The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has accused President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, of blocking its investigation into the Biden family’s alleged influence peddling.
On Feb. 8, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, formally requested that the younger Biden, his uncle James Biden, and their former business associate Eric Schwerin turn over all documents, communications, and records related to their business dealings.
Responding in a letter obtained by The Epoch Times, Biden’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell, argued that the committee lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose” in making that request, given that the president’s son is a private citizen.
“Whether you think Mr. Biden acted properly or not, and whether you think his private business dealings and associations are inappropriate or not, his behavior is that of a private citizen, not a public official,” Lowell wrote. “There was and is no family business in which he ever worked … That his father was a senator, vice president, or now president is not an endorsement of your choice to make every aspect of Mr. Biden’s personal life your political weapon.”
Adding that the investigation also raised “serious separation of powers concerns,” Lowell did not offer up any documents or records but said he would be willing to sit with committee staff to “see whether Mr. Biden has information that may inform some legitimate legislative purpose and be helpful to the committee.”
But according to an Oversight Committee spokesperson, the attorney’s counter-offer was not only unsatisfactory but also unsurprising.
“It’s no surprise that Hunter Biden is trying to stonewall Congress’ oversight and hide information about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s suspicious business practices,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “The American people demand transparency and oversight, not political coverups. The Oversight Committee will continue its oversight and use all tools at its disposal to gather information critical to our investigation and to inform legislative solutions.”
The president has maintained that he was uninvolved in his family members’ business dealings—a claim Comer has candidly doubted.
“The [Biden] family has taken millions of dollars from adversaries, mainly in China,” he said on Jan. 30 at a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker event. “I think we need to determine what the money was for and who supplied it.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Biden’s attorney for comment.