The House's Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways & Means Committees sent criminal referrals for Hunter Biden and James Biden to the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, recommending President Joe "no one is above the law" Biden's son and brother be brought up on federal charges for making false statements to Congress in the course of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry.
The formal criminal referrals were made in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David Weiss based on a transcribed interview with James Biden that took place on February 21 and a deposition with Hunter Biden on February 28.
"As the attached referral shows, Hunter Biden and James Biden made provably false statements to the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee about key aspects of the impeachment inquiry, in what appears to be a conscious effort to hinder the investigation's focus on President Joe Biden," write Chairmen James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO).
More from lawmakers' referral letter:
Specifically, Hunter Biden falsely distanced himself from a corporate entity—Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC—and its bank account (Rosemont Seneca Bohai Bank Account) that was the recipient of millions of dollars from foreign individuals and foreign entities who met with then-Vice President Biden before and after transmitting money to the Rosemont Seneca Bohai Bank Account that then transferred funds to Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden made additional false statements as to whether he held positions at Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC. After deposing Hunter Biden, the Committees obtained documents showing Hunter Biden represented that he was the corporate secretary. Additionally, Hunter Biden during his testimony replayed an entirely fictitious account about threatening text messages he sent to his Chinese business partner while invoking his father's presence with him as he wrote the messages. Hunter Biden told the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee he had transmitted this threat to an unrelated individual with the same surname. However, documents released by the Committee on Ways and Means demonstrate conclusively that Hunter Biden made this threat to the intended individual, and bank records prove Hunter Biden's Chinese business partners wired millions of dollars to him after his threat. A portion of the proceeds has been traced to Joe Biden's bank account.
With respect to James Biden, he stated unequivocally during his transcribed interview that Joe Biden did not meet with Mr. Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of James and Hunter Biden, in 2017 while pursuing a deal with a Chinese entity, CEFC China Energy. Specifically, James Biden stated he did not attend a meeting with Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Tony Bobulinski on May 2, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. These statements were contradicted not only by Mr. Bobulinski, but Hunter Biden. Mr. Bobulinski also produced text messages that establish the events leading up to and immediately following his meeting with Joe Biden on May 2, 2017.
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According to the chairmen, "the nature of these false statements is not lost on the Committees" as "every instance implicates Joe Biden's knowledge of and role in his family's influence peddling."
Hunter's deposition, the referral explains, "obfuscates the account to which foreign individuals who met with Joe Biden transmitted funds" and "appears to be an attempt to hide the fact that invoking Joe Biden succeeded in coercing his Chinese partners to send him money."
"Hunter Biden and James Biden provided false testimony to the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, in what appears to be a conscious, calculated effort to insulate Joe Biden from the duly authorized impeachment inquiry," the referral emphasizes.
"The Committees recommend that both Hunter Biden and James Biden be charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements), and, additionally, that Hunter Biden be charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1621 (perjury). The Department of Justice should consider Hunter Biden's prior alleged criminal activity when evaluating whether to charge him for the false statements," the chairmen urge. "Because Hunter Biden was federally indicted in two different jurisdictions at the time of his Congressional deposition, he was also subject to two federal court orders stating that he could not commit any crimes while on federal supervised release."
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) June 5, 2024
We Are Referring Hunter and James Biden for Criminal Prosecution
Our Committee, along with @JudiciaryGOP and @WaysandMeansGOP, today sent criminal referrals to the DOJ recommending Hunter and James Biden be charged with making false statements to Congress about… pic.twitter.com/gWM7S8grQm
In a statement accompanying the referral, Oversight Committee Chairman Comer observed that "making false statements runs in the Biden family. We’ve caught President Biden’s son and brother making blatant lies to Congress in what appears to be a concerted effort to hide Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s schemes," he added.
"Lying to Congress is a serious crime with serious consequences," emphasized Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. "Both Hunter and James Biden did just that. They lied to cover up President Biden’s involvement in their family’s international influence-peddling schemes that have generated millions of dollars. These criminal referrals are a reflection of criminal wrongdoing by the Biden family, and the Department of Justice must take steps to hold the Bidens accountable," he urged.
Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith reminded that "President Biden claims no one is above the law" and said "[w]e will soon see his Department of Justice put that principle to the test...If the Department of Justice fails to act on our criminal referral and hold Hunter Biden accountable, they will once again be telling the American people there are two tiers of justice in this country," he added. "One for the wealthy and politically connected, and one for everyone else."
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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