House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a recent interview that his "job was never to impeach" President Joe Biden, according to CNN.

Rather, the Republican committee chair asserted that the goal of his long-running investigation of the Biden family's alleged corruption was to publicly expose the family's dubious foreign business dealings and push legislation to crack down on political influence-peddling.

The remarks come amid doubts raised by some House Republicans that sufficient evidence has been gathered to support articles of impeachment against the president -- a problem compounded by the deliberate defiance displayed by the president's son Hunter toward Congress and its lawful subpoenas for him to testify in a deposition.

Job was to expose alleged family corruption, was "never to impeach" President Biden

Hunter Biden was subpoenaed to testify last month in a closed-door deposition about his family's questionable foreign business dealings and alleged influence-peddling but instead defied the lawful subpoenas and delivered a public statement trashing House Republicans outside the U.S. Capitol building.

The president's son has now been subpoenaed to testify in a private deposition again as part of the broader impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, but Chairman Comer told CNN of Hunter, "Well, I mean, if he doesn’t show up, then I guess we’ll just have to wrap it up without him and assume that these were bribes from foreign countries."

The chairman added that Hunter's continued refusal to cooperate would also likely prompt House Republicans to assume that additional allegations about his involvement in human trafficking and money laundering are also probably true.

As for the quest to impeach President Biden, Comer told CNN, "I would vote to impeach him, but I’m not going to lose any sleep whether he gets impeached or not because we know the Senate’s not going to convict," and added, "My job was never to impeach."

Hunter Biden's defiance

When Hunter Biden defied the lawful subpoenas for a closed-door deposition last month, House Republicans were furious and moved quickly on a resolution to hold the president's son in criminal contempt of Congress.

That just provided Hunter with another opportunity to defiantly thumb his nose at Congress, however, as he actually made a public appearance at a hearing to consider the contempt resolution but bailed as soon as members attempted to ask him questions.

In a joint statement, Chairman Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said, "Make no mistake: Hunter Biden has already defied two valid, lawful subpoenas. 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."

"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 added. "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."

Rescheduling Hunter Biden's subpoenaed deposition

Meanwhile, Chairmen Comer and Jordan also sent a letter to Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, to discuss plans to reissue subpoenas for his client to testify in a closed-door deposition while also calling out and condemning the previous displays of defiance toward Congress.

"There is no legal basis on which Mr. Biden could lawfully disregard the Committees’ deposition subpoenas. His conduct toward the House has been contemptuous," they wrote. "His defiance of the subpoenas has been willful and flagrant. His demands to testify only in a public setting are, as we have explained, inconsistent with the practice of these Committees in this matter as well as the practice of congressional Committees in recent Congresses."

"While we welcome Mr. Biden’s public testimony at the appropriate time, he must appear for a deposition that conforms to the House Rules and the rules and practices of the Committees, just like every other witness before the Committees," the chairmen added.