CNN
Hunter Biden appeared at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
House Republicans will begin proceedings Wednesday to charge Hunter Biden with contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena for a private deposition last month, but the president’s son unexpectedly arrived at the Capitol. It is coming.
The House Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, which have subpoenaed the president’s son to testify as part of their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, have both added separate contempt resolutions. Hunter Biden was seen in the halls of Congress with his lawyers outside an oversight committee hearing, leading to raucous scenes inside and outside the committee room as lawmakers debated what to do. .
The core allegations in the Republican-led investigation stem from unproven allegations that the president was involved in or benefited financially from his son’s overseas transactions. He is an important witness in the investigation.
Instead of sitting down to testify under oath, Hunter Biden held a press conference outside the Capitol and said he would only testify in public. House Republicans claimed they were willing to hold a hearing with the president’s son, but only after meeting with the president personally. After the younger Biden failed to appear for his deposition, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued a joint statement announcing that they would begin contempt proceedings.
Wednesday’s two increases marked the beginning of a long process and underscored the continuing difficulties of Republican efforts to obtain testimony from the president’s son. If the contempt resolution passes the committee, the contempt resolution will be referred to the House.
If the full House ultimately passes a vote, the Justice Department, which is already pursuing two criminal cases against the president’s son, will decide whether to prosecute the president’s son for evading Congressional subpoenas. There is a need.
White House Oversight and Investigations Press Secretary Ian Sams issued a statement ahead of the committee meeting denying “baseless attacks” on the president’s family and urging Republicans to focus on Congress’ other responsibilities. I called on them to do so.
“Instead of playing politics, they should do their jobs, fund the government and border security, and focus on solutions that benefit the American people,” Sams said.
Ahead of the price increase, Jordan told CNN that he expects the contempt resolution to pass, but is unsure when it will be brought to the floor and, if it gets there, how quickly it will be referred to the Justice Department. He said he didn’t know if he would proceed.
“If Speaker Johnson wants a vote on the floor, that’s up to Merrick Garland and Graves,” Jordan told CNN.
Congress returns from its winter recess this week, and House Republicans are ramping up their investigations during a busy period at the Capitol. The meeting is scheduled to take place Wednesday at the same time that the House Homeland Security Committee moves forward with its impeachment inquiry into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Sams emphasized that while Congress is days away from the federal funding deadline, House Republicans are instead focused on the investigation.
“Less than 10 days after triggering a partial government shutdown that many far-right members support, House Republicans are spending their time on political stunts instead of working full time to avert it. wasted,” Sams said in the paper. statement. “Based attacks on the president’s cabinet and family will do nothing to improve the daily lives of Americans, strengthen border security, or improve the economy. All they can do is All it does is help him get on Fox and Newsmax and try to distract from the incompetence of governance.”
Republican leaders are now targeting Mayorkas as the border crisis becomes a defining campaign issue as the Biden investigation continues methodically and many Republicans remain skeptical of impeaching the president. I think it would be easier to remove it.
“There are so many competing impeachment proposals that it’s hard to tell who is in control,” Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN.
“Let me tell you, I think many of our members here have lost confidence in DHS,” the Texas Republican added.
House Republicans slammed Mayorkas for what they say is a dereliction of duty as border crossings reach an all-time high and the groundwork is laid for impeachment proceedings. It would be a highly unusual situation if the Secretary of Homeland Security were to be impeached. The only cabinet member in American history to be impeached was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.
Jordan said Republicans will “wait and see” whether the House can move forward with two impeachments at once, but said he believes there is “strong and convincing evidence for both.”
This article and heading have been updated to reflect further developments.
