GOP-led committees approve contempt resolution against Hunter Biden, will subpoena him again

Table Of Content

• Republicans pause effort to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, say they are talking with his attorneys
• White House rejects long-shot House Republican effort to get President Joe Biden to testify
• House Republicans release report recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress
• GOP-led committees vote to recommend that House hold Hunter Biden in contempt
• Up Next in News—
• Republicans push ahead with Hunter Biden contempt charge after his surprise visit to Capitol Hill
• House Republicans recommend Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress for refusing a subpoena

Even before the House began to move on a resolution on formalizing the inquiry, the committees have been able to compile a number of documents and conduct several depositions. Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Republicans pause effort to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, say they are talking with his attorneys

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. Raskin also criticized Comer directly for not allowing Hunter Biden to testify in a public forum after extending such invitations for him to do so in various news interviews. Raskin read quotes from the interviews Comer did throughout the fall on the subject.

White House rejects long-shot House Republican effort to get President Joe Biden to testify

Hunter Biden has defended his lack of compliance with the GOP-issued subpoena, which ordered him to appear for closed-door testimony in mid-December. Biden and his attorneys said information from private interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated by House Republicans and insisted that he would only testify in public. The House Oversight and Judiciary committees each passed contempt charges against the younger Biden with unanimous Republican support and all Democrats opposed. The action sets up a House vote on recommending criminal charges against a member of President Joe Biden's family as the GOP moves into the final stages of an impeachment inquiry into the president himself.

House Republicans release report recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress

The report is the latest episode in the battle between Hunter Biden’s team and House Republicans over his cooperation in the GOP’s sweeping impeachment inquiry into the president. Comer and Jordan have argued that Hunter Biden has engaged in foreign business dealings that were connected to his father, but Republicans have not provided any concrete evidence supporting their assertions that the president personally benefitted from his son’s businesses. In their reports, the committee’s chairmen, Reps. James Comer, R-Ky., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, outline their case for holding Hunter Biden in contempt. They said he was presented with a subpoena requiring him to appear for a closed-door deposition and was provided an opportunity to work with them to find a time that would work best with his schedule. On the day of the deposition, Hunter Biden held a press event in front of the Capitol but took no questions. House Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight Committees released their report Monday recommending that the president's son Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to appear for a closed-door transcribed interview as part of their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

GOP-led committees vote to recommend that House hold Hunter Biden in contempt

Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, the Oversight Committee released a 19-page report recommending the president's son be held in contempt of Congress, as well as the text of the proposed resolution. Still, attorney Abbe Lowell wrote to House Republicans Friday that his client's cooperation is dependent on the committee issuing a new subpoena. They maintained that the two subpoenas sent in November were not legitimate because they were issued before the full House authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

When Republicans threatened Hunter Biden last week with a contempt of Congress vote, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's lawyer, said in a statement to CBS News that House Republicans "continue to play politics." House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, released the resolution and an accompanying report Monday. Earlier Wednesday, Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at a contempt hearing being held by the House Oversight Committee, defiantly walking into the room amid opening statements.

The panel was interested in asking Jordan about his coordination with the Trump White House in their efforts to stand in the way of certification of the 2020 election. One reason is that Jordan himself defied a Democratic subpoena in 2022 and faced no consequences. Another is that even though Biden defied the subpoena for private testimony, he did offer to speak in public. While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president, they have taken particular interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, questioning whether the president profited from that work.

House Republicans prepare contempt charges against Hunter Biden for defying a subpoena

"I'm here today to make sure the House committee's illegitimate investigations of my family do not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies, and I'm here today to acknowledge I have made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded," Hunter Biden said. "For that, I am responsible. For that, I am accountable. And for that, I am making amends." Committee Republicans have countered that they are open to public testimony at an unspecified "future date" but "need not and will not accede to Mr. Biden's demand for special treatment with respect to how he provides testimony." In a letter sent Friday morning to Comer and Jordan, Lowell argued the subpoenas and moves to find Hunter Biden in contempt suffer from "impropriety and legal invalidity." "You're the epitome of white privilege, coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of?" South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said just after he entered the room.

GOP Hunter Biden contempt reports - Live Updates - POLITICO - POLITICO

GOP Hunter Biden contempt reports - Live Updates - POLITICO.

Posted: Mon, 08 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

What you need to know about the Republican-FBI clash over a Biden-related document - PBS NewsHour

What you need to know about the Republican-FBI clash over a Biden-related document.

Posted: Wed, 07 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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 Democratic President Joe Biden in any wrongdoing. The president's son appeared on Capitol Hill on Dec. 13, the day he was called to testify before closed doors, and spoke to the media but did not appear for testimony. Hunter Biden said he would be willing to testify publicly, but Comer declined that offer, saying the president's son must provide private testimony first. "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 House Republicans' report said. "Accordingly, the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability recommends that Congress find Robert Hunter Biden in contempt for his failure to comply with the committee subpoena issued to him."

Sources familiar with the production said Biden has no editorial control in the filmmaking process for the film he is participating in. A heated back and forth between Mace and Moskowitz ensued, with Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs stepping into the fray to criticize his fellow committee members. Mace was interrupted by another lawmaker, Florida Democrat Jared Moskowitz, who said they could "hear from Hunter Biden right now" and called for a vote to have him speak. The contempt measure has now advanced to the full House where GOP leadership will bring it to the floor for a formal vote at a later date.

During the Judiciary Committee's contempt markup, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., mentioned Biden’s unexpected appearance on Capitol Hill before moving to adjourn the meeting in order to have Biden testify in public given his presence down the hall at the time. Morris received a formal request — though not a subpoena — for a transcribed interview in November as part of the committees’ impeachment inquiry into the president. "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," said Comer and House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan in a joint statement. Republicans were set to advance the contempt resolution against Hunter Biden to the House floor in a procedural step Tuesday, but called it off “to give the attorneys additional time to reach an agreement,” according to a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee. Special Counsel Robert K. Hur watches a video of President Joe Biden during the House Judiciary Committee hearing about his report on Biden’s retention of classified materials as a private citizen, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images).

Biden and his legal team left shortly before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., delivered remarks at the Oversight hearing in which she called Biden a "coward." During the Oversight Committee's markup Wednesday morning, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called for Biden's arrest on the spot for defying the congressional subpoena. “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.

They also pointed to Biden’s initial plea deal that fell apart in August, which identified a third party that had made tax payments on his behalf. For years, House Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden's business dealings, and any connection to President Biden. Republicans in the House voted last month to formalize their impeachment inquiry into the president. "I am here to testify at a public hearing, today, to answer any of the committees' legitimate questions," he said. "Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say. What are they afraid of? I am here." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Sunday that they will issue new subpoenas to Hunter Biden for him to appear for a closed deposition -- which he has resisted doing to date, saying he wants to give his testimony in public rather than private.

If the House votes to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, it will be up to the Department of Justice, specifically the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to decide whether to prosecute. The House Oversight Committee report recommending a contempt charge stated Hunter Biden's testimony is "necessary" to determine whether there are "sufficient grounds" for impeachment. "Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father," Lowell said.

Though they feel vindicated, two days before the indictment, Shapley and Ziegler told CBS News that making their story public has exacted a personal cost. After Weiss filed the indictment against Hunter Biden, in a joint statement to CBS News Thursday, the two whistleblowers called the indictment a "complete vindication of our thorough investigation." Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere.