Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, is willing to testify publicly to the House Oversight Committee, but the Republican chairman says he wants to question the president’s son behind closed doors, not in public. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Hunter Biden is willing to testify in a public hearing before the House Oversight Committee, a lawyer for the president’s son said Tuesday.
Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing Hunter Biden, disclosed the offer in a letter in response to a subpoena this month that is seeking a deposition, which would take place behind closed doors. It is a striking escalation in the battle between the president’s son and congressional Republicans, who have focused on his past business dealings and have launched impeachment hearings aimed at President Biden.
Lowell’s three-page letter cited past comments from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the committee, that essentially dared Hunter Biden to come and testify in public.
“Mr. Chairman, we take you up on your offer,” Lowell wrote, in a copy of the letter reviewed by The Washington Post. “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.”
“A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements,” Lowell added.
In a statement later Tuesday morning, Comer indicated that he would not comply with Biden’s request that the deposition be done in public.
“Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else,” he said. “That won’t stand with House Republicans.”
The committee expects Hunter Biden to appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13, Comer said, adding that “Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date.”
Rep. Jamie B. Raskin of Maryland, the committee’s top Democrat, said Comer’s response shows Republicans have no confidence in their own case and fear the exposure a public hearing would bring.
“Let me get this straight,” Raskin said in a statement. “After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose?”
Much of the letter from Lowell is combative, citing past statements from Comer and noting that the chairman has never taken Lowell up on offers to hold a meeting.
“Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end,” Lowell wrote. “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.”
“From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless,” he added. “However, the American people should see that for themselves.”
The House Oversight Committee earlier this month issued subpoenas for Hunter Biden and James Biden, requesting that the president’s son and brother appear for depositions as part of the committee’s investigation into the Biden family’s finances.
The committee has asked James Biden to appear for an interview on Dec. 6 and Hunter Biden to appear on Dec. 13.
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