Washington: House Republicans on Wednesday issued subpoenas demanding testimony from Hunter and James Biden, the president’s son and brother, as they hunt for evidence to try to build an impeachment case against him.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the Oversight Committee, authorized the subpoenas of President Joe Biden’s family members as well as Rob Walker, one of their business associates. It was the most significant move in the impeachment inquiry since Republicans announced they were opening it in September, despite no evidence that the president had committed high crimes or misdemeanors.
Republicans have toiled for months to try to find support for their allegations that Joe Biden corruptly profited from his family members’ overseas business dealings and accepted bribes. But to date, they have failed to deliver proof to back up their boldest claims.
The subpoenas demand that James Biden appear for a deposition Dec. 6 and Hunter Biden appear a week later. Walker was summoned to appear Nov. 29.
In a statement announcing the subpoenas Wednesday, Comer accused the president of benefiting from an “influence-peddling scheme” and telling lies about his “family’s business schemes.”
The Biden administration quickly dismissed the subpoenas, calling the Republican inquiry a “wild goose chase” whose only purpose is to damage the president with innuendo before the 2024 election.
Comer has already issued subpoenas for the bank records of James and Hunter Biden as well as their associates, and obtained more than 14,000 pages of documents.
As a result of those subpoenas, Republicans obtained and then released copies of two checks that showed payments from James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, to Joe Biden totaling $240,000. Comer portrayed one of the checks as explosive new evidence that James Biden and the president “laundered China money.”
But a lawyer for James Biden called Comer’s allegation “preposterous and highly misleading,” noting that the checks were to reimburse Joe Biden for two personal loans he made to his brother while he was not in office. Bank records reviewed by The New York Times supported that account.
Also Wednesday, Comer demanded that other Biden family members submit to transcribed interviews.
Published 09 November 2023, 08:41 IST