Hunter Biden's congressional deposition transcript was made public late on Thursday, according to the AP. It offers a complete picture of the tense testimony that was given behind closed doors on Wednesday as Republicans vigorously questioned the key player in their impeachment investigation.
Over 230 pages of interrogation exposed the long-standing animosity between the son of President Joe Biden and the Republican senators who have been looking into his family for the previous several years.
Republicans will undoubtedly convene a public hearing with Hunter Biden in the coming weeks, and there was no shortage of arguments and short fuse moments. Conclusions drawn from the over seven-hour deposition:
"You answer the phone every time." Hunter Biden responded, "I am surprised my dad has not called me right now, and if he did, I would put him on speakerphone to say hi to you and to Congressman Raskin and everybody else in the room," when asked why he put his father on speakerphone while with business partners. "It is not really anything malicious." He claimed that his family always answers the phone, no matter what, in light of the traumas they have experienced, which include the deaths of his mother and two siblings. "You answer the phone every time. It is something we do without fail. Hunter Biden said, "And you can ask anyone that I know."
"The worst of days." A significant amount of Wednesday's testimony focused on Hunter Biden's well-known struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, engaged in a particularly acerbic argument during which he questioned the legitimacy of the president's son's business transactions, namely with the Ukrainian oil company Burisma. "Were you on drugs while you were on the Burisma board?" questioned Gaetz. "Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye," Hunter retorted. Do you honestly believe it is okay for me to ask you that?" "Yes," Gaetz said. Biden continued by asking Gaetz whether the inquiry had anything to do with his father's potential impeachment.
"Biden brand." The House Republicans' inquiry also focuses on what they claim to be Hunter Biden and friends marketing the Biden "brand" to customers abroad. When asked what he thought he contributed to Burisma, Hunter Biden said, "My father's legacy is mostly the name 'Biden.'" And he gave it to me, my sister, my brother, and my children now that my brother is no longer with us. It is our duty to ensure that we do not mess it up. If others thought they could sell the brand without first going through me, that was not the case—it was not with mine. Furthermore, they bypassed me if they did so."
Over 230 pages of interrogation exposed the long-standing animosity between the son of President Joe Biden and the Republican senators who have been looking into his family for the previous several years.
Republicans will undoubtedly convene a public hearing with Hunter Biden in the coming weeks, and there was no shortage of arguments and short fuse moments. Conclusions drawn from the over seven-hour deposition:
"You answer the phone every time." Hunter Biden responded, "I am surprised my dad has not called me right now, and if he did, I would put him on speakerphone to say hi to you and to Congressman Raskin and everybody else in the room," when asked why he put his father on speakerphone while with business partners. "It is not really anything malicious." He claimed that his family always answers the phone, no matter what, in light of the traumas they have experienced, which include the deaths of his mother and two siblings. "You answer the phone every time. It is something we do without fail. Hunter Biden said, "And you can ask anyone that I know."
"The worst of days." A significant amount of Wednesday's testimony focused on Hunter Biden's well-known struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, engaged in a particularly acerbic argument during which he questioned the legitimacy of the president's son's business transactions, namely with the Ukrainian oil company Burisma. "Were you on drugs while you were on the Burisma board?" questioned Gaetz. "Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye," Hunter retorted. Do you honestly believe it is okay for me to ask you that?" "Yes," Gaetz said. Biden continued by asking Gaetz whether the inquiry had anything to do with his father's potential impeachment.
"Biden brand." The House Republicans' inquiry also focuses on what they claim to be Hunter Biden and friends marketing the Biden "brand" to customers abroad. When asked what he thought he contributed to Burisma, Hunter Biden said, "My father's legacy is mostly the name 'Biden.'" And he gave it to me, my sister, my brother, and my children now that my brother is no longer with us. It is our duty to ensure that we do not mess it up. If others thought they could sell the brand without first going through me, that was not the case—it was not with mine. Furthermore, they bypassed me if they did so."
