The House Judiciary Committee will continue its probe into the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, committee Chair Jim Jordan said in an interview on Thursday.
It’s a sure sign that, even as President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, his family will still face scrutiny from Republicans — and that the sweeping pardon of his son is unlikely to serve as a total shield for the next four years.
Donald Trump and his allies have suggested they will go after the president-elect’s adversaries during his second stint at the White House, and Trump has tapped a number of his loyalists to drive his agenda at the Department of Justice.
Jordan implied his panel could begin with bringing in David Weiss, the Trump-appointed special counsel who ultimately recommended to the Justice Department that Hunter Biden be convicted of federal gun charges and tax evasion.
The House Judiciary Committee interviewed Weiss behind closed doors as part of its inquiry in the last Congress into whether the president committed impeachable offenses by allegedly using his political standing to further his family’s interests.
“We think we need to look at David Weiss, the special counsel,” Jordan said. “There will be some additional work we need to do, I think, there because when we deposed him, he wasn’t willing to — he didn’t answer any questions, really, because it was [an] ongoing investigation.”
House Republicans also previously deposed Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, in closed-door interviews as part of their impeachment inquiry and later issued recommendations that federal law enforcement charge both men with lying under oath.
But since that time, Joe Biden issued a “Full and Unconditional Pardon” of Hunter Biden for all offenses for the previous 10-year period, negating the legal consequences of the criminal charges recommended by Weiss.
Yet Jordan stopped short of saying he would probe Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, even though the Judiciary Committee has historically held oversight of that presidential power. He emphasized that the outgoing commander in chief has broad pardon authority — something Trump is expected to wield freely in his own presidency.
“I didn’t agree with it. I think a lot of Americans didn’t,” Jordan said of Biden’s pardon decision, but he noted, “the President can pardon anyone he wants to pardon.”
Jordan made these remarks during a broad sit-down interview with POLITICO about his priorities for the 119th Congress — his first time serving as chair during a Republican governing trifecta.
Jordan’s panel is likely to take center stage during the battle over immigration legislation. He also said he plans to focus on issues around the Second Amendment which gives citizens the right to gun ownership, as well as policies surrounding the name, image and likeness issues in college athletics.
