House GOP To Subpoena Hunter Biden Business Associates and Art Dealer

House Republicans on Thursday planned to issue subpoenas for testimony from business associates close to Hunter Biden, the president's son, as their impeachment inquiry quickly intensifies, sources told The Messenger.

The House Oversight Committee is expected to issue subpoenas to: Elizabeth Naftali, a Democratic donor who reportedly bought art from the president's son; Eric Schwerin, a former business associate of Hunter Biden; Georges Berges, an art dealer; and Mervyn Yan, another Hunter Biden business associate, the sources said. The committee's plan to issue more subpoenas was first reported by The Messenger.

The subpoenas come just a day after Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the House Oversight panel, subpoenaed members of the president's family, including Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president's brother. The committee also issued a subpoena for testimony from Rob Walker, another business associate of Hunter Biden.

House Republicans have scrutinized the Biden family's finances, and argued that President Joe Biden benefitted from his family's overseas business deals. They have also probed an unconfirmed allegation that Joe Biden was involved in a bribery scheme while vice president, but investigators have been unable to directly link the president to his family's business deals or unearth evidence that he was implicated in a bribery scandal.

It was unclear whether the president's son, who is facing federal gun and tax charges, would comply with the subpoena. His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said Wednesday, “Hunter is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum and at the right time, to discuss these matters with the Committee.”

The impeachment investigation was opened in September by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., bowing to months of pressure from conservatives in his party. House Republicans have been investigating Joe Biden since taking over the majority in the chamber earlier this year, before the impeachment investigation was ever launched.

Newly-installed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been a staunch supporter of the impeachment inquiry. Johnson has also suggested that the probe is entering an advanced stage, saying the party is weighing whether to file formal articles of impeachment against the president.

“Very soon we are coming to a point of decision on it,” Johnson said at his first leadership press conference as speaker last week. “We’re gonna follow the evidence where it leads and we’ll see. I’m not gonna predetermine it this morning.”