House Republicans filed a petition Thursday to require two Justice Department lawyers to testify about Hunter Biden's criminal probe as part of their impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.
In Washington's federal court, the complaint comes as the impeachment process is nearly over, with Republicans unwilling to impeach after finding no evidence of presidential malfeasance.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee wants the judge to require two Justice Department tax division attorneys to answer Hunter Biden subpoenas. A complaint argues their failure to testify is hindering the Committee's probe into charges the Justice Department mismanaged and “slow walked” the president's son's investigation.
To craft effective legislative reforms and to determine whether President Biden has committed an impeachable offense, it must have all the facts,” the lawsuit argues. A Justice agency spokesperson said Thursday that the agency is “committed to working with Congress in good faith” and took the “extraordinary step” of making six top officials available to testify.
“It is unfortunate that despite this extraordinary cooperation from senior DOJ officials, the Committee has decided, after waiting for months, to continue seeking to depose line prosecutors about sensitive information from ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions,” the Justice Department said. We will safeguard our line workers and their work. We will study and respond to court filings.”
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to gun and tax charges after a plea arrangement failed. Federal prosecutors say he used a four-year ruse to avoid paying the $1.4 million he owed the IRS and maintain an expensive lifestyle that included drugs and alcohol.
The Justice Department wrote to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan that it had already addressed concerns about the probe, including first-of-its-kind testimony from the Hunter Biden special counsel. Last year, special counsel David Weiss testified that no Justice Department official barred him from filing charges or taking other investigative actions.
Justice Department rank-and-file attorneys rarely testify before Congress. The Justice Department's head of congressional affairs, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, wrote to Jordan that forcing witnesses to answer questions about ongoing investigations or prosecutions would pose “serious risks to the integrity” of the probe and court proceedings.
Hunter Biden gave a 200-page deposition behind closed doors this month, but the House Oversight and Accountability Committee found no “high crimes and misdemeanors” to impeach a president. James Comer, head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is considering symbolic criminal referrals of the family to the Justice Department instead of impeaching the president.
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