Say, whatever happened to all of those investigations into Hunter Biden and the affairs of Biden Inc.? Before the Christmas break, it sounded like the House Oversight Committee really had its teeth into some juicy material and the walls were closing in on the First Son. As it turns out, the work has continued and progress is reportedly being made. Following Hunter’s dramatic press conference where he refused to provide testimony after receiving a congressional subpoena, the committee is moving forward with the next steps, the first of which will be a vote in the committee to hold the younger Biden in contempt of Congress. Assuming that passes, the measure would move to the floor for a full vote. (Washington Examiner)
The House Oversight Committee will begin moving forward with holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena to sit for a deposition last month as part of the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into his father.
On Dec. 13, 2023, Hunter Biden was scheduled to sit for a deposition before the committee, but instead of partaking in the interview, Hunter Biden arrived at the Capitol and read a statement to the media outside, openly defying his subpoena. During his statement, he said he would not sit for a closed-door deposition and instead would only testify in a public hearing.
Now the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer (R-KY), will soon move forward with holding the president’s son in contempt of Congress, according to a GOP committee aide.
It is anticipated that few if any of the Democrats in the House will be willing to vote to hold Hunter in contempt. That’s a very curious position to take. If you honestly believe that neither Hunter nor Joe Biden did anything wrong and this is all just some fever dream coming from Jim Comey, why not have Hunter come in, sit down, and explain what really happened? That would help clear the air, and everyone would be able to get on with their lives.
Further, by refusing to support a move to hold him in contempt, they are simply opening the door for others to do the same. If a congressional subpoena is meaningless and has no teeth behind it, what’s the point of having an Oversight Committee to begin with? The shoe could wind up on the other foot when the House Democrats want to drag someone in to testify.
Of course, even if the House passes a full resolution and cites Hunter Biden as being in contempt, he still might not have too much to worry about. A conviction for contempt of Congress can carry a penalty of a fine of up to $100,000 and a jail term of up to 12 months. But the House can’t convict Hunter criminally in that fashion. They would have to ask either the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to bring the charges and take him to trial. What do you suppose the odds of that happening are? Probably slim to none as long as Biden’s people are in charge at the DoJ. Of course, if he had a different last name he might be in serious trouble. Steve Bannon was prosecuted for the same thing by the DoJ and sentenced to four months in jail and a fine.
Technically, the House could put Hunter on trial under what is known as the “inherent contempt power of Congress.” But that hasn’t happened in nearly a century and it might still blow up in the GOP’s face. It seems like both Joe and Hunter Biden are just trying to run out the clock here. The longer they can drag all of this out, the more likely it is that their problems could go away. And if worse comes to worst, Joe Biden could always pardon Hunter. Yes, he’s insisted in the past that he wouldn’t do that, but I’ve lost track of the number of things he’s lied about so far.