House Republicans have obtained information they say proves ‘indisputably’ that Hunter Biden lied under oath multiple times during his congressional deposition earlier this year. 

The House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday held a mark-up session to discuss documents protected under IRS code 6103 — a portion of the tax code that keeps certain information confidential. Discussing that material without it being properly released by the House Ways & Means Committee is considered a felony. 

The panel voted on Wednesday to release that information. 

‘Hunter Biden has shown once again he believes there are two systems of justice in this country – one for his family, and one for everyone else. Not only did Hunter Biden refuse to comply with his initial subpoena until threatened with criminal contempt, but he then came before Congress and lied,’ House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. ‘The Ways and Means Committee’s investigation, and the documents released today, are not part of a personal vendetta against Hunter Biden, but are meant to ensure the equal application of the law.’ 

Smith said the documents the committee obtained reveal that Hunter Biden lied at least three times during his deposition. 

After publication, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell in a statement denied that any of the three examples were lies. 

‘Here they go again, grasping at straws and twisting Hunter’s testimony to try to revive an impeachment inquiry that was a complete and utter failure,’ Lowell said. 

Smith noted that ‘lying during sworn testimony is a felony offense that the Department of Justice has prosecuted numerous individuals for in recent years, and the American people expect the same accountability for the son of the President of the United States.’ 

‘Hunter Biden’s lies under oath, and obstruction of a congressional investigation into his family’s potential corruption, calls into question other pieces of his testimony,’ Smith said. ‘The newly released evidence affirms, once again, the only witnesses who can be trusted to tell the truth in this investigation are the IRS whistleblowers.’

The committee claims Hunter Biden mischaracterized his role working for his firm, Rosemont Seneca, and actually controlled bank accounts he claimed in his deposition he did not. 

The committee also said Hunter Biden claimed he did not help a foreign national obtain a visa, but the committee says emails between himself and his former associate Devon Archer show that the first son helped a man named Miguel Aleman with visa documents. 

The committee also pointed to Hunter Biden’s claim that he sent a text to the wrong ‘Zhao,’ due to being under the influence, but WhatsApp records show Hunter Biden only spoke with one Zhao — Henry Zhao of Chinese energy firm CEFC. 

Hunter Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure ‘you will regret not following my direction.’

Hunter Biden requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings. 

‘I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,’ Hunter Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. ‘And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.’

Zhao responded, in part, ‘CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family.’

Hunter Biden has been charged in two separate jurisdictions stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ yearslong investigation into him. 

The first son pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for Delaware. He was 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 licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.  

The first son also pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California — specifically, three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. 

Weiss alleged a ‘four-year scheme’ when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 

IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler approached Congress earlier this year, alleging that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the federal investigation into the president’s son were impacted by politics.

Shapley and Ziegler have said they were frustrated that the Justice Department did not charge Hunter Biden for failing to pay federal income tax for 2014 and 2015. They alleged that Weiss had allowed the statute of limitations to expire for tax charges against Hunter Biden from 2014 and 2015 in D.C.

Shapley, who led the IRS portion of the probe, said that Hunter Biden should have been charged with tax evasion for 2014, and for filing false tax returns for 2018 and 2019. With regard to the 2014 tax returns, Shapley said that Hunter Biden did not report income from Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. 

Fox News Digital first reported in December 2020 that Hunter Biden did not report ‘approximately $400,000’ in income he collected from his position on the board of Burisma Holdings when he joined in 2014. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett added his voice to the growing condemnation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after a prosecutor announced he would request arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials. 

‘It’s a shameful moment for the ICC,’ Bennett told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a total joke because they’re taking the leader of a democracy that’s fighting against a terror group. … We fully reject this.’

Bennett repeated the claims that Hamas had burned children and families, raped women and killed 1,400 Israelis while abducting 240 more and accused the ICC of acting as a ‘political tool’ for the enemies of Israel who would equate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with the terrorist group. 

‘No judge in his right mind would consider doing this,’ Bennett argued. ‘Therefore, the ICC needs to be dismantled and defunded, and [we should] use all the tools available to do that.’ 

Bennett called the effort to produce warrants for Israeli officials a ‘political play’ and compared it to the abuse of the United Nations by members to condemn Israel while not condemning Hamas. 

‘It’s a farce,’ Bennett said. ‘It’s not about the evidence. It’s not about facts. It’s about politics, and it’s no secret that these international organs are being used by Israel’s enemies time and again to try and tie our hands while we’re fighting against the worst jihad terrorists in the world.’

A panel of three judges will review ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants for the two Israeli officials as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh and military commander Mohammed Deif for their roles in the Oct. 7 attack. 

Amal Clooney, who assisted Khan in the assessment and filing for arrest warrants, wrote in a statement on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website that investigators on a panel ‘unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas leaders … have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence.’

Khan said his office had also collected evidence that provided ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that Israeli officials ‘bear criminal responsibility for … war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine.’ 

Khan cited alleged crimes of ‘starvation of civilians as a method of warfare’ and ‘internationally directing attacks against a civilian population.’ 

Netanyahu said the ICC warrants for ‘fallacious’ crimes are an example of ‘what the new antisemitism looks like.’ Bennett agreed with the assessment, going even further and calling it ‘anti-Zionism, anti-Israel, antisemitism.’ 

‘We need to deal with it,’ Bennett insisted. ‘We’re being accused of trying to starve the Gazans, but when you look at the evidence, we’ve let in 24,000 trucks, 400,000 tons of food and aid. That’s 30% more than before Oct. 7.

‘We’ve been bending over backwards to reduce civilian casualties while Hamas is doing everything it can to increase civilian casualties, yet Israel is being accused,’ he added. ‘We fully reject this. We need to continue and defeat Hamas. That’s the best response to all of this.’

Israeli war cabinet member and opposition leader Benny Gantz blasted the ICC’s announcement, saying ‘the prosecutor’s position to apply for arrest warrants is in itself a crime of historic proportion to be remembered for generations.’ 

President Biden soundly rejected the ICC’s effort to seek warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant and reiterated that the U.S. does not agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Bennett said Israel has a ‘robust judicial system’ which would assess and handle any crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, insisting that ‘we investigate, and when necessary, we prosecute.’ 

Israel is not a member of the ICC, which means that even if the court does issue the warrants, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution, but the threat of arrest could create difficulties for the officials while traveling abroad. 

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin after he ordered his forces to invade Ukraine in 2022. He has avoided traveling in countries that are ICC members and signatories of the Rome Statute, such as when he was the only leader in the BRICS bloc who did not attend a South African summit last year.

South Africa had urged Putin to avoid visiting the country over fears that officials would find themselves in a difficult choice between arresting an ally or ignoring the Rome Statutes. 

The South African president’s office, however, issued a statement Tuesday applauding the decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders, keeping in line with the country’s campaign to seek criminal punishment for Israel for its actions in Gaza, Reuters reported. 

‘The law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims,’ President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement.

South Africa has led a court case brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice accusing the country and its leaders of committing genocide in Gaza, most recently seeking an injunction to prevent Israel from continuing its operations in the territory. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I recently held a hearing about the dental care crisis in the United States.

Ahead of that hearing, I asked Americans from across the country to share their experiences with dental care in our country.

The responses poured in from people who told us: ‘I am in constant pain,’ ‘I can’t afford dental care,’ ‘I can’t find a dentist,’ ‘My insurance won’t cover the dental procedures I need,’ and ‘I worry about my children’s health.’

One person from Georgia told me that she has had temporary caps on her two front teeth after breaking them as a child. For 15 years, she hasn’t been able to afford permanent replacements. Her caps flake off into her food every time she eats.

A gentleman from Wisconsin shared that it will cost him $1,000 per tooth to get crowns to cover his cracked and broken teeth. He has dental insurance, but they won’t cover the procedure.  

These are the type of responses you might expect if we were living in a third world country. But we are living in the richest country in the history of the world.

Today in America, nearly 70 million adults and nearly 8 million children have no dental insurance. Many of those who do have dental insurance find that coverage to be totally inadequate.

In fact, nearly half of Americans who have dental insurance have skipped their appointments because they could not afford to pay for the procedures they need.

Nearly one out of every five seniors in America have lost all of their natural teeth and, many of them cannot afford dentures.

Among older Americans, 70% have some sort of periodontal disease, which can lead to rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.

The dental crisis does not just impact seniors.

More than 40% of children in America have tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten – primarily because their parents could either not afford or could not find a dentist on time.

The lack of affordable dental care in America is especially acute for low-income Americans, pregnant women, people with disabilities, veterans, those who live in rural communities, and Black, Latino and Native Americans.

The situation has become so absurd, that every year hundreds of thousands of Americans travel to countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Hungary, where it is much less expensive to get the dental care they need – even after paying for round-trip airfare and hotel stays.

And it’s not difficult to understand why:

A dental implant in America can cost about $5,500 compared to around $850 in Mexico, $800 in Costa Rica and $450 in India.The average price of a root canal in America is $1,275 compared to less than $250 in Mexico.A Zirconia crown in America can cost about $2,500 compared to around $500 in Mexico, $450 in Costa Rica and $215 in India.Dentures that cost about $1,800 in America can be purchased in Mexico for around $670.

Let’s be clear. When we talk about dental care, we’re not just talking about having straight teeth and a pretty smile.

If people don’t receive high-quality dental care they are in danger of living their lives in severe pain.

A major cause of absenteeism from school is toothaches and dental pain.

Nearly half of adults in America have some form of periodontal disease, which makes them two to three times more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or some other serious cardiovascular emergency.

And when your teeth are in bad shape and you cannot chew your food properly, you are at greater risk of diabetes, digestive problems and poor birth outcomes.

If we are going to seriously address the dental crisis in America, Congress is going to have to act boldly.

That is why I recently introduced the most comprehensive piece of dental care legislation in the history of our country.

Let me very briefly describe what this legislation would do.

First, it would substantially expand the number of dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists in America – particularly in rural and underserved areas.  In my view, it is unacceptable that 67% of rural communities in America are designated as Dental Professional Shortage Areas. What that means is that millions of rural Americans in our country either have to travel long distances to get to a dentist or simply go without the care they need. This bill would seriously address that issue.

Second, we need to make sure that the dentists we do have start serving more low-income people. In America today, only a third of our dentists provide care to people on Medicaid, and only a very small percentage are providing care for those who are underserved. This legislation would address that issue by increasing reimbursement rates for dental procedures under Medicaid.

Third, we have got to substantially expand high quality and comprehensive dental insurance in America. It is unacceptable that about half of our nation’s seniors do not have comprehensive dental insurance because traditional Medicare does not cover most dental procedures. It is also unacceptable that 12 million adults and children throughout the country lost Medicaid dental coverage last year. 

Further, when our nation’s veterans are 60% more likely to experience tooth decay than non-veterans, it makes no sense that the vast majority of veterans who receive medical care through the VA are not eligible for dental coverage. That is why this bill expands Medicare, Medicaid and the VA to provide comprehensive dental coverage to every senior, veteran and low-income person in America and makes dental care an essential benefit under the Affordable Care Act.

Finally, this bill would substantially expand dental care services that community health centers provide in schools and nursing homes all over America. In 2022, Federally Qualified Health Centers provided dental care to over 6 million people across the country regardless of their ability to pay.  

In my state of Vermont, 9 out of our 11 health centers provide quality, affordable dental care to nearly 40,000 people across the state. Moreover, most of the health centers in Vermont also offer dental services in schools. Nationally, 89% of health centers offered dental services. In my view, we should expand dental care to all health centers in America and that’s precisely what this bill would do.

All over America people are finding themselves in terrible pain. They can’t find a dentist to treat their problems.

It should not be a luxury in this country to keep the teeth in your mouth.

It is time for us to get our national priorities straight.

Israeli forces conducted a raid against a Hamas compound in Gaza on Tuesday, uncovering a tunnel and a significant cache of weapons and explosives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage and images from the operation, which targeted a building Israel says Hamas troops used to fire on their forces. IDF soldiers eliminated ‘dozens’ of Hamas terrorists during the operation, the military said.

‘Soldiers searched a building and located many weapons including protective equipment, explosives, weapons, anti-tank missiles, equipment and tools intended for breaching fences,’ the IDF said in a statement.

Soldiers later ‘located a tunnel shaft containing a weapons warehouse with short-range anti-tank missiles, grenades, weapons, and explosives. This warehouse was intended to be used to carry out terrorist attacks against our forces. The tunnel shaft and the weapons were destroyed,’ the statement continued.

The raid was Israel’s latest of its precision strikes in and around Rafah, the last major stronghold for Hamas in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called for a full scale invasion of the city, but the U.S. aggressively opposed the plan.

President Biden threatened to withhold military aid from Israel if Netanyahu went forward with an invasion. The Israeli leader has so far complied, limiting the IDF to operations like the one on Tuesday.

Despite the restraint, the International Criminal Court is nevertheless seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant. It is also seeking a warrant for Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders.

Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the move as disgraceful and antisemitic. President Biden also lambasted the prosecutor and supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.

A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed. The judges typically take two months to make such decisions.