House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) accused the Department of Justice of using gun charges against Hunter Biden to “save face” because prosecutors had, so far, not indicted him for more serious crimes.
Jordan made the remarks during a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner at his Capitol Hill office on Friday, one day after special counsel David Weiss charged President Joe Biden’s son with three felonies tied to allegations he had purchased a firearm while addicted to drugs.
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“At some point, they were like, ‘Well, we’ve got to do something and let’s do this. Let’s indict him on the gun charge, which has nothing to do with President Biden,'” Jordan said. “It’s the one thing that has nothing to do with the whole business operation and the links that seem pretty obvious to most people to the president.”
Jordan, along with two other chairmen, Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jason Smith (R-MO), were tasked by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this week with leading an impeachment inquiry into allegations Joe Biden was inappropriately involved in his son’s business dealings when he was vice president. The inquiry, they say, will bolster their efforts to determine whether Joe Biden is guilty of impeachable offenses.
Jordan is largely focused on the DOJ component of the inquiry, which involves investigating whether Hunter Biden received preferential treatment from the government during its roughly five-year investigation of him.
Jordan plans to continue meeting with DOJ and FBI officials involved in the Hunter Biden case. Interviews with two FBI agents over the past week have corroborated IRS whistleblower claims that the case progressed too slowly and that U.S. attorneys in Washington, D.C., and California blocked Weiss from bringing charges in their districts.
The chairman also wants to meet with Weiss himself, and before Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing him as special counsel, the DOJ had vowed that Weiss would testify before Congress this fall. Jordan said he still expects that to happen.
While the DOJ has not rescinded its offer, the department did hint in a letter in August at its objections to Weiss testifying while the case remained open.
“As we and Mr. Weiss himself have noted, the most appropriate time for any testimony on the subject of any individual ongoing criminal investigation is after the matter is closed,” a department official wrote.
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The chairman indicated he planned to ask Weiss “pretty pointed” questions about the lack of other charges against the president’s son.
“I mean, I think anyone with common sense can say, ‘We can see what’s going on here,'” Jordan said. “All the more reason why we hope he comes and testifies, and we can ask him some pretty pointed questions.”
