You won’t believe what’s going down in Congress—Hunter Biden skipped a Congress thing, and now there’s talk of him getting in trouble for it.
The Hunter Biden Showdown
So, here’s the scoop: Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden son, dodged a Congress subpoena on the same day House Republicans were getting all serious about impeaching his dad. He said he’d spill the beans but not in a secret meeting like the Republicans wanted. Nope, he wants to talk in public.
But the Congress bigwigs, James Comer and Jim Jordan, aren’t having it. They’re not playing nice and are planning to charge Hunter Biden for not showing up when he was supposed to.
What’s This Contempt Stuff?
This isn’t the first rodeo for Congress when someone gets all stubborn. Back when Trump was in the hot seat, Democrats pulled the same move with his friends who weren’t keen on cooperating.
They got all worked up with some folks close to Trump—like Dan Scavino and Mark Meadows. But things got messy ’cause the Department of Justice didn’t go after Scavino and Meadows.
However, they did drag two other Trump buddies, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, to court for this contempt thing. Bannon got slapped with a guilty verdict in 2022, but he’s not in jail yet ’cause he’s fighting it. Navarro got the same treatment earlier this year, and he’s also fighting it.
How Does Congress Slam Dunk You for Contempt?
Okay, here’s the deal—Congress has three ways to deal with folks who don’t play ball. There’s criminal contempt, civil contempt, and inherent contempt.
Criminal Contempt Drama
This one’s serious business. If Congress goes with this option, they vote to call someone out for criminal contempt, and then the big House vote happens. If it all goes through, the House Speaker takes this mess to the US attorney in DC.
But hold up! The Justice Department also gets a say in prosecuting this mess. If someone gets slapped with criminal contempt, they could end up with a fine or even a year behind bars. But don’t sweat it; this hardly ever leads to jail time.
Civil Contempt: The Court Drama
Now, this is where Congress asks the courts to step in. They ask the judge to tell the person they gotta listen to Congress. When Trump was in the hot seat, Congress tried this route a bunch of times. But it’s slow—real slow. It took forever to get Trump’s tax info, and that was after he left the building and the case went all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Inherent Contempt: Last Resort Crazy Town
This is the wild card. Congress can tell its sergeant-at-arms to grab someone and lock them up until they do what Congress wants. But hey, this hasn’t happened in ages.
The Bottom Line
Yeah, it sounds scary, but getting in trouble with Congress is more like a warning shot. Going through the whole court thing takes ages, and it’s not always a sure thing. So, while it sounds intense, it’s more about flexing muscles than actually sending someone to the slammer.
