Hunter Biden agrees to testify before Comer committee
Hunter Biden has agreed to testify before Rep. James Comer’s Oversight Committee on Dec. 13 “or any date in December that we can arrange,” according to a letter from his attorney released Tuesday.
The letter from Abbe David Lowell is in response to the Kentucky Republican’s request earlier this month for the president’s son to testify about his foreign business dealings and to what extent, if any, President Joe Biden was involved in them.
“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. wrote.
Lowell’s push for the hearing to take place in public underscores his suspicion that a closed-door session could be weaponized by Republicans through leaks to “distort the facts and misinform the public.”
“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 wrote.
Comer, in a statement released Tuesday morning by committee spokeswoman Jessica Collins, said Hunter Biden was trying to “play by his own rules.”
“That won’t stand with House Republicans. 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 [the] opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date,” Comer said.
He suggested he would continue to pursue a private interview at the outset.
Comer’s pursuit of Hunter Biden is part of his larger impeachment inquiry of the president, which has been hampered by a lack of compelling evidence and a Congress consumed by government funding deadlines and House Speaker drama throughout the fall.
Even conservative Republicans are openly acknowledging the impeachment inquiry has grown futile.
“I do not believe that you’re probably going to be able to get an impeachment, a removal of President Biden,” said Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana on Fox Business.
“There is very little evidence to no evidence that suggests that Hunter Biden actually shared the money he got with Joe Biden so that Joe Biden would do something or that Joe Biden knew that Hunter Biden was getting money,” GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado told Fox News’ Trey Gowdy in September.
But Comer appears determined on continuing his inquiry, as evidenced by the long list of subpoenas and requests for interviews he has issued.
In addition to Hunter Biden, those include his uncle James Biden, Hunter’s brother’s widow Hallie, Hunter’s spouse Melissa Cohen, Hunter’s lawyer Kevin Morris, three former business partners and two Biden campaign donors.
Amid the impeachment inquiry, Hunter Biden is still facing his own legal woes, being criminally charged for illegally owning a gun while he was using drugs.
But Comer has insisted that his focus has always been on “the big dog,” referring to the president himself.
