Republicans subpoenaed 15 years of Hunter Biden phone records, Democrats reveal
House Republicans have subpoenaed AT&T for 15 years of Hunter Biden’s phone records, Democrats revealed on Tuesday, the latest sign that GOP lawmakers are plowing ahead with their impeachment inquiry into President Biden despite his son testifying that his father was not involved in his business ventures.
The subpoena — issued last week but first disclosed in a Democratic memo obtained by The Hill — asks AT&T to provide information “regarding the account information, communication records, and payment history of all AT&T accounts affiliated with Robert Hunter Biden,” as part of the GOP impeachment inquiry into the president.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said the records are “probative” of whether Joe Biden communicated with Hunter Biden’s business associates, if Hunter Biden was communicating with his father during important parts of his business dealings, and if the president’s son was speaking with other Executive Branch officials.
“The subpoenaed records will help the Oversight Committee determine whether Joe Biden abused his office by selling access and/or by receiving payments or other benefits in exchange for official acts, which is a critical aspect of the impeachment inquiry,” Comer said.
The move by Comer comes after the FBI arrested a former informant on charges related to lying to the agency about the president accepting a bribe — undercutting a key element of the GOP’s probe.
But the memo from House Democrats criticizes Republicans for failing to disclose the recent subpoena as it has with other demands of the president’s family.
“According to Chairman Comer, this subpoena may even cover ‘a personal line Joe Biden utilized while Vice President.’ The records sought by the subpoena amount to a staggering volume of detail concerning personal communications,” it said.
“Chairman Comer’s justification for this outrageously broad and invasive subpoena is flimsy at best. In the cover letter accompanying his subpoena to AT&T, Chairman Comer points to testimony from Eric Schwerin — who assisted Joe Biden in managing his household finances while he served as Vice President — stating that he ‘wrote and signed a check on behalf of Joe Biden to Hunter Biden for a cell phone bill he paid for his father.’”
Reached for comment Tuesday, Comer’s office did not explain why they chose not to publicize the subpoena.
“Democrats continue to play Biden family defense attorneys while purposefully ignoring a record of evidence revealing the Bidens’ corruption. Chairman Comer has never issued a ‘secret’ subpoena. Democrats receive notice about every subpoena issued by the Chairman. To indicate otherwise is a complete fabrication of the facts,” his staff said in a statement.
The request for Biden’s phone records comes shortly after the president’s son spent more than six hours being interviewed by congressional investigators, continually denying his father had any insight or involvement in his business ventures.
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