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    Tuesday, May 07, 2024

    House GOP: No ‘special treatment’ for Hunter Biden

    Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Hunter Biden lashed out at Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the Capitol he will only testify before a congressional committee in public. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
    House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, flanked by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., left, and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., right, speaks to reporters after Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Hunter Biden insisted outside the Capitol on Wednesday that he'd only testify in public. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    WASHINGTON — House Republicans outlined their contempt of Congress case against Hunter Biden in documents released Monday, stating the president’s son flouted congressional subpoenas by being a no-show at a closed-door deposition and wants “special treatment” over how he gives testimony.

    The House Oversight and Accountability Committee and House Judiciary Committee, ahead of votes set for Wednesday, unveiled a resolution and report to recommend that the House hold the president’s son in contempt.

    The committee votes are scheduled to take place about a month after Hunter Biden did not comply with a subpoena to appear for the deposition, but instead came to Capitol Hill and challenged the lawmakers to a public hearing.

    The Oversight committee document states that the panel “need not and will not accede to Mr. Biden’s demand for special treatment with respect to how he provides testimony.”

    That report describes how the committees sought to address concerns from Hunter Biden’s counsel by assuring him that the deposition would be recorded via video and that a transcript would be released shortly after the sitting.

    But Hunter Biden’s attorney, the report said, did not acknowledge their effort.

    “Mr. Biden’s flagrant defiance of the Committees’ deposition subpoenas — while choosing to appear nearby on the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same matters — is contemptuous, and he must be held accountable for his unlawful actions,” the report said.

    The committee report says Hunter Biden’s testimony is a key part of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. House Republicans have been investigating alleged influence peddling from Hunter Biden when Joe Biden served as vice president, with conservatives seeking for months to connect the president with his son’s business dealings.

    Despite launching the impeachment inquiry, House Republicans have produced no evidence so far that definitively proves the president took bribes in exchange for official actions.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, in an interview with CBS that aired over the weekend, said there has not been “a determination that impeachment is going to happen here.”

    “But we have to take those next necessary steps, get those remaining depositions and those documents to be able to uncover the remainder of the truth,” Johnson said.

    Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight and Accountability Committee, argued in a statement Friday that Rep. James Comer has obstructed his own investigation by refusing Hunter Biden the opportunity to answer the committee’s questions in a public forum.

    Comer, R-Ky., had even urged Hunter Biden to show up at a committee hearing, Raskin, D-Md., argued.

    In recent Congresses, it’s been a consistent practice to initially receive testimony through a deposition, a process that can include hourlong periods of questioning and allow the opportunity for direct and cross examination, according to the House Oversight report.

    The committee argued that depositions lead to a “deeper understanding of the matter and more fulsome assessment of the relevant facts.” Open hearings, by contrast, often involve each member having a limited amount of time, such as five minutes, to make statements or solicit answers.

    Either way, the report states, it’s for the committees to pick their investigative methods.

    “In no uncertain terms, Mr. Biden has no valid reason for failing to comply with the Committees’ duly authorized subpoenas,” the report said.

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