Jan. 8 (UPI) — The House Oversight Committee on Monday released a resolution recommending that Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in private to the committee.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., shared the resolution and an accompanying report arguing that Hunter Biden had a duty to speak to the committee behind closed doors on Dec. 13 in the House impeachment inquiry against his father in which his testimony was “a critical component.”
“Mr. Biden has violated federal law and must be held in contempt of Congress,” the resolution stated.
Hunter Biden had offered to testify publicly in the impeachment inquiry, which alleges that Joe Biden and his family enriched themselves through deals made by Hunter Biden while serving on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma from 2014 to 2019.
Comer and other GOP Oversight leaders had rejected Hunter Biden’s proposal and threatened to hold him in contempt if he did not appear for closed-door testimony but he instead held a press conference outside of the Capitol hours before the House voted to authorize the impeachment inquiry.
“On Dec. 13, Robert Hunter Biden failed to comply with deposition subpoenas issued by the committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Judiciary for testimony relevant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry and the committee’s oversight investigations,” the resolution said.
“Instead, Mr. Biden opted to read a short, prepared statement in front of the Capitol. Accordingly, Mr. Biden has violated federal law, and must be held in contempt of Congress.”
The resolution, which is scheduled for a markup Wednesday, directed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to refer the committee’s report “to an appropriate United States attorney” to begin contempt proceedings against Hunter Biden or to “otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.”
“Mr. Biden’s decision to defy the committee’s subpoenas and deliver prepared remarks prevents the committee from carrying out its Constitutional oversight function and its impeachment inquiry,” the resolution states. “Mr. Biden’s refusal to comply with the committee’s subpoenas is a criminal act.”
Republicans in the House started its investigation of Hunter Biden and Joe Biden shortly after taking control of the chamber in 2022 but the effort stalled under previous leadership before picking up steam again when Johnson was elected as speaker.
On Dec. 28, Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced that they had expanded their probe to include looking into whether Joe Biden was involved in his son’s decision to hold the Dec. 13 press conference.
