Republicans ready contempt charges against Hunter Biden National and World News

Table Of Content

• MORE: House Oversight Committee subpoenas Hunter Biden, president's brother James Biden
• Hunter Biden indicted on 9 tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe
• news Alerts
• House GOP moving forward with Hunter Biden contempt vote next week
• Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge
• MORE: Hunter Biden seeks dismissal of federal gun charges

A political scientist at John Jay University, Brian Arbour, tells the Sun that he’s skeptical that the impeachment effort accomplished much for the Republicans politically — at least at this stage. On Thursday, Comer also sent letters to the heads at the National Archives and Records Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Treasury Department requesting documents on the Biden family's buisness negotiations domestic and abroad. He also sent letters requesting information regarding the relationship and communication between Eric Schwerin, Edward Prewitt and Georges Bergès, who alledgedly had buisness dealings and management with the Biden family. In a press conference on Thursday, Comer accused the Biden family of defrauding the United States, tax evasion, violating several laws and money laundering, among other accusations.

House Republicans to move toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress - CBS News

House Republicans to move toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.

Posted: Fri, 05 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

MORE: House Oversight Committee subpoenas Hunter Biden, president's brother James Biden

"If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition," Lowell wrote. "Chairman Comer does not want Hunter Biden to testify in public, just as he has refused to publicly release over a dozen interview transcripts, because he wants to keep up the carefully curated distortions, blatant lies, and laughable conspiracy theories that have marked this investigation," he said in a statement. "However, the facts and the evidence all show no wrongdoing and no impeachable offense by President Biden."

Republicans threaten contempt proceedings if Hunter Biden refuses to appear for deposition - PBS NewsHour

Republicans threaten contempt proceedings if Hunter Biden refuses to appear for deposition.

Posted: Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Hunter Biden indicted on 9 tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe

“It needs to be a high bar, and if we are contemplating that on the president … I don’t think we are there yet,” GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa reflected to CNN when asked whether he believed Republicans had uncovered evidence of an impeachable offense by the president. In February, Republicans were dealt a massive blow when it was announced that the individual who brought forward the bribery allegations about the president and his son memorialized in an unverified FBI document – which Republicans had been warned not to bank on – was charged with lying about the Bidens. At the same time, Republicans finally went after their top witness, Hunter Biden, who was at the center of their allegations about his father. Between the 2020 Gallup survey and the 2024 Gallup survey, Mr. Biden’s perception as being trustworthy slid the most among independent voters. Gallup also reported that perceptions of President Trump as trustworthy declined to 28 percent among independent voters in 2024 from 31 percent of independents in 2020. Whether or not Republicans are able to muster the votes for a formal impeachment vote in the House, a Senate trial would likely be dismissed, as is expected to happen with the impeachment of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

news Alerts

House Republicans plan to move forward next week with holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after the president’s son defied a congressional subpoena to appear for a private deposition last month. WASHINGTON — House Republicans plan to move forward next week with holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after the president’s son defied a congressional subpoena to appear for a private deposition last month. "It's clear the Republican chairmen aren't interested in getting the facts or they would allow Hunter to testify publicly," Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. "Instead, House Republicans continue to play politics by seeking an unprecedented contempt motion against someone who has from the first request offered to answer all their proper questions."

Mr. 80 Percent

Even the House GOP’s impeachment of another favorite target, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ultimately fizzled out, with the House narrowly impeaching him and the Senate quickly dispatching the charges without a trial. Similarly, an April Marquette University Law School poll found that some 47 percent of likely voters nationally see Mr. Biden as having behaved corruptly, compared to 63 percent who said the same of Mr. Trump. A Gallup survey released in early April found that fewer than half, or 46 percent, of Americans feel that Mr. Biden is trustworthy. For comparison, a September 2020 Gallup poll found that a majority, 52 percent, thought the then-candidate was trustworthy. The investigation may serve its purpose if that purpose was intended to be more political than practical.

House GOP moving forward with Hunter Biden contempt vote next week

Comer and Jordan responded to that offer later in the day but gave no indication that they intend to reissue their subpoenas. Sources familiar with the production said Biden has no editorial control in the filmmaking process for the film he is participating in. Morris’ payments to the IRS were not a focus of federal prosecutors, according to multiple sources familiar with the five-year investigation. Morris is mentioned in the federal indictment filed in December as a “personal friend” who provided about $200,000 for Hunter Biden’s rent. NBC News has reported that Morris began advising Hunter Biden in 2020 and arranged to pay about $2 million in outstanding tax obligations to the IRS for him in 2020 and 2021. Biden’s Hollywood attorney, Kevin Morris, is scheduled to sit for a transcribed interview with House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committee staff members Thursday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge

The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees announced Friday that they will hold full committee votes on contempt charges against President Joe Biden’s son as the GOP moves into the final stages of its monthslong impeachment inquiry. The two Republican-led committees voted last week to recommend that the full House hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena in the Republican impeachment inquiry into his father. The younger Biden had offered to testify at a public hearing, and he appeared on Capitol Hill to make a statement in December on the day ordered in his subpoena but did not appear for the closed-door testimony the committees requested. For months, Republicans have pursued an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie the Democratic president to his son’s business dealings. So far, GOP lawmakers have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating the elder Biden in any wrongdoing.

The move to hold Hunter Biden in contempt comes as House Republicans aggressively kick their impeachment investigation into high gear. In addition to the markup on the contempt resolution, they are also planning to hold a closed-door transcribed interview next week with Georges Bergès, who owns an art gallery in New York City, to discuss his involvement with the selling of Hunter Biden’s art. Bergès has a display of Hunter Biden’s art that is available for purchase at his SoHo gallery and was subpoenaed by the committees after initially refusing to answer a voluntary request to appear. Republicans have suggested that Bergès was selling Hunter Biden's art to supporters of the president seeking to curry favor, a charge Bergès has denied.

Rebecca is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the House.

"There is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath, and on a day of the Committee's choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a Committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed," he said. Comer has grown increasingly frustrated as his investigation appears to be at a dead end, with Republicans resigned to the reality that they don’t have the votes to impeach the president, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN. House Republicans are promising to soldier on with their impeachment inquiry into President Biden despite a flagging case against the president, a conference divided on moving forward, and ambiguity as to whether impeachment has proved to be an effective political tool. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, denounced Comer's decision to hold a vote on the contempt resolution, saying there is no precedent for the House holding a private citizen who has offered to testify publicly in contempt of Congress. “The Committees are interested in understanding the nature and purpose of any loans to or payments on behalf of Hunter Biden that may have occurred while Joe Biden was either a candidate for public office or holding public office.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced that on Wednesday, his panel will consider a resolution and accompanying report to penalize Hunter Biden for his defiance of the subpoena. If the Oversight panel advances the contempt resolution, it would then require approval by the full House. Hunter Biden and his lawyers have repeatedly slammed the GOP-issued subpoena for the closed-door testimony, arguing that information from those interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated. The impeachment inquiry, now underway for a few months, was formally approved along partisan lines by the House last month just before Congress left for the holiday recess. Republicans have yet to present any hard evidence that the president personally benefited from his son's businesses. Hunter Biden and his lawyers have repeatedly slammed the GOP-issued subpoena for the closed-door testimony, arguing that information from those interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated.

Among other things, the Committees intend to understand the terms of such loans’ you made to Hunter Biden and what benefits you may have received as a result of providing financial assistance to President Biden’s son,” the committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Morris. The committee chairmen -- Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio -- said they believe Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings were the result of influence peddling based on his father's political status. Instead of appearing for the deposition, Hunter Biden held a media event in front of the Capitol building where he took no questions, but stated emphatically that his father was not involved in any of his business dealings. “There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” Hunter Biden said. Republicans announced they would hold him in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with his subpoena for a closed-door deposition, sending lawmakers back to their districts at the end of 2023 with a huge win. Another boost of momentum came when Republicans united to formally authorize the inquiry after a clash with the White House, which claimed Republicans’ subpoenas for testimony and records were invalid without a floor vote.

Comer said "there's a very good possibility" that Hunter Biden will get a subpoena, but the committee wants to talk to whistleblowers in transcribed interviews first. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is poised to take the gavel as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee if Republicans take control of the House in January. David Pecker’s testimony was a critical building block for the prosecution’s theory that his partnership with Donald Trump was a way to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers from favoring some sites and apps over others.

While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president, they have taken particular interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, from which they accuse the president of personally benefiting. Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into the younger Biden’s taxes and his gun use. The Republican-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees will prepare a resolution next week to hold President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, in contempt of Congress for defying their subpoenas to appear for a closed-door deposition. Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into the younger Biden’s taxes and his gun use.

Raskin pointed to Biden's offer to testify publicly and says Comer and his investigation are filled with "curated distortions" and "blatant lies." The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, responded in a statement to the news that House Republicans plan to move forward. “We are in communication with James Biden’s attorney about scheduling a time for him to appear,” the spokesperson said.

"Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans' top priority is to go after President Biden with politically-motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories," said White House spokesperson Ian Sams. "President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans' priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge." A successful vote to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress would refer the matter to the Justice Department, which would then decide whether to pursue criminal contempt charges. The announcement came two days after Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at a meeting of the House Oversight Committee, one of two panels that voted to recommend holding him in contempt of Congress. He appeared with Biden for a surprise news conference in December in front of the Capitol and sat next to him last week in the House Oversight markup hearing for a resolution to hold Biden in contempt of Congress.