The GOP-led House Judiciary and House Oversight committees passed their own resolutions Wednesday to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress over his refusal to appear for a deposition in December, as ordered in a subpoena.
Shortly after Judiciary members voted 23–14 to approve their contempt resolution, Oversight staff did the same with a final vote of 25–21.
Now moving toward the full House for consideration as early as next week, both resolutions were created in response to the president’s son skipping his closed-door deposition on December 13. Rather than attend, he gave a public press conference outside the Capitol that day.
If the House votes to hold him in contempt, the Justice Department will decide whether to prosecute.
Both preliminary votes follow a more than seven-hour hearing on Capitol Hill where Hunter Biden unexpectedly showed up to disrupt the Oversight panel’s debate on whether he should be held in contempt amid the House GOP’s impeachment probe of his father, President Joe Biden. Hunter then left a few minutes after Representative Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) called for his arrest.
“I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail,” Mace said. “Our nation is founded on the rule of the law, and the premise that the law applies equally to everyone, no matter what your last name is.”
Hours later, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not answer whether Hunter Biden gave advance notice of his intentions for the surprise appearance.
“So here’s what I’ll say, and I’ve said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen. He’s not a member of this White House. He makes his own decisions, like he did today about how to respond to Congress,” Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing. “And so I would refer you any further questions, any additional questions about this process, certainly to — I refer you to Hunter’s representatives.”
The Judiciary and Oversight committees gathered separately on Wednesday to determine whether the younger Biden’s refusal to attend the December deposition falls under contempt of Congress. Those convicted of criminal contempt of Congress can be sentenced with “a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment ‘for not less than one month nor more than twelve months.'”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Oversight chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) said Hunter Biden should be held accountable for his “political stunts.”
“Today demonstrates why Hunter Biden must be found in contempt of Congress,” Comer said in a statement. “He says he will answer questions. But only when and where he wants to. Democrats want Hunter Biden to receive special treatment. Hunter Biden thinks he is entitled to special treatment. We cannot allow that. All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens.”
Hunter Biden currently faces nine federal tax charges in California and three federal gun charges in Delaware. He pleaded not guilty to the latter in October, and his California arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.