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 does not appear for his closed-door deposition on December 13.
Republicans who subpoenaed Hunter and James Biden on Nov. 8 as part of the investigation into the Biden family's shady business dealings are engaged in a back-and-forth with Hunter's attorney Abbe 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 every day in December after receiving a subpoena for a closed-door interview.
But Republicans said they want Hunter to testify behind closed doors first on the 13th, and then discuss whether to hold a second public hearing to ensure he doesn't get “special treatment.”
Oversight Chairman James Comer said Democrats would put on a spectacle of “yelling and screaming” in an open hearing.
In a letter obtained by DailyMail.com on Wednesday, Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan responded to Lowell, demanding Hunter appear behind closed doors or face legal action against him.
Hunter Biden β seen above with his wife Melissa Cohen β offered to testify publicly before Congress in December
βOn November 8, 2023, we issued subpoenas to your client, Robert Hunter Biden, for a deposition on December 13, 2023. We received your letters dated November 28, 2023 and December 6, 2023 regarding the subpoenas,β they said. to write.
βContrary to what you claim in your letter, Mr. Biden cannot make a 'choice'; the subpoenas force him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden fails to appear for deposition on December 13, 2023, the committees will initiate contempt of court proceedings in Congress,β the letter continues.
Earlier Wednesday, Lowell wrote again to Comer reiterating his demands that Hunter appear in a public setting.
He accuses Republicans of using closed-door hearings to “manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public.”
βA hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings,β a combative Lowell continued in the letter reviewed by DailyMail.com.
But Republicans have strongly pushed back on that claim, with an Oversight Committee spokesperson calling it “patently false.”
They point to Democratic Ranking Member Jamie Raskin's support for closed-door statements during the House committee's Jan. 6 investigation.
Hunter Biden has gone on the offensive in the indictment against him and his latest salvo escalates the battle he faces with Republicans in the House of Representatives.
New Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also said the House can expect to vote on the formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden next week.
In September, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unilaterally launched impeachment proceedings over how Joe Biden might have personally benefited from his son's business connections.
But the White House has blocked Republicans' requests for documents because there was no formal vote on opening the investigation.
The Biden family has denied any wrongdoing and President Biden has repeatedly said he was 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 panel on December 6 and has not yet responded.
There are risks for Hunter Biden in testifying in public.
He is currently indicted on weapons charges brought by Special Prosecutor David Weiss, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
But additional tax levies could also be imposed, and anything Hunter Biden testified about at a Congressional hearing would be admissible in the criminal trial.
Melissa Cohen and Hunter Biden with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Nantucket during 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 a formal impeachment.
They say they still have twelve to fifteen interviews to conduct.
They must then decide whether to vote on articles of impeachment β forcing moderates to cast a politically charged vote on whether to impeach the president.
Ending an impeachment inquiry without a vote, or with a failed vote, would be an embarrassing defeat for Republicans, and would actually look like it would absolve the president of any wrongdoing.