House Republicans to pursue criminal contempt for Hunter Biden as impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden ramps up
House Republicans have begun the process of holding Hunter Biden in criminal contempt of Congress for not complying with a congressional subpoena to sit for a closed-door deposition last month, ramping up the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Biden unexpectedly showed up on Capitol Hill, creating a tumultuous scene inside and outside the committee room as lawmakers debated what to do. Both the House Oversight and House Judiciary committees, which subpoenaed Biden for his testimony as part of the impeachment inquiry, are holding separate markups of the contempt resolution.
Hunter Biden entered the committee room and sat down for around 10 minutes before departing, with his lawyers making a brief statement to reporters. The allegations at the core of the Republican-led investigation stem from unproven claims that the president was involved in or financially benefited from his son’s foreign business dealings, making the president’s son a crucial witness for their probe.
Instead of sitting for his deposition, Hunter Biden held a news conference outside the Capitol and has said he will only testify in a public setting. House Republicans maintained they were willing to hold a public hearing with the president’s son, but only after he sat for a private interview. After the younger Biden did not appear for his deposition, House Oversight Chair James Comer and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan issued a joint statement announcing they would begin contempt proceedings.
The pair of markups kicked off a lengthy process, where if the contempt resolution passes out of committee, it is referred to the full House for a contempt vote. If an eventual House floor vote succeeds, the Department of Justice would have to determine whether to prosecute the president’s son for evading a congressional subpoena.
The move by House Republicans to pursue contempt proceedings comes as Congress is back this week from its winter recess, and House Republicans are ramping up their investigations at a busy time on Capitol Hill. The meetings are happening at the same time the House Homeland Security Committee is moving forward with its impeachment investigation into DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams issued a statement ahead of the committee meetings, dismissing “baseless attacks” against the president’s family members and calling on Republican lawmakers to focus on Congress’ other responsibilities.
The Biden probe and the impeachment inquiry into Mayorkas highlight the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, with both sides pushing their investigations and political agendas while also facing other crucial matters such as the government funding deadline just days away.