Hunter Biden attended a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing. The committee was deliberating a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress.
What Happened: Hunter Biden’s unexpected appearance at the hearing caused a significant stir among the lawmakers. This appearance was in response to a subpoena he had previously defied, reported The Hill.
Republican representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) questioned Biden’s motivations for his surprise presence, while Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) proposed an immediate vote on hearing from Biden, a motion supported only by fellow Democrats.
Accompanied by his attorney, Abbe Lowell, and entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris, Biden left the hearing shortly after his arrival. Lowell later defended Biden to the press, accusing Republican lawmakers of weaponizing him against his father, President Joe Biden.
The House Oversight and Judiciary panels are moving to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress due to his failure to appear at a closed-door deposition last month, which was part of their impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Despite offering to testify in a public setting, Republicans argued that a public format was inadequate for their investigation. They proposed a public hearing at a later date and the release of the deposition transcript.
Lowell challenged the GOP’s approach, claiming that their insistence on a private deposition was a regularly misused tactic in their political campaign.
Neither the White House nor Hunter Biden confirmed if President Biden was aware of his son’s surprise visit to Capitol Hill. Both have repeatedly stated that the president was not involved in his family’s overseas business activities.
Why It Matters: As reported by Benzinga in December, Hunter Biden had opted to ignore a GOP subpoena for a private deposition, choosing instead to testify publicly. This decision could result in him being held in contempt of Congress, exacerbating his existing legal troubles.
Later that month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) labeled Hunter Biden’s absence at his scheduled congressional deposition as an “impeachable offense” against President Biden, according to another Benzinga report.
This situation follows a September report detailing Hunter Biden’s indictment on federal firearms charges.
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