Exclusive — Elise Stefanik on Biden Family Subpoenas: ‘I Would Support Those'

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — House Republican conference chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) told Breitbart News exclusively that she expects not just Democrat President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, to face subpoenas in a GOP-controlled U.S. Congress next year, but potentially several other Biden family members.

Asked during a wide-ranging interview here at the House GOP retreat outside Jacksonville, Florida, if she would envision House Republicans subpoenaing not just Hunter Biden, but other Biden family members to get to the bottom of wide-scale corruption and foreign business deals with oligarchs and other foreign officials from countries such as China and Ukraine, Stefanik told Breitbart News she does.

“I’m very forward-leaning in that the American people deserve answers,” Stefanik said. “I’ve called for Hunter Biden to be subpoenaed going back to the impeachment hoax part one. I think it’s very important whether or not the President of the United States has family members who are compromised — is an important question, and we need to get to the bottom of it. So I would support those subpoenas, and while I’ve talked about legislatively what our agenda is going to be, we’re going to have a whole entire focus on oversight and accountability and transparency for the American people. I think it’s really important to get the facts on the Biden laptop, which we know the media will do everything to continue to cover up. I’m grateful for your intrepid reporters who are reporting the truth on this matter, but the American people deserve to know that.”

In addition to wide-ranging probes into Biden family business deals, Stefanik also foreshadowed a GOP majority investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and more broadly, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—and also said she expects Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to Biden, to be under investigation as well. She said the border crisis, which has seen Biden’s policies allow millions of illegal aliens into America, are going to be another major focus of GOP oversight efforts next year.

“In addition, we deserve to know—Fauci has major potential problems that he has in covering up potential federal dollars that have gone to the Wuhan labs that he was aware of and that I believe was him lying to Congress,” Stefanik said. “That will be part of the COVID origins investigation which, again, Republicans are committed to pursuing, and we’ve been asking those tough questions for over the past year, and we will continue to do so. Also, oversight on the border crisis—the fact that this administration won’t answer how many illegals who are on the terrorist watchlist, who have crossed the southern border, the American people deserve to know that. It has a direct impact on the safety of our country.”

Stefanik also said Republicans are going to be laser-focused on the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to steal intellectual property—and mentioned broadly that CCP forces have compromised several Democrat members of Congress, citing specifically Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Stefanik reiterated a promise from House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to remove Swalwell from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) next year over his relationship with Fang Fang, a Chinese spy with whom he was romantically involved. But she also said that other Democrats are likely similarly compromised, questioning what compromising material China may be holding on them.

“I agree with the American people that China is the single-greatest not only national security threat, but economic security threat, frankly, that my generation and my son’s generation is going to face,” Stefanik said. “On the Armed Services Committee, we have been very focused, like I said, on making sure we win the race in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing and cyber data. We also need to be cracking down on China’s theft of our IP, theft of our technologies, theft of our manufacturing, theft of our businesses. This is a huge, huge risk, and I think there is an opportunity for Republicans to lead on that effort. One important note for your listeners is there used to be bipartisan understanding that a rising Communist China would create a significant threat. We were days away—this is about a year ago—from announcing a bipartisan China task force. The Democrats walked away from that. They walked away, and Republicans continued to pursue our China task force priorities, which is, again, holding China accountable, but that says a lot. What does China have on these House Democrats? We know what they have on Eric Swalwell, which is not good; he is compromised, and he is going to be kicked off the House Intelligence Committee. I think that shows that Democrats are unwilling to take on China, and Republicans are willing to—and we know how important it is.”

Stefanik also predicted there may be several things that Republicans uncover with subpoena and committee power that they currently do not have. In 2010, before Republicans took back the majority in the House during then-President Barack Obama’s first term, the GOP had not even heard of what became major scandals such as the Operation Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal or the Benghazi terrorist attack or the IRS targeting of conservatives. Stefanik said the Biden administration is already “scandal-laden” but expects much more to come out as the GOP prepares to embark on its oversight efforts this year and next.

“I believe we are already seeing a scandal-laden Biden administration,” Stefanik said. “That’s why oversight is so important. I’ll give you an example. Even in the minority, we’ve been able to make inroads in this space. When it came to the National School Board Association letter, those were questions that I asked on the House Intelligence Committee that Jim Jordan then followed up with on the Committee on the Judiciary really probing. We found out there were emails. Jim Jordan requested those emails, and it turns out that that letter was solicited, and that was used as the justification for the Department of Justice to label parents as ‘domestic terrorists.’ That is effective oversight, but that is just scratching the surface. We need to delve deeper on all of those issues because, again, sunlight is really important in our constitutional republic, and the American people deserve those answers.”

Stefanik told Breitbart News, too, that the issues facing the country right now—from a broader look at the “crises” she says Biden and Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have unleashed to the oversight front—represent high stakes. This was her first annual retreat as conference chair; last year, failed former conference chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) was still in charge—and she laid out how with rare exception the GOP is now unified on the issues heading into the midterms.

“I believe the stakes are so high in this country both on the policy crises that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi have created but also on these oversight issues where there is a lack of transparency and there is real questions of corruption at the depths of government,” Stefanik said. “The more you look, the more you uncover. So two points I want to make: When we earn the majority, which we are going to work hard to do—and we are not measuring the drapes; we are going to make sure that we have an agenda and we win the votes from the American people—we want to make sure our members are prepared on day one. So the committees are doing a lot of this work and listening to their constituents and developing our agenda to sell and share with the American people so we are ready not only with the message, but with bills on day one. I’ve been here in previous majorities where there has been infighting. We don’t have time for that. We need to work as a team on behalf of the American people. The other point that you made, which I think is a good one, which is because this will be the first opportunity when so many new members will be in a Republican majority; they’re not used to a functioning Congress. Congress has not functioned under Speaker Pelosi, whether it’s the way she runs the floor, the way she writes the bills just in her office with no member input, they block amendments on the House floor, the magnetometers, the list goes on. We’re going to go back to regular order. But we’re also going to make sure that our members have the tools to conduct proper oversight. That’s one of the sessions at this retreat this week.”

Stefanik said Republicans are preparing at this retreat what they are going to do with a majority next year in Congress—and developing their agenda to take to the American public.

“This is a great opportunity for House Republicans to come together with our families but also develop our agenda and how we’re going to win a historic majority this November,” Stefanik said. “Since I became House Republican conference chair, I’ve been very focused on making sure that House Republicans have a unified, disciplined message, really prosecuting the case against a failed, far-left administration in President Joe Biden, a failed far-left Congress led by lame-duck Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and a failed U.S. Senate led by, unfortunately, my home state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. So we are seeing the results of one-party, far-left rule, and it’s hurting everyday Americans, whether it’s the inflation crisis, which is at the highest point in over 40 years; the skyrocketing gas prices, which, make no mistake, is a result of Joe Biden’s failed energy policies; or the crime catastrophe in this country. Or look on the global stage: you have crisis after crisis, particularly with the war in Ukraine. I think we’ve effectively prosecuted that case. Moving forward, we’re going to be developing our agenda, our Commitment to America on key issues, so that voters know what they’re voting for, and so that’s really what we’re focused on here.”

Asked to draw a contrast between Republicans and Democrats ahead of the midterms, Stefanik detailed that at the “top of the list” are “jobs and the economy” and “making sure we are reining in this reckless spending that has caused inflation to soar.”

“Republicans warned against this one-party trillion-dollar Democrat spending that we’ve seen this past year, and, unfortunately, the American people are paying the price,” Stefanik said. “Unleashing American energy independence—that’s a part of jobs and the economy—growing our domestic production and making sure that we, instead of relying upon dictators—and Joe Biden is asking other countries to produce more, which, frankly, is less clean; that’s causing our prices to go up. We need to unleash, as I said, American-made energy and all of the above. Another key theme is making sure we are holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable. That’s delving into the origins of COVID, which Democrats have refused to do on their Select Coronavirus Committee. That’s making sure that we’re making strategic investments in critical technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. I’ve been very involved on that on the House Armed Services Committee. That means making sure we have a robust manufacturing base here in the United States of America and are not overly reliant upon China.”

She also said the GOP is focused on “taking on Big Tech,” noting that this is “more relevant than ever given, finally, the admission by the New York Times and the mainstream media that Hunter Biden’s laptop was, in fact, real.” She said that everyone obviously always “knew” Hunter Biden’s laptop was real, but “Big Tech colluded to silence that fact—silence the fact before the election.”

“So those are a number of the issues we plan on focusing on,” Stefanik said. “Education will be an important piece, as well, as parents are seeing the negative impacts of far-left progressive policies in the classroom, and we want parents to be the primary stakeholders, so we’ve introduced the Parents Bill of Rights. So on issue after issue, Republicans have an alternative—and I cannot forget the border crisis and making sure that we are securing the border and going back to President Trump’s very effective border policies, including build the wall and making sure we are a nation of laws, which we have not seen under Joe Biden, and then standing with law enforcement and not, as I said, pursuing the far-left radical proposals like we’re seeing in New York State, where crime has skyrocketed. So I know that’s a long list, but on issue after issue, those are the contrasts.”

Stefanik also ripped the Biden White House for trying to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin, who just invaded Ukraine, for increased gas prices.

“The American people are smart, and they know better,” Stefanik said. “They were feeling pain at the pump prior to the war in Ukraine. The American people know that on day one Joe Biden killed the Keystone XL pipeline. The American people know that he has crushed tens of thousands of American energy jobs here. People have been paying for that; instead of fueling energy independence in the United States of America, Joe Biden has greenlighted Russia’s priority when it comes to their energy sector, and they even held off on sanctioning the Russian energy sector and still need to have much tougher sanctions. They opened Nord Stream 2. So on one hand, you have them mothballing Keystone XL, yet giving the green light to Putin’s number one priority. That was one of the first major decisions that Joe Biden made as president. So the American people know that the high gas prices they are paying are a result of Joe Biden, and when you’re president of the United States, you cannot pass the buck. We are seeing on issue after issue, this White House is embarrassingly trying to pass the buck—whether it’s energy, inflation, the national security crises, the border crisis.”

She also made clear that Russia “is an adversary” and that America’s adversaries see Biden’s weakness as an invitation to engage in more aggression.

“Make no mistake, Russia is an adversary,” Stefanik said. “Unfortunately, Vladimir Putin was measuring Joe Biden in his first year of his presidency, and he saw a very weak commander-in-chief—whether it was the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the slap on the wrist for the cyberattacks by Russian actors on U.S. critical infrastructure. We need to have American strength, and that means investment in a strong national defense. That does not mean endless deployment of troops. But that means standing with our allies and partners and having effective deterrence and strong sanctions.”

Stefanik promised, too, that Republicans would return the House of Representatives to regular order and stop with several of the institutional flaws that Pelosi created or intensified. That’s a tall order and difficult to do while governing, so asked about how they will do it, Stefanik listed several things the GOP has planned out the gate next year.

“On day one, we are getting rid of these rules under the authoritarian speaker of the House and the way Nancy Pelosi has just broken the institution,” Stefanik said. “That means opening the people’s House—no longer having fences up, no longer limiting who can go visit their member of Congress, which I believe is unconstitutional overreach from Nancy Pelosi, where any constituent basically has to send their name to her office in order to visit with a member of Congress. Getting rid of proxy voting on day one—Republicans are committed to doing that; making sure we are having in-person voting and in-person committee hearings; getting rid of the magnetometers on the House floor; having a working appropriations process, which Republicans when we were in the majority, we actually did pass a number of appropriations bills with an open amendment process where members were not only able to go before the Rules Committee, but they were able to have their amendment voted up or down on the House floor. That’s how it should work, and you go appropriations bill by appropriations bill rather than these behemoth multitrillion-dollar packages that are written by Nancy Pelosi. So it’s a lot of work, but a lot of that changes on day one in how the institution of the House functions.”

To regain the House majority, Republicans need to flip a net five seats from Democrat control back into GOP hands—something Stefanik, who has through her PAC helped endorse many top candidates nationwide, noted she has a front-row seat to watching play out.

“I have a front-row seat just meeting all of our recruited candidates or candidates that self-recruit and raise their hands and step up to run for office,” Stefanik said. “I have never seen a stronger crop of candidates than I have this past cycle. An interesting statistic is we actually have more Republicans filed to run for office than at this point in 2010. The reason why this is important is in wave election years, you can win seats that go pretty far deep into the Democrats’ bench. We’re looking at all of them. I’m a big believer in that we have to broaden the aperture and we have to go on offense. I look no further than my home state in New York. Democrats did everything they could to gerrymander and to try to unconstitutionally limit the voice of hardworking New York families. I believe that Sean Patrick Maloney is very vulnerable. Not only does the polling show that, but it’s actually a district that Joe Biden won.”

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), actually released an internal poll recently showing his personal campaign in the lead but himself polling at under 50 percent support.

“You’re in big trouble if you’re under 50 percent. Sean Patrick Maloney—he’s in big trouble, and we’re going after that seat there,” Stefanik said when asked about that. “These Hudson Valley seats, for example, that I see that Democrats think they’re going to gerrymander them—we have the best candidates possible running hard against these Democrats who have voted 99 percent with Nancy Pelosi and who own these Joe Biden crises created across America. So that’s my home state, but we have candidates from Texas to California to Florida to Iowa to Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine. We are going to have a deep, deep bench and target list.”