WASHINGTON (AP) – Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear at the Capitol on Wednesday for a private deposition with lawmakers as an impeachment inquiry into his father and his family’s business affairs teeters on the brink of collapse. This is a critical juncture for the Republican Party.
The deposition marks a critical point in the 14-month Republican investigation into Hunter Biden and the Biden family, which centered on his overseas activities with clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and elsewhere. Republicans have long questioned whether these business deals involved corruption or influence peddling, particularly by President Joe Biden during his time as vice president.
But despite conducting dozens of interviews and obtaining more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans have yet to produce direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president. Meanwhile, an FBI informant who alleged a bribery scheme involving the Bidens — a claim Republicans have repeatedly cited to justify their investigations — has been indicted by federal prosecutors for fabricating the story.
Despite the stakes of the investigation, it’s unclear how much useful information Republicans will be able to extract from Hunter Biden during his deposition. He is under federal investigation and has been indicted on nine federal tax charges and a firearms charge in Delaware, and has refused to answer some questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. It means there is a possibility.
The task of interviewing Mr. Hunter has largely been assigned to Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan, the Republican chairmen leading the impeachment inquiry. They first subpoenaed Hunter Biden in November, demanding he appear before lawmakers in private. Biden and his lawyers have rejected this, warning that his testimony could be selectively leaked and manipulated. They insisted that Hunter Biden testify only in public.
On the day of the subpoena, Hunter Biden not only disrespected the members of Congress who were waiting for him in the hearing room, but also when he held a press conference just outside the Capitol and denounced the investigation into his family. I had a similar attitude.
Both sides ultimately agreed to private depositions in January, with certain conditions. The interview with Hunter Biden was not filmed, and Republicans agreed to quickly release the recording.
“Our committee has an opportunity to remove Hunter Biden, a key witness in President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry, regarding this record of evidence,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer said in a statement to The Associated Press. There is,” he said. “This deposition is not the conclusion of the impeachment inquiry. There will be further subpoenas and questioning of witnesses.”
Hunter is the second member of the Biden family to be questioned by Republicans in recent days. They conducted more than eight hours of interviews last week with the president’s brother, James Biden. He insisted to lawmakers that Joe Biden has “no involvement, financial or otherwise,” in his business.
Looming over this interview are developments on the other side of the country, in Nevada. In Nevada, federal prosecutors this month indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, alleging a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the president, his son Hunter, and a Ukrainian national. energy company. Prosecutors allege in court documents that Mr. Smirnov had “extensive and very recent” contact with people affiliated with Russian intelligence services.
Mr. Smirnov’s lawyer said he is presumed innocent.
Republicans pressured the FBI last summer over the informant’s claims, demanding to see the underlying documents and ultimately releasing unconfirmed information to the public. This claim was cited repeatedly in a letter sent by House Republicans to impeachment witnesses.
Many Republicans have yet to see evidence of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” needed for impeachment, despite allegations that the Biden family is trying to use its last name on the payrolls of domestic and foreign companies. It states that there is no.
But the Republican chairmen leading the impeachment effort were undaunted by the series of setbacks in major investigations. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan said last week that the indictment of an informant who said the Biden family used the family name to profit from several overseas businesses “does not change the fundamental facts.” said.
And Comer told Fox News on Tuesday that Smirnov never “played a significant role in this investigation.”
Over the past year, Comer and Jordan have maintained that their investigations and probes are focused solely on Joe Biden and his actions, if any, in the interests of his family while either vice president or president. I’ve been doing it. But almost every time, their investigation has consistently focused on Hunter Biden. Several investigations are underway into Hunter’s international business affairs, the sale of his artwork, and even his personal life and ongoing struggle with addiction.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has no shortage of legal troubles outside of the Capitol, as he faces criminal charges in two states as a result of a special counsel investigation. He was charged with a firearms offense in Delaware in 2018 for violating a law that prohibits drug users from possessing firearms, a period during which he admitted he was struggling with addiction. Special prosecutor David Weiss filed additional charges late last year alleging he failed to pay about $1.4 million in taxes over three years.
He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press