Hunter REFUSES to testify publicly at Republicans’ ‘circus hearing’ of ex-business partners
Hunter Biden is refusing to testify next week at a public impeachment hearing led by Republicans in the House of Representatives, as his lawyer dismisses it as a “circus act.”
Last week, House Republicans invited Hunter and several of his ex-business associates to testify at the same impeachment hearing, creating a public spectacle.
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent invitations to Hunter’s former associates Devon Archer, Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis – who are currently incarcerated in Alabama. They’ve essentially all turned on Hunter and it’s unlikely they’ll appear together.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter’s attorney, wrote to Chairman James Comer on Wednesday, saying the invitation “does not constitute a serious oversight proceeding.”
“It is your attempt to revive your Conference’s dying research with a circus act created for the right-wing media,” he added.
Hunter also has a hearing the next day in California, but the scheduling conflict is the “least problem,” Lowell says.
“Your blatant event planned for the media is not proper procedure, but an obvious attempt to give a Hail Mary pass after the game is over,” Lowell continued.
Republican James Comer says the hearing will examine “inconsistencies” between the testimony of all four witnesses behind closed doors to “get to the truth.” Devon Archer (far left) is seen playing golf in the Hamptons with Hunter (far right) and Joe (next to Hunter)
During Hunter’s private deposition, he insisted that his father did not profit at all from his business dealings and that they were all earned through his own earnings – not his surname.
Attorney Abbe Lowell appeared to have submitted an offer for a public hearing last week at the end of the president’s son’s closed-door deposition
All four men have already given transcribed interviews to Congress, where members questioned them about Hunter and Joe’s alleged influence.
Meanwhile, Comer says his committee has “called Hunter Biden’s bluff” and that next week’s hearing is going as planned.
“Hunter Biden has stated for months that he wanted a public hearing, but now that it is being offered alongside his business partners with whom he has worked for years, he is refusing to attend,” Comer told DailyMail.com.
He says the hearing is critical to understanding why parts of Hunter’s testimony “contradict” that of Archer, Galanis and Bobulinski.
It is highly unlikely that all witnesses will agree to appear in public together or at all.
Hunter had previously called for a public hearing, but his attorney Abbe Lowell apparently reneged on that offer when the president’s son gave a closed-door statement last week that lasted six hours.
During his private statement, he insisted that his father did not profit at all from his business activities and that these were all earned by his own merit – not by his surname.
Nevertheless, Comer emphasized that given Hunter’s “repeated calls” for a public hearing, he fully expects him to appear with his associates.
The in-person hearing that was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 20, still has other obstacles to overcome.
“It appears that Chairman Comer has decided that his best witnesses are now a federally incarcerated ‘serial fraudster’ and a bitterly frustrated would-be business associate who worked with the Trump campaign,” top Oversight Democrat Jamie Raskin said in a statement about the new invitations. referring to Galanis and Bobulinski.
Hunter and Bobulinski are feuding after his ex-partner came forward with allegations that Joe was involved in their deal with Chinese company CEFC in 2017.
He also admitted that he had invited his father Joe to lunches with business associates and “friends” many times over the years, but insisted he was not involved in his shady dealings with the Chinese, Ukrainians and others.
“I’m surprised my dad hasn’t called me by now, and if he did, I’d put him on speakerphone to say hello to you, Congressman Raskin, and everyone else in the room. It’s literally nothing nefarious,” Hunter said.
Meanwhile, Bobulinski unequivocally claimed that Hunter was taking advantage of his last name and that Joe was involved.
In 2020, Bobulinski published a May 2017 email detailing a proposed stock split for a Chinese investment — the 10 percent for the “big guy” note — and first claimed the “big guy” was Joe.
He also told impeachment investigators that “it is also no coincidence” that CEFC used the Biden family’s “weakest link” Hunter to funnel tens of millions of dollars.
But Hunter last week disputed that his father is the “great man” being referred to and blasted Bobulinski for spreading lies about his family.
“My father was not involved,” he explained.
‘I think it was a pipe dream. As if Joe Biden is not in the office. Maybe we can get him involved,” Hunter testified.
“I want to be crystal clear: From my direct personal experience and what I have subsequently learned, it is clear to me that Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ sold by the Biden family,” Bobulinski said in his opening statement.
He continued to say that Joe was “more than a participant” in the family business, but rather “a facilitator, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to keep deniability plausible.”
“The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period,” he said. In addition, he described how the Chinese energy company CEFC “successfully tried to infiltrate and compromise” the Obama and Biden White House.
Bobulinski also previously suggested that he would testify publicly before Congress along with Hunter, Jim Biden and Joe Biden.
Galanis still has quite a challenge.
He is currently in a prison in Alabama, serving a sentence for defrauding a Native American tribe.
It is unclear whether Galanis would be able to participate virtually or whether lawmakers could work with the Bureau of Prisons to make other arrangements.
He told Republican impeachment investigators that the “Biden lift” was why he went into business with the first son, claiming it helped close deals they believed would make billions.
The “Biden lift” we talked about was access. Access meant to us at the time, as we were in the process of acquiring other companies, to convince third parties to do business with us,” Galanis explained in transcripts made public on Monday.
Devon Archer, who testified privately last summer, has appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show and would likely be open to making a public appearance.
However, he says he hasn’t spoken to Hunter, his former best friend, in years. So their reunion would likely be awkward, especially after he talks in depth about the Biden family dynamic.
Tony Bobulinski did business with Hunter Biden and claimed Joe Biden was also involved in a May 2017 deal with China
Biden’s impeachment investigators traveled to an Alabama prison to speak with Jason Galanis, who is currently serving a 14-year sentence for defrauding a Native American tribe
Hunter’s Biden’s former friend and business partner Devon Archer arrived on Capitol Hill Monday to deliver impressive testimony before the House Oversight Committee
Archer testified about Hunter’s role on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, for which he was paid more than $80,000 a month.
Archer testified last summer that Burisma CFO Vadim Pozharskyi and CEO Nikola Zlochevsky put “constant pressure” on Hunter in 2015 to get his father to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma.
Hunter Biden, along with Zlochevsky and Pozharski, reportedly “called DC” to discuss Shokin.
In March 2016, Joe Biden reportedly threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid to Ukraine if Shokin was not fired for corruption.