Votes to support holding president’s son in contempt of Congress have already been secured, lawmaker says
The full House is set to hold a floor vote on the criminal contempt resolution against Hunter Biden as early as next week, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky).
Mr. Comer told The New York Sun, in an interview published on Jan. 11, that the resolution will go to the House floor for a vote by the whole chamber next week, provided the Republican majority has enough members in town to cast their votes.
The Kentucky lawmaker added that the votes to support holding President Joe Biden’s son in contempt of Congress have already been secured.
“It all depends,” he said. “There are a couple of members out sick today … We have the votes” to hold the younger Biden in contempt, he told the publication.
The lawmaker also said he and his colleagues have not yet decided what their plan of action is, should U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves decide not to prosecute the 53-year-old Mr. Biden.
Attorney Graves has prosecuted two cases against two of former President Donald Trump’s top advisors, political strategist Steve Bannon and former White House aide Peter Navarro, following the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, however, he declined to prosecute former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, I mean he’s taken up two similar cases, so I would assume he’s going to do this,” Rep. Comer said of Mr. Graves. “We’ll assume he’ll do his job.”
Biden Fails to Appear at Deposition
Rep. Comer’s comments come after the Republican-led House Oversight and Judiciary Committees advanced resolutions on Wednesday recommending Mr. Biden be held in criminal contempt of Congress for not testifying in their impeachment inquiry into his father.
House Republicans allege they have evidence that President Biden improperly participated in and benefited from his son’s overseas business dealings while he was vice president. Both Hunter Biden and the White House have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
However, as part of their inquiry into the allegations, Republicans issued a subpoena for Hunter Biden to appear in a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13.