WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans filed criminal referrals Wednesday against President Joe Biden’s son and brother, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of a yearslong impeachment inquiry.
The Republican chairs of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways & Means committees sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending the prosecution of Hunter Biden and James Biden.
A representative for Hunter Biden’s legal team and an attorney for James Biden did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. But both parties, and the White House, have dismissed the Biden family investigations as partisan witch hunts.
Republicans have pursued an impeachment inquiry to link the Democratic president to his son’s business dealings, but have been unable to find evidence directly implicating him in any wrongdoing. Now the committees are accusing Hunter Biden and James Biden of providing false testimony during their hours-long conversations with lawmakers, claiming it is part of a larger effort to conceal the president’s involvement in the family’s foreign businesses.
“Congress cannot allow anyone, not even the president’s son or his brother, to stand in the way of executive oversight or deny the American people the responsibility they deserve,” said Rep. Jason Smith, R -Mo., president of Ways & Means, said in a statement.
The false statements in question, according to the chairmen, included 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 “told a completely fictional story” 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 negotiating tactic. There is also focus on statements James Biden made about whether the president had met with a now-disgraced former business partner during his time as a private citizen or not.
Hunter Biden, in a closed-door statement on Capitol Hill in February, dismissed 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.
