Marking what may be a major development in the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, two top U.S. House committee chairmen are now investigating whether Biden sought to obstruct justice by interfering in an attempt to get witness testimony.
U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) are now investigating whether Biden “sought to influence or obstruct the Committees' proceedings by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son, Hunter Biden, from complying with the Committees' subpoenas for a deposition as part of the House of Representatives ongoing impeachment inquiry,” the Committees announced in a statement
In an official letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel, Comer and Jordan demand “all documents and communications sent or received by employees of the Executive Office of the President regarding Hunter Biden's deposition.”
“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,” wrote Comer and Jordan.
“Under the relevant section of the criminal code, it is unlawful to ‘corruptly . . . endeavor[] to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any investigation or inquiry is being had by . . . any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress[.]' Likewise, any person who ‘aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures' the commission of a crime is punishable as a principal of the crime,” they added.
The Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary subpoenaed Hunter Biden for a deposition to be conducted on December 13, 2023.
But on that date Hunter Biden did not appear for the deposition, instead appearing at the U.S. Capitol with his attorney and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), where Hunter Biden issued a public statement that he would not comply with the legally-binding subpoena..
Later that day, in response to a question at a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated President Biden was “certainly familiar with what his son was going to say.”
That suggests Joe Biden “had some amount of advanced knowledge that his son would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas,” the Committees alleges.
That may make Joe Biden legally accountable for obstructing the investigation, which is an impeachable offense.
“The Committees have accumulated substantial evidence that Hunter Biden's business endeavors have improperly included his father, and the President has made false claims about his knowledge and involvement in these schemes. In fact, just days before Mr. Biden was scheduled to appear for his deposition, the President claimed he had not interacted with any of his son's business partners. This is false. The President has met with, spoken to, and received money sourced from his son's foreign business partners,” Comer and Jordan stated.
“In light of this evidence, the fact that the President had advanced awareness that Mr. Biden would defy the Committees' subpoenas raises a troubling new question that we must examine: whether the President corruptly sought to influence or obstruct the Committees' proceeding by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son from complying with the Committees' subpoenas. Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense,” Comer and Jordan warned.
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