As our David Zimmermann reports, Hunter Biden’s counsel now says that the president’s son would comply if the House issues a new subpoena, superseding the two committee subpoenas he has flouted. I don’t believe, however, that Hunter and his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, are backing down. They are playing for time.
Simultaneously, they are making it much harder for Republicans to hold the younger Biden in contempt. The GOP majority is razor thin. It can only afford to lose two members on any party-line vote. There are 18 House Republicans from districts won by President Biden in 2020. Asking them to vote to hold the president’s son in contempt would be a heavy lift in any event, but expecting them to do it when he’s saying he’d honor a new subpoena is a huge ask. In addition, even if the GOP hangs together and holds the younger Biden in contempt, Lowell is bolstering the record on which the Biden Justice Department could (and would) justify declining to prosecute Hunter – if Republicans can get a contempt over the goal line.
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