After Hunter Biden agreed to answer questions publicly, two powerful House Republicans reportedly threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he refused to participate in a private questioning regarding his overseas business dealings. This comes after Joe Biden’s son refused to participate in the questioning.
The New York Times reports that on Wednesday, the threat was sent to Hunter Biden’s attorney by House Oversight Chair James Comer (R–Tenn.) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R–Ohio).
According to Bloomberg, Hunter Biden has publicly agreed to be questioned in public by Congress, but Comer and Jordan are adamant that it must be conducted privately. Despite this, they have stated that a video and transcript of the deposition will be made public.
Hunter Biden was summoned by Republicans to appear in a closed-door deposition on December 13.
In a letter sent to Comer by Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell, the latter reiterated Wednesday that his client would not be attending a closed-door meeting, as reported by the Hill. In the letter, he stated that his client’s refusal is due to the Committee’s history of manipulating and misinforming the American public through closed-door sessions. He went on to say that a public hearing would guarantee honesty and openness in the proceedings.
This is all a part of the Republican effort to impeach President Joe Biden, which is investigating allegations that Biden enriched his family while serving as vice president.
For a long time, Republicans have claimed that Hunter Biden and his father plotted to take advantage of the vice president’s position for financial benefit through Hunter’s business dealings, specifically with the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings and the Chinese State Energy HK Limited. Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R–Calif.) initiated an impeachment investigation in September; now, Rep. Mike Johnson (R–La.), who succeeded McCarthy, intends to convene a full House vote to formally establish that inquiry.
Nothing has come out of the investigation that would suggest President Joe Biden did anything wrong to benefit his family or his son’s businesses. In September, Hunter Biden was indicted on various tax and gun charges, following allegations that he had unlawfully owned a firearm and lied on a federal firearms form.
Although the indictment did not contain the claims of unlawful business dealings by Republicans, it did mark the first instance in U.S. history where the Justice Department charged the son of a sitting president.
