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House Republicans said Wednesday they're investigating whether President
Biden sought to "obstruct" Hunter Biden's cooperation with their
committees' impeachment inquiry.

Driving the news: Hunter Biden said earlier this month he would defy a
subpoena and not sit for a closed-door deposition, prompting House
Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to announce they would begin contempt of
Congress proceedings against the president's son.

Jordan and Comer announced Wednesday they had sent a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel, calling for "all documents and communications sent
or received by employees of the Executive Office of the President
regarding Hunter Biden's deposition."
Details: "In light of an official statement from the White House that
President Biden was aware in advance that his son, Hunter Biden, would knowingly defy two congressional subpoenas, we are compelled to examine as
part of our impeachment inquiry whether the President engaged in a
conspiracy to obstruct a proceeding of Congress," Comer and Jordan wrote
in a letter to White House counsel Edward Siskel.

The letter points to comments by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean- Pierre earlier this month that "the president was certainly familiar with
what his son was going to say" when Hunter Biden made a rare public
statement that criticized Republicans for their investigation.
"Ms. Jean-Pierre's statement suggests that the President had some amount
of advanced knowledge that Mr. Biden would choose to defy two
congressional subpoenas," Comer and Jordan wrote.
"In light of Ms. Jean-Pierre's statement, we are compelled to examine the involvement of the President in his son's scheme to defy the Committees' subpoenas.
Context: Hunter Biden said last month that he would be willing to testify before the House Oversight Committee, but only in public. However, Comer
said that this amounted to "a demand that he receive special treatment."

Of note: Comer previously said that House Republicans "have so many
documents" in the investigation that they "can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose, and we can ask
these questions with evidence."

What we're watching: The impeachment inquiry has yet to find direct
evidence of any wrongdoing by the president, leading to skepticism among
some Senate Republicans who would be the jurors if there were a Senate
trial.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

https://www.axios.com/2023/12/27/house-republicans-impeachment-inquiry- biden-obstruction-letter

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