House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed Hunter and James Biden on Thursday, 315 days after formally launching an investigation into the Biden family, including President Joe Biden.
Comer seeks to compel the personal and business bank records of Hunter Biden and James Biden to further link Joe Biden to his family’s foreign deals.
While wrapping up Thursday’s first impeachment inquiry hearing into Joe Biden, Comer announced he would issue the subpoenas to compel the Bidens to cooperate with the House’s probe:
The witnesses today have all identified the evidence the committee is uncovered as deserving further inquiry. And that is what this committee will do, no matter where that evidence leads. I want to thank the witnesses for their testimony today.
It confirms the evidence compiled by this committee justifies the investigation of Joe Biden’s role and his family’s International Business games and justifies the next step of this investigation.
One of those steps is gaining insight and where the Biden’s foreign money ended up for what purposes. Therefore, today I will subpoena the bank records of Hunter Biden, James Biden and their affiliated companies.
The committee planned to subpoena the Bidens since it launched its investigation in November 2022. It did not issue subpoenas sooner because the committee insisted on practicing restraint to “show good faith.”
Hunter Biden denied the committee’s request in February for bank documents and communications, claiming the demands lacked a “legitimate legislative and oversight basis” to request relevant information.
The good faith period apparently ended when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, giving House investigators more legal tools to legally compel the Bidens to comply with the investigation.
Recent polling shows 50 percent of independent voters believe House Republicans should impeach Joe Biden, a YouGov/CBS News poll found. Additional polling shows a majority of voters consistently believe Joe Biden was involved in his family’s business, contradicting his long-held position that he never spoke to Hunter Biden about business.
- 61 percent of Americans said Joe Biden was involved in his family’s business deals with China and Ukraine, according to a September CNN poll.
- 51 percent of voters believe Joe Biden committed a crime with Hunter Biden, according to a September Yahoo/YouGov survey.
- 66 percent of voters said Joe Biden discussed business with his son, according to a June Harvard/HarrisX poll.
- 62 percent of voters contend Joe Biden “participated” in his family business deals, according to a February Harvard Cap/Harris poll.
Throughout the investigation into the Bidens, House Republicans revealed significant evidence pointing towards Joe Biden’s involvement in the family business including, but not limited to: photos, texts, video, bank records, an audio recording, alleged bribes, along with IRS and former business partner whistleblower testimonies. A 20-point memo released by the Comer’s Oversight Committee details “Evidence of Joe Biden’s Involvement in His Family’s Influence Peddling Schemes.”
The most recent allegations reveal Chinese business partners wired money to Hunter Biden in 2019 with Joe Biden’s address as the beneficiary. The two wires totaled $260,000 from BHR Partners associates in July and August 2019. According to court documents, Hunter Biden did not reside with Joe Biden in Delaware when his Chinese business partners wired him money with Joe Biden’s address listed as the beneficiary. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee released additional evidence from IRS whistleblowers that revealed Hunter Biden referenced selling access to Joe Biden as “the keys” to “my family’s only asset.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.