Tipsheet

'Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree': Chairman Comer Reacts to Biden's Refusal to Testify

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 15, 2024 10:15 PM

Late last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) formally invited President Joe Biden to testify before his Committee, just as he indicated he would be doing at the conclusion of the Biden influence peddling hearing that took place the week before. On Monday, however, Special Counsel Richard Sauber sent a letter to Comer indicating that the president would not be testifying. 

Not only did Sauber's letter to Comer indicate that Biden would not be testifying, he also referred to the House Republican impeachment inquiry using scare quotes. 

"Your Committee’s purported 'impeachment inquiry' has succeeded only in turning up  abundant evidence that, in fact, the President has done nothing wrong. Yet rather than acknowledge this reality, your March 28, 2024, letter contains the same litany of false allegations that have been repeatedly debunked and refuted by the very witnesses you have called before  your Committee and the many documents you have obtained," he claimed. "Your insistence on peddling these  false and unsupported allegations despite ample evidence to the contrary makes one thing about  your investigation abundantly clear: The facts do not matter to you."

House Republicans, including Comer's Oversight Committee, have nevertheless provided evidence of plenty of wrongdoing. This includes from eyewitness testimony, such as from Tony Bobulinski, Devon Archer, and Jason Galanis, all who were former business associates of Hunter Biden. They referred to Joe Biden as "the Biden brand" and "the Biden lift," and also acknowledged he was "the Big Guy" who Hunter referred to. 

Bobulinski and Galanis both also participated in that March 20 hearing about influence peddling, during which they made clear that the Bidens lied. Despite how Hunter had been invited to and even asked for such a public hearing, he did not show up. 

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By refusing to appear, President Biden is also refusing to answer the 10 questions Comer asked of him:

  1. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Jonathan Li of Bohai Industrial Fund and/or Bohai Harvest Rosemont?
  2. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Ye Jianming of CEFC?
  3. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Henry Zhao of the Harvest Fund?
  4. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Vadym Pozharskyi of Burisma Holdings?
  5. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Mykola Zlochevsky of Burisma Holdings?
  6. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Kenes Rakishev of Novatus Holding?
  7. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Yelena Baturina?
  8. Have you met, spoken to, or otherwise interacted with Yuriy Luzhkov?
  9. Did you ever ask your brother James Biden about the source of the funds he used to pay or repay you?
  10. Did Eric Schwerin have insight into all your bank accounts until December 2017?

In a statement, Comer highlighted how the "American people deserve transparency" in the matter, something they're not getting from Biden.

"The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Biden family. Like his son, Hunter Biden, President Biden is refusing to testify in public about the Bidens' corrupt influence peddling. This comes as no surprise since President Biden continues to lie about his relationships with his son’s business partners, even denying they exist when his son said under oath during a deposition that they did," Comer said. "It is unfortunate President Biden is unwilling to answer questions before the American people and refuses to answer the very simple, straightforward questions we included in the invitation. Why is it so difficult for the White House to answer those questions? The American people deserve transparency from President Biden, not more lies."

Comer looks to be continuing his investigation into Biden, however. Earlier on Monday, he and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent letters to FBI Director Chris Wray and Office of the Director of the National Intelligence (ODNI) Director Avril Haines. 

"As part of the impeachment inquiry, we seek to understand if, as Vice President or as a candidate for the presidency, Joe Biden received so-called 'defensive' briefings regarding his son’s foreign business dealings," the chairmen wrote in both of their letters explaining why they were seeking more information from the FBI and ODNI. 

Comer and Jordan are looking for a response by April 29.