Hunter Biden, in his lengthy testimony to Republican impeachment investigators, often blamed his addiction and suggested he was too high to remember specific events, once admitting he tried to get drunk “on a daily basis.” to take life.
Hunter, 54, spent six hours on Capitol Hill on Wednesday answering questions about his father Joe Biden's involvement in his foreign dealings as part of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry.
Top Republican James Comer, R-Ky., released the full transcript of his shocking testimony just 24 hours later, and the 200-plus page document is full of shocking information.
Hunter claimed he could not remember leaving his infamous laptop at the repair shop, was “drunk and high” and suicidal for most of his professional career, which he said eroded the boundaries between his personal and official messages to foreign employees blurred that the Republicans have taken up.
Hunter told investigators he couldn't remember ever dropping off his infamous laptop at a computer repair shop in Delaware and suggested he only ever took his laptops to the Apple store for repairs.
He also admitted that his father Joe made speakerphone calls to business associates and “friends” many times over the years, but insisted he was not involved in his shady dealings with Chinese, Ukrainians and others.
Hunter, 54, spent six hours on Capitol Hill on Wednesday answering questions about his father Joe Biden's involvement in his foreign dealings as part of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry
“Do you remember ever leaving a laptop at a repair shop?” Gaetz pressed. “I don’t,” Hunter said. The above image was found on Hunter's abandoned laptop
“I was about to drop off a laptop – I don't remember ever doing that, but if I wanted to drop off a laptop I would have gone to the Apple Store, which was seven minutes from my parents' house. ' he told Rep. Matt Gaetz during questioning Wednesday.
“Do you remember ever leaving a laptop at a repair shop?” Gaetz pressed. “I don’t,” Hunter said.
The first son admitted to calling his father on speakerphone many times over the years, but insisted there was “nothing nefarious” about it.
He also said he didn't remember discussing business with his father on such calls.
“I'm surprised my dad didn't call me right now, and if he did, I'd put him on speakerphone to say hello to you and Congressman Raskin and everyone else in the room.” “It's literally “Nothing shameful about the word,” Hunter said.
“My dad calls me, as I'm sure many of your parents do, or many of you do with your children, and when I'm around people who are friends with me, I say hello to him.”
Hunter also said he did not remember introducing his father to Ye Jianming, the founder of Chinese state-owned conglomerate CEFC, at a meeting at the Four Seasons, as former employee Rob Walker previously testified.
“I don’t remember introducing my father to Ye Jianming. But I think that – that – I don't remember – any meeting,” Hunter said.
“Rob Walker testified that there was a meeting with Ye Jianming, your father, at the Four Seasons and that you were also present,” the questioner continued. “You don’t remember that?”
“When was the date of that meeting?” Hunter asked, adding, “I don’t remember the date of the meeting.”
He also insisted that his deal with CEFC was “completely legitimate and 100 percent in line with my experience and skills.”
He said it was also “done when my father wasn’t even in office.” He was not in office. It had nothing to do with my father.'
Hunter also addressed claims that his father received 10 percent of a business contract with CEFC, saying he didn't know “what the hell” his partner James Gilliar was talking about.
And he firmly denied ever referring to Joe as “the big guy.”
In a 2017 email to Hunter, his Uncle Jim and other business partners regarding a deal with Chinese energy company CEFC, business partner James Gilliar noted that the “big guy” would receive a 10 percent share of the lucrative deal.
Another former associate of the first son, US Navy veteran Tony Bobulinski, publicly claimed in October 2020 that “big guy” was a reference to President Biden.
But Hunter confirmed the email exchange about “10 that H had for the big guy” during the interview, but insisted it wasn't about his father and that he never “read the entirety” of the exchange.
“I'm not even sure I've ever read it all the way through.” All I know is that my answer has nothing to do with my father. “It's absolutely zero – my answer doesn't mention any additional determination of the percentages that would go to my father or anything like that,” he explained.
“It wasn’t about my father,” he explained.
“I think it was exactly like Rob Walker said. I think that was a thing of the future. For example: “Joe Biden is not in the office.” “Maybe we can get him involved.”
“Remember again, for the first time in 48 years, Joe Biden is not an elected official and is not seeking office.” And so James is probably wondering, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to have a former vice president join us in our business.” could be?”
“And I say you’re crazy. My dad knows less about cross-border activities, blah, blah, blah, than he does about – I mean, it's just ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous.
“And so I turned it off,” Hunter said.
When asked later in the interview if he ever called Joe “Big Guy,” Hunter replied, “No, I never called him that.”
Hunter insisted his deal with CEFC was “completely legitimate and 100 percent in line with my experience and skills.”
He also stated that during his dealings with CEFC and others, he was “high and drunk” much of the time and struggled with suicidal thoughts.
Hunter was asked to explain a text message he sent to his eldest daughter Naomi in 2019 in which he complained about having to give Joe “half” of his salary. He also threatened to never give her a cent again.
“No, I don’t remember sending that,” he told Rep. Gaetz when presented with the text exchange.
He said that back then he was “trying to kill myself literally every day.” '
“It had nothing to do with the business.” “It had nothing to do with anything,” he continued.
He also stated that during his dealings with CEFC and others, he was “high and drunk” much of the time and struggled with suicidal thoughts
Pictures of drugs were found on Hunter's abandoned laptop
“I'm complaining in every way possible, screaming at the world, literally in complete agony. And my beautiful daughter is literally trying to save my life and hold out my hand.”
“And I go on a tirade and a tirade and I act like a child and I say things that I never, ever, never, ever want to have read because they have nothing whatsoever to do with the truth of the Way. “ that I think of my father, who was also literally trying to save my life at that time. And so I don't know what you're trying to achieve here.'
At one point, Hunter got into a tense argument with Gaetz, who is under investigation for drug use and sex with underage girls.
“Did you take drugs when you were on the Burisma board?” Gaetz asked.
Hunter shot back, “Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eyes. Do you really think it's appropriate to ask me?'
“Absolutely,” Gaetz said.
“Of all the people sitting at this table, do you think it's appropriate to ask me?” Hunter said.
'Yes. Are you going to answer that?' Gaetz said.
“You don’t have to answer,” said Hunter’s attorney, Abbe Lowell. “I won’t answer,” Hunter said.
Next, Hunter Biden will hold a public hearing after his six-hour deposition revealed “many inconsistencies” about Joe's involvement in his son's shady business dealings, says top Republican James Comer.
Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is leading the investigation into whether Joe Biden used his position and “brand” to enrich his family in a complex $20 million “influence peddling” scheme.
He told reporters after Hunter's six-hour testimony “proved several parts of our evidence,” adding: “Next, we will hold a public hearing.”
“I think a public hearing will hopefully clarify some discrepancies between some of the statements made by some employees and what we heard today.”
Hunter also admitted he was “high or drunk” when he sent his infamous incriminating WhatsApp message saying he was “sitting here with my dad” as he demanded money from Chinese company CEFC.
Hunter left Capitol Hill after a grueling day of interrogation with a slight grin on his face
He did not respond to called questions about whether he would attend an expected public hearing
Hunter stood behind his attorney, Abbe Lowell, at the end of the statement
It was a common thread from Hunter throughout the statement, in which he spoke “at length” about his addiction, according to the source.
Hunter reportedly told deputies that he was “embarrassed now” by the message and that his father, Joe, was not sitting next to him when he sent it.
Unlike his previous trips to the Hill in December and January, which sparked the ire of Republicans, he did not engage in media stunt antics.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said today's testimony shows Republicans have “no evidence.”
“The Republican majority is ending the day where it began.” “They have presented no evidence to support the belief that there were any financial transactions between Hunter and his father,” he told reporters after the testimony.
“It seems to me that Republican lawmakers wanted to spend more time talking about my client's addiction than … anything to do with what they call their impeachment inquiry.”
However, Republicans believe the testimony went well.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters that Hunter lied in the deposition about his involvement with Blue Star Strategies, a consulting firm that worked with Ukrainian energy company Burisma, where Hunter held a position on the board.
“One thing that was interesting to me is that he lied when he talked about Blue Star Strategies,” she told reporters. “He initially denied any involvement until we presented him with evidence that he was indeed involved.”
Asked whether major crimes and misdemeanors were uncovered at the closed session, Greene replied: “Influence peddling… We can see that he sold his father's name and business.”
The president's son, a recovering drug addict, also ignored a shouted question about whether the cocaine found in the White House last summer was his.
Hunter fiercely defended his father from Republican investigators and stated emphatically, “I did not involve my father in my business,” according to his opening statement obtained by .
He detailed how Joe, who “saved” his life, was there during his “darkest days of addiction,” which were politicized by the Republican Party to use in their “sham” impeachment process.
“You have no evidence to support the baseless and MAGA-motivated conspiracies about my father because there is none,” he continued.
He continued to criticize Republicans, saying their “house of cards” was “built on lies” as a bombshell erupted during testimony before Congress.
Meanwhile, Democrats called the impeachment inquiry an “embarrassment” for Republicans, adding that their pursuit of the president's son was nothing more than a “wild goose chase.”
But Democrats have repeatedly called the impeachment inquiry a fraud and a waste of time.
“It’s just so embarrassing that Republicans continue to be on this wild goose chase for President Biden,” progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, said Wednesday morning before taking the stand.
“I mean, they act like Hunter Biden is running for president.”
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, enters a federal building before being deposed amid an impeachment inquiry into his father
House Democrats, during Hunter Biden's testimony before Congress, called the ongoing impeachment inquiry an “embarrassment” for Republicans, adding that their pursuit of the president's son was nothing more than a “wild goose chase.”
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez said the Republican-led investigation was flawed because one of the key informants in the case had ties to Russian intelligence
Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Raskin have come out strongly in support of President Biden
Some Democrats who attended the testimony also told reporters that the session was lackluster.
“If you ever wonder why 50 percent of this country doesn't vote, you need look no further than the hour we just spent there making that statement,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, said after the Leave the closed meeting after one hour.
The first hour of testimony “was the nail in the coffin for a complete, fake, sham impeachment inquiry,” Rep. Daniel Goldman said after leaving office.
Republicans are so desperate to humiliate the president that they have started asking him for personal details about a divorce that took place nearly a decade ago. That’s what it’s been reduced to,” Rep. Eric Swalwell of California told reporters.
One of the leading Democrats opposing the investigation, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the hearing was a “tremendous waste” of time and resources.
This was a “comedy of errors” from the start, he explained.
He said he “understood” why Hunted wanted to testify publicly after sitting through the first three hours of testimony.
Raskin also said there was “paranoid suspicion” that Republicans were focused on the Hunters' 20-plus loudspeaker business phone calls, which Joe participated in.
Republicans, meanwhile, said the president's son was not forthcoming.
Hunter Biden was “defiant and dishonest” in his testimony, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-R-S.C., said after she left the room.
Democrats also condemned Republicans' use of information from former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov in the investigation, as he was recently accused of having ties to Russian intelligence services.
Smirnov “lied” about an alleged Biden family bribery scheme involving Ukrainians and had “high-level contacts with Russian intelligence officials,” prosecutors said.
The bogus bribery scheme, which involved a $10 million payment to Joe and Hunter by a top Ukrainian oil executive, was the focus of the Republican's impeachment efforts until a few days ago.
Last week, special counsel David Weiss accused Smirnov of lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden accepting bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
“Their primary source was collaboration with Russian intelligence services,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Wednesday.
“The fact that Republicans have received this information, the entire country has received this information, and they are still moving forward with their impeachment proceedings and investigations should raise alarm for the entire country.”
Progressives likened the impeachment inquiry to a “deep-sea fishing expedition.”