Hunter Biden is the gift that keeps on giving. And I’m not talking about the STDs he’s probably given and received from his “lady” friends.
This president’s son, who has absolutely no business skills and typically is not even sober, has collected tens of millions from foreign governments and businessmen. Some of that money has found its way through labyrinth shell corporations and into the hands of the “Big Guy.” Some of it has not found its way into the hands of the Internal Revenue Service, though it should have.
Republicans want to learn more about this. Or as the New York Times would put it, “Republicans pounced.” That’s because the media which back in the days of journalism would itself pounce to investigate such suspicious activity was instead still navel-gazing about the laptop computer aka “Russian disinformation.”
The Republicans used the tool available: a Congressional subpoena to Hunter requiring him to give sworn testimony in a deposition on the subject. What he gave them instead was the finger.
His thin cover was that he was willing to give testimony but only in a public hearing. The media has been sloppy in reporting that public testimony is far inferior as a fact-finding tool, because the questioners are limited to just a few minutes each. In contrast, a private deposition is much like any other deposition. The questioner can pause, reflect, and, importantly, take the time to pursue follow questions.
So, the Republicans rejected Hunter’s ruse.
On the day and time for the deposition, Hunter showed up, but not at the deposition room. He gave a grandstanding speech outside the Capitol. Naturally, he took no questions and gave no answers. It appears that dad had colloborated with the illegal stunt, though the White House won’t say one way or another.
Today, the Republicans in committees voted on whether to hold Hunter in contempt for ignoring the subpoena. That’s what happens when you ignore a subpoena, and it happened to Trump aides who served jail time for it.
Hunter again showed up, this time at the contempt hearing, for no particular purpose other than to taunt the Republicans again.
As Hunter undoubtedly hoped, that raised the ire of the Republicans, and they let loose some salty language. They would have done better to say “I see that Mr. Biden is here today. Welcome, Mr. Biden. We look forward to seeing you again for a deposition after you serve your jail sentence for contempt.”
In any event, the Republicans unanimously voted “yes” on the contempt matter because Hunter obviously had in fact been contemptuous of the subpoena. The Democrats unanimously voted “no” because Hunter is obviously the son of their Dear Leader who’s a Democrat, albeit a lyin’ two-faced pony soldier of one.
Republicans holding the majority, they won. The matter now goes to the full House of Representatives, which is likely to do the same, again along party lines.
Then it will get interesting. The Department of Justice is charged with prosecuting contempt matters coming out of Congress. When it was Trump aides who were charged with contempt by a Democrat Congress for ignoring subpoenas, the DOJ did so vigorously.
Hunter seems unmoved. He’s not only contemptuous of the Congressional subpoena, but goes out of his way to taunt them. It’s almost like he knows the fix is in at dad’s Department of Justice.
I’m guessing he’s wrong. Oh, dad may have told him the fix was in, either directly or with some winks and nods, but I doubt the Attorney General leading the Department of Justice, Merrick Garland (or is it Garland Merrick?), has told dad that.
Merrick/Garland is a disappointing political partisan. But I doubt he’s outright corrupt. He was a respected appellate judge when Barack Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court to replace the irrepressible Antonin Scalia. The blocking of his appointment by the Republican Senate led masterfully at the time by Mitch McConnell apparently unhinged him, but I still think he’s not outright corrupt.
So, what we probably have is dad playing his favorite role again – Big Guy – for the eyes of his derelict son, and the derelict son buying the act again. Neither of these guys is very smart, and this could end badly for both of them.
Oh, sure, the jail terms for contempt are not very long – a few months. But consider this: Has Hunter ever gone even a few months without his multiple medications?
And consider this. As in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, there are people who would like Hunter never to talk.
the Aspen beat 
Hunter is an “untouchable”, which is why he behaves as transparently reckless as he does. He knows he will never serve a day in prison or suffer any punishment of consequence no matter what he does. Daddy or his henchmen in the deep state will always bail him out, because they have to to preserve the racket. I think Hunter has some serious daddy issues which fuels his reckless and embarrassing behavior. He knows he’s embarrassing daddy and putting him in a tight place and just doesn’t care. He knows that no matter what happens legally, daddy is prepared to sign a Presidential pardon to make all the problems go away. And since they’ve already been coordinating the narative that Hunter is actually the victim here, if Joe has to sign it before the election, they and the media will blame the need for a pardon on MAGA Republicans. Because they’re mean and Hunter is a big baby that just can’t be held responsible for anything.
I recall a time when another candiddate for The Court was nominated by a Republican President and was rejected as being “too radical.” Only in that case, his “radicalism” consisted of believing that the Constituion actually meant what it said. That candidate’s name was Robert Bork and his legal credentials were impeccable, his intellect powerful and his integrity unquestioned. Naturally, that was why the democrats in the Senate failed to support his nomination. Can you imagine the reaction of the democrats, both those occupying elected office and in the “press” (that’s what we used to call “the media”) if Reagan had then sought to make Bork Attorney General? Of course, that would never happen because we used to operate under certain norms and Reagan, despite the lunatic opinions of many on the left, was a good and honorable man who cared deeply about preserving our Constitutional Republic. Contra the current occupant of the White House, who chose Garland because he was reliably informed that Garland would be rabidly partisan against the Republicans who had the temerity to reject his nomination for the Court. So once again, instead of a person of integrity in the position of Attorney General, we have another “wing man,” as the scurrilous Obama described his equally scurrilous Attorney General, Eric Holder or his replacement, Loretta Lynch, whose “tarmac meeting” with Bill Clinton while he was under suspicion was, according to her and Bill, just happenstance, and they only discussed golf and family matters. Oh, and by the way, the reporter who broke that story died age 45, allegedly of “suicide.” (Or Arkancide, if you prefer.) So, does Hunter believe himself immune from any prosecution for his refusal to honor the subpoena? Of course; he knows the fix is in and he will never pay any penalty for anything he does, or might do until his daddy issues the blanket pardon we all know is coming, either as the last item in the current Biden presidency or the first one in the next should he somehow get (s)elected again. We live in Clown World now, and the Clowns who run it are anything but funny.