Hunter Biden made a surprise short appearance at a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday, as House Republicans began placing the president’s son in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena to attend a closed-door deposition last month.

The House Oversight and Judiciary committees, which subpoenaed the president’s son for testimony as part of the impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, are holding separate markups of the contempt resolution. Hunter Biden strolled through the corridors of Congress with his lawyers outside the Oversight Committee hearing, causing a commotion both within and outside the committee room while members discussed what to do.

Hunter Biden entered the committee chamber and sat for around 10 minutes before leaving.

“You are the epitome of white privilege,” said Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina. “Coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our faces, and ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed.” What exactly are you terrified of? “You have no balls.”

The charges at the heart of the Republican-led investigation derive from unverified assertions that the president was involved in or profited financially from his son’s international business activities, making the president’s son an important witness.

Hunter Biden Makes An Unexpected Appearance On Capitol Hill At Oversight Contempt Proceeding

Hunter’s demeanour was reminiscent of how he handled the subpoena last month. Hunter Biden staged a news conference outside the Capitol rather than sitting for his deposition and stated that he would only testify in public. House Republicans said they would hold a public hearing with the president’s son, but only if he agreed to a private interview. After the younger Biden failed to appear for his deposition, House Oversight Chair James Comer and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan released a joint statement saying they would initiate contempt proceedings.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that they offered to meet with House Republicans on Oversight six times but were instead served with a subpoena for a closed-door deposition.

“Ignoring that invitation and proving again that they cared little for the truth and wanted only to ‘move the needle of political support’ that Chairman Comer confessed was his purpose, the Republican chairs have today commandeered an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions,” Lowell said in a statement. “What are they afraid of?”

Hunter Biden’s attendance is part of a more proactive, forward-thinking strategy taken by his legal team, coordinated by lawyers Lowell and Kevin Morris, to combat his critics. The lawyers are aware that, despite Congress’s contempt vote against him as early as next week, they have few options for enforcing a punishment. According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Biden’s potential to avoid congressional testimony has grown in recent weeks, as he now faces criminal tax and gun accusations.

In the Oversight hearing, Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida responded to Mace’s comments about the president’s son by saying, “If the gentlelady wants to hear from Hunter Biden, we can hear from him right now.”

Mace responded by saying, “I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here right now and go straight to jail.”

Hunter Biden and his attorneys exited the room when GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia began speaking.

“I think it’s clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong, conservative, Republican women because he can’t even face my words as I was about to speak to him,” Greene told the crowd.

Hunter Biden Makes An Unexpected Appearance On Capitol Hill At Oversight Contempt Proceeding

In response to all of the lawmakers interrupting each other, GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona encouraged his colleagues, “Don’t act like a bunch of nimrods.”

Comer, a Kentucky Republican, began the meeting by justifying his panel’s subpoena for a closed-door deposition with the president’s son, saying, “We will not give Hunter Biden special treatment because of his last name.” All Americans should be treated equally under the law.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the lead Democrat on the subcommittee, emphasized the irony of several Republicans evading congressional subpoenas, including Jordan, while attempting to hold Hunter Biden in contempt. Raskin alleged that Comer had “bizarrely decided to obstruct his own investigation” by refusing to accept Hunter Biden’s offer to participate in a public hearing.

“The chairman refused to accept ‘yes’ as an answer from Hunter Biden,” Raskin added before being interrupted by Republicans.

The two markups on Wednesday represent the beginning of a lengthy process and highlight the difficulty that Republicans will face in obtaining testimony from the president’s son. If the contempt resolution passes out of committee, it will be sent to the entire House for a contempt vote.

Suppose an eventual House floor vote is successful. In that case, the Department of Justice, which is already investigating two criminal cases against the president’s son, will have to decide whether to charge him for defying a congressional subpoena.

Hunter Biden is anticipated to be on the West Coast on Thursday. He appears in federal court in Los Angeles for his criminal tax case, where he faces nine criminal accusations.

Ian Sams, White House spokeswoman for oversight and investigations, stated the committee hearings, condemning “baseless attacks” on the president’s family members and urging Republican senators to focus on their other responsibilities.

“Instead of playing politics, they should do their jobs, fund the government and border security, and focus on solutions that benefit the American people,” he said.

Jordan told CNN ahead of the markup that he expects the contempt resolution to succeed, but he was still determining when it would be brought to the floor or how soon the Justice Department would process the referral.

Hunter Biden Makes An Unexpected Appearance On Capitol Hill At Oversight Contempt Proceeding

“Whenever Speaker Johnson wants to put it on the floor, for a floor vote, then it’s up to Merrick Garland and Mr. Graves,” Jordan was quoted as saying by CNN.

With Congress returning from its winter holiday this week, House Republicans are stepping up their investigations during a busy period on Capitol Hill. The meetings are taking place while the House Homeland Security Committee is proceeding with its impeachment probe of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Sams said that Congress is only days away from a government funding deadline, but House Republicans are instead focusing on their investigations.

“House Republicans are less than ten days from sparking a partial government shutdown that many of their far-right members are rooting for, but instead of working full-time to avoid it, they are wasting time on political stunts,” the statement stated. “These baseless attacks on the President’s Cabinet and family members will do nothing to help improve Americans’ daily lives, strengthen our border security, or improve the economy; all they will do is help extreme House Republicans get booked on Fox and Newsmax to try to distract from their inability to govern.”

With the Biden investigation moving forward and several Republicans remaining hesitant about impeaching the president, senior Republicans believe attacking Mayorkas will be easier as the border crisis becomes a defining campaign issue.

“There are many competing impeachments, so it’s difficult to say who is in the lead,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales, a House Homeland Security Committee member.

“I will say that I believe many of the members up here have lost faith in DHS,” the Texas Republican continued.

Jordan said Republicans will “find out” whether the House can pursue two impeachments simultaneously, but he believes “there is strong, compelling evidence for both.”

SOURCE – (CNN)