Official White House statement suggests President Biden had advanced knowledge about Hunter Biden’s plan to defy congressional subpoenas
WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are investigating whether President Biden sought to influence or obstruct the Committees’ proceedings by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son, Hunter Biden, from complying with the Committees’ subpoenas for a deposition as part of the House of Representatives’ ongoing impeachment inquiry. In a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel, Chairmen Comer and Jordan call for all documents and communications sent or received by employees of the Executive Office of the President regarding Hunter Biden’s deposition.
“In light of an official statement from the White House that President Biden was aware in advance that his son, Hunter Biden, would knowingly defy two congressional subpoenas, we are compelled to examine as part of our impeachment inquiry whether the President engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct a proceeding of Congress,” wrote Chairmen Comer and Jordan. “Under the relevant section of the criminal code, it is unlawful to ‘corruptly . . . endeavor[] to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any investigation or inquiry is being had by . . . any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress[.]’ Likewise, any person who ‘aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures’ the commission of a crime is punishable as a principal of the crime.”
The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden for a deposition to be conducted on December 13, 2023. On December 13, Hunter Biden did not appear for the deposition as required by the Committees’ subpoenas. Instead, he appeared on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol with his attorney and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), where he made a public statement without taking any questions from the media and indicated that he would not comply with the subpoenas. Later on December 13, when asked whether President Biden had watched Hunter Biden’s statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated President Biden was “certainly familiar with what his son was going to say,” suggesting the President had some amount of advanced knowledge that his son would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas.
“The Committees have accumulated substantial evidence that Hunter Biden’s business endeavors have improperly included his father, and the President has made false claims about his knowledge and involvement in these schemes. In fact, just days before Mr. Biden was scheduled to appear for his deposition, the President claimed he had not interacted with any of his son’s business partners. This is false. The President has met with, spoken to, and received money sourced from his son’s foreign business partners. In light of this evidence, the fact that the President had advanced awareness that Mr. Biden would defy the Committees’ subpoenas raises a troubling new question that we must examine: whether the President corruptly sought to influence or obstruct the Committees’ proceeding by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son from complying with the Committees’ subpoenas. Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense,” continued Chairmen Comer and Jordan.
Read the letter to Edward Siskel here.
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