Progressive ‘Squad’ Democrats are furious that their leaders have agreed to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

‘Absolutely,’ Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday when asked if she was disappointed that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed to sign onto the invitation.

‘We should not be creating a platform and welcoming an accused war criminal,’ Pressley said.

Netanyahu accepted the bipartisan invitation late last week, declaring in a statement that he was ‘very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.’ There’s no set date yet.

It’s spurred pushback from the left, where a growing number of Democrats have voiced criticism for Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel. The controversy took on new significance last month when the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced he would seek arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas officials, Netanyahu included.

‘Instead of coming here, we need Netanyahu to stop bombing indiscriminately in Gaza and for him to respect the president’s red line of not having continued military operations in Rafah,’ Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital. ‘I don’t think it’s a good time for him to be coming.’

Asked if he planned to attend the speech, Casar said, ‘I don’t plan to attend, and I will plan to participate in whatever advocacy is being done to push for Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire.’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters earlier this week that Netanyahu’s appearance would not be ‘productive’ after he accepted his invitation.

‘Not only is there very little purpose to it, but I think it is patently unproductive. I think it’s counterproductive right now for him to address Congress, particularly as we continue to try to nail down details on the cease-fire,’ Ocasio-Cortez said Monday night. ‘I certainly do not approve of it, potentially may not attend.’

Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., would not speak to Fox News Digital about the matter.

‘I’m not going to comment, thank you,’ Omar responded when asked about Netanyahu’s coming address. Bush told Fox News Digital she had to attend a meeting and could not stop to respond to questions.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ and Schumer’s offices for comment. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had been publicly pressuring Schumer for weeks to sign onto an invitation for Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, an honor reserved for the heads of state of the U.S.’s staunchest allies. He told reporters in late May that he was prepared to invite Netanyahu to address the House alone if Schumer did not join his effort. 

Meanwhile, the issue of Israel’s war in Gaza has brought long-simmering fractures between the progressive and the establishment left to the surface. 

Far-left lawmakers have been critical of President Biden for not taking a firmer stance on Gaza, with some, like Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., warning it could cost him the 2024 presidential election. 

On Tuesday, a vote to levy sanctions on the ICC if it went after the U.S. or allies like Israel garnered support from 42 Democrats, despite the White House coming out strongly against the idea of sanctions. Democratic leaders up to the president himself have criticized the ICC threat.

A top House Republican lawmaker is so sure that former President Donald Trump’s recent criminal conviction has ensured his reelection that he invited the Manhattan judge who oversaw the trial to his inauguration.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a staunch Trump ally, blasted the Friday guilty verdict against the former president as ‘irresponsible and unethical.’ 

He told Fox News Digital that he had his son, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, hand-deliver a note to New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s bailiff late last month offering a place as his guest to a potential January 2025 Trump inauguration.

‘My view of inviting him to the inauguration is to show my recognition that what Merchan is doing unintentionally is reelecting …Donald Trump,’ Wilson told Fox News Digital. ‘In fact, I’ve got one of my grandson’s, Houston Wilson, ready to be with him and to make sure he has proper seating.’

Wilson pointed out that both Trump and aligned Republican groups have raked in massive campaign donations since a New York City jury ruled the ex-president was guilty on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Eric Trump announced earlier this week that the campaign brought in over $200 million in the first three days following the conviction.

Trump had been on trial for charges linked to accusations that he falsified documents to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

His allies have long criticized the case as political, and have argued the charges would not have been brought if he was not running for reelection in November.

‘It should be concerning to every American, because if you can convict a former President of the United States on such bogus charges…every American of either party is at risk, whether they be a public official or not,’ Wilson said.

‘Why would it come up during an election year? Of course, it’s totally contrived to interfere with the election.’

Wilson said he didn’t know if Merchan would respond to his invitation.

‘And hey, I mean it to indicate to him that what he has done is wrong,’ Wilson said. ‘I would urge him to come to see the response to the American people. I think people will be polite, but they will certainly let him know that his conduct is unethical and corrupt. Totally corrupt.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York City public court system for a response.

One of President Biden’s top former advisers, who has been a business partner of a wealthy Chinese businessman with multiple CCP ties for nearly a decade, appeared in the Delaware courtroom with Hunter Biden’s friends and family on Monday to support him during the jury selection process for his gun trial, Fox News Digital confirmed.

Francis ‘Fran’ Person, who served in the Obama administration as an adviser to the elder Biden and a special assistant to President Obama between 2009 and 2014, was spotted sitting with Hunter Biden’s family and friends, which included First lady Jill Biden, his sister, Ashley Biden, his wife, Melissa, among others.

Person, who was described in a 2014 Politico profile piece as the elder Biden’s ‘confidante’ and ‘like a son to Joe and me,’ according to Jill Biden, has been close friends with Hunter for over a decade and was often his point of contact in the VP office when Hunter was trying to reach his dad. The elder Biden also praised Person in the profile piece highlighting his departure from the White House to South Carolina, saying, ‘People know that he has my ear whenever he wants it.’

Less than six months after Person’s White House departure in the summer of 2014 Person helped launch Harves Global Entertainment, a Washington, D.C.-based affiliate of the China-based Harves Century Group, a multi-billion dollar real estate development firm.

Person, whose sister worked for Hunter Biden’s now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Partners firm before joining Biden’s VP office in 2014, frequently emailed with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, then-president Rosemont Seneca, about business dealings associated with Harves Entertainment and other D.C.-based Harves affiliates in 2015 and 2016. 

He also made multiple visits to the White House during that time, including attending a White House holiday reception in December 2015 with Bo Zhang, his Chinese business partner, according to visitor logs reviewed by Fox News Digital. Person previously told Fox News Digital the White House visits were ‘personal in nature’ and that he was ‘visiting with old colleagues and friends.’

Person first introduced Hunter to the Harves brand in a detailed July 2015 email inviting him to China to meet Zhang and his family, saying, ‘They are a great family with great respect and relationships in China.’ Zhang is the son of ‘Chinese billionaires,’ according to court records pertaining to an ongoing legal dispute between Zhang and a New York City designer, which alleges Zhang has failed to pay the designer over $4 million.

‘I’d like for you to get to know Bo. He’s a brilliant guy – he’s been groomed to take over his family’s dynasty, but he’s very humble. He will do great things one day, but he needs good people around him,’ Person said in the 2015 email. ‘They are very private, and wouldn’t tell anyone about you coming. Bo’s father-in-law is actually the Governor of Hainan (Chinese Hawaii), which he doesn’t advertise at all.’

Liu Cigui, a decades-long member of the CCP who has held several leadership positions over the last 15 or more years, appears to be the father-in-law Person was referring to in the email based on the timeline of the email and his leadership position. According to a recent article from the state-run China Daily media outlet, he is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which has been described as the ‘central part’ of China’s United Front system, which works to ‘co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).’

Another one of Zhang’s CCP ties was revealed in a December 2013 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing with the Justice Department, which listed Zhang as the ‘foreign principal.’ The filing noted his relationship with Chinese government official Liu Guoqiang, who was the vice chairman of the Liaoning Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

‘This isn’t about a partnership, or selling you on anything,’ Person continued in his email to Hunter. ‘We just want to grow that relationship, and there will be plenty of big things that come down the road that we can work on.  

While it does not appear Hunter was able to visit China during the time frame Person mentioned, Hunter and Eric Schwerin met with Zhang several times over the next few years, including at their office. Fox News Digital previously reported on Hunter and Schwerin working with Zhang during Person’s failed House race in South Carolina in 2016.

While Person was running for Congress, Hunter and Zhang stayed in communication. On May 6, 2016, Hunter referred to Zhang as his ‘good friend and business colleague’ in an email, which was previously verified by Fox News Digital, to Henry Zhao, a Chinese Communist Party official and CEO of Harvest Fund Management, according to the New York Post. The Post reported that Zhao’s fund participated in a Chinese investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST, where Hunter served as a founding board member until October 2019. 

The following year, an email from Schwerin to Hunter revealed that Rosemont Seneca Advisors, which Hunter’s LLC, Owasco, has 75% ownership in, held financial interests in multiple Harves affiliates, including a 5% stake with Harves Amusement Parks and ownership in Harves Sports and Entertainment, both of which fall under Harves Group, according to 2017 emails on Hunter’s abandoned laptop.

Fran has repeatedly claimed that neither Hunter nor any of his associates ever owned equity in any Harves entity or affiliate when Fox News Digital previously pressed him on the multiple emails from Schwerin to Hunter contradicting this claim. A Washington Post fact check previously confirmed that Rosemont Seneca Advisors had ‘a 5 percent stake in Harves Amusement Parks and ownership in Harves Sports and Entertainment, both in China.’

In 2017, as Hunter was going through a rocky divorce, Person told Hunter in a WhatsApp message which was released by the House Ways and Means Committee, that he and Zhang ‘want to help’ him with expenses, Fox News Digital previously reported.

‘100K at least gets me until next month,’ Hunter said. ‘I am appreciative of whatever [Bo] was comfortable with but I’m very uncomfortable starting a war revised partnership this way.’

‘I talked to Bo previously about the 37K – he didn’t flinch. I will talk to him about 56K and possibly 100K,’ Person said, according to messages previously reviewed by Fox News Digital. ‘It really depends on his liquid assets in the US…I will ask. His only problem is getting large sums out of China (especially right now).’

The next day, Hunter asked Person if he knew whether anything was wired or if they were in a ‘holding pattern,’ prompting Person to respond, ‘No holding pattern…he was on his way to the bank this morning. He will be in touch when it’s confirmed.’ Fox News Digital could not confirm how much money Zhang wired Hunter or if the wire went through at all.

‘He will help you with what you need. He also mentioned that you should take a trip to China some time this month to just get away for a week or so…just decompress,’ Person added. An email in late August 2017 shows that Hunter was scheduled to fly first class to Hong Kong, but it is unclear whether that was related to visiting with Bo.

Another WhatsApp message from Person to Hunter alleged that Zhang offered his home for Hunter to stay in, referring to the multimillion-dollar McLean, Virginia, mansion, according to online records. Person called the six-bedroom house ‘unreal’ and revealed that Zhang ‘won’t be there much at least for another couple years.’ He added that Hunter Biden should ‘f’n stay at his house’ and that it was furnished. Fox News Digital could not confirm whether Biden took Zhang up on the offer.

In one of the earlier text exchanges, Person told Hunter Biden he ‘selfishly want[s] to work’ with him ‘because I know what the hell your capable of, AND I want to learn from you. I’m putting myself out there right now, and I’m learning quickly.’ He continued, ‘But I’d love to be there with you doing some of this stuff. I mention the 500K on 10M raise be I’m about to get started on that, and I could really use your help. We could knock it out together. I’d think that’d help take some bite out, and you wouldn’t feel like your ‘resorting’ to anything.’

‘I’ve got one loyalty brother. That’s to my family. Your family,’ Person added.

Person did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on why he was in attendance at the trial. It is unclear whether he plans on attending multiple days of the trial or has been in attendance on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Claudia Sheinbaum is projected to win Mexico’s presidential election and become the nation’s first female president in history.

‘I will become the first woman president of Mexico,’ Sheinbaum said at a downtown Mexico City hotel shortly after electoral authorities announced a statistical sample showed she held an irreversible lead, according to The Associated Press. ‘I don’t make it alone. We’ve all made it, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our mothers, our daughters and our granddaughters.’ 

The former Mexico City mayor said that her two competitors – Xóchitl Gálvez and Jorge Álvarez Máynez – had called her and conceded.  

The National Electoral Institute’s president said Sheinbaum had between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to a statistical sample. Opposition candidate Gálvez had between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote, and Álvarez Máynez had between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote. Sheinbaum’s Morena Party was also projected to hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. 

President Biden said Monday that ‘I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first woman President of Mexico’ and that he looks forward ‘to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries.

‘I also congratulate the Mexican people for conducting a nationwide successful democratic electoral process involving races for more than 20,000 positions at the local, state, and federal levels,’ Biden added.

Sheinbaum, the AP reports, will also be the first Jewish leader of the overwhelmingly Catholic country. 

She will start her six-year term on Oct. 1. Mexico’s constitution does not allow re-election. 

The leftist has said she believes the government has a strong role to play in addressing economic inequality and providing a sturdy social safety net, much like her political mentor President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is also a member of the Morena Party. 

‘Of course, I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum with all my respect who ended up the winner by a wide margin,’ López Obrador said Monday. ‘She is going to be Mexico’s first (woman) president in 200 years.’ 

The main opposition candidate, Gálvez, a tech entrepreneur and former senator, had promised to take a more aggressive approach toward organized crime. 

In her concession speech, she said, ‘I want to stress that my recognition (of Sheinbaum’s victory) comes with a firm demand for results and solutions to the country’s serious problems.’ 

Julio García, a Mexico City office worker, had told the AP he was voting for the opposition in Mexico City’s central San Rafael neighborhood.  

‘They’ve robbed me twice at gunpoint. You have to change direction, change leadership,’ the 34-year-old was quoted as saying. ‘Continuing the same way, we’re going to become Venezuela.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Sunday defended President Biden’s past comment that his son, Hunter Biden, ‘did nothing wrong.’ 

Jeffries’ remarks came a day before the scheduled beginning of jury selection in the federal gun case against Hunter – and just days after former President Trump, President Biden’s main election opponent, was convicted on 34 counts following the hush-money trial brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

‘President Biden commented as a loving father, as I would hope any loving father would do. Hunter Biden, of course, is entitled, as was Donald Trump, to the presumption of innocence and to a trial by a jury of his peers,’ Jeffries said during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘And this Justice Department is going to proceed in that fashion, present the facts and the law and then we’ll all have to wait for a determination that is made by a jury as to Hunter Biden’s guilt or innocence.’ 

In an interview with MSNBC in May 2023, President Biden insisted, ‘First of all, my son has done nothing wrong,’ adding that ‘I trust him. I have faith in him.

That was before what Republicans dubbed a ‘sweetheart deal’ with prosecutors for Hunter to plead guilty on misdemeanor tax charges fell apart in Delaware during a dramatic hearing last summer before a Trump-appointed judge. In response, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss, who had already been leading the investigation into Hunter’s gun case, as special counsel. 

Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his father, has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants when he said he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department. 

Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case. 

Jeffries, meanwhile, also addressed Trump’s conviction. The Democratic leader said the guilty verdict against the former president was a ‘validation of the American judicial system,’ when asked if the eight-year-old case would have been brought against anyone but the former president. 

‘Donald Trump was entitled to the presumption of innocence, he received it,’ he said. ‘This is America. This is not a system that is occupied by a monarch or a king or a dictator. We are a democracy. And in a democracy, no one is above the law.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Indian Ocean tourist destination Maldives is now banning Israelis from entering its territory in an apparent retaliatory move over the war in Gaza. 

The government of the predominantly Muslim island nation announced that President Mohammed Muizzu enacted the ban this week following a recommendation from his cabinet. 

‘The Cabinet decision includes amending necessary laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the Maldives and establishing a Cabinet subcommittee to oversee these efforts,’ his office said in a statement, adding that ‘the President decided to appoint a special envoy to assess Palestinian needs.’ 

‘The President further decided to set up a fundraising campaign to assist our brothers and sisters in Palestine with the help of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and to conduct a nationwide rally under the slogan ‘Falastheenaa Eku Dhivehin,’ which translates to ‘Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine’ to show support,’ the statement also said. 

UNRWA has recently faced allegations that some of its employees participated in Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which launched the war in Gaza. 

Israel’s foreign ministry responded to Muizzu’s ban by urging Israelis to stay away from the Maldives. 

‘For Israeli citizens already in the country, it is recommended to consider leaving, because if they find themselves in distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to assist,’ the ministry said, according to Reuters. 

The U.S. State Department, which said last year that it has provided $36 million in bilateral foreign assistance to the Maldives since 2018, did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The State Department says the constitution of the Maldives ‘designates Islam as the state religion, requires citizens to be Muslim, and requires public office holders, including the President, to be followers of Sunni Islam.’ 

‘The law states that both the government and the people must protect religious unity, and propagation of any religion other than Islam is a criminal offense,’ it adds. 

Last year, around 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives, around 0.6% of its total tourist arrivals, The Associated Press reported.

Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told Fox News Digital that ‘The Maldives government now aligns itself with the likes of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Syria, Algeria, Kuwait and other authoritarian Muslim world states,’ which also ban Israeli passport holders.

‘This will not likely bode well for the Maldives over time. Joining this alliance is often a sign of corruption, radicalization and even exploitation by outside actors,’ he added.

Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of The Congress of Christian Leaders, also responded to the ban on X by saying, ‘If the Maldives aren’t safe for Israelis then they aren’t safe for any of us.’ 

‘The Congress of Christian Leaders is issuing a global travel warning: no Christian should feel safe in a country where Islamic extremists determine national policy,’ he also said. 

Prominent pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America is urging Republican candidates not to stick their heads in the sand ahead of the 2024 elections, but rather paint Democrats as unpopular on abortion.

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned nearly 50 years of precedent that effectively legalized abortion, Democrats have attributed political wins to the unpopularity of pro-life causes.

But SBA said in a memo, sent to Republican leaders and committees Monday, that Democrats’ message is more fearmongering than fact, and it wants GOP candidates to emphasize that Democrats want to place America ‘on a short list of the most pro-abortion countries in the world.’

‘There are no protections for the unborn that Democrats can bring themselves to support, and they are consistently on the record opposing the protection of unborn babies when they can feel pain, even legislation to provide basic health care for a baby born alive after a failed abortion,’ the SBA memo says.

Working with a pollster and former adviser to Trump, SBA says a winning message for Republican candidates involves stressing support for mothers at all stages of pregnancy and childbirth. 

‘The message that performed the strongest in moving voters is driving a strong contrast between Democrat support for the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) and GOP support for providing real options and support for mothers in need and opposition to the WHPA,’ SBA wrote. The research was conducted by Adam Schaeffer of Evolving Strategies, a behavioral science and political data firm.

The WHPA passed the House in 2022, but failed in the Senate. Billed as a codification of Roe v. Wade, the measure goes beyond enshrining the 1973 abortion ruling and effectively would make it impossible to restrict abortion at any stage, according to SBA. 

‘In our test, the WHPA was characterized as sweeping federal legislation that would wipe away nearly all state limitations on abortion, even those that limit late-term abortions on healthy babies and ensure parental involvement when a young girl becomes pregnant,’ the SBA memo said. 

The other part of the ‘winning’ message involved support for pregnant women and help for mothers – including expanding child tax credits.

‘GOP support for mothers in need was characterized in our testing as offering women real options to choose life and embracing policies that would streamline adoption services, increase the child tax credit, make baby items tax-free, and provide funding to pregnancy care centers and maternity homes. Further, women should be informed about the financial help and adoption services available so she can make an educated choice,’ the SBA memo said.

SBA said it is committed to delivering its message to key presidential and congressional battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Montana.

But without individual candidates joining the messaging, SBA indicated that Democrats would continue to see success in their spreading ‘falsehoods and fearmongering’ in favor of abortion access.

‘Most importantly, candidates themselves must draw this contrast and put money behind it. The ‘ostrich strategy’ from 2022 of candidates putting their heads in the sand cannot be repeated. This is urgent for GOP Senate candidates, who continue to trail across key races despite President Trump holding a consistent lead at the top of the ticket across those same states,’ SBA’s memo states.

Trump has ruffled feathers in the pro-life movement for his approach to abortion following the Dobbs decision. He criticized Florida’s restriction on abortion in most cases after six weeks of pregnancy as cruel, but has indicated he would consider a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks. 

He has also said abortion restrictions should be a state issue, pushing back on calls for a nationwide protection of life bill, but in numerous rallies and speeches has criticized Democrats for wanting abortion to be legal up to and after birth.

‘Democrats and their abortion industry allies will not stop until America becomes a global abortion factory where women are forced into abortion and find few options when choosing life,’ SBA said. ‘If this happens it will put the pro-life movement in an even worse position than it faced under the Roe regime. We must unite and stop them before it is too late.’