(NewsNation) — The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees will vote Wednesday on whether to recommend Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress.
The president’s son said he would only testify publicly in front of Congress, which defied a Republican-issued subpoena that ordered his testimony be behind closed doors.
“This week, our committee will move forward to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. Hunter Biden violated federal law by defying our subpoena and must be held accountable,” Rep. William Timmons, a GOP Oversight member, said on X.
The votes for Biden’s contempt recommendation will both begin at 10 a.m.
Following Wednesday’s votes, if they’re successful, the next step would be for the full House to vote on the resolution. But even if the House approves it, it’s not clear what consequences Biden would face. It will be up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to prosecute.
The contempt referral would be yet another headache for federal prosecutors already under heavy scrutiny for their handling of charges against the president’s son related to his taxes and gun use.
Shelving the contempt of Congress charges would likely further stoke conservative criticism that the Justice Department is politicized. But prosecuting contempt cases can be difficult.
Biden has defended his lack of compliance with the GOP-issued subpoena, which ordered him to appear for closed-door testimony in mid-December. Biden and his attorneys said information from private interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated by House Republicans and insisted that he would only testify in public.
Recent history shows us contempt resolutions don’t always mean the subject gets in trouble.
Democrats led efforts to hold four advisers to former President Donald Trump in contempt for failing to comply with subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee.
Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon ended up being charged by the Justice Department after the recommendations. Their cases have dragged on with Navarro facing sentencing this month and Bannon’s case on appeal.
However, prosecutors declined charges for former chief of staff Mark Meadows and communications aid Dan Scavino.
Under the law, if convicted of a contempt charge from Congress, someone can face up to a year in prison and a possible fine.
On Tuesday, Democrats came to Biden’s defense.
“The question is why won’t the Republicans let the American people hear what Hunter Biden has to say? This is a joke. It’s absurd that they are moving forward with contempt for a witness who is willing to testify. He is willing to cooperate, he is not defying a subpoena,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said. “He is willing to come in and give all the information and answer all the questions that they have.”
The committees’ votes Wednesday on contempt of Congress comes a day before Hunter Biden is scheduled to make his first court appearance on tax charges filed by a special counsel in Los Angeles. He is facing three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay.
His lawyer has accused David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the yearslong case, of “bowing to Republican pressure” by bringing the charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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