The Republicans investigating the potential impeachment of President Joe Biden for his involvement in his family’s international influence-peddling operation recommended on Wednesday that the Department of Justice charge the Democrat’s youngest son and brother with making false statements to Congress in an apparent effort to shield the president from formal scrutiny.
There is ample evidence, including bank receipts, White House visitor logs, and testimonies from Biden business partners, showing that Joe and other Biden family members profited millions from selling their patriarch’s name and position to foreign companies and oligarchs.
The criminal referrals, sent by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, advised Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David Weiss to charge both Hunter and James Biden for lying about this evidence during depositions in the lower chamber earlier this year. The committees also suggested perjury charges for Hunter and warned that the DOJ’s refusal to act on these recommendations would suggest partisanship.
“Lying to Congress to impede an ongoing congressional investigation is a serious crime. If the Department of Justice fails to act on our criminal referral and hold Hunter Biden accountable, they will once again be telling the American people there are two tiers of justice in this country. One for the wealthy and politically connected, and one for everyone else,” Smith said in a statement.
Hunter’s Lies
During his February 28, 2024, sitdown, Hunter “falsely distanced himself” under oath from the Rosemont Seneca Bohai company and bank accounts into which foreign entities transferred millions of dollars that benefited the Bidens.
“I have no authority over those accounts, and I have no view inside of it,” Hunter claimed, blaming responsibility on his business partner Devon Archer.
Documents and financial receipts, however, confirm Archer routinely transferred large sums of foreign-paid cash from Rosemont Seneca to Hunter. One $142,300 deposit from a Kazakhstani oligarch covered Hunter’s new ride.
Hunter’s falsehoods didn’t stop there. Joe’s son also gave what investigators called an “entirely fictitious account” about his heated exchange with a Chinese business partner.
In his deposition, Hunter brushed off the threatening texts between him and communist Chinese energy company CEFC Director Henry Zhao as something that happened when “I was drunk and probably high.” Hunter went so far as to claim he messaged a “different” Zhao.
“I, like an idiot, directed it towards Henry Zhao who had no involvement, who had no understanding or even remotely knew what the hell I was even Godd-mn talking about. Excuse my language,” Hunter said.
Hunter’s claims do not align with the evidence showing one bank account linked to Hunter and Joe received millions of dollars shortly after the younger Biden leveraged his father’s position in the U.S. government to ensure “promises and assurances” were kept.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” the WhatsApp message read. “I am very concerned that the Chairman has either changed his mind and broken our deal without telling me or that he is unaware of the promises and assurances that have been made that have not been kept.”
The Republicans warned that Hunter’s excuse appears to be an “attempt to hide the fact that invoking Joe Biden succeeded in coercing his Chinese partners to send him money.”
“It also calls into doubt Hunter Biden’s other testimony about that event, such as his contention that his father was not, in fact, sitting next to him when he transmitted the message,” the letter adds.
James’ Falsehood
In his February 21, 2024, deposition, James testified that his brother did not meet with anyone affiliated with CEFC, nor did his brother interact with Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski during a May 2017 meeting about a CEFC deal.
Investigators noted that James’ claims were “contradicted not only by Mr. Bobulinski” and text messages he produced but also Hunter. They noted that James’ attempt to answer questions about this brother’s involvement in the family racket came off as “a clumsy attempt to protect Joe Biden from the reality that Joe Biden has indeed met with his family’s business associates.”
Will The DOJ Act?
The committee chairman concluded their letter by noting that the DOJ should “consider Hunter Biden’s prior alleged criminal activity” when deciding whether to follow through on the recommended charges because the Biden son was “subject to two federal court orders stating that he could not commit any crimes while on federal supervised release” at the time of his deposition.
It’s unlikely that the DOJ, which is plagued with accusations of partisanship after it slow-walked criminal investigations into Hunter’s wrongdoings and tried to secure a sweetheart plea deal and slap on the wrist for him last year to protect the president, will proceed with charges. One day before Garland received the chairmen’s letter, he told members of the House Judiciary Committee that the DOJ under his and Joe’s watch will keep ignoring increasing public alarm over its abuses of power.
Despite the DOJ’s ongoing lack of cooperation in the Biden family corruption investigation, the chairmen noted that their impeachment inquiry is far from over as they continue to explore new ways to “hold the Bidens accountable for profiting off public office.”
