White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say if the White House had advanced knowledge that Hunter Biden would visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say if the White House had advanced knowledge that Hunter Biden would visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday to sit in a meeting to consider a resolution that would hold him in contempt of Congress, saying the first son “makes his own decisions.”
Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee’s meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena for a closed-door deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
The subpoena was for a deposition on Dec. 13. Hunter Biden had offered to testify publicly — an offer rejected by House Republicans, citing the setting for other witness interviews, and vowing to release a transcript of his deposition.
The president’s son, instead of complying with the subpoena, delivered a public statement on Capitol Hill and did not appear for his deposition.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden and his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel considered whether to pass the resolution out of committee. He and his attorneys ultimately left before the vote on the resolution.
When asked during the White House press briefing if President Biden or his staff was informed that his son would appear for the committee markup, Jean-Pierre did not respond, but said he is a “private citizen.”
“So here’s what I’ll say. And I’ve said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen, he’s not a member of this White House,” Jean-Pierre said.
