This is not what will restore Americans’ trust in their institutions. Two Republican-dominated parliamentary committees recommended Wednesday that US President Joe Biden's son be convicted of obstructing Congress' investigative powers, after one of the hearings became an open hearing when Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance there.
The House Oversight Committee was discussing a resolution in the morning when Biden Jr., a main target of Republican opposition, stormed into the Capitol flanked by his lawyer. Hunter Biden is facing criticism from conservatives for refusing to take part in a closed congressional hearing on his financial interests abroad. He is calling for a public hearing while Republicans have launched impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden.
He faces two charges, including one for tax evasion, and Republicans accuse him of conducting dubious deals in Ukraine and China by profiting from his father's networks and name.
“You don’t have any balls.”
“Who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” introduced Nancy Mace, Republican-elect from South Carolina. “You are the embodiment of white privilege, coming here before the committee, spitting in our faces and ignoring a parliamentary subpoena that is supposed to be heard. What are you afraid of ? “You have no guts,” she even went so far as to tell the president’s son.
Democrat Jared Moskowitz listed one by one the subpoenas ignored by Republicans in the investigation into the Capitol attack, including three current members of the Judiciary Committee. “We can hear it now. Let's vote and listen to Hunter Biden. What are you afraid of ? ” he continued, noting that Republicans opposed a public hearing.
Then his colleague Eric Swalwell took out his watch and indicated that it had been 608 days since Commission Chairman Jim Jordan ignored his subpoena about the call he received from Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. to testify.
Shortly afterwards, as Trump-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene prepared to speak, Hunter Biden left the room. “What a coward,” she commented.
The Justice Department may have to decide »
At the end of the day, the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee each passed a resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Hunter Biden guilty of obstructing Congress' investigative powers.
If Republicans close ranks and the House approves the text, it would be up to the Justice Department to decide whether or not to indict the president's son, as it did for former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon.