WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans issued criminal referrals Wednesday against President Joe Biden’s son and brother, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of a yearlong impeachment inquiry.
The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways & Means committees sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending prosecution of Hunter Biden and James Biden.
A representative for Hunter Biden’s legal team and a lawyer for James Biden didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. But both parties, and the White House, have dismissed the investigations into the Biden family as partisan witch hunts.
Republicans have pursued an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie the Democratic president to his son’s business dealings but have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating him in any wrongdoing. Now, the committees are accusing Hunter Biden and James Biden of providing false testimony during their hourslong sit-downs with lawmakers, claiming that it is part of a larger effort to hide the president’s involvement in the family’s overseas businesses.
“Congress cannot allow anyone, not even the president’s son or his brother, to stand in the way of its oversight of the executive branch or deny the American people the accountability they deserve,” Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chair of Ways & Means, said in a statement.
The false statements in question, according to the chairmen, include references Hunter Biden made about what position he held at a corporate entity that received millions of dollars from a foreign client. The president’s son also “relayed an entirely fictious account” about text messages between him and his Chinese business partner in which he allegedly invoked his father’s presence with him as part of a negotiation tactic. There is also a focus on statements James Biden made about whether the president, during his time as a private citizen, met with a now-disgraced former business partner or not.
Hunter Biden, in a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill in February, blasted the Republican impeachment inquiry as a “house of cards” built on “lies.”
James Biden testified earlier this year when he appeared for a voluntary private interview on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry that Joe Biden “never had any involvement” in the business dealings of other members of his family.
