Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell rejected a document demand by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability issued Wednesday, responding in a letter Thursday that the committee “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose and oversight basis for requesting such records from Mr. Biden, who is a private citizen.” Lowell offered to meet with the committee to discuss the committee’s demands rather than go back and forth via letters.
Hunter, James and Joe Biden, file screen image.
The committee’s letter asks Hunter for any classified documents he has and for documents and communications involving Hunter, Joe Biden, James Biden and his wife Sara Jones Biden covering January 20, 2009 through January 20, 2021 on a range of issues (excerpt):
Mr. Robert Hunter BidenTransmitted Electronically
Dear Mr. Biden:
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Biden’s connections to certain international and domestic business transactions and practices, including you and your associates who peddled influence to generate millions of dollars for the Biden family. Evidence shows that you engaged in foreign business deals with individuals who were connected to the Chinese Communist Party and received significant amounts of money from foreign companies without providing any known legitimate services. You and your associates’ financial conduct raises significant ethics and national security concerns. The Committee requests documents and communications related to our investigation of President Biden’s involvement in your financial conduct.
The Committee is investigating President Biden’s knowledge of and role in these foreign business deals to assess whether he has compromised our national security at the expense of the American people. Additionally, we will examine drafting legislation to strengthen federal ethics laws regarding public officials and their families. We will also analyze and make recommendations regarding federal laws and regulations to ensure that financial institutions have the proper internal controls and compliance programs to alert federal agencies of potential money laundering activity. The Oversight Committee is committed to exposing the waste, fraud, and abuse that has taken place at the highest levels of our government, and your documents are critical to our investigation.
Please produce the following records, documents, or communications in your possession,custody, or control no later than February 22, 2023:
Any document, record, or communication designated classified by any government body, including but not limited to any constituent agency of the U.S. Intelligence Community.
2. Any communication with Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., James Brian Biden, or SaraJones Biden between January 20, 2009, and January 20, 2021, regarding:
a. any international or domestic travel with any government agency; andb. any international or domestic financial activity, including but not limited to communications related to banking and financial institutions, overseas bank accounts, credit card companies, bills, invoices, fees, agreements, financial arrangements, payments, wire transfers, contracts, QuickBooks, financial spreadsheets, office or residential leases, rent payments, real estate transactions, the Biden Foundation, and the Penn Biden Center.
3. Any communication with Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., James Brian Biden, or Sara Jones Biden, between January 20, 2009, and January 20, 2021, regarding any of the following individuals and companies:a. Devon Archer; b. JiaQi Bao; c. Tony Bobulinski; d. Jeffrey Cooper; e. Catherine Dodge; f. Gongwen Dong; g. James Gilliar; h. Patrick Ho Chi-ping; i. Vuk Jeremic; j. Zang Jianjun; k. Ye Jianming; l. Jonathan Li; m. Joan Mayer or Joan Peugh; n. Francis Person; o. Vadim Pozharskyi; p. Eric Schwerin; q. Robert Walker; r. Mervyn Yan; s. Any Rosemont Seneca entity or company; t. Any Hudson West entity or company; u. Any Owasco entity or company; v. Any Bohai Harvest entity or company; w. Skaneateles LLC; x. Eudora Global LLC; y. Coldharbour Capital LLC; z. Lion Hall Group LLC; aa. Any CEFC entity or company; and bb. Burisma.
4. Any communication, between January 20, 2009, and January 20, 2021, between or among you and the individuals set forth in Items 3(a)-(r) above.5. Any record or document related to Items 2, 3, and 4 above.6. All records and documents, between January 20, 2009, and January 20, 2021, related to scheduling (including electronic calendars such as Outlook or Gmail), contact lists, banking and financial institutions, credit card companies, bills, invoices, fees, agreements, payments, wire transfers, contracts, QuickBooks, financial spreadsheets, office or residential leases, rent payments, and real estate transactions regarding the individuals and companies set forth in Items 3(a)-(bb) above.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) released a statement Thursday announcing the document demands of Hunter Biden, James Biden and Eric Schwerin that includes a legislative and oversight basis.
Comer Widens Investigation into Biden’s Involvement in His Family’s Business SchemesCalls on Hunter and James Biden, Eric Schwerin to provide documents, records, and communications
WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is calling on Hunter Biden, James Biden, and Eric Schwerin to provide documents, communications, and records related to President Biden’s involvement in his family’s business schemes.
“Hunter Biden, James Biden, and Eric Schwerin are key witnesses in our investigation of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s international and domestic business schemes. Evidence obtained in our investigation reveals the Biden family business model is built on Joe Biden’s political career and connections. Biden family members attempted to sell access around the world, including individuals who were connected to the Chinese Communist Party, to enrich themselves to the detriment of American interests. If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries and they are impacting his decision making, this is a threat to national security.
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability about the Biden family’s influence peddling. The Oversight Committee is committed to exposing the waste, fraud, and abuse that has taken place at the highest levels of our government. Hunter Biden, James Biden, and Eric Schwerin’s documents, records, and communications are critical to this investigation,” said Chairman Comer.
The Oversight Committee is investigating President Biden’s knowledge of and role in his family’s foreign business deals to assess whether he has compromised national security. Additionally, the Committee will examine drafting legislation to strengthen federal ethics laws regarding public officials and their families. The Committee will also analyze and make recommendations regarding federal laws and regulations to ensure that financial institutions have the proper internal controls and compliance programs to alert federal agencies of potential money laundering activity.
The letters sent can be found here:
Read More:
Lowell’s response was reported by the Washington Post (excerpt):
…“As your Letter is a sweeping attempt to collect an expansive array of documents and communications from President Biden and his family, I write to explain that the Committee on Oversight and Accountability lacks a legitimate legislative purpose and oversight basis for requesting such records from Mr. Biden, who is a private citizen,” Lowell wrote. He cited case law to say that Congress must have a legislative purpose to pursue records and cannot be a vehicle to undertake a criminal investigation.
He also mocked Comer’s claim to be examining ethics legislation.
“It is more than ironic, perhaps hypocritical, for Republican members who now hold the gavel to declare such a legitimate purpose, when, while in the minority, they were vocal opponents of House Democrats seeking similar information from President Trump and his family, some of whom held official government positions,” Lowell wrote, providing several comments from prominent House Republicans who criticized efforts to obtain records related to Trump and his family members.
…He also laid the groundwork to argue that separation-of-powers principles limit Congress’s authority to investigate a president’s family.
Lowell’s letter was notable for its tone as well as it content. It begins, “Peddling your own inaccurate and baseless conclusions under the guise of a real investigation turns the Committee into ‘Wonderland’ and you into the Queen of Hearts shouting, ‘Sentence first, verdict afterward.’”
Still, the four-page letter concluded with an offer to meet “to see whether Mr. Biden has information that may inform some legitimate legislative purpose and be helpful to the Committee.”