Photo: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jason Smith. 2023
Top House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to file charges against the head of state's brother James and son Hunter for making false statements during their investigation, reports “The Voice” of America.
It's been more than eight months since House Republicans launched an investigation into the president, alleging Biden's family members benefited from actions he took as vice president from 2009 to 2017. They have not provided evidence of misconduct by Biden and have not brought articles of impeachment to a vote.
The Justice Department likely will not consider requests to bring charges against Hunter Biden, 54, or James Biden, 75, for false statements during the investigation, as well as charges of perjury against Hunter Biden.
“Hunter Biden and James Biden have made false statements to the Oversight and Judiciary Committees in what appears to be a conscious, calculated attempt to shield Joe Biden from a properly authorized impeachment investigation,” wrote representatives James Comer, Jim Jordan and Jason Smith, chairmen of the three committees leading the impeachment inquiry, in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David Weiss.
Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell called the appeals “nothing more than a desperate attempt by Republicans to distort Hunter's testimony in order to distract from the failed impeachment inquiry and interfere with his trial.”
The president's son appeared in court this week on charges of illegally buying guns while he was addicted to crack cocaine. Hunter Biden is accused of tax crimes in another case that is scheduled to go to trial in September. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases brought by Weiss.
James Biden lawyer Paul Fishman said: "This baseless partisan action is a transparent and cynical attempt to distract attention from Donald Trump's recent criminal conviction and to avenge the him.”
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the request.
Allies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Congress, including three committee chairmen, have accused President Biden of orchestrating four criminal prosecutions of the former Republican president without providing evidence.
A Manhattan jury last Thursday found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to hide a hush-money payment to a porn actress, making him the first former or sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a felony.
Trump also faces charges related to efforts to overturn Biden's 2020 election victory , in federal court and in Georgia, as well as federal charges of illegally storing classified documents and misleading officials trying to recover them. None of the remaining three cases are expected to be heard before the Nov. 5 election.
Trump has promised to appoint loyal staffers at the Justice Department who will do his bidding if he is re-elected. Traditionally, department decisions on criminal investigations are made independently, and the White House does not interfere in such matters.
Prepared by: Sergei Daga