Hunter Biden Makes Brief Appearance at House Committee Hearing

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Facts

• On Wednesday, Hunter Biden, the son of Pres. Joe Biden, appeared in a US House Oversight and Accountability Committee room where members were drafting a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress for failing to answer subpoenas for him to testify before the body.¹
• Accompanied by his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, Biden stayed at the meeting for fewer than 30 minutes, watching several lawmakers speak.²
• Republican committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) called Biden out for “blatantly” defying two subpoenas, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s Democratic ranking member, accused Comer of obstructing his own investigation in light of Biden’s offer to testify in public.²
• Biden walked out as Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) began to speak, calling him a 'coward' who 'can't even face my words.'³
• A similar markup was being done by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. After the resolution advances out of committees, a vote on holding Biden in contempt could take place within days.⁴
• Republicans in the House subpoenaed Hunter Biden as part of their impeachment inquiry into his father — a probe that’s mostly based on their allegations of 'influence peddling' as part of the son’s foreign business deals while Joe Biden was serving as vice president.⁵

Sources: ¹USA Today, ²CBS, ³New York Times, ⁴FOX News and ⁵TheHill.com.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Hunter Biden didn't present a motive for this stunt, but it sure seemed like he was trying to taunt the committee that’s trying to hold him in contempt. The president's son had the look of a man who knows that even if Congress votes to hold him in contempt, his father's weaponized Dept. of Justice — which in the past has prosecuted Republicans for the same crime — will not hold him accountable. This was a shameful display.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. In an effort to distract from their ineptitude as legislators, House Republicans insist on carrying on with their fruitless search for a crime they can pin on the president. Hunter Biden has stated several times that he's willing to testify in public, but Republicans want him behind closed doors so they can spin his words into supposedly damning statements after the hearing. Even when the president's son shows up on Capitol Hill, all the GOP does is turn a Congressional hearing into a kangaroo court and a circus.

Predictions