The House GOP judiciary, investigative, and oversight chairs are demanding Hunter Biden’s lawyers turn over leaked documents detailing coordination with President Joe Biden’s Justice Department on Hunter Biden’s failed plea deal.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., noted the leaked documents appeared in reports in The New York Times and on Politico just over three weeks after Hunter Biden’s “sweetheart plea deal fell apart” in open court.
The trio of House GOP chairs have been leading the way on investigations and oversight into President Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and criminal probes. They are seeking the documents from Hunter Biden’s attorneys Christopher Clark and Abbe Lowell, according to a letter Wednesday.
“The committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Accountability are continuing their oversight of the Department of Justice’s (Department) commitment to impartial justice and its handling of a criminal investigation involving Hunter Biden,” the letter read. “On July 26, 2023, Hunter Biden appeared before Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware for a hearing on the apparently unprecedented plea deal involving Hunter Biden agreed to by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.
“However, the plea deal fell apart when prosecutors and defense attorneys could not provide answers to routine questions about the agreement posed by Judge Noreika.”
Documents were leaked to the media, including the court transcript and documents outlining “the failed settlement negotiations between the department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers based on nonpublic information, including previously undisclosed documents and communications.
“The information contained in these articles reinforces serious concerns regarding whether the department has handled a case involving President Biden’s son in an impartial manner that is consistent with other prosecutions,” the letter to Hunter Biden’s attorneys continued.
“There are a limited number of people who would have had access to the documents and communications discussed in these articles, and based on the narrative set forth in these pieces, the committees believe it is highly likely that these materials were provided to these media outlets by or at the direction of the Biden legal defense team, of which you are or were a member.”
The documents are already publicly reported on, so the lawyers should have “no basis” to keep them from the trio of House GOP-led committees, the letter argued.
“Given that these disclosures have been made to two media outlets and this information has been widely publicized, no basis exists to withhold these documents and communications from the committees, including on the basis of any purported duty of confidentiality, work product, or other privilege interest,” it read.
A 20-point list of documents and information demanded the material be turned over for congressional investigation and oversight by Sept. 20.
The letter to the attorneys vows to issue a subpoena for testimony if the documents demanded are not turned over by the deadline.
“Should you refuse to provide the committee with the requested information because of any purported privilege, the committee may need to seek testimony from you and/or Hunter Biden regarding the disclosure of these documents and communications to The New York Times and Politico,” the letter concluded.
