House Republicans despise Congress' charges against Hunter Biden over subpoena he defied
WASHINGTON — House Republicans plan to continue holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress next week after the president's son defied a congressional subpoena to appear for a private deposition last month.
The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees announced Friday that they will vote with the full committee on contempt of President Joe Biden's son, as the GOP enters the final stages of its months-long impeachment inquiry. If the charges are passed by the committees, they will go to the House of Representatives for a final vote.
“Hunter Biden's willful refusal to comply with our subpoenas constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution,” said Rep. James Comer, Chairman of Oversight, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Judiciary , in a joint statement. “We will not give him special treatment because of his last name.”
Hunter Biden and his lawyers have repeatedly rejected the Republican Party's subpoena for the closed-door testimony, arguing that information from those interviews could be selectively leaked and manipulated. The younger Biden has insisted he would testify only in public.
“Republicans don't want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless investigations or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol last month in a rare public statement. “What are they afraid of? I'm here.”
For months, Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment inquiry to link the Democratic president to his son's business dealings. So far, Republican lawmakers have been unable to find evidence directly implicating the elder Biden in any wrongdoing.
While Republicans say their investigation is ultimately focused on the president, they have taken a particular interest in Hunter Biden and his foreign business dealings, from which they accuse the president of personally benefiting. Republicans have also focused much of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the Justice Department's long-running investigation into the younger Biden's taxes and gun use.
The contempt of Congress hearings scheduled for Wednesday will take place a day before Hunter Biden is scheduled to make his first court appearance on tax charges filed by a special prosecutor in Los Angeles. He faces three felonies and six misdemeanors, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file a return and failure to pay.
In a fiery response, Biden attorney Abbe Lowell accused special counsel David Weiss of “bowing to Republican pressure” in the case.
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Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.