Ahead of Iowa Caucus, House GOP launches legal pincer in Trump, Hunter Biden cases

With former President Donald Trump poised to score a decisive victory in the Iowa Caucus in his quest to become the Republican nominee, House Republicans are ramping up their oversight of critical prosecutions affecting both the prospective Republican nominee and first son Hunter Biden.

Iowa will hold the Republicans' first nominating contest on Monday. Trump, at present, maintains a 35.2% average lead in the state, according to RealClearPolitics. Overall, he leads the GOP primary by 49.8%. Against President Joe Biden, he leads by 1.0%.

Complicating a potential Trump run as the Republican nominee, however, are the myriad criminal prosecutions he faces over his 2020 election challenges, alleged campaign finance violations, and alleged mishandling of classified documents.

House Republicans, however, appear poised to undercut at least one such case, with House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan on Friday launching a probe into Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor whom Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hired to assist her prosecution of Trump.

Willis has indicted the former president and 18 co-defendants in connection with his 2020 election challenge. One such co-defendant, former Trump campaign official Mike Roman, this week alleged in a court filing that Willis had hired Wade, with whom she supposedly maintained a romantic relationship.

Jordan, on Friday, began the probe by requesting documents from Wade related to his compensation.

"According to a recent court filing, you have been paid more than $650,000—at the rate of $250 per hour—to serve as an 'Attorney Consultant' and later a 'Special Assistant District Attorney' in the unprecedented investigation and prosecution of the former President and other former federal officials," he wrote. "This filing also alleges that while receiving a substantial amount of money from Fulton County, you spent extravagantly on lavish vacations with your boss, Ms. Willis."

"The Committee has information that the FCDAO [Fulton County District Attorney's Office] received approximately $14.6 million in grant funds from the Department of Justice between 2020 and 2023 and, given the enormous legal fees you have billed to the FCDAO, there are open questions about whether federal funds were used by the FCDAO to finance your prosecution," Jordan added.

On the other end of the election, the same Republicans have taken aim at first son Hunter Biden, vowing to advance contempt resolutions against the first son until he committed to a date for a deposition. The first son's attorney, Abbe Lowell on Friday informed Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer that "[i]f you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition."

Biden previously held a press conference outside the Capitol to condemn the Republicans, but skipped out on his deposition. He subsequently crashed his own contempt hearing and left when Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attempted to question him. Comer and Jordan on Friday insisted that, despite Hunter's expressed willingness to appear, they would nonetheless advance the contempt process until the deposition gets scheduled.

"For now, the House of Representatives will move forward with holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress until such time that Hunter Biden confirms a date to appear for a private deposition in accordance with his legal obligation," they said. "While we will work to schedule a deposition date, we will not tolerate any additional stunts or delay from Hunter Biden. The American people will not tolerate, and the House will not provide, special treatment for the Biden family."

"House Republicans have been resolute in demanding Hunter Biden sit for a deposition in the ongoing impeachment inquiry. While we are heartened that Hunter Biden now says he will comply with a subpoena, make no mistake: Hunter Biden has already defied two valid, lawful subpoenas," they went on. "Instead of appearing for his deposition on December 13, 2023, Hunter Biden appeared on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol where he made a public statement without taking any questions. Then this week at the Oversight Committee’s markup of his contempt resolution, Hunter Biden pulled another stunt as he continued to defy duly issued subpoenas."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.