The FBI is willing to allow all members of the House Oversight Committee to view the subpoenaed document that alleges President Biden was involved in a criminal bribery scheme, a source familiar told Fox News Digital. 

The source familiar said all members of the panel would be able to view the document in question — an FBI-generated 1023 form — in a secure location. It is unclear whether the secure location would be in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) on Capitol Hill or at the FBI’s headquarters. 

The offer comes as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is set to begin contempt of Congress hearings against FBI Director Wray on Thursday for failing to comply with the committee’s subpoena for the document. 

The document allegedly describes a $5 million criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.

The FBI brought the FD-1023 form to Capitol Hill on Monday for Comer and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to review in a secure SCIF, resulting from a back-and-forth between committee Republicans and the bureau over whether it was in compliance with his subpoena. 

The FBI initially offered to allow Comer to review the document at FBI headquarters, but amid Comer’s threats to hold Wray in contempt of Congress, the bureau offered additional accommodations to bring the physical document to Capitol Hill.

Despite the accommodation, Comer said Monday that the FBI is still not in compliance with the subpoena to turn over the physical document to the committee.

‘At the briefing, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee,’ Comer said in a statement. ‘And we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday.’

‘Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further,’ Comer wrote. ‘The investigation is not dead. This is only the beginning.’

The FBI, on Monday, said the move to hold the director in contempt is unwarranted, as the bureau has ‘continually demonstrated its commitment to accommodate the committee’s request, including by producing the document in a reading room at the U.S. Capitol.’ 

‘This commonsense safeguard is often employed in response to congressional requests and in court proceedings to protect important concerns, such as the physical safety of sources and the integrity of investigations,’ the FBI said in a statement. ‘The escalation to a contempt vote under these circumstances is unwarranted.’ 

Meanwhile, Comer said FBI officials confirmed Monday that the unclassified FBI-generated record ‘has not been disproven and is currently being used in an ongoing investigation by a confidential human source who provided information about the vice president by being involved in a criminal bribery scheme is a trusted, highly credible informant who has been used by the FBI for over ten years and has been paid over 6 figures.’ 

Comer added, ‘These are facts and no amount of spin and frankly, lies from the White House or congressional Democrats can change this information.’

Fox News Digital first reported Friday that the confidential human source who provided the Biden information to the FBI was a ‘pre-existing’ FBI source who has been used in multiple investigative matters separate from the Biden information.

The source told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source was used by the FBI for ‘at least several years’ before the generation of the June 2020 FD-1023 form that detailed the Biden allegations.

The source also told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source has been ‘consistently reviewed by the FBI’ and has been ‘found to be highly credible.’

The source said the individual participated in investigative matters during the Obama administration.

The revelations of the document come after Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were approached by a whistleblower who said the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form dated June 30, 2020 — that explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source who alleged that Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a $5 million criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

The information in the FD-1023 form, according to the whistleblower, reveals ‘a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose’ and details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions. 

An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI.

President Biden has joined far-left ‘Squad’ member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in linking the ongoing Canadian wildfires pouring smoke into the U.S. to the ‘climate crisis.’

‘We’ve deployed more than 600 U.S. firefighters, support personnel, and equipment to support Canada as they respond to record wildfires – events that are intensifying because of the climate crisis,’ Biden tweeted Wednesday. 

‘Here at home, we’re in close touch with state and local leaders to ensure they have the support they need. It’s critical that Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution, especially those with health conditions, listen to local authorities to protect themselves and their families,’ he added.

Earlier in the day, Ocasio-Cortez used the wildfires, as well as record-high temperatures in Puerto Rico, to push her signature Green New Deal, saying the world is ‘unprepared’ for the ‘climate crisis.’

‘Between NYC in wildfire smoke and this in PR, it bears repeating how unprepared we are for the climate crisis,’ she tweeted. ‘We must adapt our food systems, energy grids, infrastructure, healthcare, etc ASAP to prepare for what’s to come and catch up to what is already here.’

There are currently 413 active wildfires across Canada, 249 of them considered out of control, and, as of Sunday, around 8.15 million acres had already burned across the country, which is nearly 13 times the 10-year average, according to Reuters.

The wildfires have continued pouring smoke into the U.S., polluting the air along the East Coast, including the New York City area, which Wednesday afternoon, appeared orange like it was on the planet Mars.

It’s unclear exactly how the fires originated, however parts of Canada have been experiencing drought conditions and unusually high temperatures, creating a ripe environment for wildfires to spark.

Canadian officials have reached out to other countries to help fight the more than 400 fires across the country that have displaced 20,000 people.

New York City is experiencing its worst air quality in recorded history, per FOX Weather’s analysis of EPA historical data, affecting millions of people.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other health and emergency management officials have warned residents to remain indoors as much as possible and limit their time outside. If residents must go outside, officials suggested wearing a mask.

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

A man accused of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up an astonishing scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020.

Shawn Fix said he provided material support for an act of terrorism, namely the strategy to snatch Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in Antrim County. Prosecutors agreed to drop a weapon charge.

Fix trained with a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, for ‘politically motivated violence,’ prosecutors have said, and hosted a five-hour meeting at his Belleville home where there was much discussion about kidnapping Whitmer.

Fix, 40, acknowledged helping plot leader Adam Fox pinpoint the location of Whitmer’s home, key information that was used for a 2020 ride to find the property in northern Michigan.

‘Guilty,’ Fix told the judge.

He appeared in an Antrim County court, one of five people charged in that leg of the investigation. A co-defendant pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in March, leaving three other men to face trial in August.

Fix, who faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, agreed to testify if called by prosecutors.

The main kidnapping conspiracy case was handled in federal court, where four men, including ringleaders Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted. Two others were acquitted.

Separately, three men were convicted at trial in Jackson County, the site of militia training, and are serving long prison terms.

Whitmer, a Democrat, was targeted as part of a broad effort by anti-government extremists to trigger a civil war around the time of the 2020 presidential election, investigators said. Her COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, were deeply scorned by foes.

But informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months, leading to arrests in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.

After the plot was thwarted, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given ‘comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.’ Last August, after 19 months out of office, Trump called the kidnapping plan a ‘fake deal.’

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The use of handheld cellphones while driving a car will be outlawed in Michigan under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that will take effect on June 30.

The new law will expand Michigan’s ban on texting and driving to apply to all handheld cellphone use while operating a motor vehicle, including making calls or scrolling social media. Motorists will still be able to use hands-free devices.

‘We need to remove distractions and make our roads safer for everyone who’s using them,’ Whitmer said at a bill signing in Plymouth. ‘Each traffic death is more than just a statistic. It’s a human being.’

Over half of all states currently have bans on handheld devices for all drivers. Data released earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 2021 there was a 12% rise in fatal crashes involving at least one distracted driver, with 3,522 people killed.

Penalties for distracted driving will also increase. A first offense could cost drivers $100 and/or 16 hours of community service and then $250 for each subsequent offense and/or 24 hours of community service.

If a driver accumulates three or more violations within three years, a court could require that a driving improvement course be taken.

Law enforcement, first responders and other public emergency workers will still be allowed to use a cellphone while performing official duties. Anyone calling or texting 911 or other emergency services will also be exempt from the law.

The new law will take effect during the most dangerous time of the year to be on the road, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Whitmer said.

Multiple individuals who have lost family members to distracted driving crashes joined Michigan lawmakers at the bill signing. Steve Kiefer, a retired General Motors executive whose son, Mitchel, was killed in a 2016 distracted driving crash, said that while ‘we can’t bring our loved ones back, this legislation will help save hopefully all of your loved ones.’

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A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to subsidize adult mental health programs easily cleared the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday.Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the initiative, according to a spokesman.‘If we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket, ‘ Mike Schlossberg, the bill’s Democratic sponsor, said.

A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to pay for adult mental health programs easily passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday, a plan built on the recommendations of a state commission charged with issuing suggestions for coordinated care.

The bill passed 173-30 and was sent to the Senate. A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said that he supports the legislation.

The American Rescue Plan Act money would bolster the behavioral health industry’s workforce, improve the criminal justice and public safety systems and expand access to support.

‘It is a little strange to talk about $100 million as a number that is both large and small, but that’s actually what we’re looking at here. This money will have a deeply personal impact on people across the commonwealth,’ said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat. ‘That being said, if we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket.’

The measure stems from the effort that began last session when the Legislature created the Behavioral Health Commission on Adult Mental Health. The 24 members — from the behavioral health field, state agencies and a variety of communities — were told to determine how to divvy up federal funds designated for such uses.

The largest chunk of funds, $34 million, would go toward workforce development and retention in the behavioral health field, which would include training, paid internships, loan repayment and tuition assistance.

About $32 million would address criminal justice and public safety programs through grants administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Sponsors said it would help reduce recidivism.

Additional funds would pay for supporting suicide prevention programs, integrating behavioral health with physical health in primary care practices, developing peer-led mental health and substance use services and developing grants for technology and training for telehealth providers.

Other bills eyeing mental health also are in the pipeline, including legislation to support children’s mental health in schools, ongoing funding for the suicide prevention hotline 988, plus funding for counties’ services.

A top priority for counties is securing more state aid for the safety-net mental health services that they administer. They say there aren’t enough beds or counselors for people who need help after demand spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesman for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said it supports the legislation, even though the money is not helping fund the county-run services. For those services, counties are seeking an additional $150 million — an almost 60% increase — while Shapiro’s budget proposal included just $20 million more.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman early Wednesday during his second trip to Saudi Arabia as America’s top diplomat.

Blinken arrived in the kingdom Tuesday amid strained relations between Riyadh and Washington, D.C. as Prince Mohammed has clashed with the Biden administration over its supply of crude oil to global markets, its willingness to partner with Russia in OPEC+ and its China-mediated détente reached with Iran.

Tensions also are still present following President Biden’s pledge to make Saudi Arabia ‘a pariah’ following the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Despite conflict, a relationship remains due to Saudi Arabia’s reliance on America as a security guarantor for the wider Middle East in response to Iran’s nuclear program, and shared common interests in striking a lasting cease-fire in Sudan and ending the kingdom’s war in Yemen, according to The Associated Press.

‘Under the hood, especially when it comes to security and a few other matters like that, the relationship is stronger than it was a year ago,’ said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. ‘It looks more strained – and in some superficial ways it is – but it is overall stronger.’

In Blinken’s meeting with Prince Mohammed early Wednesday, the countries discussed their ‘shared commitment to advance stability, security, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond,’ according to the State Department.

‘The secretary also emphasized that our bilateral relationship is strengthened by progress on human rights,’ a statement added.

A statement from Saudi Arabia acknowledged the meeting, but further details were not included, The AP reported.

Since oil prices are well below $100 a barrel, it’s unlikely that discussions included immediate concerns over gas prices. 

It is possible Washington will try to leverage its security relationship with Saudi Arabia as it gets warmer with China and Russia, but, in return, the Saudis will likely want guarantees that Biden can’t provide when it comes to Congress stopping arms sales to the kingdom, Ibish said.

When asked about the possibility of Blinken bringing up human rights issues, including Khashoggi’s death, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim declined to discuss specifics, but told journalists last week that ‘human rights are a pillar of how this administration engages with countries around the world and in this region.’

‘I think what you’ll see on this trip is a vision of the U.S.-Saudi relationship that’s both rooted in our historic mainstays of cooperation in areas like defense and security and counterterrorism, includes ongoing important regional diplomacy when it comes to Yemen and Sudan, and looks for opportunities for regional de-escalation and regional integration,’ Benaim said.

He added: ‘We will not leave a vacuum for our strategic competitors in the region.’

Blinken’s visit comes nearly a month after Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Jeddah to meet with Prince Mohammed, which kicked off a list of international meetings for the prince.

Within the past month, the kingdom has hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s sanctioned interior minister Vladimir Kolokotsev. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro also met with Prince Mohammed on Monday, according to Saudi state television.

During the visit, Blinken is also scheduled to attend an anti-Islamic State meeting in Riyadh and a meeting with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Someone left a dead raccoon and a sign with ‘intimidating language’ that mentioned a Black city councilor outside the law office of an Oregon mayor, police said.

Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch found the raccoon and the sign on Monday, the Redmond Police Department said in a news release. The sign mentioned Fitch and Redmond City Councilor Clifford Evelyn by name, police said.

Fitch called the sign’s language ‘racially hateful.’ He declined to elaborate but told The Bulletin, ‘I feel bad for Clifford. It seems there’s some people in town that can’t accept the fact that Clifford is Black and is on the City Council.’

Police aren’t revealing the sign’s exact language in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, city spokesperson Heather Cassaro said. Police said they are investigating the act as a potential hate crime.

Evelyn, a retired law enforcement officer who was elected to the council in 2021, described the act as a hate crime but said he has confidence in the police investigation, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

Raccoon imagery has long been an insulting, anti-Black caricature in the United States. With roots in slavery, it’s among ‘the most blatantly degrading of all Black stereotypes,’ according to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery in Michigan.

In recent years, a Black Redmond teenager found a threatening message on her doorstep, while a failed Deschutes County Commission candidate displayed a Confederate flag at the city’s Fourth of July parade.

‘The people in this part of the country are just gonna have to catch up,’ Evelyn said. ‘It’s just the knuckleheads that can’t get on track. And they’re causing harm to everyone and making us look bad.’

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The Biden administration is expected to soon finalize regulations restricting which home gas-powered furnaces consumers are able to purchase in the future.

According to experts, the regulations — proposed in June 2022 by the Department of Energy (DOE) — would restrict consumer choice, drive prices higher and likely have a low impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The agency could finalize the rules targeting residential gas furnaces, which more than 50% of American households rely on for space heating, at any point over the upcoming weeks.

‘This is a classic example of one size not fitting all,’ Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘Every home is different, every homeowner is different and people are best off having a wide range of choices. They can work with their contractor to make the best decision for their home and their circumstances.’

‘The efficiency standard would effectively outlaw non-condensing furnaces and condensing alternatives would be the only ones available,’ Lieberman said. ‘Those are more efficient, but they cost more. And installation costs could be a big problem for some houses that are not compatible with condensing furnaces.’

Under the proposed regulations, DOE would require furnaces to achieve an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 95% by 2029, meaning manufacturers would only be allowed to sell furnaces that convert at least 95% of fuel into heat within six years. The current market standard AFUE for a residential furnace is 80%.

Because of the stringent AFUE requirements, the regulations would largely take non-condensing gas furnaces — which are generally less efficient, but cheaper — off the market. But consumers who replace their non-condensing furnace with a condensing furnace after the rule is implemented, face hefty installation costs.

‘There are some really technical reasons why this is such a concerning rule,’ Richard Meyer, the vice president of energy markets, analysis and standards at the American Gas Association (AGA), told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘It has to do with the ability for consumers to be in compliance with this new efficiency standard.’ 

‘They’re going to have to, in many cases, install new equipment to exhaust gas out of their home. These higher efficiency units, or so-called condensing units — a lot of consumers have them in their home, but a lot of consumers don’t. So, this rule would require additional retrofits for a lot of consumers. And those retrofits can be extremely cost prohibitive.’

The AGA, whose members provide natural gas to more than 74 million customers nationwide, filed comments in opposition of the furnace rules with the DOE last year. The industry group has argued consumers would be better served if the agency allowed the free market to naturally increase product efficiency. 

Overall, between 40-60% of the current residential furnaces on the market currently would be prohibited under the proposed regulation.

‘What we’re seeing across the U.S. federal government and reflected, of course, in many states right now is an active policy push intended to address climate change,’ said Meyer. ‘But the outcome is to restrict the options and availability of the direct use of natural gas for consumers.’

‘AGA’s primary concern is, one, removing that option, that choice, from consumers,’ he continued. ‘Two, in many cases, natural gas remains the lowest cost and even lowest-emissions resource for many consumers. A lot of the policies we’re seeing that are designed to restrict natural gas may end up having a counterproductive result and could increase costs to consumers and could increase the emissions associated with the energy use by those consumers.’

In its announcement last year, the DOE claimed the efficiency standards would save the average family about $100 a year and reduce carbon emissions by 373 million metric tons and methane emissions by 5.1 million tons.

Francis Dietz, a spokesperson for the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute which represents heating equipment manufacturers, said his organization’s members are in favor of regulations that aren’t ‘overly stringent.’ 

‘Our main goal in this is to have a rule that is reasonable enough so that there are still higher efficiency choices for consumers,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘So, you know, you would have one at a level low enough where it would be more affordable for consumers and others who felt they needed even more efficiency would still have some choices there. That’s really our main goal.’

The expected rule, meanwhile, comes amid a blitz of DOE rulemaking targeting appliance efficiency standards. Over the last several months, the DOE has unveiled new standards for various appliances including gas stoves, ovens, clothes washers, refrigerators, air conditioners and dishwashers.

And in December, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm touted that the administration had taken 110 actions on energy efficiency standards in 2022 alone. The energy secretary added that the regulations strengthened U.S. leadership in ‘the race towards a clean energy future.’

According to the current federal Unified Agenda, a government-wide, semiannual list that highlights regulations agencies plan to propose or finalize within the next 12 months, the Biden administration is moving forward with rules impacting dozens more appliances, including pool pumps, battery chargers, ceiling fans and dehumidifiers.

Under the DOE’s mission statement, the Unified Agenda highlights advancing ‘energy efficiency and conservation’ as one of five central pillars. Broadly, Democrats and environmentalists have argued that electrification, banning natural gas hookups and implementing strict energy efficiency standards could help accelerate emissions reductions.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is calling on Congress to pass an internet user privacy standard as a first step toward making sure Americans are knowledgeable and their data safe amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. 

Blackburn is one of four Republicans on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property (IP). The panel is holding a hearing Wednesday afternoon titled, ‘Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property – Part I: Patents, Innovation, and Competition.’

‘We’re going to look at it from the IP angle because when you watch what China is doing, and how they are pushing people from around the globe to come to China and file their patents with AI, different applications and uses. And they have filed right at 1.6 million applications. That’s more than double the number that had been filed in the US…on AI uses,’ she said. ‘We shouldn’t let this issue sit out there without going further into the threat that it’s going to create for our U.S. innovators.’

The senator was referring to statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that show China filed more patents than both the U.S. and Europe in 2021, more than 1.5 million. China has also filed nearly 75% of the world’s total number of AI patents in the last decade.

However, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has for years been accused of intellectual property theft of Americans — an effort Blackburn worries will only more advanced with AI.

‘I know that it’s a source of aggravation for many of our innovators — whether they’re in the consumables market or after-market auto parts, or you know, auto electric vehicle component parts or music,’ Blackburn said. ‘The thing is, a lot of people don’t know that they’re pirated until somebody sends something in for repair, and they realize they didn’t make this… It is something that is an infringed patent or copyright.’

Asked about what steps Congress could take to safeguard Americans’ IP, particularly as China’s AI capabilities grow more advanced, Blackburn suggested lawmakers start with ensuring user data are safe online. 

‘I think the first thing we’re going to have to do is pass an online consumer privacy protection standard. That law needs to be passed,’ she said. ‘You’re going to have to give the individual the right to protect their information online and to hold it out of that open source, be able to firewall their information and their use in the virtual space.’

‘Secondly, there’s going to have to be a discussion, and we’ll do more of this, how you handle the patent copyright issue. Because our law doesn’t cover those that are generated through technology. They cover those that are filed by humans. So we’ve got to figure that component out,’ Blackburn added.

The AI and intellectual property hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. this afternoon. Senators are scheduled to hear from tech policy experts as well as executives from Google and Novartis.