Hunter Biden's lawyer urges House Speaker Johnson to call off GOP subpoenas for him, business associates

WASHINGTON – Hunter Biden’s lawyer sent a letter Wednesday to newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, asking him to intervene against three Republican chairmen who have investigated the president’s son and threatened to subpoena him, his relatives and business associates.

But Johnson, R-La., was a high-ranking member on one of the three panels − the Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on weaponization of the federal government − before becoming speaker and has participated in the investigations. Johnson has asked pointed questions about Hunter Biden’s overseas business deals and the Biden administration.

The lawyer, Abbe Lowell, accused Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri of repeating “worn-out, false, baseless or debunked claims.” Comer announced Nov. 1 he expected to issue about two dozen subpoenas to Hunter Biden, his relatives and business associates.

“We write today to urge you, Mr. Speaker, to use your newly minted leadership post responsibly and ask you to think twice before joining this spectacle,” Lowell wrote in his 12-page letter obtained by USA TODAY. “Even in the era of ‘alternative facts,’ your colleagues’ manipulation and disregard for the truth is breathtaking.”

Raj Shah, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff for communications, told USA TODAY the investigations would continue.

“President Biden and the White House have repeatedly lied to the American people about his involvement and knowledge of the Biden family’s business dealings – receiving millions through their shell companies – from foreign adversaries,” Shah said. “We have learned this because of the diligent work of House investigators, who will continue to follow the facts where they may lead.”

Lowell’s letter outlined responses to several of the latest accusations from the House chairmen during a Nov. 1 joint appearance on Fox News:

• Comer revealed a $40,000 check to Joe Biden in September 2017, when he was between jobs as vice president and president, from his brother James Biden. Comer alleged the check represented money laundering from Hunter Biden’s business interests in China passed through his uncle to his father. But Lowell’s letter noted the check was marked a “loan repayment.” Lowell cited fact checkers and news coverage that found Hunter Biden was trying to develop an energy company and paid his uncle as a consultant.

• Jordan repeated an allegation that a Ukrainian business executive asked for Hunter Biden’s help to stymie that country's national prosecutor. Lowell called the allegation “false, recycled and debunked” because then-Vice President Joe Biden sought the removal of a corrupt prosecutor and to have a real prosecutor investigation allegations of corruption.

• Smith alleged that Hunter Biden was sitting next to his father on July 30, 2017, when he purportedly sent a text about a business transaction. Lowell said the Bidens were not seated together, Joe Biden was not in public office at the time and that Smith fabricated a screen shot of a text to illustrate the message from testimony from an Internal Revenue Service agent.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden's lawyer urges House Speaker Johnson to call off inquiry