The House Republican chairmen leading the charge to hold first son Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress say they’re open to pausing the proceedings in exchange for Mr. Biden’s cooperation.
The full House was scheduled to vote to recommend contempt of Congress as early as this week.
Now, Mr. Comer and Mr. Jordan seem prepared to walk this back—as long as Mr. Biden fully complies in the future.
Asked whether they would still pursue contempt charges against the first son in light of the new subpoenas, a spokesman for Mr. Comer told The Epoch Times they would consider dropping the recommendation of charges.
“If they agree to genuinely cooperate and we can work out a deposition date, the Chairmen will recommend to Leadership that we hold the floor vote on contempt in abeyance for now,” the spokesman said.
Last year, Mr. Biden was subpoenaed for a closed-door deposition by the two panels as part of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The younger Mr. Biden brazenly refused the subpoena, instead appearing on Capitol Hill where, flanked by Rep. Eric Swalwell (R-Calif.), he denied charges of wrongdoing by his father and said he would only appear for an open forum.
House Republicans immediately moved to hold the first son in contempt of Congress.
Later, during a markup of the resolution to hold him in contempt, Mr. Biden appeared in the front row of the committee hearing.
Mr. Biden’s attorneys later argued that, because the impeachment inquiry didn’t have congressional backing at the time, it was illegitimate—an argument they first made in a Jan. 12 letter, after Mr. Biden’s two appearances on Capitol Hill.
In the letter, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer cited precedents and House rules that justified their subpoena, describing the claim that it wasn’t valid as “inaccurate and unpersuasive for several reasons.”
Call for New Subpoena
In the same Jan. 12 letter where they argued that the previous subpoena was invalid, Mr. Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said that they would cooperate with a new subpoena.“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Mr. Lowell wrote.
In their response, the chairmen wrote that they “welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena.”
They argued that, while the subpoena was always valid, “as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks.
“Our willingness to issue these subpoenas is rooted entirely in our interest in obtaining Mr. Biden’s testimony as expeditiously as possible,” Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer emphasized.
Still, the first son will need to comply fully with the probe in the future or will likely face contempt of Congress proceedings.
