Congressional Republicans are claiming vindication after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax-related charges on Thursday — and warning President Biden not to pardon his son.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital that he believes the plea ‘absolutely’ affirms the accusations and findings GOP lawmakers have levied against the first family since before President Biden took office.

‘It’s also vindication for the whistleblowers,’ he added, accusing Hunter’s defenders of trying to ‘wreck their careers.’

Davidson said of Biden potentially pardoning his son, ‘I think it would be an abuse of that power for the president to do that, but I think a lot of people will be surprised if Joe Biden doesn’t.’

The White House has said multiple times that the president will not pardon his son, but that has not stopped Republican-led skepticism from pouring in.

It comes after a bombshell House GOP report, which the White House has pushed back on, that accused the president of committing ‘impeachable offenses’ by allegedly helping enrich himself and his family through foreign deals.

Meanwhile, House Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., whose committee is one of three that was investigating Biden via impeachment inquiry, similarly said the guilty plea upheld the testimony of whistleblowers who came to his panel.

‘Hunter Biden’s decision to plead guilty once again affirms the integrity of the IRS whistleblowers who recommended these exact charges over two years ago before being stonewalled by the Biden-Harris Justice Department. Had Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley not come forward, putting their reputations and careers at great risk in the process, Hunter Biden would have received a sweetheart plea deal for merely two misdemeanors,’ Smith told Fox News Digital.

Smith added as a veiled warning, ‘It remains to be seen whether President Biden will abuse the power of his office to ensure his son avoids the consequences of his felony tax crimes.’

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who also co-led the probe, said, ‘Hunter Biden is finally admitting the obvious: he didn’t pay taxes on income he received by selling access to his father, Joe Biden.’

A member of that committee, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, ‘We also can’t let Hunter Biden’s plea deal distract from the fact that he was the bag man in the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme that saw them amass some $27 million by selling political access to ‘the big guy,’ Joe Biden.’

‘For more than a decade, Hunter and his associates enriched themselves at the expense of the American people. By all means, Hunter needs to be held to account, but this is by no means the end when it comes to equal justice under the law,’ Fallon said.

Biden and his allies have consistently pushed back on accusations levied by House Republicans, dismissing them as misrepresentations and political attacks.

But that has not convinced GOP lawmakers like Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who warned Biden not to pardon his son.

‘Hunter Biden’s bait-and-switch stunt is a clear effort to avoid a messy trial that would reveal his father’s role in the family’s corrupt business dealings. Americans will once again witness the Bidens’ corruption go unpunished as President Biden will likely pardon his son on his way out of the Oval Office,’ Biggs said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday that ‘no,’ Hunter Biden would not get a presidential pardon from his father, hours before he entered his guilty plea.

Biden himself said in June that he would ‘abide by the jury’s decision’ when asked if he would pardon his son.

Senator Chuck Grassley released FBI records on Thursday showing that Iranian-backed plotters sought to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other prominent American political figures in relation to the killing of Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force, part Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC).

The records, provided to Grassley through legally protected whistle blower disclosures, reveal that Iran potentially targeted ‘politicians, military people or bureaucrats’ including President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former candidate Nikki Haley.

‘Bad actors are determined to wreak havoc on our country, and American political leaders across both parties are sitting squarely in the crosshairs,’ said Senator Grassley in a statement. ‘In this extraordinarily heightened threat environment, federal agencies ought to be laser focused on building up public trust and reassuring the American people of their efforts to carry out their protective missions.’

‘I won’t stop pressing for answers until Congress and the American people are afforded the transparency they deserve,’ Grassley concluded.

A native of Pakistan with ties to Iran, Asif Merchant, has been charged for his involvement in the assassination plot. Merchant provided evidence to the FBI in a proffer agreement.

According to the FBI records, Merchant believed he was in for a kill-for-hire scheme that would offer him a cut of $50,000 for successful completion. In his interrogation, Merchant provided options for shooting former President Trump at both indoor and outdoor speaking engagements.

Merchant further expressed that he could hit a target up close or from further away, that a pistol would be best for indoors, but a rifle was necessary otherwise. He believed he had about a 50% chance of success, according to the FBI records.

Asif Merchant communicated with Iran via English language notes smuggled in packages for different extended family members.

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan will not hold the trial for former President Trump on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation until after the 2024 presidential election. 

Chutkan held a status hearing Thursday morning in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in which lawyers for Trump pleaded not guilty on his behalf related to charges from Smith’s new indictment after the Supreme Court ruled a president is immune from prosecution for official acts in office.

In an order Thursday afternoon, Chutkan set deadlines for replies and paperwork from federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team for Nov. 7 — after Election Day. 

Trump did not appear in court Thursday. His lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf. Smith was in court Thursday morning. 

The case pertains to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Last week, the former president was indicted and issued revised criminal charges by Smith, who alleges Trump pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes, in addition to mounting fake electors in key states that went to President Biden and to attest to Trump’s electoral victory.

The new indictment keeps the prior criminal charges but narrows and reframes the allegations against the Republican presidential nominee after a Supreme Court ruling that conferred broad immunity on former presidents.

Specifically, the indictment has been changed to remove allegations involving Department of Justice officials and other government officials. It clarifies Trump’s role as a candidate and makes clear the allegations regarding his conversations with then-Vice President Pence in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate.

The new indictment removes a section of the previous indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the Justice Department to undo his 2020 loss. The Supreme Court recently ruled in a 6-3 decision that Trump was immune from prosecution for official White House acts.

Trump has been charged with 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. Those charges, to which Trump pleaded not guilty, remain. 

Smith alleges Trump participated in an effort to enlist slates of fake electors in key states won by Biden to attest that Trump had in fact won and that Trump pressured Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes.

The special counsel’s office said the updated indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., was issued by a grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. The new grand jury has only heard this new information.

Sources familiar with the matter tell Fox News that discussions surrounding the superseding indictment will likely not speed things up, and it is unlikely it will go to trial before the November election. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Congressional Republicans are claiming vindication after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax-related charges on Thursday — and warning President Biden not to pardon his son.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital that he believes the plea ‘absolutely’ affirms the accusations and findings GOP lawmakers have levied against the first family since before President Biden took office.

‘It’s also vindication for the whistleblowers,’ he added, accusing Hunter’s defenders of trying to ‘wreck their careers.’

Davidson said of Biden potentially pardoning his son, ‘I think it would be an abuse of that power for the president to do that, but I think a lot of people will be surprised if Joe Biden doesn’t.’

The White House has said multiple times that the president will not pardon his son, but that has not stopped Republican-led skepticism from pouring in.

It comes after a bombshell House GOP report, which the White House has pushed back on, that accused the president of committing ‘impeachable offenses’ by allegedly helping enrich himself and his family through foreign deals.

Meanwhile, House Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., whose committee is one of three that was investigating Biden via impeachment inquiry, similarly said the guilty plea upheld the testimony of whistleblowers who came to his panel.

‘Hunter Biden’s decision to plead guilty once again affirms the integrity of the IRS whistleblowers who recommended these exact charges over two years ago before being stonewalled by the Biden-Harris Justice Department. Had Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley not come forward, putting their reputations and careers at great risk in the process, Hunter Biden would have received a sweetheart plea deal for merely two misdemeanors,’ Smith told Fox News Digital.

Smith added as a veiled warning, ‘It remains to be seen whether President Biden will abuse the power of his office to ensure his son avoids the consequences of his felony tax crimes.’

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who also co-led the probe, said, ‘Hunter Biden is finally admitting the obvious: he didn’t pay taxes on income he received by selling access to his father, Joe Biden.’

A member of that committee, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, ‘We also can’t let Hunter Biden’s plea deal distract from the fact that he was the bag man in the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme that saw them amass some $27 million by selling political access to ‘the big guy,’ Joe Biden.’

‘For more than a decade, Hunter and his associates enriched themselves at the expense of the American people. By all means, Hunter needs to be held to account, but this is by no means the end when it comes to equal justice under the law,’ Fallon said.

Biden and his allies have consistently pushed back on accusations levied by House Republicans, dismissing them as misrepresentations and political attacks.

But that has not convinced GOP lawmakers like Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who warned Biden not to pardon his son.

‘Hunter Biden’s bait-and-switch stunt is a clear effort to avoid a messy trial that would reveal his father’s role in the family’s corrupt business dealings. Americans will once again witness the Bidens’ corruption go unpunished as President Biden will likely pardon his son on his way out of the Oval Office,’ Biggs said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday that ‘no,’ Hunter Biden would not get a presidential pardon from his father, hours before he entered his guilty plea.

Biden himself said in June that he would ‘abide by the jury’s decision’ when asked if he would pardon his son.

Some House Republicans are already privately worrying about how a partial government shutdown would affect their electoral chances in November.

‘If we shut down, we lose,’ one lawmaker told Fox News Digital.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled his plan to avoid a partial shutdown in a private call with House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday morning, four sources told Fox News Digital.

It involves a six-month extension of fiscal 2024’s federal funding levels known as a ‘continuing resolution’ (CR) – to buy House and Senate negotiators more time to hash out next year’s spending priorities – and would be linked to a bill adding a proof of citizenship requirement to the voter registration process.

But with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the White House publicly opposing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, it’s highly likely Johnson’s plan would be dead on arrival if it passed the House.

‘My problem isn’t with the policy, which I support. My problem isn’t with the messaging, which I think is strong. My problem is that I just don’t think Chuck Schumer is going to agree to it,’ a second House Republican said of their concerns about the plan.

If the Senate and House don’t agree on a way forward by Oct. 1, the country could be wracked by a partial government shutdown roughly a month before Election Day.

Past government shutdowns like those seen under the Obama and Trump administrations in 2013 and 2019, respectively, have traditionally seen Americans blame the GOP. 

‘In general, the voters seem to have a strong bias for blaming Republicans for shutdowns, which is understandable,’ the second Republican continued.

‘We often have the more combative rhetoric leading up to a shutdown. We often are the ones who are most quick to claim that a shutdown isn’t a real problem. And so I think we kind of telegraph to voters that we’re OK with that. I think that makes it a little easier for the Democrats to try to stick us with [it].’

They added at the end of their explanation, ‘But it takes two to tango, and I don’t think what we’re asking for is too much.’

Meanwhile, two sources familiar with the Tuesday House GOP call said questions were raised about what Johnson’s next step would be if the Senate sent back a ‘clean’ CR with no attachments, and concerns were aired about how a possible shutdown would affect vulnerable Republicans.

‘The Republicans have the majority today because we won seats in California and [other blue states]. Those seem to be members who’d be most disadvantaged by a shutdown in the four weeks before an election,’ the second GOP lawmaker said.

Veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye said a possible shutdown could have less of an impact given it’s a presidential election year, but he conceded ‘that’s a real risk to take.’

‘Republicans usually get blamed for shutdowns, and that could play into Harris’ ‘Trump-as-chaos’ argument,’ Heye said.

He added, however, ‘that’s not a bet I’d make. Especially when the speaker has offered a path to avoid this.’

Other Republicans dismissed fears of political blowback in the event of a government shutdown.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is not committed or opposed to Johnson’s plan, told Fox News Digital this week, ‘The legacy media makes these shutdowns worse than they are. … Nobody loses their house, nobody loses a dime. They all get made whole.’

A partial government shutdown would see some non-emergency federal services halted and potentially thousands of government employees furloughed.

Any federal payments paused during a shutdown are retroactively made to their recipients, however. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the architects of the SAVE Act, would not say whether he’d want a shutdown if the Johnson plan failed to pass.

‘I’m not going to play the shutdown game … the press wants to make it about a shutdown. Democrats want to make this about a shutdown,’ Roy said. ‘We’re offering to fund the government – all manners of sin, by the way, in that government…we’re willing to do that, but these guys need to make sure our elections are secure.’

‘If [Democrats] want to shut the government down, that’s on them.’

Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day – but if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting may start as soon as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month, making September and October less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with six more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting deadlines is for guidance only. In some areas, early voting may begin before the dates listed. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots are expected to be in North Carolina, which had planned to begin mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Six more battleground states begin early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

September deadlines

Subject to change. In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

• North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

• Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

• Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

• Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

• Virginia – In-person early voting begins
• Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
• Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent
• Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 21

• Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent
• Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent
• Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 23

• Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
• Oregon – Absentee ballots sent
• Vermont – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 26

• Illinois – In-person early voting begins & mail-in ballots sent
• Michigan – Absentee ballots sent
• Florida – Mail-in ballots sent
• North Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent
• Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent to voters outside the state

Sept. 30

• Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

October deadlines

Oct. 4

• Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

• Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 7

• California – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
• Nebraska – In-person early voting begins 
• Georgia – Absentee ballots sent
• Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent
• Montana – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 8

• California – Ballot drop-offs open
• New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
• Indiana – In-person early voting begins
• Wyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

• Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

• Colorado – Mail-in ballots sent
• Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

• Georgia – In-person early voting begins
• Utah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

• Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
• Iowa – In-person absentee voting begins
• Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

• North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

• Louisiana – In-person early voting begins
• Washington – Mail-in ballots sent
• Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

• Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 21

• Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins 
• Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

• Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins 
• Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

• West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

• Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

• Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

• Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 30

• Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

• Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins

Vice President Kamala Harris raked in a staggering $361 million in fundraising in August, her campaign announced on Friday morning, in what it touted was ‘the largest haul of the 2024 cycle.’

The fundraising by the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee was nearly triple the $130 million that the Donald Trump campaign announced on Wednesday that the former president brought in last month.

Harris has enjoyed a fundraising surge in the nearly seven weeks since she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket.

The vice president’s campaign highlighted that Harris has brought in over $615 million in fundraising since July 21, when Biden, in a blockbuster announcement, ended his re-election campaign and endorsed his running mate.

The Harris campaign also touted August’s haul was ‘the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history.’

The vice president’s team also showcased what it called ‘a massive war chest,’ reporting $404 million cash-on-hand as of the end of last month. That’s over $100 million more than the $295 million the Trump campaign said it had in its coffers.

Harris’ August haul was up from the $310 million the Democratic ticket brought in during July, while Trump’s fundraising last month was slightly down from the $138.7 it raised in July.

‘In just a short time, Vice President Harris’ candidacy has galvanized a history-making, broad, and diverse coalition – with the type of enthusiasm, energy, and grit that wins close elections,’ Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.’As we enter the final stretch of this election, we’re making sure every hard-earned dollar goes to winning over the voters who will decide this election.’

The former president’s team on Wednesday, in a statement revealing its fundraising figures, said that it’s cash-on-hand ensured that it had ‘the resources needed to propel President Trump’s campaign to victory.’

The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee enjoyed a fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC by $331 million to $264 million during the April-June second quarter of 2024 fundraising.

Biden enjoyed a brief fundraising surge after his disastrous performance in his late June debate with Trump, as donors briefly shelled out big bucks in a sign of support for the 81-year-old president.

But Biden’s halting and shaky debate delivery also instantly fueled questions about his physical and mental abilities to serve another four years in the White House – and spurred a rising chorus of calls from within his own party for the president to end his bid for a second term. The brief surge in fundraising didn’t last and, by early July, began to significantly slow down. 

Fundraising, along with polling, is a key metric in campaign politics and a measure of a candidate’s popularity and their campaign’s strength. The money raised can be used – among other things – to hire staff, expand grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts, pay to produce and run ads on TV, radio, digital and mailers, and for candidate travel.