WASHINGTON, USA – As part of the GOP’s year-long impeachment investigation, House Republicans filed criminal referrals against President Joe Biden’s brother and son on Wednesday, alleging they made false statements to Congress.
In a letter to the Justice Department, the Republican chairmen of the House committees on Ways and Means, Judiciary, and Oversight and Accountability recommended that Hunter and James Biden be prosecuted for their alleged “conscious effort” to thwart the House’s inquiry.
The referrals are “nothing more than a desperate attempt by Republicans to twist Hunter’s testimony so they can distract from their failed impeachment inquiry and interfere with his trial,” according to a statement released by Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell.
Reiterating that his client has “always maintained that Joe Biden never had any involvement in his business dealings,” Paul Fishman, the attorney for James Biden, shared the view, labeling it a “baseless partisan action.”
The referrals to special counsel David Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland increase the legal obstacles that Hunter Biden must overcome. He is now on trial in a federal court in Delaware for three felonies related to the purchase of a firearm in October 2018. Prosecutors have charged the 54-year-old with lying to a federally registered gun dealer, lying on his application, and obtaining the pistol unlawfully for a period of 11 days.
Separate from that criminal case, the Republicans on Capitol Hill continued their extensive probe into Hunter Biden in an attempt to link the Democratic president to his son’s commercial ventures. Hunter and James Biden both participated in lengthy interviews with senators, but they were unable to find any proof that directly linked Joe Biden to any misconduct.
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Hunter Biden lied to Congress at least three times during his deposition on February 28, according to testimony from IRS whistleblowers, according to Rep. Jason Smith, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“I believe that the Justice Department should consider that and take appropriate action. Lying to Congress is an extremely serious legal offense. A felony, according to Smith, R-Mo. “No American should be treated any differently than the president’s son.”
The Justice Department declined to comment, saying that it will eventually determine whether to pursue the criminal referrals.
The president has found himself personally and politically tarnished by the attention on the Biden family that followed Hunter Biden’s federal trial and the impeachment investigation. As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the proceedings are taking place, and Joe Biden’s allies are concerned about the toll it will have on him. His only surviving son’s health and continued sobriety are his greatest concerns.
Republican leaders have criticized the Justice Department for what they see as a “two-tiered” legal system that singles out conservatives, following the conviction of former President Donald Trump on charges in New York. They downplay the fact that other well-known Democrats have been the subject of federal investigations when Joe Biden was president, as well as the department’s ongoing prosecution of Hunter Biden.
Under the false statements and perjury statutes, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared on Wednesday that Garland “wishes to demonstrate he is not running a two-tiered system of justice and targeting the president’s political opponents, he will open criminal investigations into James and Hunter Biden.”
The chairmen of the House committees claim that Hunter Biden made misleading claims regarding his role at a company that received millions of dollars in funding from overseas customers. According to the GOP inquiry, the president’s son reportedly “relayed an entirely fictitious account” regarding texts he exchanged with his Chinese business partner, in which Hunter Biden purportedly used his father’s presence as a negotiating strategy.
James Biden’s remarks regarding whether the president met with a former business associate of the Biden family while he was a private individual are also a subject of attention.
House Democrats claimed that after 17 months of probing the Biden family, Republicans’ impeachment effort has essentially fizzled out, so they are turning to criminal referrals.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, said in a statement on Wednesday, “This agonizingly protracted and completely fruitless investigation has proven only that President Biden was not part of, did not profit from, and took no official actions to benefit his family members’ business ventures.”