Now you see him, now you don’t.
Hunter Biden made a surprise — and brief — appearance Wednesday at a House Oversight Committee hearing where members debated a resolution impugning him against Congress.
The first son, 53, appeared with his lawyer Abbe Lowell and “sugar brother” Kevin Morris and sat in the front row of the hearing room, causing an uproar among the Republican panel, before leaving after about 10 minutes.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) attacked Hunter Biden during his speech, calling him “the epitome of white privilege.”
“My first question is: Who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” Mace started.
“You are the epitome of white privilege — walking into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our faces, ignoring congressional subpoenas to strip. Are you afraid? You have no balls.”
Mace added: “I think Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail.”
Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee hearing where the panel was debating contempt of Congress. Getty Images
Hunter stood up and left the room before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) spoke – tearing the firstborn as a “coward” – and was mobbed by reporters and political operatives in the hallways of the Rayburn House Office Building.
The president’s son answered at least one question about his father’s role in his foreign affairs when asked why he put Joe Biden on speaker phone during the roughly 20 business meetings Hunter held during his father’s vice presidency.
“If he calls you, will you answer the phone?” answered the first son – whose ex-partner Devon Archer testified in July that Hunter often used the call to attract the attention of foreign friends.
At the end of the spectacle, a jeering anti-Biden official could be heard asking repeatedly: “Hunter, what’s your favorite kind of crack? Are you on crack today?”
The younger Biden skipped the deposition scheduled for Dec. 13, claiming he preferred to testify in front of the world — thus giving many eccentric members of the oversight panel a chance to speak on his behalf or otherwise leave a message.
Hunter stood up and left before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) spoke on Wednesday. Fox News
Democrats on the Oversight Committee took turns Wednesday insisting that Hunter is willing to speak, but only in a public hearing rather than a deposition controlled by panel staff.
“Let me tell you why nobody wants to talk to you behind closed doors,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “‘Cause you all lie. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the committee, claimed that Republicans are moving against Hunter Biden because the president is innocent — even though the GOP investigation is focusing specifically on Joe Biden’s role in his son and brother James’ alienation. business of buying and selling.
“Why are we here? ‘Well, we can’t go after Joe Biden. He is clean. Let’s go After Hunter Biden. Let’s go get him,’” Raskin urged.
“My last message to you, Hunter Biden: You played a stupid game, you won a stupid prize,” Nancy Mace said. Getty Images
Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said the deposition will seek to establish important facts and that Republicans would welcome follow-up public hearings.
Other committee Republicans said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s grown children are complying with subpoenas issued by House Democrats as part of multiple investigations into the 45th president.
“This is not about Hunter Biden’s white privilege, this is about Hunter Biden’s Democratic privilege, because Donald Trump Jr. appeared for five congressional subpoenas. There has never been this circus,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
“This kind of food fight, this kind of circus that we are experiencing, is the reason why they want to hold a deposition,” added Rep. Eric Burlison (R Mo.).
“In depositions, you don’t cause people to bother the American public with all these other topics.”
Subpoenas for Hunter Biden’s testimony have been issued by both the Oversight and Judiciary committees. The judicial panel also debated on Wednesday whether to insult the first son.
During the hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tried to shift the focus to Trump — with the Progressive Caucus leader accidentally saying that Trump was “inciting an erection” when he meant to say “rebellion” in reference to the 2021 Capitol riots.
First cousin James Biden also skipped a scheduled deposition in December, but his legal team has discussed setting a new date, so far preventing potential contempt proceedings.
In lieu of his Dec. 13 interview, Hunter gave a speech outside the Capitol last month in which he insisted his father was not “financially involved” with his foreign affairs in countries like China and Ukraine — despite ample evidence that Joe Biden as vice president routinely interacts with colleagues who pay his children millions of dollars.
“The Bidens and their allies earned over $24 million from 2014 to 2019 from countries like China, Russia, Romania and Kazakhstan,” Comer said.
“Witness testimony confirmed that Vice President Biden at that time met, spoke on the phone, had dinner and drank coffee with his family’s foreign business partners. President Biden has repeatedly lied to the American people about speaking with his son’s friends.”
Hunter’s efforts to defy the subpoena, which the White House said President Biden was “familiar with” earlier, prompted the House of Representatives to vote hours later to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry launched on September 12.
Republicans say the White House’s admission may ultimately support articles of impeachment against Joe Biden for obstructing Congress.
Hunter Biden’s actions in December led the Senate to pursue impeachment charges against his father. Reuters
Contempt of Congress is a felony punishable by at least 30 days behind bars per offense, although Biden’s Justice Department should choose to prosecute the son of the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
Two former Trump advisers – Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro – have been indicted by Biden’s Justice Department for refusing to testify to a House select committee investigating the 2021 Capitol riots.
“You’re playing with the truth,” Mace said Wednesday while lecturing the president’s son.
“Hunter Biden is not afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he takes office. He is not afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddling influence and sharing his ill-gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden,” Mace added.
“He is not afraid to undermine the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden in dark business dealings with our foreign enemies. But Hunter Biden, you were too scared to show up for the deposition and you still can’t today.”
“My last message to you, Hunter Biden,” the South Carolinian said, “you’re playing a stupid game, you’re winning a stupid prize.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
