Hunter Biden will be held in CONTEMPT if he doesn’t appear for closed-door deposition on December 13: Republicans ramp up their threats to president’s son in shady business deals investigation
House Republicans are threatening to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress if he fails to appear for closed-door testimony on Dec. 13.
Republicans, who subpoenaed Hunter and James Biden on Nov. 8 as part of an investigation into the Biden family’s shady business dealings, have been embroiled in disputes with Hunter’s lawyer Ebb Lowell over the nature of the first son’s appearance before their committees.
Hunter Biden told House Republicans last week that he would testify publicly any day in December after being issued a subpoena for a closed-door interview.
But Republicans said they want Hunter to testify behind closed doors on the 13th first and then discuss holding a second public hearing to ensure he doesn’t receive “special treatment.”
The watchdog’s chairman, James Comer, said Democrats would stage a “screaming and hollering” spectacle of a public hearing.
In a letter obtained by DailyMail.com on Wednesday, Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan responded to Lowell, demanding that Hunter appear behind closed doors or they would file a lawsuit against him.
Hunter Biden, pictured above with his wife Melissa Cohen, has offered to testify publicly before Congress in December.
“On November 8, 2023, we issued a subpoena for your client, Robert Hunter Biden, to testify on December 13, 2023. We have received your letters dated November 28, 2023 and December 6, 2023 regarding the subpoenas,” they said. write.
“Contrary to the assertions in your letter, Mr. Biden does not have a “choice”; The subpoena forces him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden fails to appear to testify on December 13, 2023, the committees will file contempt of Congress proceedings,” the letter further states.
Earlier on Wednesday, Lowell wrote to Comer again, repeating his demands that Hunter appear in public.
He accuses Republicans of using closed sessions to “manipulate and even distort facts and misinform the American public.”
“The hearing will ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings,” a combative Lowell continued in the letter reviewed by DailyMail.com.
But Republicans strongly rejected the claim, with an Oversight Committee spokesman calling it “patently false.”
They point out that Democratic Ranking Committee member Jamie Raskin supported sealed testimony in a House committee investigation on Jan. 6.
Raskin called the threat of Republican contempt “a joke.”
“Hunter Biden will answer questions under oath in front of the world, but if he doesn’t testify in secret so he can be misquoted, (James Comer) will despise him?” he wrote on X.
‘What a joke. Jim Jordan quashed the subpoena. Comer doesn’t want the truth and can’t handle it.
If Hunter is found in contempt of Congress, his case will be brought before Biden’s Justice Department. If convicted, he faces up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.
Hunter Biden has gone on the offensive with allegations against him, and his latest salvo escalates the battle he faces with House Republicans.
New Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, also said the House could expect to vote on a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden next week.
In September, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unilaterally launched impeachment proceedings into how Joe Biden may have personally benefited from his son’s business dealings.
However, the White House resisted Republican requests for documents because there was no formal vote to open an investigation.
The Biden family has denied any wrongdoing, and President Biden has repeatedly said he is not involved in his son’s business affairs.
In November, House Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden and President Biden’s brother James to testify. James Biden was asked to appear for an interview with the commission on December 6, but has not yet responded.
Giving public testimony to Hunter Biden comes with risks.
He is currently facing a firearms charge brought by Special Prosecutor David Weiss, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
But additional tax charges could also be filed, and anything that Hunter Biden testified to in his congressional hearings would be admissible in a criminal trial.
Melissa Cohen and Hunter Biden with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in Nantucket for the Thanksgiving holiday
Hunter and James were subpoenaed as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which is being used to determine whether there is enough evidence to initiate formal impeachment.
They say they have 12-15 more interviews to do.
They must then decide whether to vote on articles of impeachment and force moderates to take a politically fraught vote on whether the president should be impeached or not.
Ending the impeachment inquiry without a vote or with a failed vote would be an embarrassing defeat for Republicans and would effectively appear as if it absolves the president of any wrongdoing.