United States: House Republicans intend to prosecute Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress next week after the president’s son refused to appear for a private deposition last month despite a congressional subpoena.
The Judiciary Committees and Republican chairmen of the House Oversight announced that they will hold total committee votes on contempt charges against President Joe Biden’s son as the GOP moves into the final stages of its monthslong impeachment inquiry. If the charges pass the committees, they will go to the House floor for a final vote.
“We will not provide him with special treatment because of his last name.” “Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with our subpoenas constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution,” Rep. James Comer, chair of Oversight, and Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of Judiciary, said in a joint statement.
Hunter Biden Insists on Public Testimony
Hunter Biden and his attorneys have frequently criticized the Republican-issued demand for the closed-door testimony, claiming that information from those interviews can be selectively leaked and distorted. The younger Biden has insisted on only testifying in public.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol in a rare public statement last month. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”
Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment investigation for months, hoping to link the Democratic president to his son’s financial affairs. So yet, Republican lawmakers have found no evidence explicitly linking the elder Biden to any misconduct.
While Republicans claim that their investigation is ultimately centered on the president, they have taken a special interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, which they accuse the president of personally profiting from. Republicans have also focused a significant portion of their probe on whistleblower charges of meddling in the Justice Department’s long-running investigation of the younger Biden’s taxes and gun use.
Legal Drama Unfolds Amid Accusations of Political Pressure
The contempt of Congress hearings slated for Wednesday come a day before Hunter Biden’s first court appearance in Los Angeles on tax charges filed by a special counsel. He is charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors, including false return, tax evasion, failure to file, and failure to pay.
Abbe Lowell, Biden’s defense attorney, reacted angrily, accusing special counsel David Weiss of “bowing to Republican pressure” in the case.
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