“Where's Hunter?” asked Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign, referring to his political rival's son, as Joe Biden's son recalled today. “I’m here,” Hunter Biden said this Wednesday in the Capitol. The president's son was subpoenaed today by a House committee investigating his business dealings and whether they benefited his father. Hunter Biden has appeared at the doors of Congress. He has expressed a willingness to appear at a public hearing, something Republican members of Congress do not want, but he has refused to testify behind closed doors. In a press statement, for which he did not allow any questions, he disqualified attempts to link his father to his companies: “You have no shame.”
Under pressure from the party's hardliners, the previous President of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, ordered impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden to be initiated in September. However, he dared not put it up for a vote for fear that moderate Republicans would reject it. Three commissions have begun their work, but they still have not found the evidence against the president that they have been looking for for years. Furthermore, since the investigation was not officially approved by the plenary session, the binding nature of its conditions and subpoenas is questionable.
This lack of legitimacy has allowed Hunter Biden to refuse to testify behind closed doors. Republicans, now with Mike Johnson as House Speaker, plan to formalize the investigation with a floor vote this Wednesday, believing they are now ready to close ranks.
In this context, Hunter Biden appeared at the doors of the Capitol this Wednesday morning and made a statement that became a kind of summary of the prologue of his book “Beautiful Things”. In this memoir, he recounts his descent into the hell of alcoholism and drug addiction following the death of his brother and his subsequent rehabilitation with the help of his family.
Biden said he refused to appear behind closed doors to avoid “distortions, manipulated evidence and lies” in the “illegitimate investigations” of House committees. “I am here today to acknowledge that I have made mistakes in my life and missed opportunities and privileges that were given to me. I bear responsibility for that. And that's why I'm making amends. But I am also here today to correct how the Masquerade has portrayed me for their political purposes. I am, above all, a son, a father, a brother and a husband. From a loving and understanding family. I am proud to have earned degrees from Georgetown University and Yale Law School. I am proud of my legal and business career. I am proud to have served on a dozen boards. And I am proud of my efforts to build global business relationships,” he said in his speech.
“MAGA Republican for six years [las siglas del lema de Donald Trump, Make America Great Again], including members of House committees currently in closed session, have questioned my character, invaded my privacy, and attacked my wife, children, family, and friends. They mocked my struggle with addiction. They have belittled my recovery and attempted to dehumanize me, all to shame and harm my father, who dedicated his entire life to public service. For six years I have been the target of Trump's relentless attack machine that screams, 'Where's Hunter?' Well, here's my answer: Here I am.”
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
The president's son later defended his father: “Let me say it as clearly as I can. My father had no financial involvement in my businesses, either as a practicing lawyer or as a member of the board of Burisma [una empresa energética ucrania], nor in my association with a Chinese private entrepreneur, nor in my investments at home or abroad and certainly not as an artist,” he said, emphasizing his support: “During my battle with addiction, my parents were there for me.” Page . They literally saved my life. “They helped me in ways that I can never repay them for, and of course they would never expect me to.”
Hunter Biden is charged with three felony counts in Delaware for illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while addicted to drugs and another nine felony counts in California for tax fraud after a failed plea deal that he agreed to admit would not have resulted in his incarceration.
“In the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances. But to suggest that this is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond absurd and shameless. There is no evidence to support the claim that my father had a financial stake in my company because that did not happen. James Comer, Jim Jordan, Jason Smith [líderes republicanos de las comisiones que han acometido la investigación] and their colleagues distorted the facts by selecting lines from a bank statement, manipulating messages I sent, editing the statements of my friends and former employees, and misrepresenting personal information stolen from me,” he said before giving his Tone raised.
“There is no justice or decency in what these Republicans are doing. They have lied repeatedly about every aspect of my personal and professional life, so much so that their lies have become false facts that too many people believe. No matter how many times it is denied, they continue to insist that my father's support for Ukraine against Russia is the result of a non-existent bribery. At a supervisory hearing they showed nude photos of me. And they have taken the light of my Father's love for me and portrayed it as something dark. “You have no shame,” he denounced.
Hunter Biden said he accepted the offer to participate in depositions or public hearings at his own discretion, as Republicans had initially suggested. “I have decided that I am here today to testify at a public hearing and answer all of the Commission's legitimate questions. Republicans don't want an open trial where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless investigations, or hear what I have to say. What are you afraid of? “I’m here, I’m ready,” he finished.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_