The president’s son, Hunter Biden, faces a contempt of Congress charge vote in the U.S. House of Representatives amid mounting evidence and criticism.
The House Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committees drafted resolutions to hold the son of the president in contempt of Congress after he refused to attend a private deposition last month. Instead, Hunter gave brief remarks outside the U.S. Capitol.
The two committees this week approved the contempt of Congress resolutions, which could lead to federal criminal charges for Hunter Biden, who already faces federal tax and gun charges.
Hunter Biden sparked headlines when he attended the Congressional hearing Wednesday to mark up that contempt resolution.
“We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name,” House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said in his opening remarks.
Hunter later walked out with his legal team in the middle of that hearing amidst attacks from Republicans.
“You are the epitome of White privilege,” U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Hunter Biden during the hearing. “Coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of?”
Democrats have pushed back and criticized Republicans, in particular U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6 investigation.
“If Hunter Biden’s failure to appear for testimony is a criminal act, why is Jim Jordan doing the exact same thing only worthy of a shrug?” U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said at the hearing. “That’s the question of the day. And so far, House Republicans have no answer.”
The blockbuster Wednesday hearing came just days after the Oversight Committee released private testimony from Hunter Biden’s art gallerist. Comer said the testimony showed the White House lied about an ethics agreement regarding the art sales from Hunter’s art work, which sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
“The vast majority of Hunter Biden’s art has been purchased by Democrat donors, one of whom was appointed by President Biden to a prestigious commission after she purchased Hunter Biden’s art for tens of thousands of dollars shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration,” Comer said. “The White House has a lot of explaining to do about misleading the American people.”
This gallerist’s testimony is the latest development in the ongoing Congressional investigation into the Biden family. Comer has publicly said that the Biden family and associates brought in more than $20 from entities in China, Russia, Ukraine and other nations.
Comer says that money was likely funneled at least in part to the president with evidence of more than $200,000 going to Joe Biden, though how connected those payments were to Hunter’s dealings remains inconclusive.