At least five House Republicans have called on lawmakers — who are currently enjoying a legislative recess — to return to Capitol Hill after the Department of Justice asked Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer to surrender to prison. The request came over the weekend before Archer was scheduled to testify to Congress Monday on the Biden family, Hunter’s business dealings and the alleged role of his father, President Biden, in securing these deals.
Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Mike Johnson, R-La.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo.; and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., each said on social media Sunday that lawmakers should return to Washington, D.C. for an emergency hearing to discuss potential DOJ interference in the congressional investigation into President Biden and Hunter Biden.
“The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation,” Gaetz wrote. “If Devon Archer isn’t in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this.”
Gaetz said that if Archer is not in the witness chair for his testimony on Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland will be called to testify.
In another post, Gaetz said the DOJ’s request for Archer’s surrender is “all because Hunter’s problems and Joe’s problems merge with the testimony of Devon Archer.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York sent a letter to Archer on Saturday requesting he surrender to prison concerning his 2018 felony convictions for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. He was sentenced in 2022 to one year behind bars, but the sentence has been repeatedly postponed over a series of appeals.
BREAKING: Two members of the House Judiciary Committee are now calling for lawmakers to return to Washington for immediate emergency hearings on the DOJ’s interference with Congressional Oversight.
Mike Johnson is an elected member of House Leadership (and one of the brightest… https://t.co/7ejMY586ve
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 30, 2023
Notice it’s Matt Gaetz speaking out, NOT Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Why do we say this DOJ is “weaponized?”
Because its current leaders have proven over & over they have been corrupted to cover up the crimes of the First Family.
The evidence is irrefutable & should alarm EVERY American.
Watch ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1cbSQjkKNa
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) July 31, 2023
The letter did not specifically demand Archer go to prison before he testified Monday, but to set a date to begin his jail sentence.
“In light of the foregoing, the Government respectfully requests that the defendant be ordered to surrender, at a date and time determined by the Court, to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons to commence his term of imprisonment,” it reads.
The court is not expected to make a decision before Archer will meet behind closed doors with the House Oversight Committee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged Archer is not expected to surrender before his meeting with congressional lawmakers in a follow-up letter.