House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary Committees plan to ask their colleagues in the House of Representatives to hold President Joe Biden’s youngest son in contempt of Congress after he skirted deposition subpoenas that would have aided their investigations into Biden family corruption.
Both the Judiciary and Oversight Committees issued subpoenas demanding Hunter’s presence and testimony at a Dec. 13, 2023 deposition that would aid Republicans’ presidential impeachment inquiry and attempt “to conduct legislative oversight.”
“Mr. Biden’s testimony is a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him,” both committees’ resolutions state.
The committees also planned to use Hunter’s testimony to inform future financial disclosure legislation that requires “transparency when the President’s or Vice President’s family members engage in lucrative financial transactions.”
“As part of our investigation, the Committees seek to craft legislative solutions aimed at deficiencies we have identified in the current legal framework regarding ethics laws and the disclosure of financial interests related to the immediate family members of Vice Presidents and Presidents—deficiencies that may place American national security and interests at risk,” the reports note. “Specifically, the Committees are concerned that foreign nationals appear to have sought access and influence by engaging in lucrative business relationships with high-profile political figures’ immediate family members.”
Congressional committees have the Supreme Court-backed power and precedent to command someone’s presence as part of an investigation. U.S. Code also grants punishment for those who deliberately fail to respond to congressional summons in the form of a misdemeanor, up to a $100,000 fine, and one year of prison time.
Hunter’s legal team, however, repeatedly spurned the Oversight and Judiciary Committees’ congressional subpoenas over Hunter’s insistence that “Committees deviate from their standard investigative procedure to provide Mr. Biden with special treatment” with a public hearing. Both committees determined Hunter’s excuses for failing to comply with the subpoena lack merit.
According to the committees‘ resolutions published on Monday, Hunter “violated federal law” when he spent his time on Dec. 13 hosting a press conference in front of the Capitol instead of complying with a congressional subpoena. During that speech, Hunter spuriously claimed, “My father was not financially involved in my business” and accused House Oversight Chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of having “distorted the facts by cherry-picking lines from a bank statement, manipulating texts I sent, editing the testimony of my friends and former business partners, and misstating personal information that was stolen from me.”
“Mr. Biden’s flagrant defiance of the Committees’ deposition subpoenas—while choosing to appear nearby on the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same matters—is contemptuous, and he must be held accountable for his unlawful actions,” the reports state.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later confirmed President Biden was “certainly familiar with what his son was going to say.” The communication between Hunter and Joe about the congressional subpoenas, the committees warned in a Dec. 27 letter, requires further examination to determine “the involvement of the President in his son’s scheme to defy the Committees’ subpoenas.”
According to the committees, the president’s involvement far supersedes his son’s disregard for congressional subpoenas. The Oversight and Judiciary resolutions both state all evidence, including “bank records, discussions with Mr. Biden’s former business associates, interviews with investigators from Mr. Biden’s criminal investigation, and government records from the Department of the Treasury, National Archives and Records Administration (National Archives), FBI, and IRS,” points to the president’s role as a main conspirator in the Bidens’ international pay for play scheme.
“Cumulatively, the evidence obtained thus far warrants further investigation by the Committees. To do so, the Committees must take Mr. Biden’s deposition,” the resolutions state. “With the possible exception of President Biden, Mr. Biden is the most important witness possessing information about President Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings.”
The Oversight and Judiciary Committees plan to finalize their contempt recommendations on Wednesday before final presentation to the Speaker of the House.
