Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell wrote a letter Tuesday proposing a public hearing in response to a subpoena sent by the committee, led by Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), earlier in November.
The committee had sought a closed-door deposition Dec. 13, but Lowell wrote that it did not trust Comer and Republicans to provide a truthful account of such an event.
“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 wrote in a letter to Comer on Tuesday. “If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings.”
Lowell noted that Comer has previously said that Hunter Biden is “more than welcome” before the committee.
“Accordingly, our client will get right to it by agreeing to answer any pertinent and relevant question you or your colleagues might have, but— rather than subscribing to your cloaked, one-sided process—he will appear at a public Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing,” Lowell said.
The committee on Tuesday said it expects Hunter Biden to appear for a closed-door deposition in addition to any public setting.
“Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won’t stand with House Republicans,” Comer said in a statement.
“Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date.”
Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), whose panel is also participating in the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden, concurred.
“We are glad that Hunter Biden has decided to cooperate and we look forward to hearing from him in a deposition on December 13 and subsequently at a public hearing,” he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary panels, along with the House Ways and Means Committee, are investigating the foreign business activities of Hunter Biden, President Biden’s brother, James Biden, and other family associates as part of an impeachment inquiry into the president.
The multi-pronged inquiry is investigating claims of improper influence peddling while Biden was vice president, whether any money flowed to his pocket from his family’s foreign business dealings, and claims that the tax crimes investigation into Hunter Biden was improperly slow-walked or stymied by the Department of Justice.
The Judiciary panel, led by Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), heard from special counsel David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who is investigating Hunter Biden, in a voluntary interview earlier this month.
The White House has repeatedly denied wrongdoing by the president, and has dubbed the impeachment inquiry “congressional harassment” for political purposes.
In addition to Hunter Biden, Oversight subpoenaed a swath of other Biden family members earlier in November, including the president’s brother, James Biden; Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen; and Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden.
Hunter Biden’s legal counsel has torn into the Oversight Committee’s investigation, writing that Comer’s probe is “turning up only dry holes.”
“A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements,” Lowell said in the letter.
“Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end. Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange,” Lowell continued. “From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves.”
pll/ro/dfm
