House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Rep. Byron Donalds, a GOP member on the committee, sent a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration on Wednesday requesting documents regarding Hunter Biden’s use of Air Force Two and Marine Two while Joe Biden was vice president.
The request follows a Fox News report last week that Hunter Biden had traveled with his father to more than a dozen countries while he served as vice president, including travel to Europe, Asia and Canada.
Republicans have pointed to the Fox News report to accuse Biden of misusing Air Force Two during his time as vice president, alleging that Hunter Biden’s travel offered a chance for Biden’s son to further his business dealings and enrich the Biden family.
The president has denied being involved in any of his son’s business dealings and has maintained no wrongdoing on his part as it relates to Hunter. The White House has long maintained that Comer’s investigation is designed for political purposes as it has yet to find any evidence that Joe Biden directly profited from his son’s foreign business dealings or that Hunter Biden’s entanglements influenced his father’s decision-making while vice president.
It is not uncommon for presidents and even first ladies to take their children on trips. Several of former President Donald Trump’s family members also frequently traveled on Air Force One and Marine One while he was president, including those who worked at the White House as well as those who did not.
The White House declined a request for comment on the letter.
“For five years now, Republicans have been chasing and failing to prove their own conspiracies about Hunter Biden,” Abbe Lowell, counsel for Hunter Biden, said in a statement to CNN. “Unlike Donald Trump and his family, President Biden and his children were not in business together.”
The letter marks the latest step in the committee’s investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, and comes as House Republicans are increasingly considering opening an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden’s actions while vice president.
The letter asks that NARA turn over documents by September 13.
In their letter, Comer and Donalds point to recent testimony from one of Hunter Biden’s former business partners, Devon Archer, who told the panel it was “categorically false” that Joe Biden played no role in his son’s business dealings. CNN previously reported that Archer told the committee last month that Hunter Biden had been selling the “illusion” of access to his father, but provided no evidence connecting Joe Biden to any of his son’s foreign business dealings.
The committee also claims they have learned that then-Vice President Biden met with at least one of Hunter Biden’s associates in Beijing while visiting on official business, citing testimony from Archer. Archer, however, said he was not present during that alleged meeting and did not know the specifics.
Comer said in a statement to CNN on the letter, “We fully expect the National Archives to provide this information to the Oversight Committee so that we can provide the transparency that Americans demand and deserve.”
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