Hunter Biden Offers to Testify Publicly. House Republicans … Aren’t Interested

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, agreed to testify in a public hearing before the House Oversight Committee. Republicans immediately shot him down.

According to a Tuesday letter addressed to committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Biden agreed to testify before the committee on Dec. 13 — as long as the hearing was public. In the letter, Biden’s attorneys quoted Comer’s own demand, issued in November, that given Biden’s “willingness to address this investigation publicly up to this point, we would expect him to be willing to testify before Congress.”

The letter added that open-door proceedings “would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”

Republicans would not have it. “Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else,” Comer wrote in a statement. “That won’t stand with House Republicans.”

“Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have [the] opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date,” Comer added.

Committee member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote on X that the committee was “glad that Hunter Biden has decided to cooperate and we look forward to hearing from him in a deposition on December 13 and subsequently at a public hearing.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, called Republicans out in a statement released Tuesday. “Let me get this straight,” he wrote. “After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions they pose? What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it.”

The letter sent by Biden’s attorneys states that the GOP’s “empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end. Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange. From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves.”

Hunter Biden has long been a focus of Republican efforts to dig up dirt on President Biden. Three separate congressional committees are currently investigating the younger Biden in the hopes of proving allegations of corruption against the president. In September, Hunter Biden was charged with three counts related to possessing a firearm while under the influence of narcotics. A plea deal related to the charges collapsed shortly after the indictment, and Biden has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Both the House Judiciary and House Ways and Means Committee alleged that the Biden administration had improperly interfered with the IRS and Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden in order to secure him a favorable plea deal. The Oversight Committee claims Biden used his father’s position as vice president in the Obama administration, as well as his father’s role as president, to secure favorable financial deals for himself and his family. These allegations remain unproven.

While the investigations into Biden have been ongoing for years, the president’s son and his legal team have recently switched tactics towards a more offensive approach in his defense. Earlier this year, Biden leveled a series of lawsuits against entities involved in Republicans’ efforts to prosecute him. These include former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the CEO of Overstock.com, and even the IRS, which Biden alleges improperly handled his tax records.

Biden is now pushing to testify publicly before the Oversight Committee, and one would think Republicans would relish the opportunity to grill him in front of a national audience. One of them didn’t get the memo that the party would rather kick the can down the road, however. “I welcome Hunter Biden finally agreeing to testify,” Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) wrote on Tuesday. “It’s long overdue for him to come clean in front of the American people.”

Smith deleted the tweet shortly after he posted it.

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