Hunter Biden testifies in GOP impeachment inquiry: ‘I did not involve my father in my business’

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, testified behind closed doors Wednesday in the Republican-led impeachment inquiry of his father, saying the elder Biden was never involved in his business.

>> Read more trending news

In his opening statement, obtained by Axios, Hunter Biden accused Republicans of having “built your entire partisan house of cards on lies.”

“I am here today to provide the Committees with the one uncontestable fact that should end the false premise of this inquiry: I did not involve my father in my business,” he said. “Not while I was a practicing lawyer, not in my investments or transactions domestic or international, not as a board member, and not as an artist. Never.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told reporters on Wednesday that Hunter Biden was being “defiant and dishonest” in his deposition and that his testimony was “in direct conflict with other witnesses,” CNN reported. She did not immediately elaborate.

Lawmakers voted in December to formalize the impeachment inquiry into the president, which is focused on whether he and his family engaged in corrupt business practices. President Biden has denied the allegations, with the White House calling the inquiry “illegitimate.” His brother, James Biden, testified last week that the president was never involved in his business dealings, The Washington Post reported. Several other associates of the president’s son and brother have made similar statements under oath, according to the newspaper.

“Rather than follow the facts as they have been laid out before you in bank records, financial statements, correspondence and other witness testimony, you continue your frantic search to prove the lies you, and those you rely on, keep peddling,” Hunter Biden said Wednesday in his opening statement. “Yes, they are lies.”

Republicans have pursued Hunter Biden for years, digging into his business dealings and highlighting his struggle with drug addiction, The New York Times reported. He acknowledged his challenges in his opening statement, saying he has “made mistakes in my life, and I have squandered opportunities and privileges that were afforded to me.”

“My mistakes and shortcomings are my own and not my father’s, who has done nothing but devote his entire life to public service and trying to make this country a better place to live,” he said.

The deposition also marks a turning point in the inquiry. Before, Hunter Biden repeatedly declined to sit for a private hearing, insisting his questioning be done in public. Last month, the House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary moved to hold him in contempt after he failed to appear for a private hearing in December.

Hunter Biden is facing criminal charges in Delaware, where has been charged with federal gun crimes, and in California, where he is accused of tax offenses.

© 2024 Cox Media Group