The House's approval of opening a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden should allow Republicans to wield more power to compel Biden's son Hunter Biden to respond to a congressional subpoena and privately testify, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Newsmax Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Hunter Biden said he was not going to comply with the subpoena issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability that required him to be deposed behind closed doors Wednesday. Hunter Biden demanded a public hearing, a request Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., denied.
The House then voted 221-212 along party lines to open the impeachment inquiry into the president and alleged corrupt business dealings involving him and his family.
"Hunter Biden doesn't get to dictate the terms of a subpoena that Congress issues," Steube told "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "He completely gave the middle finger to Congress today, and we'll be moving forward on compelling his testimony."
Steube, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which along with the Oversight and the Judiciary committees has been part of the initial investigation into the president and his family, said voting to open an impeachment inquiry "gives us a lot more legal standing to go after the compelling of these testimonies, to go after the stonewalling from the White House on these documents and all the different things that we're requesting; and it gives us that legal avenue to request that from the courts."
Part of trying to compel Hunter Biden to testify is finding him in contempt of Congress, which would mean requesting the Department of Justice take legal action. But Steube said the DOJ has shown political bias, especially with investigations into Hunter Biden on tax and gun charges, so he does not expect the DOJ to do much.
"Of course, they're not going to cooperate with us," Steuber said. "You've got a weaponized DOJ. That's Joe Biden's DOJ that's going after parents at school board meetings and going after Catholics and targeting conservatives.
"So, unfortunately, you're not going to have this DOJ respond to Congress. But the court system can certainly order that. They can order him to show up, and they can order the different things that we're going to go after."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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