House Oversight chair pushes for sweeping DOJ probe after Hunter Biden guilty verdict

Republicans are conducting their own sprawling investigation into the Biden family.

House Oversight Chair James Comer is urging the Justice Department to launch a sweeping investigation into the Biden family in the wake of Hunter Biden being found guilty on three felony gun charges.

“Today’s verdict is a step toward accountability but until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden,” Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement after the verdict.

Comer’s symbolic DOJ nudge toward a broader Biden investigation comes as House Republicans are months into their own impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, which has largely focused on the business deals of Hunter Biden and other family members.

But they don’t have the votes to impeach Biden, with a swath of GOP members saying they haven’t found the sort of “smoking gun” that proves Joe Biden committed a crime or an impeachable offense.

Comer and other GOP chairs spearheading the inquiry made criminal referrals to the Justice Department earlier this month for Hunter Biden and Jim Biden, the president’s brother. The referrals are non-binding, meaning the DOJ doesn’t have to do anything with them. Republicans are hoping that if Trump wins in November, they can be revisited next year.

Congressional Democrats, plus legal representatives for Hunter and Jim Biden, quickly denounced the referrals, saying Republicans are rehashing already misconstrued closed-door testimony from the two men and were trying to find a landing place for an impeachment inquiry that has stalled.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a Washington Post op-ed before the verdict, offered an indirect rebuff of Comer’s accusation of a “cover,” arguing the department makes decisions based on facts rather than last names or party ID.

“The Justice Department makes decisions about criminal investigations based only on the facts and the law. We do not investigate people because of their last name, their political affiliation, the size of their bank account, where they come from or what they look like. We investigate and prosecute violations of federal law — nothing more, nothing less,” he wrote.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/06/11/congress/trump-set-to-meet-house-gop-00162677

Trump plans to meet with House GOP on Thursday

The former president is also meeting with Senate Republicans this week, where he's expected to to talk about their "strategic governing agenda in 2025."

Former President Donald Trump is slated to meet with the House GOP conference Thursday, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge of the planning.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee will address members just weeks ahead of the party’s convention at a Republican-only club on Capitol Hill. Trump has locked down support from most Republican House members.

The former president is expected to have other meetings with lawmakers this week, including with Senate Republicans. Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said they plan to talk about their "strategic governing agenda in 2025."

His meeting with the full Republican conference is slated to take place 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, though the location has yet to be announced.

It marks a critical moment for Speaker Mike Johnson, who has repeatedly leaned on his relationship with Trump to both weather attacks from his right flank and push through tough legislation in the GOP's narrow House majority. Trump defended the GOP leader against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), when the Trump loyalist led efforts to boot Johnson from the speakership.

But Johnson is also facing some legislative squeezes on Trump's behalf, which the former president could push in his upcoming meetings. Greene has trumpeted one in particular for weeks: Defunding special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading investigations into both Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents as well as his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Johnson initially dismissed defunding Smith in an interview with POLITICO Playbook — knowing many of his centrists are not on board — but he has appeared to warm to the idea as Trump has voiced his support.

And the speaker will get more face time with Trump days later at Mar-a-Lago, along with the chair of the House GOP campaign arm, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). The visit, first reported by Axios, comes as the party is bracing for a series of upcoming primary battles.

During a similar meeting in the past, Johnson and Hudson worked with Trump to figure out how to deal with a series of primary races, including withholding or providing endorsements as well as asking the former president to withhold attacks against those he believes have crossed him.

That meeting in March impacted races that could’ve fundamentally changed the makeup of the House, adding more hardliners that tend to cause more migraines for leadership if ultimately elected — or worse, cost them a winnable seat.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/06/11/congress/trump-set-to-meet-house-gop-00162677