In a Wednesday letter, Hunter Biden’s lawyer demanded that new House Speaker Mike Johnson “rein in the partisan political games” and stop investigating the Biden families controversial foreign business deals.
Instead, Johnson has given his blessing to the impeachment inquiry bitterly opposed by President Joe Biden’s Democrat allies in the House.
House Republicans issued subpoenas Wednesday to members of President Joe Biden’s family, taking their most aggressive step yet in the impeachment inquiry.
Johnson said in a Fox News Channel interview that he would support the House Oversight Committe’s decision to subpoena the president’s son, saying “desperate times call for desperate measures, and that perhaps is overdue.”
James Biden, the president’s brother, is set to testify at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Johnson has also hinted that a decision could come soon on whether to pursue articles of impeachment against Biden. “I think we have a constitutional responsibility to follow this truth where it leads,” Johnson told Fox News Channel recently.
The impeachment inquiry slowed down in early October after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker by a handful of fellow Republicans, stalling legislative business and congressional investigations as the conference spent weeks deliberating his replacement before electing Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson late last month.
Now, the long-awaited move to subpoena the president’s son Hunter and brother James comes as Republicans look to gain ground in their nearly yearlong investigation.
Take a look —
It looks like impeachment will happen.
Fox News' Sean Hannity invited the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and members of the committees investigating Biden's impeachment.
– Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask about this investigation. Do you think the… pic.twitter.com/OTOBEcnSHp
— Peacemaker (@peacemaket71) November 2, 2023
Republicans say the evidence trail they have uncovered paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” by Biden’s family members in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas. For that reason, Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry to uncover more evidence.
“Now, the House Oversight Committee is going to bring in members of the Biden family and their associates to question them on this record of evidence,” Comer, of Kentucky, said in a statement.
The stakes are exceedingly high, as the inquiry could result in Republicans bringing impeachment charges against Biden, the ultimate penalty for what the U.S. Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The subpoenas demand that Hunter Biden and James Biden as well as former business associate Rob Walker appear before the Oversight Committee for a deposition by mid-December.
Lawmakers also requested that James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, and Hallie Biden, the wife of the president’s deceased son Beau, appear voluntarily for transcribed interviews. Plus, they’ll call Hunter Biden’s wife Melissa Cohen and Hallie Biden’s sister Elizabeth Secundy.
Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell called the subpoenas “yet another political stunt” and said the investigation has been full of “worn-out, false, baseless, or debunked claims.”
“Nevertheless, Hunter is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum and at the right time, to discuss these matters with the Committee,” he added.
An attorney for James Biden said the committee was wholly unjustified in trying to serve the president’s brother. The attorney remarked that the committee had already reviewed Jim Biden’s bank statements.
“There is nothing more to those transactions, and there is nothing wrong with them,” attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement late Wednesday. “Jim Biden has never involved his brother in his business dealings.”
The White House has continuously dismissed the investigation as a political ploy aimed at hurting the Democratic president. They say the probe is a blatant attempt to help former President Donald Trump, the early front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as he runs again for the White House.
“These subpoenas and interview requests are yet further proof that this sham impeachment inquiry is driven only by the demands of the vengeful and prevaricating Donald Trump,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
Since January, Republicans have been investigating the Biden family for allegations of influence peddling spanning back to Biden’s tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president.
Comer claims the committee had “uncovered a mountain of evidence” that he said would show how Biden abused his power and repeatedly lied about a “wall” between his political position and his son’s private business dealings.
President Biden has previously lied about his son’s business dealings. He denied the fact, now well documented, that his son received money from China.
In their quest to uncover the evidence, the House has raised questions about the Biden family’s ethical conduct in its international ventures.
35% of U.S. adults believe the president himself has done something illegal, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll from last month.
An additional 33% say they think the Democratic president behaved unethically, but not illegally. And 30% say Joe Biden did nothing wrong, according to the poll.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.