House Republicans are pushing the Department of Justice to provide access to materials that were gathered as part of the government agency’s prosecution of Patrick Ho, a former Hunter Biden associate who was sentenced on bribery charges.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday requesting records the DOJ gathered during its investigation of Ho, a former business associate of Biden and the former head of an organization backed by CEFC China Energy. The records request is the latest development in Republicans’ monthslong impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as they seek to find a connection between the president and his son’s business dealings.
“Information obtained by the Committees indicate that prosecutors sought to keep the Biden name out of Mr. Ho’s trial,” the chairmen wrote. “This material is directly relevant to the House’s impeachment inquiry. Congress’s authority to access information is broadest during an impeachment investigation, a fact that even Presidents and other Executive Branch officials have traditionally recognized.”
The pair is specifically requesting access to unredacted emails between Ho and Serbian politician Vuk Jeremić regarding “an individual that Mr. Jeremic was willing to bring to a dinner” with Ye Jianming, the chairman of CEFC. Materials obtained by the committee omit the name due to a successful plea by the DOJ during the time of the trial that it “’could introduce a political dimension to this case that [prosecutors] don’t think is worth dealing with,’” according to the letter.
“Other communications and documents obtained by the Committees strongly suggest that the individual in question was Hunter Biden,” the chairmen wrote.
The chairmen also requested access to the contents of Ho’s seized iPad.
The request comes after Ho was sentenced in 2019 to three years in prison on charges of international bribery and money laundering. Republicans have long sought information surrounding Ho because of his business relationship with Hunter Biden and the CEFC, from which the president’s son received millions of dollars.
Those financial transactions have raised questions about whether Hunter Biden used his father’s political standing to boost his business dealings. However, the committees have failed to uncover definitive evidence showing President Joe Biden directly benefited from or participated in those dealings.
The request comes as Republicans prepare to hear from James Biden and Hunter Biden in closed-door depositions this month as part of their monthslong inquiry into whether the president abused his power while vice president. James Biden is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, with Hunter Biden to follow next week.
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The inquiry is looking into three main things, all of which relate to Hunter Biden: whether President Joe Biden improperly used his position of power to enrich himself and his family, whether he used his influence to pressure the DOJ to help his son avoid criminal charges, and how involved he was in his family’s foreign business dealings.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed receipt of the letter but declined to comment any further.
