Hunter Biden’s decision to defy a congressional subpoena on Wednesday for a deposition before Republican investigators digging into his business dealings wasn’t his only problem this week.
According to new statements just released from an interview of two IRS whistleblowers on Dec. 5, Hunter’s other legal woes have grown more complicated as well.
Whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegle both told the House Ways and Means Committee that they could not confirm the loans that would justify the huge repayment checks regularly written to the president by Hunter and other family members.
“So Joe Biden is being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for, quote, ‘repayments’ to him of loans that he gave. Were you prevented from actually finding out whether or not those checks from Joe Biden’s account were ever given to those people who are now repaying him?” Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-T.X., asked the whistleblowers.
“I don’t believe we ever obtained records that would have shown us any light on those transactions,” Shapley said.
“Do you believe that those records would exist?” Van Duyne asked.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely” Shapley replied.
It has gotten so bad, Hunter has reportedly toyed with fleeing the United States… if former President Donald Trump wins re-election.
“In recent conversations with family friends, [Hunter] has worried that he might have to flee the country if Trump were to be elected president again,” two sources close to Hunter reportedly told Politico’s Jonathan Lemire.
Taking to the offensive, the Democratic president’s son attacked the GOP-issued congressional subpoena at a press conference Wednesday.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol in a rare public statement. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”
GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, has said Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who leads the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters later Wednesday that they will begin looking at contempt of Congress proceedings in response to Hunter Biden’s lack of cooperation.
“He just got into more trouble today,” Comer said.
For months, Republicans have pursued an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie President Joe Biden to his son’s business dealings.
For years, questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business, and lawmakers insist their evidence paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” in Hunter’s business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.
Hunter Biden is currently facing criminal charges in two states from the special counsel investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss filed additional charges last week, alleging he failed to pay about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.
Later Wednesday, the House authorized the impeachment inquiry. House Republicans hoped a vote to formalize their investigation would help their legal standing when enforcing subpoenas to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members.
“Mr. Biden’s counsel and the White House have both argued that the reason he couldn’t come for a deposition was because there wasn’t a formal vote for an impeachment inquiry,” Jordan told reporters. “Well, that’s going to happen in a few hours.”
He added, “And when that happens, we’ll see what their excuse is then.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article