House committees approve resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, moves to floor
Hunter Biden and his attorneys showed up to the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning as lawmakers were considering a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Coverage for this event has ended.
The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday voted on a resolution, 25-21, to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena to testify behind closed doors as part of an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
The vote came shortly after the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee voted, 23-14, on a separate resolution to hold the president’s son in contempt of Congress.
Both resolutions now move to the full House for consideration on whether Hunter Biden should be held in contempt of Congress. No day or time has been set yet for that vote.
If the House votes to hold the first son in contempt, the DOJ will decide whether to prosecute.
While weighing a potential resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt for defying a subpoena order, House Democrats on the Oversight Committee introduced motions targeting former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., introduced an amendment demanding Trump pay back money his private business received to American taxpayers. The amendment, Garcia said, would demand a “full accounting of all of his properties” and subpoena businesses of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
House Republicans tabled the motion.
Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced an amendment for U.S. Representatives Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to “turn over what they knew” about the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted on a resolution, 23-14, to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena to testify behind closed doors.
The resolution now moves to the full House for consideration on whether Hunter Biden should be held in contempt of Congress.
The House Oversight Committee is weighing another resolution to hold the first son in contempt.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. Jean-Pierre and Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby answered a wide range of questions, including about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's health and absence. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say whether the White House was informed of Hunter Biden's plan to show up to a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers met Wednesday to debate a resolution to hold the first son in contempt for refusing to answer a congressional subpoena to testify behind closed doors as part of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at the meeting, provoking uproar from GOP lawmakers before he exited and left the Capitol.
Hours later at the daily White House press briefing, Jean-Pierre was asked if Hunter Biden had given advance notice of his intentions.
"So here's what I'll say, and I've said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen. He's not a member of this White House. He makes his own decisions, like he did today about how to respond to Congress. And so I would refer you any further questions, any additional questions about this process, certainly to — I refer you to Hunter's representatives."
She declined to comment further on the matter.
Hunter Biden makes surprise appearance on Capitol Hill Wednesday
In a Wednesday House Judiciary Committee markup meeting lasting at least 3 hours, House Democrats are pushing back against Republicans looking to hold the president’s son in contempt of congress for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
The younger Biden was sought by Republicans to testify to his business dealings potentially connected to his father and the GOP impeachment probe into President Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden failed sit for a deposition. At one point, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., accused Republicans of only wanting a closed-door deposition with Hunter “because you don’t want to see Marjorie Taylor Greene display nonconsensual nudes from Hunter’s laptop.”
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas later accused his Democrat colleagues of wanting to give Hunter Biden special treatment because of his relationship to the president.
“He defied congressional subpoena and should be treated like others who have done the same, plain and simple,” said Hunt. “Hunter should not be treated with kid gloves. This man is 50 years old, literally. He’s a grown-a** man,” he continued.
“He should not be given special treatment because he thinks he’s an American prince, and I don’t mean Purple Rain,” Hunt added.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., explained why Republicans want Hunter Biden to be deposed behind closed doors during Wednesday's Oversight Committee Hearing.
As lawmakers debated a resolution to hold Biden in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena to testify in private, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, asked why GOP members have refused an offer from the president's son to testify in public.
Donalds answered that a closed-door deposition allows members of both parties and witnesses to be prepared for an open hearing.
"There is never any proceeding that takes place without a deposition of the witness. The reason why is because if something comes up in the round of questioning, either a members of this committee may not be prepared because they don't have all the information from the witness, because the witness was never had given an opportunity with his attorneys present to actually give out that level of information. So you need a deposition process before you bring a witness into open hearing," Donalds said.
"This happens all the time," he added.
Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., then weighed in and said the "vast majority" of witnesses who testify to Congress are not deposed first.
"There's the vast majority of witnesses who come before this committee, come without being deposed," Raskin said.
The House Republican resolution at the center of Wednesday's Oversight Committee meeting would hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena .
GOP lawmakers say that Biden, in a "criminal act," defied the subpoena to be deposed behind closed doors when he appeared on Capitol Hill last month to deliver a statement to the press and said he would only testify in a public setting.
A House Oversight report accompanying the contempt resolution alleges that Biden violated federal law in doing so.
The report identifies Hunter Biden’s testimony as "a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."
"The Oversight and Accountability Committee, with the other investigating committees, has accumulated significant evidence suggesting that President Biden knew of, participated in, and profited from foreign business interests engaged in by his son, about which the Committees intended to question Mr. Biden during his deposition," the report states.
"Mr. Biden’s decision to defy the Committees’ subpoenas and deliver prepared remarks prevents the Committee from carrying out its Constitutional oversight function and its impeachment inquiry," it continues.
The report and resolution is being considered by the House Oversight Committee during today's markup meeting.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Hunter Biden and his attorneys exited the House Oversight Committee hearing room just as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., began her turn to speak.
"Excuse me, Hunter. Apparently you're afraid of my word," Greene said, addressing Biden as he exited the meeting room in the Rayburn office building. "Wow, that's too bad. I think it's clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong conservative Republican women because he can't even face my words, as I was about to speak to him."
"What a coward," she added.
Greene went on to berate the president's son for dodging a subpoena to be deposed as part of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into his father, President Biden.
"Hunter Biden didn't show up for his subpoena. Hunter Biden showed up today to make a clown show of himself to show that he is nothing but someone that will not obey the law, that wants to show up when he wants to and sits here with a smug look, look on his face and runs away when it's my turn to talk. Not only is he a criminal, but he is a coward, nothing but a coward," Greene said.
During a House Judiciary Committee markup meeting to consider a resolution holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., accidentally said Trump incited an "erection."
In objecting to the resolution to hold the president’s son in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena, Jayapal said, “if you’re going to talk about outrageous things that have happened, or things that have never happened, let’s talk about the time the President Trump incited an erection.”
Before she could immediately correct herself, the room erupted in laughter.
“Maybe that too!” Jayapal exclaimed as she joined the laughs.
Another member chimed in, “You could talk about that too, I guess.”
Jayapal regained her composure, and ultimately called the markup “an unbelievable waste of time.”
Hunter Biden evaded FOX Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn's questions when pressed about his father President Biden's involvement with his business dealings.
“Why did you put your dad on speaker phone during these business meetings if he had nothing to do with your business?" Vaughn asked as Biden left the Rayburn office building on Capitol Hill.
"Do you have a dad? Does he call you?" the first son asked in reply.
"Yes," Vaughn said.
"Do you answer the phone?" Biden continued.
"Yes," Vaughn answered.
"Okay," Biden said.
"Yes, but why did you talk to him during business meetings if he had nothing to do with your business?" Vaughn pressed, but Biden did not reply.
Devon Archer, a former best friend and business associate of Hunter Biden in Ukraine, testified to lawmakers in July that President Biden met with dozens of Hunter’s business associates while he was serving as vice president between 2009 and 2017.
Archer testified about meetings he witnessed attended by both Bidens — Hunter and Joe — either in person or via telephone. During the meetings, Hunter would specifically introduce his father to foreign business partners or prospective investors, Archer claimed.
Archer said that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times. He described how Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand."
FOX Business' Hillary Vaughn and Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.
At Wednesday's House Oversight Committee meeting, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., acknowledged Hunter Biden was in the audience and chastised him for refusing a GOP subpoena to be deposed.
"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That's my first question," Mace said. "Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming in to the oversight committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here."
"I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now. Go straight to jail," Mace continued. "Our nation is founded on the rule of law. The law applies equally to everyone, no matter what your last name."
She added: "It does not matter who you are, where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you, Hunter Biden, as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all."
Mace asked the first son: "Why can't you show up for a congressional deposition? You're here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You're playing with the truth."
But Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., fired back, saying if the committee wants to hear from Hunter Biden, the panel should vote and "hear from Hunter right now."
"Who wants to hear from Hunter right now, today? Anyone? Come on," Moskowitz said. "Who wants to hear from Hunter? Yeah, no one. So I'm a visual learner, and the visual is clear. Nobody over there wants to hear from the witness."
Hunter Biden and his attorneys left the markup session before lawmakers voted on the resolution.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Representative James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, following a vote to formally authorize an ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., outlined the Republicans' case to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress in his opening statement at Wednesday's meeting.
"Our investigation has produced significant evidence suggesting President Biden knew of, participated in and benefited from his family cashing in on the Biden name," Comer said.
"We planned to question Hunter Biden about this record of evidence during our deposition, but he blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas."
Comer said, "Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act" that "constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law."
"We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name," Comer said. "All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens."
Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
As Hunter Biden claims he's facing financial trouble amid a federal investigation into his finances and overseas business dealings, the first son has been turning to a Hollywood mega-lawyer and big-time Democratic donor for money and strategic advice.
Kevin Morris, a prominent attorney whose clients include the likes of Chris Rock and Matthew McConaughey, is perhaps best known for brokering a licensing deal for the creators of the animated comedy series "South Park" worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He also won a Tony award as a co-producer of the hit musical "Book of Mormon" and is a fiction writer of two novels and a collection of short stories.
In the political world, Morris has donated significant amounts of money to Democratic candidates and groups, according to public records. Last year, for example, he gave $100,000 to a political action committee supporting Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat who lost the Senate primary race to now-Sen. John Fetterman.
Morris, 58, also gave $50,000 to Americans Keeping Country First — a super PAC created to support Republican members of Congress who voted to impeach or convict former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach — and another $50,000 to the American Bridge 21st Century PAC, which conducts opposition research against Republican politicians.
However, now one of Morris' main projects seems to be helping Hunter Biden. By all accounts he's assumed an increasingly big role in the first son's life — to the point that the wealthy lawyer has been dubbed Hunter's "sugar brother." That role has involved a wide range of areas — from financial support, to helping write a book, to lending a private jet.
Fox News Digital's Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.
Hunter Biden has left the Rayburn office building with his attorneys.
Abbe Lowell, Biden's lead attorney, delivered a brief statement.
"Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father," Lowell told reporters after they left the meeting. "And, despite their improper partisan motives, on six different occasions since February of 2023, we have offered to work with the House committees to see what and how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided."
Lowell claimed that their "first five offers were ignored."
"And then in November, they issued a subpoena for a behind closed doors deposition, a tactic that the Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said," Lowell said.
Lowell pointed to Comer's "explicit offer that people like Hunter…had the option to attend a deposition or a public hearing, whichever they chose."
"Hunter chose a hearing where Republicans could not distort manipulate, or misuse that testimony," Lowell said, calling the move to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress "unprecedented" in light of his offer to "publicly answer all their proper questions."
"The question there is, what are they afraid of?" Lowell asked, before departing the Capitol.
Fox News' Kelly Phares and Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
Hunter Biden and his attorneys showed up to the House Oversight Committee's meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
The House Oversight Committee met for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.
The House Judiciary Committee is holding a similar markup on the measure recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress.
Hunter Biden, his attorney Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel consider whether to pass the resolution out of committee.
If the resolution advances out of committees Wednesday, sources said a full contempt of Congress vote on the House floor could take place in the coming days.
Biden later walked out.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this update.
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