Hunter Biden offers to testify at House hearing
WASHINGTON – Hunter Biden responded Tuesday to a House subpoena for testimony about his overseas business deals, offering to testify at an open hearing rather than a closed-door deposition, which his lawyer said would prevent a “cloaked, one-sided process.”
“A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements,” wrote Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, subpoenaed the president’s son Nov. 8 for testimony about deals in Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine while his father served as vice president.
Comer responded on X that Biden would be expected to testify confidentially at first, as requested.
However, Comer continued, he agreed that “Hunter Biden should have (the) opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, criticized Republicans for rejecting Biden’s offer after a year of demanding information from him.
“What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it,” Raskin said in a statement.
Comer has accused Biden of being at the center of a web of 20 shell companies that received millions of dollars from foreign entities in Ukraine, China and elsewhere and allegedly funneled money to his father.
The accusations basically are that Hunter Biden, the president’s brother James Biden and other business associates received big-dollar business deals in exchange for allegedly peddling influence with Joe Biden.
Lowell has accused the three House Republican chairmen investigating
Hunter Biden – Comer of Kentucky, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri – of repeating “worn-out, false, baseless or debunked claims.”
“Your fishing expedition has become Captain Ahab chasing the great white whale,” Lowell wrote. “We have seen you use closed door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door.”
Lowell’s initial response to the subpoena outlined responses to several of the latest accusations from the House chairmen, made during a Nov. 1 joint appearance on Fox News:
Comer spoke about a $40,000 check to Joe Biden in September 2017, when he was between jobs as vice president and president, from his brother James Biden. Comer alleged the check represented money laundering from Hunter Biden’s business interests in China, passed through his uncle to his father.
But Lowell’s letter noted the check was marked a “loan repayment.” Lowell cited fact checkers and news coverage that found Hunter Biden was trying to develop an energy company and paid his uncle as a consultant.
Jordan repeated an allegation that a Ukrainian business executive asked for Hunter Biden’s help to stymie that country’s national prosecutor.
Lowell called the allegation “false, recycled and debunked” because thenVice President Joe Biden sought the removal of a corrupt prosecutor and to have a real prosecutor investigate allegations of corruption.
Smith alleged that Hunter Biden was sitting next to his father on July 30, 2017, when he purportedly sent a text about a business transaction.
Lowell said that the Bidens were not seated together, that Joe Biden was not in public office at the time and that Smith fabricated a screenshot of a text to illustrate the message.