SAUNDERS: Hunter Biden cameo at contempt hearing creates bipartisan circus

Las Vegas Review-Journal

11 months ago

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell, sits in the f ... — Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell, sits in the front row at a House Oversight Committee hearing as Republicans are taking the first step toward holding him in contempt of Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell, talks to reporters as they leave a House Oversight Committee hearing as Republicans are taking the first step toward holding him in contempt of Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair Rep. James Comer R-Ky., right, speaks as ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.,, left looks on, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., walks to join other members of the House Oversight Committee after Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Biden insisted outside the Capitol on Wednesday he’ll only testify in public. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks at the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republicans who lead the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee announced Friday that they will hold votes on contempt charges against Hunter Biden as the GOP moves into the final stages of its impeachment inquiry. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., speaks at the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing as Republicans take the first step toward holding Hunter Bidenn in contempt of Congress during a markup session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden is under the skin of House Republicans. He made a surprise cameo Wednesday morning at a House Oversight hearing, where members were considering holding him in contempt of Congress.

As the hearing started, President Joe Biden’s son sat in the front row next to attorney Abbe Lowell. After a matter of minutes, Biden and Lowell left the proceedings.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., dismissed Hunter Biden’s brief presence as a “PR stunt.”

Thing is, it was a PR stunt that worked. It made Biden seem sympathetic and Republicans unhinged.

“My first question is, who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C, asked. She said she believed the president’s son should be sent to jail.

In the hallway, Lowell later told reporters, “Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father.” Lowell also said the legal team offered to work with the committee to address “any legitimate inquiry.”

As Lowell talked, a heckler shouted questions about the younger Biden’s one-time crack cocaine use.

Hunter Biden has said that he would testify before the committee, but only publicly, lest Republicans selectively leak his comments. House Republicans rightly counter that committees, not witnesses, get to decide such things.

When Democrats controlled the House, they held former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress. And a Washington jury found the two guilty.

Which means the Republicans have every right to throw the book at Hunter Biden. To get the public to believe that the lobbyist-turned-artist has an obligation to testify when subpoenaed — even if he takes the Fifth Amendment — all House Republicans needed to do was show the importance of congressional oversight.

Alas, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., saw an opportunity to seize the limelight. She held up posters of alleged nude selfies taken by the president’s son. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused Greene of posting “revenge porn.”

“This is not ‘The Jerry Springer Show,’” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking Democrat, countered. But thanks to MTG and Mace, it pretty much was.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., responded by displaying a photo of former President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At least they were clothed.

Remember the days when you used to see members of Congress repeating the same talking points over and over again?

Now there are too many freelancers and showboats who distract from the real issue.

When and after Joe Biden was vice president, his son Hunter was a walking “for sale” sign who invited dubious foreign interests to pay him obscene amounts of money because they wanted access to a man who actually might be president. Both Bidens saw nothing wrong with that arrangement. They still don’t, and neither do House Democrats.

It’s all about winning. And getting under GOP skin.

Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.