Members of President Joe Biden‘s family will be subpoenaed as part of a corruption investigation, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Thursday.
In an interview on Fox Business, Comer explained that his panel is building a “case” that will hold up in court for a legal fight built upon financial records and testimony gathered as investigators look into the flow of millions of dollars flowing to members of the First Family from foreign nationals — part of an endeavor that could soon lead to an impeachment inquiry.
“This was always gonna end with the Biden’s coming in front of the committee. We are going to subpoena the family,” Comer told anchor Maria Bartiromo. “We are putting the case together to win in court,” he added. “Obviously with all the opposition and obstruction we are getting from the Biden attorneys now, we know that this is going to end up in court when we subpoena the Bidens.”
WATCH: @RepJamesComer joins @MariaBartiromo pic.twitter.com/DB2HwSX0YE
— Mornings with Maria (@MorningsMaria) August 10, 2023
Staff memos show the GOP-led oversight panel has identified more than $20 million in payments to the Bidens from sources in foreign countries — including China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan — through a web of more than 20 companies, raising concerns about the president being susceptible to influence peddling. Comer has said at least a dozen members of Joe Biden’s family may have taken part in an “influence peddling scheme.”
The Oversight Committee has emphasized that it is focused on crafting “legislative solutions” geared toward shoring up ethics laws and rules governing the disclosure of financial interests. But last month, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the probe into the Biden family’s finances is “rising to the level” of an impeachment inquiry. Though McCarthy has yet to commit to the impeachment process, there has been some chatter indicating that an inquiry could begin as soon as this fall as the 2024 presidential election cycle heats up.
The president’s son, Hunter Biden, is a central subject of interest for congressional investigators as he also faces a federal criminal inquiry. His former business partner, Devon Archer, recently testified to the House Oversight Committee that the Biden family “brand” went a long way in their ventures when the elder Biden was vice president.
Hunter Biden put his father on speaker phone roughly 20 times during meetings with business associates, according to Archer, who said these calls were “signal enough to be powerful” despite the conversations sticking to casual topics such as the weather or fishing. Archer also said Joe Biden attended some dinners with his son’s foreign business associates.
Democrats in Congress have denigrated the House Oversight Committee investigation into the Bidens. In a statement to the press on Wednesday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member on the panel, said his GOP colleagues have “once again released information on financial transactions that do not involve” the president while working to “rehash the same Hunter Biden business dealings that Congressional Republicans identified at least three years ago.”
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For years, Joe Biden claimed to have never spoken to Hunter about his business dealings, but as the oversight panel uncovered more evidence, the White House has taken to saying the elder Biden never did business with his son. On Wednesday, the president snapped at a reporter who asked about the calls with Hunter’s business associates, saying, “I never talked business with anybody.”
"Your son's former business associates is claiming that you were on speakerphone a lot with them talking business?"
BIDEN: "I never talked business with anybody! I knew you'd have a lousy question."
"Why is that a lousy question?"
BIDEN: "Because it's not true!" pic.twitter.com/R4OYvbc12N
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2023
Comer said investigators have “caught” the president in “so many lies” despite the torrent of denials, adding, “Bank records don’t lie.” The chairman also said before moving to subpoenaing members of the Biden family, his committee aims to speak with three or four more associates, a step which may also require the use of subpoenas.
“This is a complicated case, and we’re being obstructed every step of the way by the Department of Justice, by the FBI, by the Secret Service, by the IRS, and by the Biden family attorneys,” Comer said. “But that’s not stopping us. We continue to produce evidence about every two weeks.”