Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has exited Capitol Hill, declining to participate in a confidential deposition after being subpoenaed by House Republicans for their impeachment investigation into his father.
Upon his arrival at the Capitol complex on Wednesday morning, he addressed reporters, stating his willingness to testify only in a public setting. He explained his presence at the Capitol as an effort to ensure that the House committee's "illegitimate investigations" of his family did not proceed based on "distortions, manipulated evidence, and lies." He also acknowledged past mistakes and missed opportunities, for which he claimed responsibility and accountability.
"I'm making amends," he declared.
Biden also expressed his intention to rectify the portrayal of him by the "Maga right" for political gain, asserting that the GOP is averse to an "open process where Americans can see their tactics."
"For six years, Maga Republicans, including members of the House committees who are in a closed-door session right now, have attacked my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife and my children, and my family, and my friends," he continued. "They have ridiculed my struggle with addiction. They belittle my recovery and they have tried to dehumanize me, all to embarrass and damage my father, who has devoted his entire public life to service."
Biden then abruptly departed from Capitol Hill.
Last week, his attorney, Abbe Lowell, indicated that Biden was prepared to provide evidence before the GOP-led panel, which has been conducting a long-standing and thus far fruitless investigation into the Biden family in an attempt to uncover any alleged misconduct by President Biden. However, Lowell stated that his client would only testify in an open hearing, citing the GOP committee's propensity for selectively leaking transcripts of testimony to support their preferred narratives.
In his statement, Biden echoed these concerns, criticizing the GOP panel for "having distorted the facts by cherry-picking lines from a bank statement, manipulating texts I sent, editing the testimony of my friends and former business partners, and misstating personal information that was stolen from me."
He also vehemently denied that his father had ever been involved in any of his business ventures, stating, "There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen."
If Biden had chosen to participate in the closed-door session, he could have invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as he has been charged with nine tax offenses in California, where he resides, and additional gun-related crimes in Delaware.
His behavior is the subject of another ongoing investigation that began under the Trump administration, led by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss. Weiss, who brought the two federal indictments against Biden in Delaware and California, was appointed as a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland this past summer.
Lowell expressed concern prior to the planned deposition that comments made by Biden in private might be taken out of context. House Republicans have countered by arguing that filming the proceeding and releasing the transcript would prevent that.
However, there is no assurance that Mr. Comer, the committee chair, would authorize the release of either video or a full transcript, especially if it would not aid his panel in advancing thus-far unsupported claims that President Biden acted illegally or improperly.
One Democratic member of the committee, Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida, highlighted the contradiction in Mr. Comer's disdain for transparency as he entered the committee's office suite while members were waiting for Mr. Biden.
"Donald Trump has asked for cameras in the courtroom. I don't know why the chairman is so scared of Hunter Biden," he said.
The Oversight Committee's top Democrat, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, said Mr. Biden's attorneys had correctly identified a pattern in which the GOP demands closed depositions "so the public couldn't see it and so they could continue to cherry-pick little pieces of evidence and distort and misrepresent what had taken place".
"This is a pattern that Hunter Biden and his lawyer clearly observed, that members of this committee have observed has been taking place for many months now," he said.
Mr. Raskin said the GOP's refusal to release transcripts and penchant for selective leaks was "interfering with the work of this committee, because witnesses don't want to come in only to have a closed-door deposition and then have their words mangled and misrepresented to the public through selective leaks and orchestrated choreography of false narratives".
For his part, Mr. Comer complained to reporters that a public hearing would have allowed Democrats to interject with "speeches" and "filibusters" and claimed that the House's pending vote on opening a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden would mean that Hunter Biden would be compelled to return for the closed-door session Republicans want.
He also said the House would consider voting to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
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