WASHINGTON — The president’s son arrived on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning to appear in person at the hearings of a congressional contempt of congressional committee — setting up an unprecedented confrontation on live television between Hunter Biden and House Republicans, who have long sought his testimony. as part of an impeachment inquiry against his father.
Hunter Biden was accompanied by his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris. He did not answer the questions at first.
Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees voted in separate committees on Wednesday to recommend impeaching Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
Hunter Biden has fallen out with Republicans over a request to testify behind closed doors. The president’s son, who faces two separate criminal charges, has agreed to testify publicly, an offer Republicans have rejected, continuing to insist the testimony be given behind closed doors.
During an Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday morning, RSC Rep. Nancy Mays called for Hunter Biden to be arrested on the spot for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
“Hunter Biden was very scared for the deposition, and I still think he is today,” he said.
“Play silly games, win silly prizes,” he said.
Hunter Biden and his legal team, R-Ga. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene walked out of the hearing shortly before comments she called him a “coward” at the Oversight hearing.
Outside the chamber, Lowell said committee Republicans were acting with “improper partisan motives.” He said he and his client have offered to work with Republicans on committees since last February to see “how much information can be provided that would be relevant to any legitimate request,” but their first five suggestions were ignored. He called the GOP’s subsequent call for a closed deposition “a tactic that Republicans have repeatedly abused in their political crusades to selectively leak and mischaracterize witness statements.”
Asked shortly after leaving NBC News’ Oversight hearing if he would testify today, Hunter Biden said yes. After that, he and his team left the building.
In a separate contempt statement from the Judiciary Committee, Rep. D-Calif. Eric Swalwell noted Hunter Biden’s surprise appearance on Capitol Hill before adjourning the meeting to allow the president’s son to testify in public given his presence in the hall. on time. The proposal failed on a vote.
Hunter Biden did not attend the session of the Court panel.
Biden’s surprise appearance comes a day before he pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance. Separate tax payments in Los Angeles, and is the latest in a flurry of back-and-forth between himself and House Republicans. In correspondence with the Republican-led House Oversight Committee in the fall and at a press conference outside the Capitol on the day he was forced to do an interview last month, Biden said he would follow the call, but only in plain language. Both the Judiciary and House Oversight leaders’ own previous comments may come true in public.
Biden and his lawyers have argued that the allegations of misconduct by House Republicans are without merit, and that they would selectively leak or mischaracterize his comments for partisan purposes if they occur during a closed deposition. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Biden should first testify behind closed doors, and a report released Monday said “Mr. Biden’s blatant resistance to the Committees’ deposition subpoenas — while choosing to approach the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same issues — is disrespectful and he should be held accountable for his illegal actions,” the reports said.
The top House Democrat on the committee, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, said earlier that there is “no precedent” for a private citizen to be in contempt of Congress when the House offers to testify under oath publicly and on a day of its choosing. committee.
Biden’s attorney, Lowell, previously told NBC News: “It’s clear that Republican chairmen are not interested in getting the facts or they would allow Hunter to testify publicly.
“Instead, House Republicans continue to play politics, seeking an unprecedented bid of contempt for someone who offered to answer all of their necessary questions from the first poll. What are they afraid of?”
Comer and Jordan as part of the impeachment effort Last month, he asked the White House to provide any contact Speaking to White House counsel Edward Siskel, Hunter met with Biden’s legal team to determine whether the president’s son played a role in the decision to challenge the subpoena.
Rebecca Kaplan, Ryan Nobles and Owen Hayes contributed.