House Oversight Committee subpoenas Biden family, associates in impeachment inquiry

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden's son, brother and business associate were subpoenaed and a slate of other Biden family members were asked to sit for interviews Wednesday in the House Oversight Committee's ongoing presidential impeachment inquiry.

Biden's son, Hunter, was called to appear for a deposition on Dec. 13. Biden's brother James and business associate Rob Walker are scheduled for Dec. 6 and Nov. 29, respectively.

In addition to the subpoenas, the committee asked for voluntary interviews with James Biden's wife, Sarah; Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen; Hunter Biden's former business associate, Tony Bobulinski; Beau Biden's widow, Hallie; and her sister, Elizabeth Secundy.

The subpoenas, sent by Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., marked the first major move in the inquiry since the election of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has backed the efforts to target the president's family for investigations.

"The House Oversight Committee has followed the money and built a record of evidence revealing how Joe Biden knew, was involved, and benefited from his family's influence peddling schemes. Now, the House Oversight Committee is going to bring in members of the Biden family and their associates to question them on this record of evidence," Comer said.

The committee said it obtained financial reports that shows members of the Biden family set up shell companies, many created during Biden's tenure as vice president, to hide payments to "foreign adversaries."

"The Biden family, their business associates, and their companies received over $24 million from foreign nationals over the course of approximately five years -- including millions of dollars from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan. The Bidens and their associates made complicated financial transactions to conceal the source and total amount of money they received from foreign nationals and companies," the committee said.

White House spokesman Ian Sams said the ongoing inquiry has "turned up no evidence to support their outlandish allegations of bribery and 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' which they claim are motivating their open-ended 'impeachment inquiry.'"

"Instead of using the power of Congress to pursue a partisan political smear campaign against the president and his family, extreme House Republicans should do their jobs," Sams said.