House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) warned that first son Hunter Biden is facing jail time for ignoring a congressional subpoena to appear for closed-door testimony last month.
In an interview segment with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Jordan discussed what penalties Biden could face for ignoring the subpoena as the GOP-led House continues its impeachment investigation into his father, President Joe Biden.
“Well, if we pass it [contempt of Congress] out of the committee and then pass it through the full House, which I think we can do, then it goes to the Justice Department. That will be the attorney general’s decision whether he’s going to press charges,” Jordan said.
“But if he does, I mean, it could be up to a year of jail time for failing to come and comply with a deposition for subpoena, a subpoenaed deposition to be interviewed by Congress. So this is serious stuff,” the chairman added.
Jordan’s comments come after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced Friday that members would take part in a meeting Wednesday to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after he refused to show up for his deposition last month. Instead, he held a press conference in Washington, D.C., to demand a public hearing to answer “legitimate” questions.
According to the Justice Department, a contempt of Congress conviction comes with a minimum of 30 days in jail with a maximum sentence of one year behind bars, as well as a fine of $100,000.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the Oversight Committee’s ranking member, claimed that such a move would be unprecedented. “There is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath, and on a day of the Committee’s choosing,” he said.
However, that’s not the issue, Republicans have argued. Witnesses are routinely deposed behind closed doors first, and in the case of Hunter, they offered to allow him to testify publicly after a closed-door session.
Also, per the Daily Wire:
Jordan noted the Department of Justice has prosecuted former Trump administration aides Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress for resisting subpoenas issued by the January 6 Committee. He declined to predict whether Attorney General Merrick Garland will also prosecute Biden.
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“That will be his call,” Jordan told Bartiromo. “But I do think there was support in the House, certainly in the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee, to pass that contempt resolution. And then it’ll go to the House floor, I think, quickly thereafter.”
During his D.C. press conference, Hunter blasted Republicans while claiming that his father was not “financially involved” with his foreign business dealings. He ripped “MAGA” Republicans who have “invaded” his privacy, “attacked” his family, and “ridiculed my struggle with addiction.”
“They belittled my recovery, and they have tried to dehumanize me, all to embarrass my father, who has devoted his entire life to public service,” the president’s son said. “For six years, I have been a target of the unrelenting Trump attack team. ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer. I am here.”
“My father was not financially involved in my business,” he said, noting further that the then-vice president was not involved in his dealings with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings or his Chinese investments as well as others throughout the world and the U.S.
“No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” Hunter Biden said.
Hunter Biden refuses to comply with @JamesComer's subpoena to be deposed behind closed doors and demands a public hearing so he can tell sob stories on TV.
Reminder that Don Jr. testified behind closed doors for over 40 hours about the Russia hoax.
Hold him in contempt! pic.twitter.com/1FoJB06zyX
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 13, 2023
