Last Wednesday, Hunter Biden not only skipped out on the closed-door testimony he was supposed to give for the House Oversight Committee in order to give a press conference, but he also had some help from Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). There has been some chatter about what to do about to do about the first son defying a subpoena, as well as what to do about Swalwell reserving the space by the Senate side of the Capitol. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who is a member of both the Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, both of which have been investigating Hunter, is now saying action must also be taken against his colleague.
Biggs indicated to Fox News on Thursday that Hunter ought to be held in contempt of Congress. "Nobody gets to do that," he said about Hunter's defiance. "He was sent subpoenas. He was told to appear."
"We're going to vote to hold him in contempt. We probably need to vote Eric Swalwell in contempt, because the rumor is that Mr. Swalwell aided and abetted him by setting up his facilities so he could have his conference across the way," he also shared.
There of plenty of photos of Swalwell arriving with Hunter and standing beside him for the press conference. The congressman also confirmed to POLITICO on Wednesday that he reserved the spot, which some consider to mean he "aided and abetted" the first son in defying his subpoena.
Biggs also reiterated the need to hold Hunter in contempt in a Thursday op-ed for The Daily Caller:
There is no absolute right for a witness to set the terms for a deposition before Congress or any other type of litigation. And, when congressional committees properly issue and serve a subpoena under legislative authority, the witness is required to appear.
Hunter wants a public committee hearing, so he says, though that’s unlikely to be true. But there is no right for a witness to command or direct that a congressional committee convene to allow the witness to sit for testimony. The witness does not run the committee, rather Members of Congress organize and preside over the committees.
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That leaves Congress with only one alternative: vote to hold Hunter Biden in contempt. But, some say, that will leave the prosecution of Hunter’s contempt case to the woeful Attorney General Merrick Garland, who just happens to work for Hunter’s Dad.
Also on Thursday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who is also on the House Judiciary Committee, told The Washington Examiner that he believes Swalwell was "aiding and abetting contempt," with the outlet also reporting that "he sent a letter to leaders of the House Ethics and House Administration Committees inquiring about the matter.
Attorney Jonathan Turley has also addressed what to do Swalwell, including in a Saturday op-ed for The Hill, referring to the congressman's appearance at the press conference as "the most incongruous" and pointing out that "[i]t was Swalwell who helped orchestrate the defiance of his own House and facilitated an alleged federal crime," a point he doubled down on, as he also highlighted Swalwell's hypocrisy on the matter:
As first reported by the Washington Examiner, Swalwell used his official position to reserve the space for the press conference and lent his assistance to Hunter in refusing to appear before the House committees investigating his father, President Biden. It was a curious role for a former House impeachment manager to play in assisting in the obstruction of an impeachment inquiry of three House committees.
Of course, Swalwell has argued for the rounding up of anyone who aided and abetted the unlawful conduct during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Indeed, in 2021 Swalwell sponsored a resolution exploring whether dozens of Republican colleagues could be expelled under the 14th Amendment for aiding and abetting an insurrection by “making unsubstantiated claims of systematic election and voter fraud.”
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Now, Swalwell was standing in front of the same building aiding and abetting both a potential crime and the obstruction of congressional proceedings.
Hunter was not just committing contempt of Congress; he was parading his contempt with Swalwell as the drum major.
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The question is not whether Hunter Biden can be held in contempt; of course he can. The question is what to do with Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell has long courted controversy. Republicans tossed him off the House Intelligence Committee due to his purported affair with an alleged Chinese spy named Fang Fang.
This is different. Swalwell was not charged in the Chinese affair, including by the House Ethics Committee. This was a criminal act directed against the House itself.
Recently, the House censored Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a fire alarm before a major vote. Here Swalwell played a key role in obstructing a major House investigation. Where Bowman’s offense was treated as a misdemeanor, Hunter’s offense is a felony.
Swalwell did not simply facilitate a crime, he went out of his way to associate himself with it.
Swalwell surely knew that he was helping Hunter in defying a subpoena and obstructing the investigation into Joe Biden. He not only helped set up the press conference but made sure that he was in the camera frame behind Hunter for every network audience. He presumably utilized congressional staff to assist in this effort.
In taking these actions, Swalwell encouraged and facilitated the contempt of Congress. While his conduct may not warrant a criminal charge, it certainly warrants action from the House.
The issue is whether the House has a right to demand answers in this investigation. One member was particularly passionate in 2018 in calling for contempt sanctions against Steve Bannon: “If they don’t force him to answer legitimate questions, they will be ceding Congress’ authority, and we’ll be setting a very, very dangerous precedent that people can just tell Congress what they will and will not answer, and will show no resolve to use our subpoena power to get to the bottom of what’s going on.”
That was Eric Swalwell.
Last month, Hunter Biden offered to appear before the Committee for public testimony, but House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) made clear that
the first son would not get to dictate the terms, and was still
expected to appear for a closed-door testimony. He and House Judiciary
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) issued such a reminder multiple times to Hunter and his attorneys, and, like Biggs, have brought up holding Hunter in contempt.
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