The indictment of former President Donald Trump in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation is casting renewed attention onto another, similar probe – special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Trump is set to be arraigned today after a federal grand jury indicted him Friday on 37 charges related to his retention of sensitive documents. Trump’s indictment has led to calls for Hur to bring similar charges against Biden.

Several troves of classified documents, some reportedly dating back to Biden’s Senate days, were found in the president’s possession within the last year, including documents found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware, home. In January, Attorney General Merrick Garland named Hur as special counsel overseeing the Biden probe.

George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital the ‘question is whether Hur will aggressively pursue the possibility of false statements by President Biden and whether he has requested an interview with the president.’

‘As I have previously noted, Biden’s account of the handling of the documents defies logic,’ Turley said. ‘These documents appear to have been moved and repeatedly divided. One reportedly was found in or near his library.’

‘The Senate documents had to be removed from the STIF by then-Sen. Biden. The handling of these documents suggest a purpose and knowledge,’ Turley continued.

‘Hur can insulate President Biden by avoiding a direct interview or statement from him on these facts. It is a crime to lie to federal investigators under 18 U.S.C. 1001. With Trump, the Justice Department was highly aggressive. The public is likely to watch to see if Hur shows the same no-holds-barred attitude of Smith.’

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy McCarthy wrote in a New York Post op-ed that Biden should receive the ‘Trump treatment.’ McCarthy called on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to ‘issue a subpoena to special counsel Robert Hur and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who are jointly responsible for conducting the investigation of President Biden’s hoarding of classified documents in several unauthorized locations – a decades-long pattern of illegal conduct that stretches back to Biden’s years in the Senate.’ 

‘Jordan should demand that the special counsel and the FBI produce a general description of the documents Biden maintained in such unauthorized locations as his Wilmington, Del., home (including, remarkably, his garage) and his private office at the University of Pennsylvania think tank that – much like the Biden family influence-peddling business – appears to have been backed by prodigious Chinese funding,’ McCarthy added.

Trans activists filmed themselves flaunting their breasts in front of the White House during President Biden’s Pride Month celebration this weekend, causing an uproar on social media.

A TikTok influencer who goes by the name Rose Montoya, a biological male who is transgender, originally posted the video from Saturday’s event. It shows Montoya and another unnamed transgender activist, a biological female, baring their breasts on the South Lawn with the White House in view behind them.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

President Biden hosted a ‘Pride Month 2023’ event on the White House lawn Saturday, decorating the area with rainbow motifs and the ‘Progress Pride flag.’

The event, hosting performers and speakers representing LGBTQ causes, lauded the Pride community as ‘the bravest and most inspiring people’ and an ‘example’ for the US and the entire world.

‘Outside the gates of this house are those who want to drag our country backwards, and so many battles yet to be braved. But today, we’re not here to be strong. We’re not here to be courageous. Even though for so many of you, just coming to this event is an act of bravery,’ said First Lady Jill Biden.

Biden also praised the LGBTQ community as ‘some of the bravest and most inspiring’ people he has ever known.

‘You know, we all move forward when we move together with your joy, with your pride lighting the way,’ the president continued. ‘So today, let us proudly remember who we are – the United States of America.’

Former President Donald Trump has arrived at Trump National Doral, his hotel in Miami, where he will stay the night ahead of his Tuesday arraignment in federal court.

Trump faces an indictment on 37 charges, ranging from withholding national defense documents to making false statements. Law enforcement groups are already preparing for potential protests across the city and outside the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Earlier in the day, Trump departed from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he typically spends his summers, before flying on ‘Trump Force Once’ from Newark Liberty International Airport to Miami International Airport.

The trip is the second between the Northeast and Florida that Trump has been forced to make this year to attend a court appearance with regard to criminal charges against him, previously flying from Florida to New York City in early April to be arraigned on unrelated state charges there.

The 37 charges Trump faces this week include 31 counts of willfully withholding national defense information, three counts of withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation, two counts of making false statements, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Trump is scheduled to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Regarding the case, Trump argues that he is the victim of a ‘political hit job,’ a long-standing claim he has made of various investigations into his dealings.

‘I HOPE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS WATCHING WHAT THE RADICAL LEFT ARE DOING TO AMERICA,’ Trump wrote on social media before his plane took off Monday.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden’s root canal surgery on Sunday forced him to reschedule his Monday meeting with a top NATO official.

Biden’s meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will instead take place Tuesday, the White House announced. The president suffered from tooth soreness Sunday, which was treated with a root canal and led to lingering pain Monday.

The dental procedure forced the White House to let Vice President Kamala Harris sub in for Biden at the White House’s College Athlete Day for NCAA championship athletes Monday morning.

The presidential dental team from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center performed the examination at the White House on Sunday, which included X-rays, according to Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician. The team then determined a root canal was the best course of action.

‘The President tolerated the procedure well,’ O’Connor said. ‘There were no complications.’

O’Connor said the dental team will complete the root canal Monday at the White House.

Biden, 80, is the oldest president in American history. He stumbled and fell at the Air Force Academy graduation in June.

The president received his physical in February after weeks of delays, which the White House said was due to a busy schedule.

‘President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief,’ O’Connor wrote in the physical summary.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement Monday slamming the Los Angeles Dodgers for choosing to honor a charitable drag group that dresses like nuns, calling the decision ‘blasphemy.’ 

The Dodgers caved to pressure last month, reversing its decision to withdraw an invitation for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to accept an award on the field of Dodger Stadium at Pride Night this Friday. 

The Major League Baseball team issued an apology to the anti-Catholic charity and the LGBTQ community, promising to ‘better educate ourselves.’ The group was also re-invited to Pride Night to accept the ‘Community Hero Award.’

The bishops responded Monday by urging Catholics to say a special prayer, the Litany of the Sacred Heart, on the day the team hosts the group.

‘This year, on June 16—the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated,’ their statement read. ‘This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.’

‘It has been heartening to see so many faithful Catholics and others of good will stand up to say that what this group does is wrong, and it is wrong to honor them,’ it added. ‘We call on Catholics to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart on June 16, offering this prayer as an act of reparation for the blasphemies against our Lord we see in our culture today.’

According to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence website, they are a ‘leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns’ that fundraises for AIDS/HIV prevention and other LGBTQ-related issues.

‘We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty,’ the website states. ‘We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.’

The group issued a statement accepting the Dodgers’ apology after meeting with team CEO Stan Kasten and state and local lawmakers.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy battled a CNN reporter on Capitol Hill on Monday and accused the network of ‘weaponizing’ the news when he was asked about former President Donald Trump’s indictment. 

When asked whether he supports Trump against Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into how the former president handled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, McCarthy pointed out that the reporter asking was from CNN. McCarthy said CNN employed two former intelligence officials – fired former deputy FBI chief Andrew McCabe and ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper – who Republicans have accused of abusing their positions.

When the reporter replied that McCarthy was talking about a ‘different set of facts,’ McCarthy turned the question around and asked how CNN could defend hiring McCabe and Clapper.

‘Are you prepared to defend your network, CNN?’ McCarthy said as they spoke over each other. ‘Even though your network hired Andrew McCabe, who was fired from the FBI for leaking classified documents, did you remove him from your network? No, you continue to put him on to give judgment against President Trump. You also hired Clapper …’

The CNN reporter interjected, ‘What steps is the House going to take in terms of, is there any effort to defund the FBI, any effort to defund the Department of Justice after what we’ve seen over the last couple of days?’

But McCarthy ignored the question and said Clapper had been one of dozens of former intelligence officials who signed onto a letter dismissing the New York Post’s October 2020 expose on Hunter Biden’s laptop as a Russian disinformation effort.

‘So, your network hires Clapper, who literally lied to the American public – one of 51 other individuals that had briefings and used it politically to tell the American public that a laptop was Russia collusion, even though it had all this information about the Biden administration,’ the speaker said.

‘Are you prepared to get rid of those people from your network? Because my concern as a policymaker is that when [you] weaponize government, and now you’re weaponizing networks, that is wrong,’ McCarthy continued. ‘I have a real problem that your network actually pays people who did classified information and then lied to the American public to try to influence a presidential election, and then you put them on your network to give an opinion.’

McCarthy, a Trump ally, said it was ‘a dark day’ for the country when Trump was indicted.

‘It is unconscionable for a president to indict the leading candidate opposing him. Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades,’ the speaker said in a statement last week. ‘I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.’

The former president was indicted on 37 criminal counts in relation to his handling of classified information and efforts to obstruct officials investigating the matter. He’s due in court in Miami on Tuesday.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday ordered a state panel back to work to fix language describing an August ballot proposal aimed at making it harder to amend the state’s constitution, after justices determined elements of the wording would mislead voters.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose immediately reconvened the Ohio Ballot Board for Tuesday afternoon.

Monday’s ruling was a partial victory for One Person One Vote, the campaign opposing Issue 1, which calls for raising the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments in Ohio from a simple majority to 60%. Amid loud protests, Statehouse Republicans advanced the issue and timed it to thwart an abortion rights issue in the works for this fall. That’s despite passing a law eliminating most August elections mere months earlier.

The high court ruled unanimously that the ballot board was wrong to describe the measure as increasing the standards to qualify ‘any’ constitutional amendment for the ballot. That’s because it imposes its steep new signature-gathering requirements only on citizen-initiated amendments, not on amendments advanced by the Ohio General Assembly. If passed, it would up the number of Ohio counties where ballot campaigns must gather names from 44 to all 88.

The ballot language also misdescribes the percentage of electors required in each county to qualify a citizen-led issue for the ballot. It’s 5% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election, not 5% of all voters in that county.

Democrats pointed out the error to the ballot board, chaired by LaRose as state elections chief, but LaRose opted not to fix it in the moment. His fellow Republican, Attorney General Dave Yost, conceded to the mistake in court filings, but sought to minimize it as a mere technicality.

Justices disagreed, and ordered the ballot board to correct the error.

Where the court diverged was over whether it’s fair to say the proposal will be ‘elevating’ the standards for qualifying and passing future constitutional amendments in Ohio. One Person One Vote had argued that the term carries a positive connotation that could bias voters toward a ‘yes’ vote. They pushed for ‘raising’ or ‘heightening’ as more neutral verbs.

The Supreme Court’s four-member Republican majority ruled that ‘elevating’ could stay — on grounds that the other verbs suggested by opponents share overlapping definitions.

‘Distinguishing between them requires parsing minute differences in connotation,’ Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy wrote for the majority. ‘But such wordsmithing should be left to Secretary LaRose because it is not for this court to choose between words of the same meaning.’

The court’s three Democratic justices dissented, arguing that the phrasing doesn’t meet the required impartiality test.

‘Some might, not implausibly, call this restricting or curtailing or diminishing or limiting the power of the people to amend the Constitution,’ Justice Michael P. Donnelly wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Jennifer Brunner and Melody Stewart. ‘Instead, respondent Secretary of State Frank LaRose styles this as ‘elevating’ the standards to amend the Constitution. This word creates prejudice in favor of the measure.’

In a separate opinion, Brunner also argued that the measure places ‘onerous’ new requirements on citizen-led ballot initiatives that should be more clearly spelled out.

<!–>

–>

Baseball was on the rise in the early 20th century.

The Boston Americans defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in a best-of-nine series in 1903. And that was the first modern World Series.

It took six years, but Congress launched its own baseball showcase – usually the Democrats against the Republicans, but sometimes even lawmakers against the congressional press corps.

Imagine that now.

Late Rep. John Tener, R-Penn., grew up in what is now Northern Ireland. But after coming to the U.S., Tener played for an older version of the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Stockings and the Pittsburgh Burghers prior to entering Congress. Tener founded the annual Congressional Baseball Game as a lawmaker – and then went on to serve as governor of Pennsylvania and president of the National League from 1913 to 1918.

The Democrats went on to win the first five congressional games.

World wars, concerns from the House speaker and the COVID-19 pandemic have periodically canceled congressional games over the years. But lawmakers have met on the ball diamond most years since 1909.

Lawmakers from both parties suit up for the latest installment of the parliamentary series on Wednesday night at Nationals Park, just blocks south of the U.S. Capitol. Republicans have won the past two games. In the ‘modern’ era of the game – played since 1962, Republicans recorded 36 wins to the Democrats’ 23 victories.

These days, the game is a scene. More than 20,000 fans are expected to cram into Nats Park. Many aides and interns bring signs, wear specialized T-shirts and transform parts of the stands into customized cheering sections for their lawmakers. Republican fans sit behind the GOP dugout. Democratic fans sit behind the Democrats’ dugout. The partisan crowd cheers when players for their side are announced and boo heartily against the opposition.

Sometimes in a not-so good-natured fashion.

Current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., attended last year’s game along with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. But not all House speakers have embraced the contest.

House Speaker Champ Clark, D-Mo., wasn’t a fan of the game. He often complained that the tilt interfered with congressional work – a grievance that is still lodged periodically today.

 In 1914, congressional players arranged to play a game in northern Washington, D.C., just as the House prepared to debate a spending bill on cotton damage. However, the lack of a quorum stalled debate on the House floor. A miffed Clark dispatched the House sergeant-at-arms to round up the players and haul them back to the Capitol. But rain canceled the game by the time the sergeant-at-arms arrived. Members reluctantly traveled back to the Capitol. But it was too late to resume debate on the cotton bill.

House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas, canceled the game in 1958 because of injuries. This attests to just how seriously members take the game. There have been some significant injuries over the years to players. There have also been some Pete Rose-Ray Fosse-esque collisions at home plate.

Then-Rep. and now Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, pushed a bunt down the third baseline on the first pitch of the 1994 game at Four Mile Run Park in northern Virginia. Late Rep. and former GOP manager Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, played first base. The throw came to the first base coaching box side of the bag. Brown collided with Oxley as he ran through the base, badly breaking his colleague’s arm. Oxley writhed in pain on the infield grass and required surgery.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., had a major collision at home plate with Democrat catcher and former Rep. Tim Holden, D-Penn., in the 1995 game at Prince George’s County Stadium, home of the Bowie Baysox (AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles). Former Democrat manager and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn., bloodied his nose in a play at the plate some years ago. And in the 2022 game, Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., crashed into Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the Democrat catcher, at the plate. But Murphy hung on to the ball and Cammack was out.

Baseball and Congress seemingly go together.

A host of lawmakers has left a more significant mark on baseball than they did on Congress.

Late Rep. Ray Cannon, D-Wis., played for the Chicago Cubs in the preseason but never appeared in a Major League game. After he left Congress, Cannon served as counsel for Shoeless Joe Jackson after he was banned from baseball in the 1919 ‘Black Sox’ scandal. Jackson and other players for the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

Late Rep. Pius Schwert, D-N.Y., played for the New York Yankees as a catcher in 1914 and 1915.

Late Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., served six terms in the House and two terms in the Senate. But Bunning is best known for his Hall of Fame exploits for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. Bunning fired what was then only the seventh perfect game in Major League history in 1964. Bunning is also only one of five pitchers who threw no-hitters in both the American and National leagues.

Late Rep. Jacob Rupert, D-N.Y., was part of New York’s Tammany Hall political machine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After leaving Congress, Rupert attempted to purchase the New York Giants. That didn’t work out. So, Rupert acquired the New York Yankees instead. The Yankees back then were barely also-rans. Under Rupert’s ownership, the Yankees bought the contract of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees quickly matured into one of the most legendary sports franchises in history. Rupert is now enshrined in Cooperstown.

Like Bunning, late Rep. Vinegar Bend Mizell, R-N.C., is better known for his pitching than his three terms in Congress in the late 1960s and mid-1970s. Mizell is a two-time all-star who played for the St. Louis. Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and was an original New York Met in 1962. Mizell pitched for the 1960 Pirates club that defeated the Yankees in one of the most dramatic finishes in World Series history.

Former Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., is best known for his Hall of Fame career as a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. When he retired from football, Largent held the NFL’s records for most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Largent served as the GOP’s starting pitcher in the mid-1990s. He pitched all seven innings (the Congressional games are seven innings, not nine) for the Republican squad in 1995, fanning nine and only allowing four hits and a walk.

Former Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., played third base for the Democrats in the 1980s and 1990s. It was reported for decades that Richardson was drafted by the then-Kansas City Athletics in 1966. But it took until the early 2000s until reporters determined that the A’s never drafted Richardson.

However, late Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., did pitch in the minor leagues for one season for the Albuquerque Dukes. But that was before the team became an affiliate with a big league club. Albuquerque was later associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers for nearly four decades.

Domenici may not have made it to the bigs. But he did have a claim to fame on the diamond. Pitching for the GOP in the 1974 Congressional game at old Memorial Stadium (then-home of the Baltimore Orioles), Domenici made quick work of future President Joe Biden, who played in the game as a senator from Delaware. Domenici got Biden to ground out once and struck out the future commander-in-chief in another at-bat.

‘I wouldn’t want to make a career out of hitting against him,’ a local newspaper quoted the future president about Domenici’s pitching. ‘He has some motion. I just took my cuts and hoped.’

There was a bit of irony in Biden’s appearance. It was long customary for lawmakers to don the uniforms of local MLB teams. They sometimes wear uniforms from colleges or high schools in their home districts. Minor league team uniforms occasionally made an appearance. All Republican players now wear the same uniform. The Democrats still mix it up. Residing in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1974, the future president wore a Philadelphia Phillies uniform – No. 46 to be exact. Today, Biden is the 46th president of the United States.

As a footnote, the only player Fox could find who wore No. 46 for Philadelphia in the 1970s was pitcher Dan Boitano. Boitano pitched one game for the Phils in 1978, bouncing around for several seasons with the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets. Of course, famous relief pitcher Tug McGraw wore No. 45 for the Phillies in those days. Pitcher Randy Lerch donned No. 47.

President Biden appears to be one of only three presidents who ever appeared in the Congressional game. President Gerald Ford played in the game when he served in the House – later becoming Minority Leader. Ford holds the distinction of hitting the first grand slam home run in the Congressional game in 1957.

President George H.W. Bush played in the game in the late 1960s when he represented Texas in the House in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

President George W. Bush never served in Congress and therefore never played. But Bush 43 owned the Texas Rangers in the 1990s.

Late Rep. James Richards, R-S.C., crystallized the spirit of the Congressional game in a 1948 floor speech.

Richards said members ‘drop the care and worries of Capitol Hill. Forget about the heat and temporary animosities of debate and go out at night to a baseball field where the great American game is played.’

Richards added that lawmakers play to ‘show the people of the United States that regardless of the fact that we sometimes differ on party matters, that after all we love our country and our flag. And like every boy in America, we love our national game, too.’

And that hasn’t changed much since the 1940s.

Except now, it’s boys and girls.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said Monday that the Burisma executive who allegedly paid Joe Biden and Hunter Biden kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with them as an ‘insurance policy,’ citing the FBI FD-1023 form that the bureau briefed congressional lawmakers on. 

Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed from the Senate floor Monday what was said to be a redacted reference in the FBI-generated FD-1023 form alleging a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national that involved influence over U.S. policy decisions.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported on the contents of the form last week. The FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020, is the FBI’s interview with a ‘highly credible’ confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top Burisma executive over the course of several years, starting in 2015. Fox News Digital has not seen the form, which is redacted, but it was described by several sources who are aware of its contents.

Grassley said the FD-1023 has a redacted reference that the Burisma executive possesses fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between himself and Hunter Biden.

According to Grassley, the FD-1023 also states that the executive possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between himself and then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Grassley, from the Senate floor, slammed the FBI for not complying with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena, saying Congress ‘still lacks a full and complete picture with respect to what that document really says.’

‘That’s why it’s important that the document be made public without unnecessary redactions for the American people to see,’ he said. ‘Let me assist for purposes of transparency.’

‘The 1023 produced to that House Committee redacted reference that the foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has audio recordings of his conversations with them,’ Grassley continued. ’17 total recordings.’

‘According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden,’ Grassley said. ‘According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then-Vice President Joe Biden.’

Grassley said the recordings were ‘allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot.’

‘The 1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden,’ Grassley said.

Grassley demanded answers on ‘what, if anything has the Justice Department and FBI done to investigate?’

‘The Justice Department and FBI must show their work,’ Grassley said. ‘They no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.’

The FBI brought the document to Capitol Hill last week after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed it last month. The FBI briefed Comer and committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on the form in a SCIF on Capitol Hill, but did not turn over the document. Comer threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress. 

The FBI made a further accommodation and later brought the form to a secure setting on Capitol Hill for all Oversight Committee members to view, but the document is still not in the committee’s possession. 

A source familiar told Fox News Digital on Monday that the FBI did not redact the section of the FD-1023 referencing the audio recordings when showing the document to solely to Comer and Raskin, but did so for the full committee briefing. The source said Grassley and Comer had already seen the form, even prior to the FBI sharing it with Congress.

Fox News Digital was exclusively briefed on the contents of the form last week. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source told the FBI that the Burisma executive was speaking with the confidential source to ‘get advice on the best way to go forward’ in 2015 and 2016 in gaining U.S. oil rights and getting involved with a U.S. oil company. 

According to the FD-1023 form, the confidential human source said the Burisma executive discussed Hunter’s role on the board. The confidential human source questioned why the Burisma executive needed his or her advice in acquiring access to U.S. oil if he had Hunter Biden on the board. The Burisma executive answered by referring to Hunter Biden as ‘dumb.’

The Burisma executive explained to the confidential source that Burisma had to ‘pay the Bidens’ because Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Burisma, and explained how difficult it would be to enter the U.S. market in the midst of that investigation.

The confidential source further detailed that conversation, suggesting to the Burisma executive that he ‘pay the Bidens $50,000 each,’ to which the Burisma executive replied, it is ‘not $50,000,’ it is ‘$5 million.’

‘$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden,’ the Burisma executive told the confidential human source, according to a source familiar with the document.

A source familiar said according to the document, the $5 million payments appeared to reference a kind of ‘retainer’ Burisma intended to pay the Bidens to deal with a number of issues, including the investigation led by Shokin. Another source referred to the arrangement as a ‘pay-to-play’ scheme. 

Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source believes that the $5 million payment to Joe Biden and the $5 million payment to Hunter Biden occurred, based on his or her conversations with the Burisma executive. 

The confidential source said the Burisma executive told him he ‘paid’ the Bidens in such a manner ‘through so many different bank accounts’ that investigators would not be able to ‘unravel this for at least 10 years.’

The document then makes reference to ‘the Big Guy,’ which, has been said to be a reference to Joe Biden.

The Burisma executive told the confidential source that he ‘didn’t pay the Big Guy directly.’ 

Sources said the Burisma executive appears to be at a ‘very, very high level’ of the company. One source familiar suggested the confidential source could be referring to the head of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, but said the name of the Burisma executive is redacted in the document.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly-lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

The confidential source, according to the sources familiar with the FD-1023 form, told the Burisma executive he should ‘get away’ from the Bidens and said the executive should ‘not want to be involved’ with them.

A source familiar with the document told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source goes on to detail a later conversation with the Burisma executive following the 2016 presidential election. The confidential source asked the Burisma executive if he was ‘upset’ that Donald Trump won.

The source said the Burisma executive told the confidential source that he was ‘an oracle,’ referring to his or her advice to ‘get away’ from the Bidens due to fears of potential investigations into their dealings. 

The White House has maintained that President Biden has never been involved in his son’s business dealings and has never discussed them with him. And it has noted that removing Shokin was administration policy at the time.

Hunter Biden is currently under federal investigations for his ‘tax affairs.’ The investigation began in 2018 and was prompted by suspicious foreign transactions. 

The White House declined to comment, pointing to a statement by Joe Biden Thursday calling the allegations ‘a bunch of malarky.’

Most Democrats planning to vote in the 2024 primary election want to see all candidates — including President Biden — go head-to-head on the debate stage before choosing a nominee to represent their party next fall.

A USA Today/Suffolk University survey found that among the 80% of Democrats pushing for primary debates to be held this cycle, 72% are supporting Biden for another term.

‘The decision not to debate is ignoring the 82% of women, 84% of union households, 86% of independents, and 90% of young voters who are not only planning to vote in their state’s Democratic primary or caucus next year but also would like to see a series of Democratic primary debates,’ David Paleologos, director of Suffolk’s Political Research Center, said alongside the polling results. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced there would be no debates before the Democrat presidential primary election, despite concerns over the strength of Biden’s reelection campaign.

When asked who they want to see as the nominee in 2024, 58% of Democrats said they’d like to see Biden on the ticket, while 15% are rooting for Robert F. Kennedy to represent the party. Marianne Williamson was the choice candidate to 6% of Democratic respondents, while 21% remain undecided.

While historically incumbent presidents don’t participate in primary debates, Biden’s Democrat challenger Marianne Williamson urged the DNC to break away from the norms and hold a debate for the ‘fate of our democracy.’

‘The people have a right to hear from other candidates with other ideas. This is not a time in our history for people to acquiesce to any form of control over things that will affect our lives and the lives of our children,’ Williamson wrote in a Newsweek oped. The Democratic Party must allow President Biden to debate his opponents. The fate of our democracy is at stake, and only more democracy can save it.’

Biden’s other competitor RFK Jr. also invited the president to debate.

‘I look forward to engaging him in debates and town hall meetings, in a primary election that is honest, civil, and transparent. I invite him into a new era of respectful dialog in these times of division,’ Kennedy wrote in a Twitter post.

The USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, surveyed 293 registered Democratic voters from June 5th through 7th.