The chairman of the House Oversight Committee rejected first son Hunter Biden’s offer Tuesday to publicly answer questions from lawmakers about his business ties, accusing the political scion of “trying to play by his own rules.”
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for the 53-year-old Hunter, had offered the committee the chance to grill his client in front of the world on Dec. 13, when the panel had demanded the first son appear for a closed-door, transcribed interview.
“We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door,” Lowell said in the letter, which was obtained by The Post and first reported by NBC News.
Unlike in public hearings, where questions are mainly posed by lawmakers and subject to theatrics and grandstanding, depositions are largely controlled by committee attorneys and are less prone to disruptions.
“Your Committee has been working for almost a year — without success — to tie our client’s business activities to his father,” Lowell added, accusing the House panel of “manipulating” Hunter’s “legitimate business dealings” and history of addiction “into a politically motivated basis for hearings to accuse his father of some wrongdoing.”
“[A]ll your focus has been on this President’s family while turning a blind eye toward former President [Donald] Trump and his family’s businesses, some of which the family maintained while serving in office — an area ripe to inform your purported legislative pursuits,” Lowell added.