OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:23 PM – Thursday, December 7, 2023
Hunter Biden, the president’s controversial son, faces possible charges of contempt of Congress if he does not show up for a closed-door deposition at the U.S. Capitol on December 13th.
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The threats come from the Republican chairs of two House committees overseeing the impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.
The president’s son was subpoenaed for a deposition on December 13th by Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), according to a letter they sent to Hunter Biden’s attorney on Wednesday.
Hunter Biden offered to testify in public instead, but they turned him down once more.
“Contrary to the assertions in your letter, there is no ‘choice’ for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committees will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” the letter said, which was sent to Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell.
Two of the three committees spearheading the GOP’s investigation into the president’s impeachment are the Oversight and Judiciary panels. Although they have not officially approved the investigation, Republicans are predicted to do so as soon as next week.
They say that formalizing the investigation will make subpoena enforcement stronger.
The warning was in reaction to a letter that Lowell had issued on Wednesday, conveying to the chairs of the two committees that Hunter Biden is only willing to testify in public.
“Mr. Biden has offered to appear at a hearing on the December 13, 2023, date you have reserved, or another date this month, to answer any question pertinent and relevant to the subject matter stated in your November 8, 2023, letter,” Lowell wrote.
“He is making this choice because the Committee has demonstrated time and again it uses closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public — a hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings,” Lowell added.
Hunter Biden was charged last week by Comer and Jordan with trying to get special treatment by asking for a public hearing rather than going through a deposition behind closed doors. They stated that when the deposition is over, they plan to record it and make the transcript available.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, condemned Comer’s threat in a post on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.
“What a joke,” he said, alluding to Jordan’s refusal to cooperate with the January 6th committee, “Jim Jordan blew off HIS subpoena… Comer doesn’t want the truth and can’t handle it,” Raskin added.
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