国会共和党人表示，他们准备推进一项调查乔·拜登总统的家庭，包括他的儿子亨特，尽管他们自己的党团中有人警告不要进行“超党派”的监督调查。
俄亥俄州众议员吉姆·乔丹(Jim Jordan)和肯塔基州众议员詹姆斯·卡莫(James Comer)是两名高级成员，预计他们将在共和党明年1月控制国会时执掌强大的委员会，他们在周四的新闻发布会上概述了他们的计划，承诺“追查所有”不法行为，并将对总统家庭的调查称为“重中之重”。
除了对亨特·拜登的海外商业活动感兴趣(这已经是司法部调查的对象)，议员们表示，他们的主要关注点是找出他的父亲拜登总统在这些交易中的参与程度是否比此前所知的更深。
“我们并不是想证明亨特·拜登是个糟糕的演员。他是，”卡莫说。“我们的调查对象是乔·拜登。”
但他们自己党内的一些声音对以总统家人为目标的可能性表示犹豫，称这是对选民关心的问题的分散注意力，也是一种政治误判，可能会在中期表现平平后加剧党内日益加剧的紧张局势。共和党人曾希望轻松赢得众议院的控制权，但相反，他们似乎准备好了控制利润极薄。
来自弗吉尼亚州的前共和党众议员芭芭拉·康斯托克说，追捕亨特·拜登和其他人是一个失败的策略，并将向选民发出信号，表明该党没有吸取教训。
美国广播公司新闻撰稿人康斯托克说:“当选民发出如此戏剧性的指责时，对‘红色浪潮’的预期没有实现，是时候谦虚和反省了。”“对亨特·拜登的疯狂监督根本不是共和党人应该从中期选举中获得的信息。”
一些新到华盛顿的人附和了这种观点。
“如果我们党内的某些人想参与这些调查，那是他们的特权，”纽约州当选众议员乔治·桑多斯(George Santos)本周在福克斯新闻频道接受采访时说。“我不想把我在华盛顿的时间浪费在超党派问题上，我想拿出成果。”
周四，预计将接管众议院司法委员会的乔丹和众议院监督委员会现任成员卡莫指控总统的儿子犯下了一系列罪行，包括逃税、电信欺诈和人口贩运，但没有提供证据。他们说，他们“愿意”与亨特·拜登谈话，但没有宣布发出传票的计划。
卡莫说，他的监督小组将集中精力从财政部获得150多份与亨特·拜登有关的可疑活动报告。可疑交易报告是由金融机构提交的报告，用于标记可疑的银行交易，但不构成犯罪。
作为他们更紧密地将拜登总统和他儿子的商业努力联系起来的努力的一部分，共和党人分享了一封据称是亨特·拜登写给一名建筑经理的电子邮件的副本，该邮件旨在为他的“商业伙伴”寻求一套新办公室的备用钥匙——这份名单包括他父亲的名字。
World Food Program USA Board Chairman Hunter Biden speaks at the World Food Program USA's Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at Organization of American States, April 12, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
保罗·莫里吉/盖蒂图片
共和党人周四提出的一些主张多年来一直为公众所知，可以追溯到2020年大选前发表的一份参议院报告。该报告由爱荷华州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利和威斯康辛州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊撰写。发现亨特·拜登的海外工作“尴尬”和“有问题”，但没有发现任何不当行为。
DOJ调查人员正在调查亨特·拜登是否缴纳足够的税款数百万美元的个人收入，包括他在中国和乌克兰做生意赚的钱。亨特·拜登一再否认有任何道德或刑事上的不当行为，但承认他的家庭关系可能有助于他的职业生涯。他没有被指控任何罪行。
现任监督委员会的一名民主党发言人将此次调查称为“让特朗普重新掌权的绝望尝试”，此前前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)曾周二发布公告他将在2024年再次竞选总统。
发言人说:“今天的新闻发布会重复了共和党人多年来一直使用的陈腐的党派话题，忽略了美国人发出的明确信息，即他们想要真正的解决方案，而不是党派争吵。”。
亨特·拜登的律师拒绝对周四的新闻发布会置评。
Republicans say they'll push ahead with Hunter Biden probe despite some warnings from within
Congressional Republicans say they're poised to push ahead with aninvestigationinto President Joe Biden's family, including his son Hunter, in the coming session -- despite warnings from some in their own caucus not to pursue "hyper-partisan" oversight probes.
Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky, two high-ranking members expected to helm powerful committees when Republicans take control of Congress in January, outlined their plans during a press conference on Thursday, pledging to "pursue all avenues" of wrongdoing and calling investigations into the president's family a "top priority."
Beyond their interest in Hunter Biden's overseas business endeavors, which are already the subject of a Justice Department investigation, the lawmakers said their primary focus is finding out whether his father, President Biden, was more involved in those dealings than previously known.
"We're not trying to prove Hunter Biden is a bad actor. He is," Comer said. "Our investigation is of Joe Biden."
But several voices from within their own party have balked at the prospect of targeting the president's family, calling it a distraction from the issues voters care about and a political miscalculation that could exacerbate growing tensions within the party after a lackluster midterm performance. Republicans had hoped to comfortably win control of the House, but instead they appear poised totake controlwith a razor-thin margin.
Barbara Comstock, a former Republican congresswoman from Virginia, said pursuing Hunter Biden and others is a losing strategy, and would signal to voters that the party has failed to learn its lessons.
"When voters deliver such a dramatic rebuke, where expectations of a 'red wave' fail to come through, it's time for humility and introspection," said Comstock, an ABC News contributor. "And rabid oversight of Hunter Biden is not at all the message Republicans should take away from the midterms."
Some new arrivals in Washington echoed that sentiment.
"If parts of our party want to go into these investigations, that's their prerogative," said Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., during an interview on Fox News this week. "I don't want to waste my time in Washington engaging in hyper-partisan issues, I want to deliver results."
On Thursday, Jordan, who is expected to take over the House Judiciary Committee, and Comer, the current ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, accused president's son of committing a bevy of crimes, including tax evasion, wire fraud, and human trafficking, without providing evidence. They said they "would love" to speak with Hunter Biden, but did not announce plans to issue a subpoena.
Comer said his Oversight panel would focus on obtaining over 150 Suspicious Activities Reports, or SARs, pertaining to Hunter Biden from the Treasury Department. SARs are reports filed by financial institutions to flag questionable banking transactions, but do not amount to crimes.
As part of their efforts to more closely connect President Biden to his son's business efforts, Republicans shared a copy of an email Hunter Biden purportedly wrote to a building manager seeking a spare set of keys to a new office for his "business partners" -- a list that included his father's name.
Several of the claims leveled by Republicans on Thursday have been publicly known for years, dating back to a Senate report published ahead of the 2020 election. That report, penned by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., found Hunter Biden's overseas work "awkward" and "problematic," but identified no wrongdoing.
DOJ investigators are examining whether Hunter Bidenpaid adequate taxeson millions of dollars of personal income, including money he made during business pursuits in China and Ukraine. Hunter Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, ethically or criminally, but has acknowledged that his family ties likely bolstered his career. He has not been charged with any crimes.
A Democratic spokesperson for the current Oversight Committee called the probe a "desperate attempt to return Trump to power," following former President Donald Trump'sannouncement on Tuesdaythat he is again running for president in 2024.
"Today's press conference rehashed the same tired, partisan talking points Republicans have been using for years, ignoring the clear message Americans sent that they want real solutions -- not partisan bickering," the spokesperson said.
A lawyer for Hunter Biden declined to comment on Thursday's press conference.
