House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is done playing nice with the first family, which he made clear in a bold statement on Friday.
The Kentucky Republican, along with House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), has sent Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13, but his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, is arguing that his client only wants to appear for an open-session hearing. But the two Republicans have made it clear that’s not going to fly with them.
“Hunter Biden has received special treatment his entire life,” Comer told the Just the News, No Noise TV Friday night. “Every government agency that should have caught the crimes the Bidens have been committed for years were told to stand down. And they think they can bully the Oversight Committee and set the rules. And that’s not going to happen.
“We’re going to treat this investigation like every congressional investigation in recent memory has been treated: you come in for a deposition, then you do the public hearing. All of our depositions are transparent. We released the transcripts,” Comer added. “….He is the key witness to all of the Biden crimes. So the subpoena called for him to show up in this office on Dec. 13 for a deposition. I expect to see Hunter Biden in this office for a deposition.”
When asked if he was prepared to go to federal court to enforce the congressional subpoena and compel Hunter to testify behind closed doors, which is the norm, Comer said, “Absolutely.”
Comer mentioned that he had a meeting with House leadership on Friday and received assurances that the GOP conference would vote to officially endorse the impeachment inquiry. That is expected to enhance his committee’s position, enabling him to pursue legal action to enforce compliance with the subpoenas issued to Hunter Biden and other individuals, Just the News reported.
“I suspect that the House of Representatives will formally vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry. This is the exact same process that (former Speaker Nancy) Pelosi took during her impeachment,” Comer explained. “And they’re not going to be able to have a leg to stand on in court if they try to defy our subpoenas.”
In a letter to Lowell last week, Comer flatly rejected the offer to have Hunter appear only for an open hearing.
“Mr. Biden’s attempt to avoid sitting for a deposition pursuant to the terms of the subpoenas – by offering instead to testify at a public hearing – amounts to a demand that he receive special treatment from the Committees,” Comer wrote in a letter that was co-signed by Jordan.
“Mr. Biden will not succeed in attempting to dictate to the Committees how they conduct their investigation. The subpoenas Mr. Biden has received compel him to appear before the Committees for a deposition; they are not mere suggestions open to Mr. Biden’s interpretation or preference,” the letter added.
Just the News noted further: The letter noted that transcribed interviews and depositions are the normal first step in congressional investigations and that other witnesses in President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry have complied, including former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer. The Comer-Jordan letter also included a blistering retort to a volley of recent insults and allegations Hunter Biden’s team has lobbed at congressional investigators and their key witnesses, including IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler who revealed how prosecutors declined to pursue certain serious charges against the first son.
The two chairmen also accused Biden’s attorney of a “coordinated campaign to discredit the allegations against Mr. Biden, distort the truth, and attack the integrity of witnesses.”
“Your attempts to now bully and intimidate the Committees will not stand,” the letter added.
In his interview with Just the News, Comer added: “We have tens of thousands of pages of bank statements, we have thousands of pages of emails, we have hundreds of specific questions about specific transactions and specific meetings that the Bidens had with our enemies around the world where they received millions of dollars.”
He also said various banks have cooperated with the House’s investigation by providing requested transaction information.
“The banks did what they were supposed to do,” Comer said. “And that’s why the banks have cooperated with it. Yeah, we’ve been obstructed at every turn. We’ve been obstructed by the government agencies. We’ve been obstructed by the Biden legal team.
“One group that hasn’t obstructed us is the banks,” he said. “Because the banks want us to have it. The banks are frustrated that this family’s been treated differently.”
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
