Hunter Biden walked into the House Oversight Committee hearing room with his attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris, and left about 15 minutes later, causing ire amongst House Republicans.
"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That's my first question," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said addressing the audience and the first son. "Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming into the oversight committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here."
Prior to his unexpected visit, the US president's son defied two congressional subpoenas. Hunter tried to make lawmakers play by his own rules and proposed testifying publicly instead of participating in a closed-door deposition.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, rejected Hunter's request, explaining that the first son would not have special treatment and that there would be a plethora of witnesses who would also testify.
Biden's surprise visit to the Capitol and as well as his earlier public statement outside the congressional premises are seen by Republicans as part of his strategy aimed at countering the GOP's impeachment effort as well as the ongoing investigation into the Biden family business dealings.
Per media outlet Axios, Hunter's legal team wants to demonstrate that the first son "is willing to publicly testify before Congress" and "tweak Republicans who say he's not cooperative." As a result, his visit created "a nationally televised frenzy" at the Capitol, according to the media outlet. Hunter is said to believe that his aggressive tactics could have helped his father, President Joe Biden, amid the ongoing 2024 presidential campaign and House GOP's effort to impeach him.
The media revealed that Hunter didn't inform White House aides about his plans to appear on the Capitol Hill and that the first son "went through a lengthy prep" before attending the hearing in case House Republicans decided to testify publicly.
"If he wanted to be clear that he was serious about testifying, then he should be at the hearing to make clear he was willing to testify," an individual familiar with his strategy told Axios.
The first son was also scheduled to be arraigned on tax changes in a California courtroom on Thursday. He is accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019.
Commenting on Hunter's surprise appearance at the hearing, Comer said: "Hunter Biden refused to comply with lawful subpoenas requiring him to appear for a deposition. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has shown he has no problem showing up on Capitol Hill to engage in political stunts."