GOP Refusing Public Hunter Biden Hearing Over Worries Party May Be ‘Implicated'
00:21 GMT 09.12.2023 (Updated: 00:26 GMT 09.12.2023)
© AP Photo / Aaron Doster
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On Thursday, Hunter Biden was charged by a federal grand jury in California on nine charges, including three felonies and six misdemeanors. The charges are in addition to previous federal firearms charges in Delaware related to a gun he purchased in 2018.
The Republican Party's refusal to hold a public hearing with Hunter Biden stems from the GOP's fear that testimony revelations could ultimately implicate party members and shed negative light during an election year, an activist told Sputnik on Friday.
Sabrina Salvati, an activist and former educator, sat down with Sputnik’s Political Misfits to share her thoughts on Thursday’s indictment against Hunter Biden, as well as the GOP’s planned impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
“I think this is a way for them to get Hunter Biden on something,” said Salvati when asked if a “normal” person would be charged in this manner, or if Biden’s social status put a particular target on his back.
“This is small compared to his business dealings with Ukraine,” Salvati explained. “They’re trying to at least get him on something because it seems like they’re not going to be able to get him in reference to the business dealings in Ukraine - at least, not before Joe Biden were to possibly leave office in 2024.”
“And those charges, actually, in reference to the Ukraine business dealings, would actually implicate Joe Biden as well. So it seems like they’re trying to find something to get Hunter Biden on. So I don’t know whether this is really going to pass. And I also noticed Hunter Biden is agreeing to testify and wants to do so publicly, whereas the Republicans want to do so privately,” she continued.
“Hunter Biden probably knows that he’s not going to be to be convicted here, that it’s just going to be a hearing, and he seems a bit comfortable or confident that this is going to go his way.”
8 December 2023, 22:22 GMT
When asked why Republicans seem committed to having Hunter Biden testify privately, Salvati explained that it could be because Hunter Biden will “not go down alone.”
“It could be because Hunter Biden would most likely not go down alone, he could take other people with him. There could be information Hunter Biden and his lawyers are prepared to reveal that could implicate Republicans, and that’s kind of what’s in the back of my mind.”
“If that were to happen and he did take other people down with him - and it wasn’t good for the Republican party - well then you have this public display and there will be a public outcry as well towards the Republican party,” Salvati explained, adding that it would most likely create an atmosphere of criticism towards the GOP.
“I do not think this is contempt against Congress, though,” she said, adding that Biden's willingness to testify does not necessarily draw out a contempt against Congress charge.
Salvati further explained there may also be some Republicans who don’t want “too much negative attention” to go towards President Biden, because they don’t want former US President Donald Trump to be elected to the Oval Office.
“I really don’t think that Hunter Biden is actually going to be convicted,” she continued. “I’m pretty sure he’s probably lawyered up, there’s been a lot of time that has passed for him to make sure he has all his ducks in a row, and I think that’s why he is so willing to testify.”
8 December 2023, 19:45 GMT
She then explained it would be “back to the drawing board” for Republicans.
Salvati also emphasized the importance of having Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine investigated, adding it would likely implicate President Biden. She noted prosecutors will oftentimes try and convict a criminal of a lesser charge if they have difficulty in proving bigger charges.
Thursday’s charges allege Biden not only engaged in a scheme in order to evade $1.4 million in taxes, but that he also “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.”
Now, Biden could face two criminal trials next year as his father runs for reelection against an embroiled Trump. The charges against Biden carry a maximum possible prison term of 17 years.
At the same time, House Republicans are attempting to connect President Biden to his son’s foreign business dealings as part of an impeachment inquiry. Republicans are threatening to charge the younger Biden in contempt of Congress if he fails to appear for a private deposition at the Capitol. They have refused his offer to publicly testify.
"Contrary to the assertions in your letter, there is no 'choice' for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committees will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings," Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote in a letter to Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell.
