A vote to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker could be voted on as early as Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a motion to vacate.

House Republicans are expected to have a closed door meeting at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday for the first time since Gaetz introduced his motion on Monday. 

The vote will be taken up no later than Wednesday. The last time the House faced such a vote was in 1910 with Speaker Joe Cannon, R-Ill.

Gaetz, a frequent McCarthy critic, introduced the motion Monday evening on the House floor.

‘Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2A1 of Rule 9, I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of House,’ Gaetz said. ‘Declaring the office speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant. Resolved that the office of speaker of the House Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant.’

There are a number of members undecided on how they would vote on the motion to vacate, but McCarthy will have to solicit help from the Democratic caucus to hold onto his reins. 

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Fox News following Gaetz’s move that he believes a motion to vacate at this time is ‘a bad idea.’ Additionally, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox previously he was undecided.

McCarthy reacted to the motion with a post on X. ‘Bring it on,’ he said, to which Gaetz responded: ‘Just did.’

At a press gaggle follow the introduction of his motion, Gaetz said he had enough Republican votes – at least five – to either oust McCarthy, or force him to appease Democrats for their support. 

If Gaetz’s motion succeeds, all proceedings on the House floor will freeze and the House will then be required to conduct successive roll call votes until a new speaker is elected.

McCarthy’s bid for speaker extended over five days and spanned 15 rounds in January, making it the lengthiest speaker’s election since 1859.

The first vote will likely center on an attempt to table or dismiss Gaetz’s move. Should the House vote against it, Gaetz’s initiative will be thwarted. However, if the House fails to set aside Gaetz’s motion, this will likely trigger a new vote for speaker.

On Sunday, Gaetz told CNN ‘State of the Union’ host Jake Tapper that ‘we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.’ 

‘Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. He lied to Biden. He lied to House conservatives,’ Gaetz said. ‘Kevin McCarthy’s goal was to make multiple contradictory promises to delay everything back up against shutdown politics and at the end of the day, blow past the spending guardrails he had agreed.’ 

Meanwhile, some House Republicans are now trying to oust Gaetz if the ethics committee finds him guilty, which would take a two-thirds vote to expel. 

The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 on allegations, including campaign finance violations as well as claims of taking bribes and using drugs – accusations the congressman has vehemently denied. Gaetz also denies allegations leaked from a Justice Department sex trafficking probe said to have involved an underage girl.

Fox News’ Daniel Wallace and Howard Kurtz contributed to this report. 

In 2021, A.J. Oliver, a devoted New Jersey Democrat, decided to run for Morris County commissioner in a historically Republican stronghold, displaying an unwavering commitment to his party that would likely result in electoral defeat.

However, his willingness to challenge party lines on one issue — abortion rights — drew swift backlash: he was unendorsed by a progressive group, and the Morris County Democratic Committee demanded his resignation as chair of the Morristown Democratic Committee.

As we stand on the precipice of the 2024 presidential election, Oliver’s experience serves as a poignant reminder of the Achilles’ heel within the Democratic Party — we spend too much time punishing perceived heretics within our ranks and not enough time cultivating potential allies and seeking converts.

Despite our party’s long-standing commitment to diversity, tolerance, and inclusivity, we often fall short of achieving these ideals, especially when it comes to pro-life Democrats. This internal discord not only harms the 21 million pro-life Democrats in the United States but also threatens our party’s electoral prospects in 2024 and beyond.

Recent polling data has sounded alarm bells within the Democratic circles, suggesting that President Joe Biden may be trailing behind potential Republican contenders, including former President Donald Trump.

A Donald Trump victory in 2024 would be destructive to our nation, and Democrats need every voter on God’s green earth to win this election — including those who disagree with its leadership on abortion rights.

The ominous resurgence of Donald Trump as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination cannot be ignored. His divisive brand of populist conservatism remains deeply entrenched in the Republican base, and Trump’s stranglehold on the media’s attention is unmistakable.

A Donald Trump victory in 2024 would be destructive to our nation, and Democrats need every voter on God’s green earth to win this election — including those who disagree with its leadership on abortion rights.

These early polling numbers should serve as a wake-up call to Democrats. Winning in 2024 will be no easy task, and relying solely on our traditional strongholds won’t do the trick. This election isn’t 2020, and Biden’s fledgling support among black and brown voters is particularly disturbing.

To secure victory, Democrats must expand our coalition and engage with these populations who are more reticent to the pro-abortion rhetoric that has dominated Democratic politics for the past fifteen years.

This is particularly true after the 2022 Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. In this post-Roe America, where abortion is a matter for the people and their elected state representatives, Democrats must reevaluate their approach to pro-life voters. One’s stance on abortion should not serve as a litmus test that isolates a substantial portion of our base.

Abortion without limits is a deeply unpopular policy, and it shouldn’t be the unspoken requirement of every Democrat running for office — whether it be for county commissioner or president of the United States.

Joe Biden said it well in 2015 — there is plenty of room for pro-lifers in the Democratic Party. The party he leads into the 2024 election must uphold that ideal.

A party that does so will not only win the presidency but also regain its former stronghold in numerous parts of the country where it has seen a significant decline in political influence since 2008 — including Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and West Virginia.

A party that refuses to do so is a party without a future.

It’s important to remember fascism didn’t rise in Europe in the 1930s because it was strong, but because party-based democracy was weak.

The only way the Democratic Party can defeat fascism today is by the wide participation of our people in democracy’s most sacred act.

So if our president and his Party want to defeat fascism in 2024, the decision is simple — choose life and send Donald Trump into the ash heap of history once and for all.

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Conservatives aligned with former President Donald Trump are coming out in opposition to the motion by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over the stopgap government funding bill that passed late Saturday.

Gaetz threatened over the weekend that he would file the motion this week, which would aim to effectively oust McCarthy from the speakership after he accused McCarthy of making a ‘side deal’ with Democrats to send additional aid to Ukraine. McCarthy, who said he supports arming Ukraine but not sending additional money to Ukraine, rejected the notion that a side deal took place with Democrats or President Biden.

‘For all the crocodile tears about what may happen later this week about a motion to vacate, working with the Democrats is a yellow brick road that has been paved by Speaker McCarthy,’ Gaetz said during a floor speech Monday afternoon. ‘Whether it was the debt limit deal, the [continuing resolution] or now the secret deal on Ukraine.’

‘This is swampy log-rolling,’ Gaetz added. ‘The American people deserve single-subject bills. I get that a lot of folks might disagree with my perspectives on the border or on Ukraine, but can we at least agree that no matter how you feel about Ukraine or the southern border, they each deserve the dignity of their own consideration and should not be rolled together where they might pass, where each individually wouldn’t. This is what we’re trying to get away from.’

On Saturday, the House and Senate passed a stopgap government funding bill that Biden signed later that evening. The bill passed the House in a 335-91 vote and helped avoid a government shutdown – which would have resulted in thousands of federal employees being furloughed – and extended funding through mid-November.

Gaetz ultimately filed a motion to vacate on Monday evening, hours after he said in his floor speech to ‘stay tuned.’ The House is poised to vote on the motion Tuesday afternoon after a separate effort to kill the motion failed.

His actions garnered pushback from Republicans, including those who have traditionally been aligned with Trump.

‘Yes, that is correct,’ conservative commentator Mark Levin said Monday. ‘The guy who says McCarthy is the Democrats’ speaker is plotting and scheming with the radical Democrats to take out a Republican speaker who is more conservative than he is (McCarthy backed the Freedom Caucus CR and the cuts and border security, which Gaetz and 4 others killed).’

‘There are now numerous reports that Gaetz is doing this not because he insists that McCarthy interfered with an ethics investigation of him, which a speaker cannot do and has never done,’ Levin continued. ‘I might add that after two years it’s about time the Ethics Committee release its report and either lift the cloud over Gaetz or clear him. Gaetz should demand this as well.’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said that while she shares substantive concerns with Gaetz about McCarthy’s leadership, she won’t support a motion to vacate.

‘What I see is a system of failure and a federal government that serves the world first and America last and my desire for wanting to fix it is why I ran for Congress in the first place,’ the Georgia Republican said. ‘So, I agree with Matt Gaetz that things must change, but I don’t agree that a motion to vacate will effectively create the changes needed to solve the intentional systemic failure that create the annual never-ending CR’s and Christmas omnibus mega-spending packages.’

‘A [motion to vacate] of our speaker gives the upper hand to the Democrats during dangerous times while we have been handed over under the presidency of an ailing old man ridden with dementia [who] has spent over 50 years in Washington seats of power corruptly enriching himself and his family by delivering policy deals to foreign investors,’ she added.

Additionally, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested that GOP leadership could expel Gaetz from the House Republican Conference and eliminate his committee assignments.

‘Is Gaetz secretly an agent for the Democratic Party? No one else is doing as much to undermine, weaken and cripple the House GOP,’ Gingrich said in a social media post.

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former Trump aide who was endorsed by the former president, blasted Gaetz in a post on X on Tuesday, saying, ‘It says a lot that Matt Gaetz and his small crew of supposed conservatives are speaking from the Democrat side of the House chamber.’

‘Instead of working on appropriations bills, we watch as Gaetz joins with Democrats to halt our conservative agenda,’ he added.

And Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who was endorsed by Trump during the 2022 election, blasted the effort to file a motion to vacate as counterproductive and self-destructive during a floor speech that preceded Gaetz’s on Monday.

‘We are faced with the threat that a Republican will move to vacate the Republican speaker of the House. It will only require four other Republican members to join the Democrats to achieve this result,’ McClintock said. ‘The immediate effect will be to paralyze the House indefinitely because no other business can be taken up until a replacement is elected.’

‘Just when we are on the verge of completing the appropriations process, that in turn will finally initiate discussions with the Senate that are vital to change the dangerous path that our country is on – I cannot conceive of a more counterproductive and self-destructive course than that,’ the California Republican added. ‘The supreme irony is that this is being initiated by self-described conservatives.’

Also on Monday, former senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said McCarthy is ‘not going to be going anywhere’ and called for unity among Republicans to solve border security issues.

‘I think at this point in time, it’s very clear that Kevin is not going to be going anywhere,’ Miller said in an interview with FOX Business. ‘He has the support of 218 members and I understand and I need to – everybody rise above. I understand all the emotions that are playing out right now.’

‘But for the love of God, we are losing this country, and we are losing it fast,’ he continued. ‘Republicans need to unify around the twin mission of stopping the open border invasion and stopping a government that has been weaponized against conservatives and Christians and anyone who does not subscribe to the tenets of the radical left.’

Gaetz’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

House Democratic leaders will not save Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., if Republicans move to remove his gavel, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday.

‘Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair,’ Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues after a lengthy caucus meeting behind closed doors.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a staunch critic of McCarthy, first issued a motion to vacate the Speaker on Monday night over what he says are broken promises in the government spending patch.

McCarthy likely has to rely on Democrats to save his job with at least five Republicans expected to vote in favor of ousting him. House Democratic caucus members might still vote to keep McCarthy in his post, even if Democratic leaders won’t save him.

‘We confront a serious, solemn and sober moment,’ Jeffries’ letter stated. ‘The vote that the House will cast this week in connection with a Motion to Vacate the Chair is not about any one individual. Our responsibility as Members of Congress relates to the Constitution, the principle of good governance and the people we are privileged to serve. Nothing more, and nothing less.’

‘In that regard, House Democrats remain willing to find common ground on an enlightened path forward. Unfortunately, our extreme Republican colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same,’ it continued. ‘It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War.’

On the House floor Tuesday, a motion to table Gaetz’s motion commenced with 15 minutes to cast their votes. The motion was shot down, with several Republicans voting not to table it. 

McCarthy can only afford to lose a handful of GOP votes, and if Gaetz’s motion succeeds, all proceedings on the House floor will freeze and the House will then be required to conduct successive roll call votes until a new speaker is elected.

Five GOP lawmakers – Reps. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Bob Good, R-Va., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz. – have said they are voting against keeping McCarthy as speaker. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., has strongly suggested he would do so as well. 

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., an ally to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, did not mince words when it comes to Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., ahead of a vote over whether to vacate the speakership.

‘I prefer, you know, common sense over chaos. I think that we should be focused on governance rather than grandstanding, and the fact that we have one a–hole that is holding us up and holding America up is a real problem,’ D’Esposito said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

Asked if he felt Gaetz introduced a motion to vacate as part of a personal vendetta against McCarthy, D’Esposito said, ‘With Matt Gaetz, absolutely. It’s definitely personal.’

‘He’s more focused on raising money, also going after the speaker of the House, than focused on putting good policy in place and moving this country forward,’ D’Esposito said. ‘We have 45 days to put appropriation bills on the floor and pass them and that’s what we should be doing.’ 

Gaetz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Addressing the issue of McCarthy’s speakership, Fox News Digital asked D’Esposito whether House Republicans had enough votes to table a motion to vacate. 

‘It’s a work in progress, and we’ll see how it goes,’ D’Esposito told Fox News Digital, ‘I think that anybody, anybody who has been around Speaker McCarthy before knows that he’s a fighter and that you never give up on him, and he never gives up.’ 

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reportedly told the House Democratic Caucus to vote to remove McCarthy, and said Democrats should vote against any attempt to delay a motion to vacate. Gaetz has claimed McCarthy will be forced to work with Democrats to save his speakership, as the GOP maintains a majority by a razor-thin margin. 

The initial vote on McCarthy, which is to table the Gaetz’s vacate proposal, not to actually vacate, is expected at about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he won’t offer Democrats any deals in exchange for their votes on a motion to vacate his speakership, which the House will begin considering later in the day.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a motion to vacate the speaker’s office on Monday. McCarthy can only stand to lose a handful of votes, prompting speculation that he could seek help from across the aisle.

McCarthy, however, quashed the notion on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’ declaring, ‘They haven’t asked for anything, and I’m not going to provide anything.’

‘Are we now in a situation in our government that we just provided keeping government open, that we’re going to play politics with how you become speaker? If that’s the case, then I think we’ve got real problems,’ he said.

McCarthy said he refuses to put House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries ‘in any position at all, and I respect whatever decision anybody makes.’

McCarthy said Gaetz has had it out for him ‘from the very beginning.’

‘He’s been blaming me for an ethics complaint against him that happened in the last Congress I have nothing to do with,’ McCarthy said. ‘He wants me to try to wipe that away. I’m not going to do that. That’s illegal. And you know what? If someway I lose my job because I uphold the law because I uphold the continuity of government, so be it.’

The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 on allegations, including campaign finance violations as well as claims of taking bribes and using drugs — accusations the congressman has vehemently denied. Gaetz also denies allegations leaked from a Justice Department sex trafficking probe said to have involved an underage girl.

Fox News’ Daniel Wallace contributed to this report. 

WILMINGTON, DE—Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Tuesday morning after being charged out of Special Counsel David Weiss’ years-long investigation. 

The president’s son appeared in person in court for his arraignment Tuesday morning after being charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

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

Biden pleaded not guilty to all three charges. 

Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke presided over the hearing and laid out the conditions for Hunter Biden’s release, which require the president’s son to seek employment and communicate all international travel plans. Biden also is prohibited from possessing a firearm and using alcohol and drugs, and he is required to get drug tested randomly and participate in a substance abuse counseling program. 

Burke said the conditions are ‘appropriate,’ and both the government and defense agreed. 

Burke explained that both the government and the defense have a deadline of Nov. 3, 2023, to file any motions. 

Hunter Biden defense attorney Abbe Lowell notified Burke that the defense plans to file a motion to dismiss, due to the diversion agreement on the gun charges, which he said he believes is still in effect.

The diversion agreement was included as part of the original plea deal that collapsed in July. Biden was set to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, which would allow him to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. That deal fell apart during his last court appearance. The president’s son, in July, was then forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge when the deal collapsed in court. 

The federal gun charges are the first charges Weiss has brought against Hunter since being granted special counsel status by Attorney General Merrick Garland in August. 

Lowell also said the defense’s motion to dismiss would include an argument regarding the constitutionality of the statutes that, he said, have been discussed. Lowell added that he will also be making a request for an evidentiary hearing. 

The government was represented by federal prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines. Weiss was not present. 

According to the indictment, ‘on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver with serial number RA 551363…knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm…in that the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.’ 

The indictment also states that ‘on or about October 12, 2018, through on or about October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant Robert Hunter Biden, knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance…did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver with serial number RA 551363, said firearm having been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.’ 

Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.

A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News that it indicated that Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.

A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated that Hunter purchased a gun earlier that month.

On the firearm transaction report, Hunter answered in the negative when asked if he was ‘an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.’

Hunter was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.

His attorneys, who initially requested for the court appearance to take place via video conference, had signaled last month that he would plead not guilty to the charges.  Burke rejected Hunter’s request, saying he should not receive special treatment. 

The initial vote to vacate Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker will come Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., first introduced the motion Monday night, Fox News Digital has learned.

Gaetz, a frequent McCarthy critic, introduced a motion to vacate on Monday. Tuesday’s vote will determine whether it advances to a committee vote.

The last time the House faced such a vote was in 1910 with Speaker Joe Cannon, R-Ill.

McCarthy can only stand to lose a handful of votes, prompting speculation that he could seek help from across the aisle. He told CNBC on Tuesday, however, that he won’t offer Democrats any deals in exchange for their votes on a motion to vacate his speakership.

‘They haven’t asked for anything, and I’m not going to provide anything,’ he said.

‘Are we now in a situation in our government that we just provided keeping government open, that we’re going to play politics with how you become speaker? If that’s the case, then I think we’ve got real problems,’ he said.

McCarthy said he refuses to put House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries ‘in any position at all, and I respect whatever decision anybody makes.’

McCarthy said Gaetz has had it out for him ‘from the very beginning.’

‘He’s been blaming me for an ethics complaint against him that happened in the last Congress I have nothing to do with,’ McCarthy said. ‘He wants me to try to wipe that away. I’m not going to do that. That’s illegal. And you know what? If some way I lose my job because I uphold the law, because I uphold the continuity of government, so be it.’

The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 on allegations, including campaign finance violations as well as claims of taking bribes and using drugs – accusations the congressman has vehemently denied. Gaetz also denies allegations leaked from a Justice Department sex trafficking probe said to have involved an underage girl.

Fox News’ Daniel Wallace contributed to this report. 

Lawmakers have voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his leadership role, the first time in the history of the House of Representatives that the chamber voted to boot a member from the top job.

Eight Republicans voted with every present Democrat to vacate the speaker’s chair. The final vote was 216 to 210 in favor of McCarthy’s ouster.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against McCarthy known as a motion to vacate on Monday night, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker’s gavel in January.

Tensions flared during an hour of debate before the actual motion to vacate, after 11 Republicans voted with every Democrat to advance the measure. McCarthy’s allies had taken up all of the microphones on the GOP side of the chamber, forcing Gaetz to make his case from the side where Democrats traditionally sit.

‘Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word,’ Gaetz said as McCarthy looked down at his lap.

At one point, an outraged McCarthy ally, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., accused Gaetz and his cohorts of sending fundraising efforts on their motion to vacate. He fumed while pointing to his phone, ‘Using official actions to make money, it’s disgusting.’

Chants of ‘shame’ erupted on the House GOP side of the chamber.

Gaetz responded, ‘When it comes to how those raise money, I take no lecture on asking patriotic Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those who would grovel and bend knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership.’

A Republican lawmaker shouted at Gaetz, ‘You’re no martyr.’

Democrats signaled early on Tuesday that they would not be inclined to help McCarthy. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said before the vote that Democrats ‘are ready to find bipartisan common ground. Our extreme colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. They must find a way to end the House Republican civil war.’

In January, it took 15 rounds of voting until McCarthy was elected.

McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open for 45 days in order to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers more time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

Ninety House Republicans voted against the CR on Saturday, arguing that it was a ‘clean’ extension of the previous Democrat-held Congress’ policies. But the speaker’s previous attempts to put a CR on the table that would cut spending for its short duration were upended by several of those same conservatives who were opposed to any such measure on principle.

The frustration at the small number of rebels was palpable among House Republicans on Tuesday morning.

‘This is a distraction from what we should be focusing on, which is the appropriations process,’ said Main Street Caucus Vice Chair Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. ‘This is all about Matt Gaetz. It’s not about Kevin McCarthy. Matt Gaetz is using the American people as pawns in his narcissistic game of charades.’

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal gun charges in Delaware. But his high-priced lawyers plan to argue that the earlier ‘sweetheart’ plea deal is legally enforceable so that their client should never be tried and, thereby, skate on any prison time.

It won’t work. It was a crooked deal that imploded in July when a suspicious judge exposed a hidden immunity clause buried in the ancillary documents. At that point, Hunter’s attorneys announced in court that they were ‘tearing up’ the agreement.  Now they want to paste it back together. Good luck with that.  

It’s true that then-U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who appears to have been acting covertly as a member of Hunter’s defense team, agreed to the deal. But under the law, that’s not enough.  It must be approved by the probation officer, who declined to do so.  Judge Maryellen Noreika also refused to accept the plea.  That makes it dead as a doornail. 

Veteran defense attorney Abbe Lowell, meanwhile, is prepping Plan B. He’ll claim that the gun law is an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment by citing a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that tossed out the criminal conviction of a marijuana user who possessed a gun.  Ironically, Joe Biden’s solicitor general is appealing the very ruling that the president’s son wants to rely on.

Regardless, the Fifth Circuit’s pronouncement covers Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.  It is not binding on Delaware, although the U.S. Supreme Court may have the final say on its validity.  But that still leaves two separate counts of making false statements, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars upon conviction.  

If the past is prologue, Weiss —who was elevated by Attorney General Merrick Garland to special counsel— won’t let that happen.  He’ll likely conjure up another lenient deal or otherwise drag his feet by letting the case collect dust balls through the upcoming election cycle.

How do we know this? Because Weiss spent five years dithering in the face of compelling evidence that Hunter committed far more serious felonies of influence peddling, bribery, conspiracy, money laundering, foreign lobbying crimes, obstruction of justice, tax fraud and tax evasion.  Those schemes netted tens of millions of dollars from overseas adversaries by appearing to sell access to Joe Biden and promises of future influence.  

Yet, no charges have ever been brought. Indeed, Weiss deliberately allowed the statutes of limitations to run on many of the suspected crimes.  Hunter’s lawyers were tipped off about a surprise interview.  A search of Hunter’s storage locker was halted despite probable cause being established. Privileged information was secretly divulged.  Investigators were blocked from asking about Joe Biden’s involvement, instructed to ignore Hunter’s incriminating laptop, and told to ignore the immense paper trail of overseas wire transfers.  A written agreement to bring six felony charges against Hunter was scuttled.      

Who does that?  A corrupt or incompetent U.S. Attorney who’s been running an obvious protection racket to shield his boss, the president, who is implicated as complicit in his son’s scams and schemes.  

Weiss almost got away with it until two IRS whistleblowers stepped forward to reveal the chicanery.  They informed Congress of the constant political interference and preferential treatment that slow-walked the investigation, suppressed evidence, and diverted the case. 

Now exposed, perhaps Weiss has experienced an epiphany.  Maybe he will suddenly embrace the rule of law and aggressively pursue the escalating evidence of pervasive crimes committed.

But something tells me that lottery tickets are a better bet.