- House Republicans sent a letter to the White House demanding information about whether President Joe Biden helped his son Hunter “obstruct” Congress.
- Biden's press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said during a Dec. 13 news conference that the president was “certainly familiar with what his son would say.”
- This led to questions about whether he had advised Hunter to defy the House subpoenas
Republicans have called on the White House to release any communications that might show that President Joe Biden knew son Hunter would defy his subpoena to testify before Congress.
Instead of appearing for deposition before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee on Dec. 13, the president's 53-year-old son held a news conference outside the Capitol in which he defended the impeachment inquiry against his father.
Republicans said it would be a “criminal offense” for the president to be part of his attempt to ignore the subpoena.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) say they are “forced to examine the president's involvement in his son's plan to defy committee subpoenas,” reports said in a letter to White House Councilor Edward Siskel.
During a White House news conference the same day Hunter made his remarks on Capitol Hill, Biden's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was “certainly familiar with what his son would say.”
House Republicans are demanding the White House release information, documents and communications that could shed light on whether President Joe Biden helped his son Hunter defy a congressional subpoena on Dec. 13 and hold a news conference outside the Capitol instead (pictured).
'MS. “Jean-Pierre, however, declined to provide further details about the president’s actions or whether the president consented to his son defying congressional subpoenas,” the letter continued. “Nevertheless, Ms. Jean-Pierre’s testimony suggests that the President had some degree of advanced knowledge that Mr. Biden would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas.”
The two Republican leaders claim that Jean-Pierre's statement from the podium on December 13 suggests that Biden “knew in advance that his son, Hunter Biden, would knowingly defy two congressional subpoenas.”
They therefore note that “as part of our impeachment inquiry, they must investigate whether the President committed a conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding.”
Hunter's lawyer provided an advance explanation for why his client did not want to comply with the terms of the subpoenas, but the committee said the president would not receive “special treatment” as a result.
At a White House press briefing on December 13, press secretary Karine Jean Pierre (pictured) said President Biden was “certainly familiar with what his son would say” and raised the question of whether he had advised Hunter to contact Congress to “hinder”.
Regulators Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan say they are “compelled to examine the president's involvement in his son's plans to defy committee subpoenas,” a letter said to White House Counsel Edward Siskel (pictured).
They noted that the committees would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if Hunter Biden did not testify behind closed doors.
Hunter said in his five-minute press conference earlier this month that he would testify before Congress, but only in a public setting.
As Republican-led committees consider whether to begin impeachment proceedings against the president, they are calling on the White House to comply with the investigation. This now also includes whether Biden was involved in his son’s “obstruction of Congress.”
Comer and Jordan are demanding that White House Counsel Siskel produce by January 10, 2024 “all documents and communications sent or received by employees of the Executive Office of the President that concern the removal of Hunter Biden” and “to President Biden's statement about his family's business partners. on December 6, 2023.'
“Thank you for your cooperation in the impeachment inquiry,” the letter concludes.
Republicans want to know if Biden KNEW Hunter would defy subpoena in letter to White House counsel after Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was “familiar with what his son would say.”