President Joe Biden’s past comments are coming back to haunt him after his defiant son skipped out on a deposition before Congress on Wednesday.
In October 2021, Biden called on the Department of Justice to prosecute people who defy congressional subpoenas while discussing the select committee’s Jan.6 Capitol Hill investigation.
“I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally,” Biden told former CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
His comments came at a time when the House voted to hold former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
Biden added that anyone who does not respond to a “legitimate committee” in Congress “should be held responsible.”
In addition, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told CNN that Biden said "that the committee should aggressively enforce our right to get people’s testimony and to get the documents we’ve subpoenaed, and there’s no problem with that.”
However, on Wednesday, the president’s defiant son, Hunter Biden, refused to appear for a deposition requested by Republicans. His attorney, Abby Lowell, called on him to testify publicly instead.
Will @POTUS instruct the DOJ to prosecute Hunter if he defies a Congressional subpoena?
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) December 6, 2023
QUESTION: "Mr. President, what’s your message to people who defy Congressional subpoenas...Should they be prosecuted by the Justice Department?"
BIDEN: "Yes" https://t.co/zTdA6UPq8d pic.twitter.com/hVQnsRqpo5
According to the Congressional Research Service, criminal contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor offense for those who do not comply with congressional subpoenas.
In a letter, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told Lowell that they would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if Hunter Biden refused a subpoena or refused to appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13.
During his press conference, Hunter Biden claimed that his father was never “financially involved” in his shady overseas business dealings, which include deals from Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings and his Chinese investments and others in the United States.
The president has repeatedly denied interacting with his son’s business associates despite the Ways and Means Committee finding that he used a pseudonym to exchange more than 50 emails. The emails show he did communicate with Eric Schwerin, Hunter Biden’s business associate and accountant, using an alias, “Robin Ware.