Comer and Jordan accuse White House of 'conspiracy to obstruct' in new Hunter Biden letter
House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) and House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are suggesting that President Joe Biden may be guilty of one of the charges former President Donald Trump is facing.
Reps. Comer and Jordan recently sent a letter to the White House asking for records pertaining to Hunter Biden's scheduled deposition before Comer's committee earlier this month as part of Republicans' impeachment inquiry. According to Politico, the letter alleges that because White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in regard to Hunter's press conference outside the US Capitol that "the president was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say" that President Biden may have played an improper role in his son's avoidance of a congressional testimony.
"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," the letter read. Notably, "conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding" is one of the four felony charges Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith has indicted Trump on in US District Court.
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Previously, Hunter Biden agreed to appear before the House Oversight Committee on December 13 to answer their questions about his overseas business dealings and any involvement from his father, but only on the condition that the hearings be viewable by the public. Comer countered that the president's son would need to testify behind closed doors, but left open the opportunity for a public hearing at an undetermined later date.
Abbe Lowell, the attorney representing Hunter Biden, said a public hearing was necessary to expose the investigation into his client as a way for Republicans to score cheap political points.
"He is making this choice because the Committee has demonstrated time and again it uses closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public," Lowell said. "A hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings."
Testimony from Hunter Biden went from unlikely to virtually impossible after the president's son was indicted by Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss — the Trump-appointed US attorney for the District of Delaware that Biden kept after assuming office — on six different tax-related offenses in December. Given that Hunter Biden is now facing the possibility of several years in prison if convicted, his attorneys will likely not let their client appear in public before a congressional committee prior to his trial.
READ MORE: Comer threatens 'contempt' despite Hunter Biden's lawyer quoting chairman's media appearances
