Shouting match in US Congress as Hunter Biden shows up to defend himself
US House Republicans move toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for not testifying in their impeachment probe of his father President Joe Biden, after he sets off pandemonium with unexpected Capitol appearance.
Hunter Biden makes a surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee markup and meeting to vote on whether to hold Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a request to testify to the House last month. / Photo: Reuters
Republicans have recommended that Hunter Biden be held in criminal contempt of the US Congress for snubbing a summons — after scenes of chaos erupted on Capitol Hill when the president's son turned up in person to defend himself.
Two Republican-led House of Representatives committees — oversight and judiciary — had gathered separately on Thursday to debate contempt resolutions after the younger Biden defied their subpoenas for closed-door testimony last month.
There was high drama in the oversight committee when Hunter Biden — who has been pushing to testify in public but has refused to appear for a private interview — suddenly showed up on Wednesday and sat in the audience.
Fiery South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace called his appearance a "PR stunt" and said, "I think Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail."
As the session unravelled, Mace claimed that Hunter Biden "wasn't afraid to trade access to Joe Biden" but was "afraid" to comply with the subpoena ordering him to testify to the committee.
Proceedings turned into a shouting match as Democrats responded scornfully.
"The only people afraid to hear from the witness, with the American people watching, are my friends on the other side of the aisle," said Florida's Jared Moskowitz, rattling off a list of Republican lawmakers who had defied subpoenas to testify about the 2021 assault on the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters.
The panel's top Democrat, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, accused chairman James Comer of refusing "to take yes for an answer from Hunter Biden."
Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told a scrum of reporters outside that the 53-year-old entrepreneur was the victim of a "political crusade."
'Private citizen'
Both oversight and judiciary approved the contempt measure along party lines after the drama fizzled.
If the full House approves the contempt resolution, the Justice Department will decide whether to bring charges.
A prosecution would compound the legal woes piling up on the president's son, who is set to appear in federal court in California on Thursday to answer tax evasion charges.
In her daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to questions by saying, "Hunter, as you all know, is a private citizen.
"He makes his own decisions, like he did today, about how to respond to Congress."
The Justice Department has taken action in only two of the 10 criminal contempt cases referred from the House since 2008.
Former Trump officials Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were convicted, although Bannon's jail term is on hold while he appeals.
Hunter Biden's legal woes
While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president, they have taken particular interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, questioning whether the president profited from that work.
Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations that there has been political interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden.
He is facing three felony and six misdemeanour counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay.
His lawyer has accused David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the yearslong case, of "bowing to Republican pressure" by bringing the charges.
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