Hunter Biden is changing his mind about his demand to testify publicly before congress to discuss his foreign business dealings.
The younger Biden rejected an invitation from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) to testify publicly later this month alongside former business partners Devon Archer, Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis.
“Your blatant planned-for-media event is not a proper proceeding but an obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended,” Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe D. Lowell wrote Wednesday in a letter to Comer.
Lowell criticized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and claimed the witnesses who came forward undermined the possibility Joe Biden was involved in his son’s foreign business dealings.
“President Biden has done nothing wrong and certainly nothing, even in your misapplication of the impeachment provisions of the Constitution, to warrant further proceedings,” Lowell said.
“As Mr. Biden said numerous times, backed up by an accurate reference to the records in the Committees’ possession, his father was never involved in or derived any financial benefit from Mr. Biden’s businesses.”
Hunter Biden testified last month and confirmed his father met multiple foreign business partners during his vice presidency. The younger Biden defended putting his father on speakerphone with his business partners and repeatedly said his dad played no part in his business dealings.
Lowell downplayed the meetings in question and accused Comer of cherry-picking evidence against his client. Additionally, Lowell criticized Galanis, Bobulinski and indicted ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov who is being charged for falsely accusing the Bidens of taking bribes.
Galanis is serving a lengthy prison sentence for defrauding a Native American tribe through a bond-issuance scheme. His attorney has said Galanis is willing to testify on March 20th, the date of the scheduled hearing.
“One week from today – on Wednesday, March 20 – I will testify publicly before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. I am excited and happy to have the opportunity to once again share the facts with the American people,” Bobulinski said in a statement to National Review.
“I was disappointed to see the news today that Hunter is running away from his chance to tell the American people the truth. He’s been adamant in wanting to go before the American people, and Oversight is now giving him that opportunity. Now is the time to step up, Hunter, as you have said you want to do,” Bobulinski added. Bobulinski and his attorney have fiercely pushed back against criticism from the Bidens and Democratic lawmakers prior to Lowell’s letter. Lowell makes no mention of Devon Archer in his letter.
Smirnov did not testify for the impeachment inquiry and his identity was unknown by lawmakers until he was indicted. However, over the course of the impeachment inquiry, Republicans promoted the bribery allegations he brought forward to the FBI as a confidential human source.
In court filings, Lowell has argued the Smirnov indictment discredits the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden by special counsel David Weiss, who is prosecuting Smirnov and revealed his apparent ties to Russian intelligence. Lowell’s attacks against Weiss appear to contradict his belief in the credibility of the Smirnov indictment and Weiss’s disclosures.
Lowell told Comer his client would not appear at the public hearing unless relatives of former president Donald Trump were also present. Trump is not the subject of the impeachment inquiry and was already impeached twice during his presidency.
The position taken by Lowell contradicts the demand Hunter Biden made in December for Comer to hold a public hearing instead of a closed-door deposition. At the time, Hunter Biden defied subpoenas by holding a press conference outside the Capitol instead of testifying behind closed doors.
“The House Oversight Committee has called Hunter Biden’s bluff. Hunter Biden for months stated he wanted a public hearing, but now that one has been offered alongside his business associates that he worked with for years, he is refusing to come,” Comer said in a public statement.
“Next week’s hearing with Hunter Biden and his associates is moving forward and we fully expect Hunter Biden to participate. The American people demand the truth and accountability for the Bidens’ corruption.”