Hunter defies subpoena

[George K]

Lock him up...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/13/impeachment-inquiry-vote-hunter-biden-subpoena/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert

Hunter Biden will not appear for a closed-door deposition Wednesday, defying a subpoena from House Republicans who are investigating the Biden family’s finances.

“I’m here to testify at a public hearing today," Hunter Biden said in a statement outside of the Capitol Wednesday morning. "Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics … or hear what I have to say.”

The decision comes ahead of an expected vote in the GOP-led House later Wednesday to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, intended to strengthen the oversight powers of lawmakers.

Hunter Biden has maintained that he would only answer questions in a public hearing. His legal team has pointed to past comments in which House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) all but dared Hunter Biden to testify — publicly or privately — and the team has said they don’t trust House Republicans not to selectively leak his testimony.

[Mik]

The sad thing is he’s probably right.

[jon-nyc]

the team has said they don’t trust House Republicans not to selectively leak his testimony.

Who here would?

[Jolly]

So...It's ok for Dems but not the GOP?

Okay...

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Hunter defies subpoena:

the team has said they don’t trust House Republicans not to selectively leak his testimony.

Under oath...God forbid we would find out what REALLY happened. Best to hide it, amirite?

But to your point, of course it would leak. This is Sparta Washington!

[jon-nyc]

He's happy to testify under oath. He just wants to do it publicly. Its the GOP that doesn't want it aired.

[jon-nyc]

His point isn't that it would leak - its that it would selectively leak.

[Mik]

This stuff has been aired publicly in great detail for several years. I see no reason for secrecy now. It either has legs or it doesn't. Sunshine, disinfectant, so on.

Jolly, I do not want a continuation of the craven behavior we've seen on the part of both parties. Someone has to be the one to return integrity over guerilla warfare.

[Copper]

This proves he is guilty, of something.

[Renauda]

@Copper said in Hunter defies subpoena:

This proves he is guilty, of something.

What? Urinating in a public space like virtually every male the world over?

And don’t try to say you never have.

[Jolly]

@Mik said in Hunter defies subpoena:

This stuff has been aired publicly in great detail for several years. I see no reason for secrecy now. It either has legs or it doesn't. Sunshine, disinfectant, so on.

Jolly, I do not want a continuation of the craven behavior we've seen on the part of both parties. Someone has to be the one to return integrity over guerilla warfare.

This is politics. There is no integrity.

It's Chicago Rules.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Hunter defies subpoena:

His point isn't that it would leak - its that it would selectively leak.

We wouldn't want to shape a narrative, would we?

[George K]

NYT: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not involved in my business.”

Hunter: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business.

[George K]

Remember when closed-door testimony was a good thing if part of an impeachment investigation?

Good times, good times.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/12/donald-trump-jr-testifies-at-senate-intelligence-committee-on-russia.html

[George K]

@George-K said in Hunter defies subpoena:

Lock him up...

[Jolly]

@George-K said in Hunter defies subpoena:

Remember when closed-door testimony was a good thing if part of an impeachment investigation?

Good times, good times.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/12/donald-trump-jr-testifies-at-senate-intelligence-committee-on-russia.html

Impeachment, hell.

Every deposition for the January 6th "Bipartisan" Committee was done behind closed doors in the basement.

[taiwan_girl]

The bipartisan House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot has taken the unprecedented step of issuing subpoenas for five GOP lawmakers, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.
The other lawmakers are Reps. Scott Perry (Pa.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.).

“Regrettably, the individuals receiving subpoenas today have refused....

[Jolly]

Contempt of Congress.

[George K]

I've heard rumors that The Big Guy helped Hunter craft his refusal to comply with the subpoena.

More obvious is that Fang Fang's boyfriend DID help.

Are those impeachable acts?

[George K]

More on Swalwell:

As first reported by the Washington Examiner, Swalwell used his official position to reserve the space for the press conference and lent his assistance to Hunter in refusing to appear before the House committees investigating his father, President Biden. It was a curious role for a former House impeachment manager to play in assisting in the obstruction of an impeachment inquiry of three House committees.

Of course, Swalwell has argued for the rounding up of anyone who aided and abetted the unlawful conduct during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Indeed, in 2021 Swalwell sponsored a resolution exploring whether dozens of Republican colleagues could be expelled under the 14th Amendment for aiding and abetting an insurrection by “making unsubstantiated claims of systematic election and voter fraud.”

Now, Swalwell was standing in front of the same building aiding and abetting both a potential crime and the obstruction of congressional proceedings.

Swalwell insisted that it was the fault of the House for insisting on a closed-door deposition, which he portrayed as outrageous. It was another hypocritical moment since the Democrats insisted on the same process for witnesses, including those who appeared before the Jan. 6th committee.

It was also how Swalwell and his colleagues handled the investigation of the Ukrainian telephone call by Trump. Indeed, Swalwell participated in closed depositions and then gave interviews after they were held in private.

Swalwell has long courted controversy. Republicans tossed him off the House Intelligence Committee due to his purported affair with an alleged Chinese spy named Fang Fang.

This is different. Swalwell was not charged in the Chinese affair, including by the House Ethics Committee. This was a criminal act directed against the House itself.

Recently, the House censored Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a fire alarm before a major vote. Here Swalwell played a key role in obstructing a major House investigation. Where Bowman’s offense was treated as a misdemeanor, Hunter’s offense is a felony.

Swalwell did not simply facilitate a crime, he went out of his way to associate himself with it.