House Republicans Ready Contempt Resolution Against Hunter Biden

The president's son offered to testify in public but refused a subpoena for his private deposition.

WASHINGTON ― Republicans on Monday released the text of their resolution holding President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in contempt of Congress for refusing to talk to lawmakers behind closed doors.

Republicans sent Hunter Biden a subpoena last year demanding he sit for a deposition, but Biden has insisted he would only speak during a public hearing ― an offer he repeated outside the Capitol on his scheduled deposition date in December.

The contempt resolution says Hunter Biden’s testimony is “a critical component of the impeachment inquiry” against President Biden, whom the resolution says may have “abused his office of public trust” by participating in his son’s business. Republicans have struggled to find compelling evidence for their allegations.

House committees led by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.) will vote on the resolution Wednesday, setting up an eventual vote by the full House. If the resolution is adopted, then the House would refer the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.

Though it’s illegal to defy a congressional subpoena, the Justice Department has in the past declined to prosecute contempt referrals from the political party opposite the one controlling the executive branch. But Hunter Biden is currently the target of a lengthy prosecution by a U.S. attorney held over from the Donald Trump administration, so it’s possible contempt of Congress could be added to the tax and gun charges Biden’s already facing.