Two House Republican chairs said they would initiate contempt proceedings against the president’s son Hunter Biden after he failed to appear for a scheduled deposition following a subpoena.
Biden instead gave a press conference on the Capitol lawn in front of the Senate, reiterating his offer to appear before the committee only if he can do so in a public setting.
The GOP is now pointing to the deposition as another justification for its impeachment inquiry, which the House is set to formally kick off with a Wednesday night vote.
“Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings. We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden,” House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in a joint statement.
“Today, the House will vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution to strengthen our legal case in the courts as we face obstruction from the White House and witnesses. Today’s obstruction by Hunter Biden reinforces the need for a formal vote.”
Republicans wanted to speak to Hunter Biden about his financial dealings, as well as a Justice Department investigation into his failure to pay taxes.
“For six years, I have been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine, shouting, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer: I am here,” Biden said Wednesday morning.
“Here I am, Mr. Chairman, taking you up on your offer when you said, ‘We can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose.’ I am here to testify at a public hearing, today, to answer any of the committees’ legitimate questions. Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” he continued.
Contempt proceedings first require a vote by the committee that issued the subpoena, which are then forwarded to the full House floor for a vote. The resolution essentially refers the matter to the Department of Justice, which can decide whether to pursue a case.
The department recently undertook two out of four contempt cases referred by the House after people rebuffed subpoenas from the now-dissolved Jan. 6 committee.
Jordan was among those subpoenaed by the committee, but he pushed back when asked by a reporter about his dodging of a subpoena, noting he responded with a letter inquiring about the deposition. Still, he did not ultimately appear under the schedule set by the subpoena.
Comer previously said he would “drop everything” if Biden wished to testify publicly — but that offer came before his formal subpoena, which demanded a closed-door deposition.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and a former member of the Jan. 6 panel, mocked the two GOP chairs for failing to agree to the open setting.
“Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan would not take yes for an answer. Why? Because they wanted to conduct the deposition in a closed-door interview. So the public couldn’t see it. And so they could continue to cherry-pick little pieces of evidence and distort and misrepresent what had taken place there. And this is a pattern,” he said.
He also noted that Biden is already facing prosecution for the Justice Department for his failure to pay taxes.
“They talk obsessively about Hunter Biden, who has his own special counsel who’s been appointed to prosecute him. He’s just been brought up on tax charges in California, and we say let the criminal justice process work. Unlike the Republicans, we accept that the justice system could convict the Democrats of crimes,” Raskin said.