House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed Hunter Biden‘s offer to publicly testify as part of the corruption-focused impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden, instead of complying with a subpoena for a deposition.
“It’s the precedent,” Johnson said during an interview with Fox News on Saturday, adding later, “Every investigation of Congress in the modern era, the deposition has come first, and the public testimony follows. Why would we break that precedent now?”
Johnson was joined on “Fox & Friends Weekend” by House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY). They both took part in the defense effort when former President Donald Trump faced impeachment.
Stefanik said the offer by Hunter Biden and his legal team was “unacceptable” and insisted that “the only correct response to a subpoena is a deposition.”
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), who is leading the impeachment inquiry and issued the subpoena, has already rejected the terms offered by Hunter Biden’s lawyer.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
The attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued that a “public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”
Comer indicated that lawmakers would be willing to have Hunter Biden testify in an open hearing at a “future date” — but insisted that the first son must also testify in the closed-door deposition scheduled for mid-December.
In an interview with Newsmax, Comer said Johnson “has our back” and House Republicans would “take steps” to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with the subpoena.
The top Democrat on the oversight panel, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), issued a statement condemning his Republican counterparts for rejecting the open hearing offer.
“What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own members to pursue it,” Raskin said.
“After the miserable failure of their impeachment hearing in September, Chairman Comer has now apparently decided to avoid all Committee hearings where the public can actually see for itself the logical, rhetorical and factual contortions they have tied themselves up in,” he added.
Stefanik made the case for why an open hearing can be counterproductive to a serious inquiry.
“An open hearing is five minutes on the Democrat side, five minutes on the Republican side. It becomes a very public press opportunity for the Democrat to politicize,” Stefanik said. “We want to go about this from a legal and factual perspective and the only way to go about that is through a deposition.”