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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A former White House physician turned Republican lawmaker says President Biden’s mental fitness is a matter of ‘national security.’ 

‘The article’s just documenting what I’ve been saying all along: he’s not fit to be the commander-in-chief,’ Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. ‘He’s got significant issues, he shouldn’t have the job. You know, it’s a national security issue for us.’

It comes after a bombshell report in The Wall Street Journal that cited interviews with 45 people over the course of several months, claiming that congressional leaders and others who have met with Biden have noticed he ‘appears slower now’ and is ‘someone who has both good moments and bad ones.’ 

Before being elected to Congress, Jackson served as the top White House physician to former Presidents Obama and Trump. He also served as chief medical adviser for the latter.

The Journal’s report has prompted furious pushback from the White House and its allies, who have dismissed it as a GOP-led hit piece.

However, Jackson pointed out that some of the commentary apparently came from Democrats. The report said, ‘Most of those who said Biden performed poorly were Republicans, but some Democrats said that he showed his age in several of the exchanges.’

The Texas Republican speculated that it could be the beginnings of a political coup against the 81-year-old president.

‘I think that the fact that it came out like this, and is so well sourced, tells me that this might be the left’s first attempt to start laying the groundwork to get rid of him,’ Jackson said.

Jackson told Fox News Digital that he has sent five letters to the White House since Biden took office in January 2021, urging him to take a cognitive test and to make those results public. All five letters have gone unanswered, he said.

‘I don’t know if it does any good to send another letter at this point,’ Jackson said. ‘They’ve ignored them all.’

White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded to Jackson’s comments by comparing him to a character from ‘The Simpsons’ who’s known to have questionable medical practices. 

‘I’d refer Dr. Nick Riviera to what Kevin McCarthy said about negotiating with President Biden in the moment, when it was still fresh in his mind: ‘very professional, very smart. Very tough at the same time,’ Bates told Fox News Digital.

There have been several recent polls that show Biden’s age is a top concern for voters.

A March New York Times/Siena College poll found that 61% of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 agreed with the statement, ‘Joe Biden is just too old to be an effective president.’ 

Bates hit back at the Journal’s report, saying, ‘Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment.’

‘Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues,’ Bates said.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., posted on X, ‘Many of us spent time with [the Journal] to share on the record our first-hand experiences with [Biden], where we see his wisdom, experience, strength and strategic thinking. Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans and printed a hit piece.’

‘I made clear to the [Journal] regarding the January meeting on Ukraine that the President was absolutely engaged & ran that meeting in a way that brought everyone together. I’m not quoted — I wonder why,’ Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote on X.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

President Biden’s cognitive performance is once again being thrust into the spotlight following a new report from The Wall Street Journal that the 81-year-old is showing signs of slowing down during private meetings. 

Many Republicans and even some Democrats said the president showed his age in those settings, according to the Journal, citing conversations with 45 lawmakers and administration officials about the president’s mental performance. 

White House officials are dismissing many of the accounts, but here are five of President Biden’s recent gaffes.

May 20: Biden says Hamas hostage being held in Gaza is at the White House 

President Biden said at a Rose Garden event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month in May that American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg Polin, who is currently being held captive by Hamas, was in attendance. 

‘My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg Polin,’ Biden said, before quickly correcting himself. 

‘And still he is not here with us, but he’s still being held by Hamas,’ Biden then said, recognizing the 23-year-old’s parents, who were in attendance that day. 

May 19: Biden suggests he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic 

President Biden appeared to claim during a campaign event in Michigan that he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic and that former President Obama dispatched him to Detroit to help battle the disease. 

‘And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,’ Biden said. ‘And, what happened was Barack said to me: ‘Go to Detroit — and help fix it.’’ 

But the coronavirus pandemic, numbered COVID-19 due to global health officials having deemed it an outbreak in 2019, transpired in the latter years of former President Trump’s term, not when Obama was president. Biden was last vice president in January 2017. 

April 24: Biden reads teleprompter instructions out loud 

President Biden, during a speech at a trade union conference in Washington, D.C., appeared to read teleprompter instructions out loud. 

‘I see an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up, where the wealthy pay their fair share, so we can have childcare, paid leave and so much more and still reduce the federal deficit and increase economic growth. Folks, imagine what we can do next, four more years, pause,’ Biden said.  

The crowd then broke out in a chant of ‘Four more years!’ while Biden did indeed pause. 

April 23: Biden asks crowd how many times does Trump have to prove ‘we can’t be trusted’? 

Biden, speaking during a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida, said that ‘now, in America today, in 2024, women have fewer rights than their mothers and their grandmothers had because of Donald Trump.’ 

‘Look, I don’t think we are going to let them get away with it, do you?’ Biden asked the crowd, who shouted ‘No!’ in response. 

‘And folks, in a sense, I don’t know why we are surprised by Trump — how many times does he have to prove we can’t be trusted?’ Biden then asked the crowd. 

Feb. 7: Biden claims he spoke with German chancellor who died in 2017 

Biden in 2021 claimed he spoke with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, while recalling past conversations during fundraising events. 

Biden attended three campaign reception events in New York, according to his schedule. At his second and third events, he told donors about conversations surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, at his first Group of Seven (G7) meeting as president, which took place in England in June of that year. 

The president said that Kohl asked him what he would say if he learned 1,000 people stormed the British Parliament in an attempt to deny the next prime minister from taking office. 

The annual meeting was not attended by Kohl, as he had been dead for four years, but by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Fox News’ Landon Mion, Charles Creitz and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.