Beneath is my column in The Hill on the weird scene final week in entrance of the Capitol when Rep. Eric Swalwell drove up with Hunter Biden and facilitated a flagrant act of contempt of Congress, a federal crime. Swalwell used his workplace and presumably his employees to help within the defiance of a sound subpoena for Hunter to look earlier than a Home committee. The Home will now presumably maintain Hunter in contempt and refer the matter for prosecution. The query is what to do with Eric Swalwell.
This week, hundreds of thousands of individuals have been glued to their televisions as Hunter Biden defied a Home subpoena in a press convention with the Capitol constructing within the background. It was an act of authorized self-immolation because the president’s son engaged in flagrant contempt of Congress, a federal crime.
Stranger nonetheless was that behind Hunter was standing his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, who watched as his shopper successfully begged to be criminally charged.
Nevertheless it was a well-recognized determine behind Lowell that was probably the most incongruous: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
At first, one had to wonder if Swalwell had merely wandered by the presser on the way in which to his workplace. However the Biden staff arrange the convention on the Senate aspect — out of the attain of the Home sergeant at arms, who won’t have reacted properly to an act of open contempt of Congress on his aspect of the Capitol.
We later realized that Swalwell was not there merely as a pedestrian, however as a participant. It was Swalwell who helped orchestrate the defiance of his personal Home and facilitated an alleged federal crime.
As first reported by the Washington Examiner, Swalwell used his official place to order the house for the press convention and lent his help to Hunter in refusing to look earlier than the Home committees investigating his father, President Biden. It was a curious position for a former Home impeachment supervisor to play in aiding within the obstruction of an impeachment inquiry of three Home committees.
In fact, Swalwell has argued for the rounding up of anybody who aided and abetted the illegal conduct through the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Certainly, in 2021 Swalwell sponsored a decision exploring whether or not dozens of Republican colleagues might be expelled below the 14th Modification for aiding and abetting an rebellion by “making unsubstantiated claims of systematic election and voter fraud.”
Now, Swalwell was standing in entrance of the identical constructing aiding and abetting each a possible crime and the obstruction of congressional proceedings.
Hunter was not simply committing contempt of Congress; he was parading his contempt with Swalwell because the drum main.
What adopted him was contempt on steroids. All Hunter needed to do was stroll into the constructing behind him to look within the deposition and plead the fifth Modification to refuse to testify, as others have performed. The one possibility he didn’t have was to refuse to look.
Swalwell insisted that it was the fault of the Home for insisting on a closed-door deposition, which he portrayed as outrageous. It was one other hypocritical second for the reason that Democrats insisted on the identical course of for witnesses, together with those that appeared earlier than the Jan. sixth committee.
It was additionally how Swalwell and his colleagues dealt with the investigation of the Ukrainian phone name by Trump. Certainly, Swalwell participated in closed depositions after which gave interviews after they have been held in non-public.
There are numerous causes for closed deposition previous public hearings.
First, these depositions enable skilled employees to conduct questioning in a methodical {and professional} method. In a public listening to, questioning is carried out by members who are sometimes ill-equipped for substantive inquiries.
Second, Hunter should be requested about an array of economic paperwork and communications involving names and privateness protected data. In a public listening to, using such paperwork would set off redactions and interruptions of their use.
Third, these depositions enable for in-depth questioning on transactions and communications. In a public listening to, members are confined to a five-minute rule that ensures questioning can’t obtain a lot, if any, depth.
Each Hunter and Swalwell possible knew that, and that’s exactly why they wished a public listening to. Notably, after saying that he wished to reply all questions in public, Hunter then refused to reply any questions in public put ahead by the press.
The fourth and most necessary purpose for the deposition is that the Home needs it this fashion. Witnesses, even a president’s son, don’t get to decide on how or once they seem. Two Trump associates – Steven Bannon and Peter Navarro – refused to look within the Home and have been rapidly held in contempt by a majority of the Home, together with Swalwell.
Certainly, President Biden himself has maintained that defying subpoenas can’t be tolerated. When subpoenas have been issued to Republicans through the Home’s Jan. 6 investigation, Biden declared: “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.”
The Justice Division clearly agreed. Underneath Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland, Bannon went from a failure to look to an precise indictment in simply two months.
It additionally doesn’t matter that the Home formally permitted the impeachment inquiry solely after Hunter’s press convention. As I testified within the first Biden impeachment inquiry listening to, there is no such thing as a requirement of a proper vote. Certainly, the Democrats didn’t initially maintain a proper vote in their very own impeachment of Trump. Hunter’s subpoena was issued by two committees with inherent subpoena authority below three completely different Home guidelines, together with the authority given to the Home Oversight Committee.
It was a sound subpoena.
The query is just not whether or not Hunter Biden could be held in contempt; after all he can. The query is what to do with Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell has lengthy courted controversy. Republicans tossed him off the Home Intelligence Committee as a result of his purported affair with an alleged Chinese language spy named Fang Fang.
That is completely different. Swalwell was not charged within the Chinese language affair, together with by the Home Ethics Committee. This was a legal act directed towards the Home itself.
Not too long ago, the Home censored Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a fireplace alarm earlier than a significant vote. Right here Swalwell performed a key position in obstructing a significant Home investigation. The place Bowman’s offense was handled as a misdemeanor, Hunter’s offense is a felony.
Swalwell didn’t merely facilitate against the law, he went out of his method to affiliate himself with it.
Swalwell absolutely knew that he was serving to Hunter in defying a subpoena and obstructing the investigation into Joe Biden. He not solely helped arrange the press convention however made positive that he was within the digital camera body behind Hunter for each community viewers. He presumably utilized congressional employees to help on this effort.
In taking these actions, Swalwell inspired and facilitated the contempt of Congress. Whereas his conduct might not warrant a legal cost, it definitely warrants motion from the Home.
The difficulty is whether or not the Home has a proper to demand solutions on this investigation. One member was notably passionate in 2018 in calling for contempt sanctions towards Steve Bannon: “In the event that they don’t power him to reply professional questions, they are going to be ceding Congress’ authority, and we’ll be setting a really, very harmful precedent that folks can simply inform Congress what they may and won’t reply, and can present no resolve to make use of our subpoena energy to resolve what’s happening.”
That was Eric Swalwell.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Curiosity Legislation on the George Washington College Legislation College. He additionally beforehand served as lead counsel representing the Home of Representatives.
