Sounds reasonable.
The leverage is if they want his testimony. Rather than wait months or years or never for a criminal contempt complaint to wind it’s way through the process. A committee has huge incentive to get a willing witness to testify, if that testimony is important and useful.
If they’re just trying to make someone look bad, no, there’s no leverage.
You decide which this is. I know which way I’d vote.
This just in:
I mean, pleading guilty looks like it’s not allowed, so there’s not really another choice.
They reached out in an attempt to cooperate five times before the committee issued a subpoena. That’s a lot considering that Biden is under indictment right now and would be perfectly justified to answer, “Fifth,” to every question. That’s leverage if the committee was actually interested in getting answers to their questions (which they are not).
Biden has repeatedly offered to do more than he is required to do before and after being subpoenaed. And that’s why there’s no way he’s going to be convicted of criminal contempt if he is charged.
Exactly right. It’s transparently obvious to anyone that the Republicans on this committee are not interested in his testimony. They are interested in getting him in a room alone so they can then come out and blatantly lie about what he said. They are interested in the spin. They are interested in showing pictures of his penis to the public for some unknown reason. They are interested in a circus.
To make the allegation that it is Hunter Biden who wanted some kind of “show” is just a gaslighting argument in my opinion.
Biden doesn’t get to decide when, where, or how he is going to give evidence. He simply has to follow the law and do as the properly issued subpoena orders. He didn’t.
His duty to comply with the subpoena doesn’t change because the people issuing it are complete assholes. His duty to comply doesn’t change if other people, including fucknut Jim Jordan, also refused to comply with a subpoena. His duty to comply doesn’t change because it’s inconvenient for him, because he doesn’t want to, or because he only wants to do it in public.
If we’re going to insist no-one is above the law when its Trump, we also need to insist Hunter Biden isn’t either.
All that being said, the DOJ should only charge him with criminal contempt if there is no reasonable accomodation that can be made to get his testimony, including civil contempt. Someone needs to be the grownup in the room and stand up to the political hacks/pieces of human waste who issued the subpoena and the whiny little political hack who refuses to comply. I’d prefer if it was the DOJ, but if it has to be the judge who gets assigned to the case if it is filed, so be it.
The entire thing is like watching 5 year olds whining on the playground.
So they can claim, in session, that he has no balls.
Maybe the picture was from an unfortunate angle.
I’m basing it on you repeating right wing talking points, and trying hard to repeatedly characterize Hunter as acting in bad faith, even as your reasons for doing so are one by one shown to be false.
For the quintillionth time; he hasn’t resisted a subpeona. He was subpeonad and the instructions given were that it could be public or private. He chose public, and submitted for questioning, repeatedly. But the other side reneged.
Also, as also explained above, it’s not “whataboutism” to talk about how the congressmembers themselves have ignored subpeonas, it’s very relevant to the situation. Whataboutism is when someone ignores the current issue on the table to deflect to some other situation.
Here we are saying that the people accusing him of X have done X, much more egregiously, themselves. It’s one situation.
It’s an objectively minor detail, but it was the whole basis of your argument earlier in the thread.
I quoted you claiming things like Hunter expects his dad to get him off any charges (how do you know that, given that his dad has done nothing about the gun or tax charges?). And, falsely, that Hunter had not offered to answer any questions. Those were your strong opinions.
Not these two straw men you’ve suddenly summoned.
No argument from me there.
This is what I’ve been saying. He defied the subpoena. No doubt. But with all his efforts to cooperate with the committee, both before and after the subpoena, there is no way he’ll be convicted of criminal contempt.
Hunter Biden, let us make that clear. As yes he does-No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Yes, he does have to show up for a lawful subpoena. He doesn’t have to give any testimony against himself.
This is all political theatre. He agreed to a reasonable and fair plea deal, but the GOP interfered and stopped it.
Are you alleging that it isnt a lawful subpoena?
But he does have to invoke that right. Had he showed up to the deposition and took the 5th, we wouldn’t be here.
(As an aside, he may well invoke the 5th just to force the idiotic House GOP to grant him immunity. That’d be fun).
Different thing. That was about his admitted criminal actions. This is about his refusal to comply with the subpoena.
(And, as an aside, I completely agree the rejection of the plea deal and the current prosecution are … not good decisions)
Who’s the political hack here? From my first reading it sounds like you mean Hunter. He’s not political except by relation to the President.
Whiny little political hack who refuses to comply with a Congressional subpoena? That must be Jim Jordan.
It’s both. Like that floor cleaner/dessert topping.
Was there an actual motion to call Hunter or no? If not, why not?
Hunter’s attorney just sent Comer a letter, eviscerating their actions and blowing up the contempt charge. You can download it here:
Watch the hearing.
Seriously. Enough already.
Or pay attention to the thread. Here, I’ll help: