(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The House Judiciary and Oversight committees both voted to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress on Wednesday following two separate marathon hearings on the matter.
“Mr. Biden has violated federal law, and must be held in contempt of Congress,” the resolution said, explaining that Hunter’s testimony is crucial to discerning whether his father committed any crimes while serving as Vice President or President.
The two committee voted along party lines to hold Hunter in contempt for disobeying a congressional subpoena last month. The action sets up a House vote on recommending criminal charges against a member of President Joe Biden’s family as the GOP moves into the final stages of an impeachment inquiry into the president himself.
If the House votes to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, it will be up to the Justice Department, specifically the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to decide whether to prosecute.
It’s the latest step for the inquiry, which began in September.
Hunter Biden has defended his lack of compliance with the GOP-issued subpoena on the grounds that information from private interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated by House Republicans. He has insisted that he would only testify in public.
The Oversight hearing was the longer and more eventful of the two committee meetings, with Hunter making a surprise appearance.
One Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, insisted that Hunter be quickly arrested, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called him a coward as he left during her remarks.
Later in the hearing, Greene presented pornographic images of Hunter to argue that he violated the Mann Act by transporting prostitutes across the country.
After he left the committee meeting, Hunter’s only remarks to reporters were when asked why he had his father on speaker phone several times during business meetings. “If he called you, would you answer the phone?” he responded.
If the contempt referral against Hunter Biden passes the full House it would be yet another challenge for federal prosecutors already under heavy scrutiny for their handling of charges against him related to his taxes and gun use.
Shelving the contempt of Congress charges would likely further stoke conservative criticism that the DOJ is politicized—especially given that two one-time advisers to former President Donald Trump were prosecuted for contempt of Congress by the Biden administration.
The committees’ votes Wednesday on contempt of Congress come a day before Hunter Biden is scheduled to make his first court appearance on tax charges filed by a special counsel in Los Angeles. He is facing three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay.
His lawyer has accused David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the yearslong case, of “bowing to Republican pressure” by bringing the charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
