‘the race is over,’ Trump will be GOP nominee

GOP presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum rejected claims from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that “the race is over” and former President Donald Trump is the definitive 2024 Republican nominee at this time.

On “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday, Gingrich said Trump will absolutely be the nominee, and that the lower-tier candidates must ask themselves if they want to get behind him or watch President Biden get re-elected.

“There’s no middle ground here, I don’t think, because you’re either going to get Trump as president or are you going to Biden. And Biden’s re-election would be a disaster for the country,” Gingrich said.

Burgum, polling last among the candidates who qualified for the second GOP primary debate Wednesday on FOX Business, said he has long been told the things he seeks cannot be achieved.

BIDEN’S UAW STRIKE PICKETING BLASTED AS SELF-DEFEATING

He said he was written off as a gubernatorial candidate in the previous North Dakota Republican primary by double digits, but has since found himself in the top job in Bismarck.

Burgum underlined that he was a strong supporter of Trump’s in his past two electoral runs, but that he has since been outpolling the former president in the Flickertail State’s GOP primary.

“I appreciate Newt’s comments, but listen, I’ve spent my whole life having people tell me what I can’t be and can’t accomplish. So I’d say get in line with everybody else,” Burgum said.

“They said you can’t build a global tech company in North Dakota: We built one with 2000 people. We built a $1 billion company. We did it with kids from small town, and we ended up with customers in 132 around the world.”

Burgun noted how in 2016, he trailed then-North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in major primary polls but ended up pulling off an upset, then winning the general election and being re-elected again in 2020.

“I’ve said all along, I’m going to be voting for the Republican. I’m running against Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s policies on the economy, energy, national security, 180 degrees in the wrong direction. And then I’ve got again, I’ve got more business experience than the rest of the candidates on stage last night,” he added.

NO FOX BUSINESS DEBATE CANDIDATE SUCCESSFULLY BURIED BIDENOMICS: KUDLOW

Burgum said a top issue for him is American energy independence, claiming North Dakota has more production potential than many OPEC nations the U.S. currently buys oil from and adding China’s IP theft and influence threats are another major concern.

Ramaswamy also disagreed with the contention Trump’s nomination is a lock. He argued Wednesday’s debate was somewhat proof the field needs to be pared down, but that he has taken a different tact toward Trump than his opponets.

While former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent much of the night antagonizing Trump, dubbing him “Donald Duck” for ducking the debate, Ramaswamy said he personally believes the mogul has been the best president in the 21st century.

“Everybody else is making their case versus Trump by bashing him and Monday morning quarterbacking some decision he made. My view is different,” he said.

“I acknowledge he was the greatest president of the 21st century so far, but I have something that he doesn’t, Laura. And it’s really simple. I’m young. I have fresh legs. I’m able to reach the next generation in a way that Trump cannot. That’s undeniable – And that’s how we’re going to take the America First movement to the next level.”

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Ramaswamy said that no matter who wins the GOP primary, the winning message belongs to America First movement championed by Trump, himself and others.

“My whole point is I’m an America first conservative, not a Trump first conservative, and not of a big first conservative. And so I’m the one person in this race. I’m not tearing anybody else down,” he added.

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