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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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The Republican-led House Oversight Committee announced this week that they are referring both Hunter Biden 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 key aspects of the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden," the committee said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"These false statements implicate Joe Biden's knowledge of and role in his family's influence peddling schemes and appear to be a calculated effort to shield Joe Biden from the impeachment inquiry."
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Hunter is the son of President Joe Biden. James Biden is the president's younger brother.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Hunter Biden's lawyer via email for comment.
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The Context
Over the past few months, House Republicans have sought an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations that he was involved with and benefited from his son's foreign business dealings.
In March, Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee. A transcript of the meeting showed that Hunter repeatedly denied involving his father in his business, stating that he did not do so "while I was a practicing lawyer, not in my investments or transactions, domestic or international, not as a board member, and not as an artist."
James Biden also appeared before a closed-door meeting with the House Oversight Committee in February, where he disputed accusations that he benefited from his brother's business dealings.
What We Know
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David C. Weiss, Representative James Comer said, "Hunter Biden and James Biden made materially false statements to the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, as demonstrated by the evidence presented in the attached referral. The nature of these false statements is not lost on the Committees: every instance implicates Joe Biden's knowledge of and role in his family's influence peddling."
"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 letter added.
Views:
While appearing on Fox News' America Reports, House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith spoke about the referral for criminal prosecution and said, "look at the documentation. I mean the laws the law and just because you are a Biden you should not be treated differently."
"We hope the Department of Justice will treat James Biden and Hunter Biden the same way they would treat any other American," Smith said. "When you lie to Congress, that is a felony."
What's next:
It is currently unclear how the Department of Justice or the White House will respond to the referral by the Republican Committee.
The White House has repeatedly denied that Biden had anything to do with his son's dealings.
Hunter Biden is also currently facing a federal gun trial in Delaware which began earlier this week.
Update 6/5/24, 2:41 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 6/5/24, 3:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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