The two Republican chairs of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees have accused Hunter Biden of seeking preferential treatment. They claim that by requesting to testify publicly instead of in a private deposition, he is attempting to avoid a deposition in front of the committees overseeing President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry. Their letter addressed to Hunter Biden’s attorney, obtained by NBC News, conveyed their dissatisfaction with his proposed testimonial arrangement, as they had previously sent a subpoena for a closed-door deposition for the president’s son.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, expressed the view in response to the Republican lawmakers’ request, stating in a letter that Hunter was open to a public hearing instead of a private deposition. But the Republican chairs countered, insisting that the terms of the subpoenas, House rules, and Committee policies all pointed to a deposition, not a public hearing. They stressed that demanding such treatment was effectively dictating to the committees how they should conduct their investigation. They also dated Hunter Biden to confirm if he could appear for the closed-door deposition.
The GOP chairs expressed their intention to videotape the deposition to ensure transparency and later release the transcript. However, the lawyer raised concerns about the transparency of a private deposition. They expressed doubt that the closed-door sessions could distort the facts and misinform the public.
The Republican lawmakers maintained that Hunter Biden’s business dealings were related to his father’s official actions, implying a conflict of interest. Nevertheless, they had yet to establish concrete evidence of any wrongdoing by President Joe Biden. Despite this, House Republicans were poised to proceed with the impeachment inquiry by authorizing the probe as early as next week.
This article was first published on NBCNews.com
