‘Anti-distraction' bill moves through Roundhouse
CYFD bills pass House Judiciary Committee
Districts will be able to use new technology such as magnetic bags or lockers to hold students' phones while school is in session. The bill also allocates funds for grant programs distributed by the Public Education Department, so the financial cost doesn't fall on the districts.
The senator sponsoring the bill hopes it will address phone addiction and better assist teachers in the classroom. 'We know that the average teen is spending over five hours a day on their cell phones. Much of that time is actually during the school hours, and it impacts not only their mental health but also proficiency rates in the classroom,' says Sen. Crystal Brantley (R- Elephant Butte)
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The Hill
5 days ago
- The Hill
House GOP moves to establish long-delayed Jan. 6 committee
House Republicans are moving to create a long-delayed select subcommittee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — more than six months after it was initially announced. A resolution to create the subcommittee was filed on Wednesday, GOP leaders tell The Hill, after months of it being put on the backburner and lawmakers hashing out disputes over how much the panel would be authorized to investigate. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who is leading the effort, got direct support from President Trump in pushing to finally create the committee, The Hill has learned. It will still be weeks before the committee is established. With the House heading out of town over the August recess, a vote on the resolution to create the select committee is not expected until the chamber returns in September. As a select subcommittee, all the members will be subject to the approval of the Speaker. The select subcommittee will be tucked under the House Judiciary Committee and chaired by Loudermilk, who led probes into Jan. 6 matters in the last Congress under the banner of the House Administration Committee's subcommittee on oversight. Loudermilk's previous investigations included the Capitol security posture, as well as the activities of the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee established after Trump supporters stormed the building in support of his fraud claims. 'House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is clearly more work to be done,' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement first shared with The Hill. 'The resolution introduced today will establish this Select Subcommittee so we can continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people. House Republicans remain intent on delivering the answers that House Democrats skipped over.' Loudermilk had secured a commitment to lead a select subcommittee to further investigate Jan. 6 issues in this Congress, and Johnson announced the panel in January. But months went by and no committee was established, frustrating Loudermilk. Matters from a government shutdown deadline to the crafting of Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' took precedence. There were also disputes about what the legislative jurisdiction of the panel would be, with Loudermilk wanting to carry on all the lines of inquiry from his previous probes and being dismayed by the Speaker's office originally pitching a plan that would limit the jurisdiction to that of the House Judiciary Committee. Those jurisdictional issues were resolved, a source told The Hill. The panel has the Judiciary Committee's broad scope over law enforcement and more when investigating matters related to Jan. 6 — as well as a commitment from chairmen from other areas of jurisdiction and the White House to green-light probes into any other lines of inquiry. That could include more investigation into the original Democratic-controlled Jan. 6 panel. Loudermilk will also have full subpoena power. The panel will have eight members, three of whom will be members appointed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) subject to the Speaker's approval. It is instructed to release a final report by Dec. 31, 2026. Loudermilk said in a statement that while his previous probes 'uncovered that what happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities,' there is 'still much work to be done.' 'It is vital that we continue to uncover the facts and begin the task of making needed reforms to ensure this level of security failure may never happen again,' Loudermilk said. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) took a swipe at the previous Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee while commending Loudermilk. 'The partisan January 6 Committee failed to uncover crucial pieces of information for the American people, and Rep. Loudermilk has been the leader in getting to the bottom of the Democrat-run Committee's failures. Rep. Loudermilk will continue to work tirelessly to get everyone the truth,' Jordan said in a statement. The Democrats' previous Jan. 6 panel drew Trump's ire — and its members, which included now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), received a preemptive pardon from former President Biden on his last day in office amid threats of prosecution. Loudermilk and Jordan both have some personal beef with the original Jan. 6 committee. Jordan refused to comply with a subpoena it issued him, arguing it was not a legitimate inquiry. And the panel asked the Georgia lawmaker to appear voluntarily to explain a tour he gave in the Capitol complex on Jan. 5, 2021 — a request he said was meant to push a 'false narrative.' Loudermilk's previous panel released an 'interim report' in December 2024 that recommended a criminal investigation into Cheney, accusing her of witness tampering by being in touch with star hearing witness Cassidy Hutchinson.
New York Post
7 days ago
- New York Post
Hunter Biden special counsel David Weiss claimed his team ‘couldn't prove' first son was foreign agent: testimony
WASHINGTON — House Republicans released long-anticipated testimony from former Delaware US Attorney David Weiss on Monday, revealing that the prosecutors of former first son Hunter Biden felt they lacked sufficient evidence to prove he acted as a foreign agent. Weiss, who brought tax and gun crime cases against the Hunter, now 55, admitted in a June 6 interview with the House Judiciary Committee that he 'personally' considered bringing charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) but dropped the matter when his team 'couldn't prove it.' 3 House Republicans released long-anticipated testimony from former Delaware US Attorney David Weiss on Monday. Getty Images Advertisement 3 Weiss 'personally' considered bringing charges against Hunter Biden under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) but dropped the matter when his team 'couldn't prove it.' AFP via Getty Images '[W]e didn't have enough evidence to prove that Hunter Biden had acted as a — as an agent of a foreign principal and had engaged in political activity in that regard. We just couldn't put together a sufficient case,' Weiss said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Judiciary panel. '[W]hat I'd say is personally I viewed consideration of a FARA charge — I did give some credence to whether the agent was acting on behalf of a foreign government as opposed to a foreign principal — a foreign individual or a foreign private corporation,' added the former Delaware US attorney. Advertisement 'I do view them differently. However, the statute encompasses — the way it's written, it would encompass both activity. But I do agree, as your question suggested, there is — in my mind, there is a difference in the seriousness or the — of the conduct that you're talking about, acting on behalf of a foreign government versus a foreign corporation.' A House Republican impeachment inquiry dug up instances of Hunter Biden invoking his father's name to secure lucrative business deals and engage with clients from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia and China. 3 Joe Biden repeatedly denied ever interacting with any of his son's business associates — despite emails and witness testimonies contradicting his claims — and claimed that Hunter had 'done nothing wrong' in his work abroad. Joe Biden repeatedly denied ever interacting with any of his son's business associates — despite emails and witness testimonies contradicting his claims — and claimed that Hunter had 'done nothing wrong' in his work abroad. This is a developing story. Please check back for more information.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Fox News
Special Counsel David Weiss got little help from Biden DOJ to prosecute president's son Hunter: Transcript
FIRST ON FOX: Former special counsel David Weiss got little support from the Department of Justice (DOJ) when he sought lawyers to help prosecute President Joe Biden's son Hunter, Weiss told Congress during a recent closed-door interview. Amid delicate plea deal negotiations between Hunter Biden and Weiss in 2023, Weiss said he asked the DOJ deputy attorney general's office for a team of trial lawyers and received a single resume, according to a transcript of the interview reviewed by Fox News Digital. "Actually, as I think about the sequencing, I had started to reach out myself directly to offices or people that I knew and make my own inquiries," Weiss told House Judiciary Committee staff of his struggle to hire lawyers for the sensitive job of trying the president's son. Weiss appeared on Capitol Hill for the interview in June as part of the committee's inquiry into the DOJ's years-long investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden. Now no longer a DOJ employee, Weiss spoke candidly for hours with the committee, shedding new light on his interactions with the Biden DOJ and giving fresh insight into why Hunter Biden was never charged with certain violations. Weiss was appointed U.S. attorney of Delaware during the first Trump administration and began investigating Hunter Biden at that time. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland made Weiss special counsel in August 2023 after a plea agreement with Hunter Biden fell apart. Republicans had accused Weiss of offering Hunter Biden a "sweetheart" plea deal that involved only misdemeanors. But in an unusual move, a judge rejected the deal, leading Weiss to instead bring two successful indictments against the then-first son, one for illegal gun possession and another for nine tax charges, including three felonies. Weiss came under enormous scrutiny by Republicans and Democrats for his handling of the investigation, which had become a hyper-political national news story centered on the salacious behavior and wrongdoings of Hunter Biden, a recovering drug and alcohol addict, and allegations that Joe Biden was complicit in his son's crimes. Republicans claimed Weiss was not tough enough on Hunter Biden, while Democrats said he was being treated more harshly than a typical defendant because he was the president's son. Joe Biden ultimately granted an unconditional pardon to his son, a move widely criticized by members of both parties. Weiss said during the interview that he was "fortunate enough to obtain a couple very excellent prosecutors," a reference to the two DOJ attorneys who handled trial preparations for Hunter Biden. But, Weiss also indicated that when he first requested lawyers in the spring of 2023, he had to be self-sufficient in finding them and that the deputy attorney general's office was unhelpful. Weiss noted he did not deal directly with former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco at all and assumed she was recused from Hunter Biden's cases. Weiss said that at one point he ran into the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, which handles recruitment, at an event and asked if any hiring progress had been made. Weiss did not "have a whole lot of success" during that conversation, he said. "What do you mean, you didn't have success? … They didn't give you lawyers?" a committee aide asked. "I got one resume," Weiss replied. The aide asked, "Nobody wanted to come prosecute Hunter Biden?" "I don't want to say that because I don't know that they weren't trying to find people," Weiss said. "All I know was I didn't get a whole lot of resumes." Weiss eventually gained two attorneys, Leo Wise and Derek Hines, who went on to secure a conviction by a jury in Delaware after a week-long trial on gun possession charges and a guilty plea to all nine of Hunter Biden's tax charges. A committee aide pressed Weiss on why he felt there was "such a drought" of help at DOJ headquarters. "As I said a moment ago … I did not receive a lot of resumes in response to my initial request," Weiss said, noting that eventually the DOJ's Public Integrity Section assisted him. Asked if the Public Integrity Section helped him because Weiss proactively reached out, Weiss replied, "Probably." For his testimony, the Trump DOJ gave Weiss permission in a letter to talk to Congress about Hunter Biden's cases. The department noted, however, that it could not authorize Weiss to talk about the former first son's confidential tax information. Weiss suggested, though, that he would have charged Hunter Biden for the 2014 and 2015 tax years if he could have. "To the extent I can put together — and this is general — a case that involves more years than not and allows me to more fully develop allegations about a course of conduct and a scheme, that's better for the prosecution," Weiss said. "So it's not like I'm looking to cut out years generally when you're pursuing a tax investigation." During the years in question, Hunter Biden was raking in $1 million per year as a board member of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father, then vice president, was overseeing foreign policy with Ukraine. The scenario became ripe for questions about conflicts of interest, in part because of suspicious interactions between Hunter Biden and the Obama State Department. In Weiss's final special counsel report, he dodged explaining why he brought charges of failure to pay taxes and tax evasion against Hunter Biden only for the tax years after 2015, citing Joe Biden's pardon. Now, Weiss said, he would be more willing to talk about it if he were legally allowed to do so. Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pressed Weiss, saying the "political aspects of Burisma" raised "glaring" questions about the prosecutorial decisions made for the years for which Hunter Biden avoided charges. "I understand," Weiss replied. "Absolutely. Yes. And I wish that I could address it. But it's my understanding that, for me to trip into 2014 and '15 is a violation of [U.S. code]." Weiss also told the committee his team had no serious discussions about charging Hunter Biden under a foreign lobby law called the Foreign Agents Registration Act. "We just couldn't put together a sufficient case," Weiss said.
