The House Republican judiciary, oversight, and investigative chairs are demanding Hunter Biden’s lawyers turn over leaked documents that detail coordination with President Joe Biden’s Justice Department on Hunter Biden’s failed plea deal.
GOP Jim Jordan, House Judiciary Committee Chair from Ohio, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith of Missouri, and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky noted that the leaked documents appeared on Politico and in reports in The New York Times just over three weeks after Hunter Biden’s “sweetheart plea deal fell apart” in open court.
The trio of House Republican chairs have been leading on oversight and investigations into President Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s criminal probes and business dealings. According to a Wednesday letter, they are seeking the documents from Hunter Biden’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Christopher Clark.
“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,” read the letter. “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 unprecedented plea deal involving Hunter Biden agreed to by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.
According to the letter, “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 leaked to the media included previously undisclosed communications
Documents were leaked to the media, including documents outlining “the failed settlement negotiations between the department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers based on nonpublic information, including previously undisclosed documents and communications” and the court transcript.
“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,” continued the letter to Hunter Biden’s attorneys.
“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,” it read.
The letter argued the documents are already publicly reported on, so the lawyers should have “no basis” to keep them from the trio of House Republican-led committees.
“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,” read the letter.
A 20-point list of information and documents demanded the material be turned over for congressional investigation and oversight by September 20.
The letter to the lawyers vows to issue a subpoena for testimony if the documents demanded aren’t 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,” concluded the letter.
