Hunter Biden Agrees to Public Testimony Before House Oversight Committee

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Facts

  • Through his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden, the son of Pres. Joe Biden, Tuesday responded to a subpoena for testimony by offering to testify at an open hearing in December — rather than a closed-door deposition — as part of US House Oversight Committee Republicans' impeachment probe of the elder Biden.1
  • Hunter Biden expressed concerns a closed-door deposition could be manipulated by Republicans, and Lowell classified Republicans' attempts to link the president to his son's business dealings as a 'fishing expedition.'2
  • In response, committee chair James Comer rejected the offer, saying that Hunter Biden wants to 'play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else.' Comer added that he expects Biden to appear for his deposition Dec. 13.3
  • As part of the impeachment probe they launched in September, Republicans have also subpoenaed the president’s brother, James Biden, and several of Hunter Biden’s former business associates. GOP House members also requested transcribed interviews from other members of the Biden family.4
  • Investigators have accumulated more than 12K pages of financial records and conducted interviews with people who've worked with Hunter Biden. They've uncovered evidence Hunter Biden tried to leverage his family name and father's prominence, but to date have reportedly found nothing linking Joe Biden to any wrongdoing.5

Sources: 1USA Today, 2Associated Press, 3Daily Wire, 4CBS and 5Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. If Republicans want to hear from Hunter Biden, they should take him up on his offer. History tells us witnesses who've met with congressional Republicans behind closed doors have had their comments taken out of context for political purposes. Of course, Republicans will demur because their first public impeachment hearing was an evidence-free embarrassment and this entire probe continues to be a kangaroo court to tarnish the president during election season.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. Republicans have been following the money and getting closer to proving the president's corruption, and Hunter Biden shouldn't be able to distract from the evidence by turning his testimony into a spectacle. It's typical procedure to have a deposition — where lawyers can handle the questioning with limited interruptions — and then later possibly have a public hearing. If Hunter Biden has nothing to hide, he will adhere to the subpoena as-is.

Predictions