Hunter Biden’s surprise appearance at a congressional hearing to consider whether to hold him in contempt sent the proceeding into pandemonium.
After Biden was a no-show at a closed-door deposition he was subpoenaed to attend last month as part of an impeachment inquiry House Republicans launched against his father, lawmakers were prepared to hold the younger Biden in contempt of Congress.
However, his unexpected arrival at the hearing was the highlight of the proceeding and drew the wrath and verbal contempt of several Republican legislators in attendance.
“You’re the epitome of white privilege, coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed,” South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said to Biden. “What are you afraid of?”
Mace argued that Hunter Biden should be arrested on the spot and sent straight to jail. In response, Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz suggested the committee “hold a vote” immediately to hear Biden speak and asked for a show of hands from the room. Reportedly, only Democrats raised their hands.
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona chimed in to call for order as panel members began a heated exchange over Biden’s presence.
“Are we going to continue on with this blatant interruption? This is absurd and inappropriate … I think you should have decorum and courtesy and don’t act like a bunch of nimrods,” Biggs said.
Biden, accompanied by his lawyer Abbe Lowell and friend Kevin Ross, suddenly left the proceeding just as Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Greene Taylor was called on to speak.
“Excuse me, Hunter, apparently you’re afraid of my words,” Greene said. “I think it’s clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong, conservative, Republican women,” adding that Biden is a “coward.”
Greene then used her time during the hearing to submit explicit photos of Biden for the congressional record, which sparked a back-and-forth between committee members about their relevance to the proceeding.
Biden has said publicly that he would testify in a public setting rather than sit through a deposition behind closed doors. He argued that Republicans “do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics” to avoid exposing “their baseless inquiry.”
Many congressional Republicans question President Biden’s credibility after what they characterize as his son’s shady foreign business dealings came to light. They allege that Biden might have exerted some influence in his son’s business activities while he was vice president, which is the focus of their inquiry. However, Hunter Biden has said to the press that his father “was not financially involved” in his business.
“The Republican chairs today then are commandeering an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions,” Lowell said in defense of his client. “The question there is, what are they afraid of?”
According to The Hill, Lowell highlighted that witness remarks from closed-door depositions are notoriously leaked and mischaracterized by Republicans to further their agenda.
That point was also attested by Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who criticized Republican panel members for their behavior as Biden sat through part of the hearing.
“Let me tell you why nobody wants to talk to y’all behind closed doors, ’cause y’all lie,” Crockett said of House Republicans. “You have done it thus far in this investigation. You have done it this far as it relates to this committee. And every single hearing y’all spin, spin, spin.”
Committee members have drawn up a resolution that ultimately holds Biden in contempt but states that Hunter Biden’s testimony is “necessary” to determine whether there are “sufficient grounds” for his father’s impeachment. ABC News reported that a vote on furthering that resolution will be held on the House floor at a later date.
The Oversight Committee also subpoenaed President Biden’s brother, James Biden, and former Hunter Biden business associate Rob Walker. However, House Republicans have yet to find anything substantial to incriminate President Biden.
