Republicans cry foul as Hunter Biden ignores subpoena, citing Democrats' past outrage at Bannon, Navarro
GOP figures noted how fervently Democrats sought contempt charges against Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro during the January 6 panel's probe
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Republicans called out Democratic hypocrisy as Hunter Biden appeared on Capitol Hill, but defied a subpoena to testify in the congressional probe into his business activities and their potential ties to his father.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News she has been one to fairly call out hypocritical behavior on both sides of the aisle while rejecting claims from the first son that Republicans are impugning his character.
"The only person who has impugned Hunter Biden's character is Hunter Biden himself – he accused us of lying," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The only people who have been lying throughout this whole thing, this whole episode, have been Hunter Biden, Joe Biden and the Joe Biden White House."
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Democrats defending Hunter Biden against Republicans' claims he is in contempt of a subpoena are ignoring their own objections to Republicans they wrongly claimed were doing the same thing during the Trump era, she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mace pointed out how Democrats fervently enforced subpoenas against several top Republican or conservative figures but lack the same vigor in Hunter Biden's case.
Democrats accused Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, of hypocrisy for allegedly ignoring a subpoena by then-Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the House Select Committee on January 6. Jordan recently told Fox News he replied to their subpoena, but never heard a response.
At the time in 2022, Jordan reportedly asked the committee to provide all media and documents it anticipates introducing during his questioning, while also questioning the legitimacy of the committee itself.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mace echoed similar behavior by Democrats toward former Trump strategist and ex-Breitbart News editor Steve Bannon, who, like Hunter Biden, wanted to appear strictly in a public venue.
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She echoed recent remarks to Fox News by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who drew attention to the similarities in a recent "Hannity" interview.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In July 2022, Bannon's attorney's offer to that extent was rejected by January 6 Committee members, including Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. who told CNN that closed-door testimony doesn't have the time constraints of a public hearing and that not all the panel's questions could be answered in a "live format."
Bannon was eventually sentenced to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine.
"The Story" anchor Martha MacCallum also pointed to former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro's similar predicament. He was convicted of contempt and faces sentencing next year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mace said she has voted to hold both Democrats and Republicans in contempt when the evidence properly presents itself.
She drew attention to Hunter's own text messages, including one to daughter Naomi, in which he laments having to supposedly give "Pop" – President Biden – "half his salary" – underlining the congressional interest in hearing firsthand about such situations.
"He tells us in his emails and in text messages how Joe Biden benefited and profited from Hunter Biden's businesses. And we know that Joe Biden was involved because he was at dinner meetings, lunch meetings, White House Oval Office meetings when he was vice president, et cetera," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another Republican figure called Hunter's invoking of his drug and sex addictions are an overt deflection from the facts of the case.
"That's a dodge away from the core fact that there is proof in the form of emails and testimony from his business partners that his father knew what he was doing, that he was tied to the business, that the father stood to gain 10% on one business transaction and that Hunter Biden complained that his father would receive significant amounts of money as a regular way of paying him to pay his bills," said former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer.
"That's the evidence that now needs to be inquired, because this is about his father. It's not about Hunter. It's not about his drug addiction. It's not about his spending on prostitutes. None of that matters."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hunter Biden suggested during a news conference Wednesday that "MAGA"-aligned Republicans are attacking his lowest points in life to "hurt" his father.
Steve Bannon (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Sol Wisenberg, a deputy independent counsel for the Whitewater-Lewinsky probe into President Bill Clinton, later told Fox News that Hunter Biden's behavior aligned closely with the tactics of IRS employee Lois Lerner, who had been accused of orchestrating the targeting of conservative groups' tax-exempt status during the Obama era.
Wisenberg recounted how Lerner offered a lengthy opening statement before her congressional hearing, but then proceeded to invoke the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and decline to answer any specific questions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hunter Biden took no questions after his statement on the hill, and President Biden only smiled silently when reporters shouted questions about the situation during a recent appearance.
"I expected Hunter to do something like that. What really is important here is there is no legal defense for his position," Wisenberg told "The Story." "He has been properly subpoenaed to a closed-door deposition. He has to appear. So it's vitally important that the full House hold him in contempt and send it to the Department of Justice."