The House Oversight Committee had set a deadline for Hunter Biden and James Biden to provide records detailing family business dealings in Ukraine and China. The Bidens failed to comply.
The deadline has now passed. The Oversight Committee, who first requested the records on February 9th, are now expected to be “inching closer to subpoenaing” the Bidens.
Representative James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the Oversight Committee, has accused the Biden family of “influence peddling” but admits he doesn’t know what services exactly the Bidens provided in Ukraine or China in order to receive millions in compensation.
The committee also does not know whether President Joe Biden was aware of any business dealings his family may have been involved in.
Will the GOP finally go after Hunter Biden?
Conservatives have been salivating over the prospect of taking down Hunter Biden for years.
Specifically, conservatives have fixated on Hunter’s ties to Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, where Hunter joined the board in 2014.
At the time, Hunter’s father was serving as vice president in the Obama administration and helping to craft foreign policy with Ukraine. According to many conservatives, Hunter’s ties to Burisma and Ukraine influenced the Obama administration’s policy toward Ukraine.
Do conservatives have proof that Hunter’s ties to Burisma influenced Obama’s Ukraine policy? No.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter’s attorney, has invited the Oversight Committee to meet and discuss whether their prospective investigation Hunter has any “legislative purpose,” on account of Hunter being a private citizen. The committee has not yet agreed to meet with Lowell.
“While we have not yet heard back from the Committee, our offer to discuss ways we can be helpful toward a legitimate legislative purpose still stands,” Hunter’s legal team said. Hunter’s legal team has also called the committee a “wonderland” and Comer a “Queen of Hearts” in reference to the Alice in Wonderland.
Whether the Oversight Committee issues subpoenas against any of the Bidens remains to be seen. Representative Pat Fallon (R-Tx.) said that subpoenas would only be issued if warranted.
“Chairman Comer believes in subpoenas only if warranted. They should be treated as last-resort options. However, if Treasury and involved parties refuse to cooperate all tools, including subpoenas, are on the table.”
The Tables Have Turned
Democrats have correctly identified that the primary concern in any Republican focus on Hunter Biden is political rather than ethical or security related.
It’s about going through the son of the President to paint the president as corrupt. Short of some revelatory evidence, it’s likely vindictive and it’s likely malicious. It’s payback for the way Trump was treated.
Democrats have spent years and fortunes investigating Donald Trump. Perhaps some of the investigations were legitimate, the result of consequential inquiries. But most assuredly, some of the investigations were simply the Democrats out to get Trump.
Russiagate for example, led to Trump’s impeachment, and acquittal. The point is, the Democrats set a tone of vindictiveness and malice.
Sure, if you want to trace those trends back further you could start with Newt Gingrich and the Republican-controlled House who mercilessly investigated President Bill Clinton.
But Democrats had an opportunity to be civil and reasonable – and failed. Republicans have the opportunity now, to reset relations – but instead seem poised to continue down the same path, with an investigation of Hunter Biden.
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Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
