Hunter Biden’s brazen refusal on Wednesday to comply with a House subpoena has sparked a strong response from Republican lawmakers. Hunter staged a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce his willful decision to ignore the order from the House Oversight Committee to appear for a closed-door deposition.
While reading the remarks prepared for him at his press conference, the first son issued an obviously crafted statement to further massage the narrative of his family’s corrupt business practices. “My father was not financially involved in my business,” he read.
The new way of framing Joe Biden’s involvement in the family’s foreign influence peddling the Biden legal team has worked up marks a break from the previous claims from the White House and Joe Biden himself. The story has morphed from “no discussions” to “never in business with” to “not financially involved.”
Hunter Biden refuses to comply with @JamesComer's subpoena to be deposed behind closed doors and demands a public hearing so he can tell sob stories on TV.
Reminder that Don Jr. testified behind closed doors for over 40 hours about the Russia hoax.
Hold him in contempt! pic.twitter.com/1FoJB06zyX
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 13, 2023
Republicans, including GOP communications strategist Steve Guest and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) communications director Abigail Jackson, pointed out the nuance in Hunter’s statement that attempts to “move the goalposts.” They argue that moving from “no knowledge” to “no involvement” and now to “no financial involvement” raises more questions than it answers.
The response from Republicans to Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to testify was swift and direct. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) pledged Wednesday to initiate contempt proceedings against Hunter Biden. They assured Americans that no special treatment would be given due to Hunter’s last name.
🚨Rep. @WesleyHuntTX reacts to Hunter Biden's speech at the Capitol:
"Rule #1 never trust or believe a crackhead! To watch him say those statements on the steps of our Capitol is a complete abomination. If we're going to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of court for that January… pic.twitter.com/Od4ehoG0cK
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 13, 2023
A contempt proceeding against Hunter Biden will have implications beyond the political fallout. It could mark a crucial procedural milepost in the impeachment investigation into Joe Biden, now formally underway by the House. Hunter’s willful refusal to provide testimony — or even to show up only to plead the Fifth Amendment — could in and of itself stand as evidence of wrongdoing. After all, an impeachment proceeding is not a criminal trial but an examination of a public official’s honesty and transparency with the public.
Hunter’s claim that he would sit for a public interview with House members rather than a sworn deposition does nothing to remove his legal obligation to either appear as ordered by a House subpoena or ask a federal court to grant an order relieving him of the responsibility. Of course, Hunter has not requested a court to get involved, raising the obvious conclusion that he has no legal grounds to do so.
The ball is now firmly in the GOP’s court. How and whether they will challenge the Biden family’s contemptuous actions and claims that they are in fact, the “victims” of the “Trump attack machine” will be a matter of great interest to conservative Americans longing for accountability in the coming days.
