Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the U.S. Capitol that he will only testify in public.
In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a GOP subpoena requesting closed-door testimony, saying it could be manipulated.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”
Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has said Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters later Wednesday that they will begin looking at contempt of Congress proceedings in response to Hunter Biden’s lack of cooperation.
Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as an impeachment manager in former President Trump's second impeachment trial, said Republicans' "stupid, blundering investigation" was preventing the House from getting any work done.
"After 11 months of this, no one can tell us what President Biden's crime was, much less where it happened, when it happened, what the motive was, who the perpetrators were or who the victims were," Raskin said on the House floor.
Materially, the vote will change little about the ongoing investigations already being conducted by the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees. But politically, securing a formal impeachment inquiry is a victory for the far-right flank of the Republican party.
David Weiss also filed new charges and nine new tax counts last week, alleging Hunter Biden schemed to avoid paying about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.
Later Wednesday, the House was expected to authorize the impeachment inquiry into the president. House Republicans hope a vote to formalize their investigation will help their legal standing when enforcing subpoenas to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members.
“Mr. Biden’s counsel and the White House have both argued that the reason he couldn’t come for a deposition was because there wasn’t a formal vote for an impeachment inquiry,” Jordan told reporters. “Well, that’s going to happen in a few hours.”
The deposition deadline comes on the same day House Republicans are expected to vote on their resolution to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
In his statement, Hunter said, “In the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances. But to suggest that is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond the absurd. It’s shameless. There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen.”
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