Hunter Biden in defiant deposition blasts the GOP
He insists he did not involve his father in business affairs
WASHINGTON >> Hunter Biden was defiant Wednesday in a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill, blasting a Republican impeachment inquiry into his father and the family's business affairs as a “house of cards” built on “lies” as he faced a battery of probing questions from lawmakers.
“For more than a year, your Committees have hunted me in your partisan political pursuit of my dad,” Hunter Biden said in an opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.
He accused Republicans of trafficking in “innuendo, distortion and sensationalism” and insisted, “I did not involve my father in my business.”
After the nearly sevenhour deposition wrapped, an attorney for the president's son told reporters that during the testimony Republicans “produced no evidence that would do anything to support the notion that there was any financial transactions that involved Hunter with his father. Period.”
He said, “It seems to me that the Republican members wanted to spend more time talking about my client's addiction than they could ask any question that had anything to do with what they call their impeachment inquiry.”
The White House echoed their sentiments, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying its the probe is a “stunt” that has “dragged on for months and months.”
But GOP lawmakers remained undeterred by Hunter Biden and his counsel's repudiation of their investigation. Rep. James Comer, one of the GOP chairs leading the inquiry, came out late Wednesday to declare that it was a “great deposition” and said it helped back several pieces of evidence they've gathered thus far.
“But there are also some contradictory statements that I think need further review,” the Kentucky Republican said, adding that the next forum for that will be a public hearing with Hunter Biden at a future date.
The deposition of President Joe Biden's son marked a decisive point for the 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family. The probe has centered on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans long have questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Biden, particularly when he was vice president.
Yet after conducting dozens of interviews and obtaining more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans have yet to produce direct evidence of misconduct by the president. Meanwhile, an FBI informant who alleged a bribery scheme involving the Bidens — a claim Republicans had cited repeatedly to justify their probe — is facing charges from federal prosecutors who accuse him of fabricating the story.
Many expected Hunter Biden to spend the duration of the deposition asserting his Fifth Amendment rights. But the 54-year-old facing an indictment on nine federal tax charges and a firearm charge in Delaware did not assert those rights a single time.
Instead, the few Republicans who spoke to reporters Wednesday said that Hunter Biden provided testimony that was “defiant and dishonest.”
The majority of GOP lawmakers remained quiet as the deposition dragged into the afternoon, with Rep. Jim Jordan, the other Republican chair leading the inquiry, declining to answer reporters' questions. He cited the sensitivity of a private deposition and said the release of the public transcript would speak for itself.
Democrats on the Oversight and Judiciary Committees came out several times to denounce the deposition, calling it an “embarrassing spectacle where the Republicans continued to belabor completely trivial points.”
“This thing is over. A referee would stop the fight if this was a boxing match. A coroner would pronounce this thing dead,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Castro Valley, said about the ongoing impeachment inquiry.
He said that Hunter Biden had “leaned in” and had not been afraid to answer any of the questions.