Hunter Biden showed up unannounced at a heated session of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. House Republicans are currently pursuing measures to penalize him for his refusal to cooperate with a subpoena issued by them.
Hunter Biden showed up for the House committee hearing on the pending resolution to hold him in contempt. He obviously thinks, with good reason, he is untouchable. House can and should arrest him if he is found in contempt.pic.twitter.com/JUlPQ6qpVo
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) January 10, 2024
Apparently, Hunter couldn’t handle the heat because he abruptly left shortly after arriving, and right as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene began to speak. As he departed, a reporter asked him if he was on crack, and it was all caught on video.
The Oversight and Judiciary Committees are convening to conduct a vote on resolutions proposing that the entire House of Representatives declare Hunter Biden guilty of criminal contempt of Congress. Should the House proceed to consider and endorse the contempt resolutions, it would be up to the Justice Department to determine whether to initiate legal proceedings against the president’s son.
Hunter Biden, accompanied by his attorney, Abbe Lowell, showed up at Capitol Hill. When CBS News inquired about his willingness to testify, he responded, “If they let me.” Seated in the first position, he participated in the Oversight Committee’s meeting for a duration of less than 30 minutes. Throughout this time, the committee became embroiled in simultaneous conversations and disorder, particularly when Republican Representative Nancy Mace ripped into the president’s son.
Nancy Mace to Hunter Biden:
“You have NO balls!” 🤣pic.twitter.com/sLO1HsL0eT
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 10, 2024
Oversight Committee chairman James Comer ripped into Hunter in his opening comments. “He blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas. Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committee’s subpoenas is a criminal act. It constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by the law. We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the leading House Oversight Democrat said Comer was impeding his own probe, considering that Hunter expressed his willingness to testify publicly. Raskin referenced GOP Reps Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry, who were issued subpoenas by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, violence at the Capitol Building, but didn’t show up.
“Raskin informed Comer that Hunter “has materially, substantially, and in good faith complied with what your requests were.”
A number of Democrats directed their attention towards Oversight members Perry, Biggs, and other Republicans, alleging them of hypocrisy for criticizing Hunter despite their own defiance of congressional subpoenas.
“Today is all about a combination of chutzpah and delusional theory,” stated Dem. Rep. Gerry Connolly.
During the Oversight meeting, Lowell and Hunter Biden departed, and subsequently, Lowell addressed reporters with a concise statement. According to him, the GOP chairs have “commandeered an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions.”
JUST IN – Hunter Biden walks out as soon as Marjorie Taylor Greene starts talkingpic.twitter.com/yOMxThWqEZ
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) January 10, 2024
“Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen,” he began. “Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father. And, despite their improper partisan motives, on six occasions — from February to today — we have offered to work with the House committees to see what and how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided.”
A reporter yelled out to Hunter, questioning him, “What’s your favorite type of crack?” following up with “Are you on crack today?”
WATCH:
Hunter Biden unexpectedly showed up to a House committee deciding on a contempt of Congress charge for him then he literally RAN away after Repub members were grilling him. A reporter asked him if he was on CRACK as he was fleeing, LOL! 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🥲 pic.twitter.com/LZ7acG64fv
— Just Jeff From Cali (@liberty_clarion) January 10, 2024
What just happened in the committee hearing is reprehensible. @RepRaskin seems to have forgotten that he represents the American people in Congress, not Hunter Biden in the court of law.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 10, 2024
Republicans, in a recently published report, condemned Hunter for his blatant refusal to comply with subpoenas from the Oversight and Judiciary panels. These summons were sent out as an element of the House Republican’s ongoing impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden and aimed to secure a private testimony from his son.
The Republicans assert in the article that Hunter Biden’s testimony is a “critical component” of their inquiry, which focuses on their accusations that Joe Biden gained financial benefits from his relatives’ international business transactions during his tenure as vice president. Over the past year, GOP legislators have conducted investigations into the foreign activities of the president and his son.
“With the possible exception of President Biden, [Hunter] Biden is the most important witness possessing information about President Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings,” stated the Republicans.
The committees issued subpoenas requesting Hunter Biden’s presence for closed-door questioning on December 13th. Although Hunter Biden did show up at the Capitol the day of the deposition, he intentionally disregarded the subpoena and instead provided a statement to journalists. In his statement, he accused Republicans of selectively choosing facts from their investigation and misrepresenting the statements made by others in previous confidential interviews.
Hunter Biden reaffirmed his willingness to respond to inquiries from legislators, but exclusively in a public setting.
“There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen,” he stated.
Following Hunter’s refusal to cooperate with the subpoena, Comer and Jordan, announced their intention to proceed with the initiative to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Should the House of Representatives vote in favor of pursuing prosecution of Hunter, it would further contribute to the ongoing legal examination conducted by special counsel David Weiss. Weiss, who was appointed in August, is currently overseeing the probe into Hunter. Hunter is scheduled to make an appearance in a court on Thursday following his indictment on nine counts of tax evasion last month.