The House Oversight and Accountability Chairman, James Comer, has announced subpoenas for the personal and business bank records of Hunter Biden and James Biden. These subpoenas are the first concrete steps taken in public to advance the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Hunter Biden is the president’s son, and James Biden is his brother. Republicans claim that text messages indicate the two were involved in business dealings that involved selling access to the Biden family brand. Now, the GOP is following the money trail to determine where it leads.
The subpoenas were issued shortly after the Oversight Committee’s first hearing of the impeachment inquiry, which featured legal and tax experts. Democrats argue that the public record does not sufficiently implicate President Biden in his son’s questionable activities and criticize Republicans for calling the hearing without substantial proof of wrongdoing.
IRS investigators have testified that Hunter Biden collected millions of dollars from foreign interests, seemingly offering little substantive work other than his relationship with his father. Although the president has denied involvement in his son’s dealings, Hunter Biden’s former business partners have described instances where the then-vice president was involved in phone calls or meetings that Hunter Biden exploited to advance his business interests.
The subpoenas cover financial records for Hunter Biden, James Biden, and several companies or accounts linked to them. These companies include Owasco P.C., Owasco LLC, Skaneateles, Lion Hall Group LLC, JBBSR Inc., as well as Eric Schwerin, a business associate of Hunter Biden. Republicans allege that the Bidens and these companies collected up to $24 million in payments for which investigators cannot identify any “legitimate services provided.”
The banks initially refused to turn over the requested information, prompting the issuance of the subpoenas. The deadline for compliance is October 12th.
