Telling tall tales must run in the family.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committee as part of an impeachment inquiry against his father.
And, according to the account of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, parts of this testimony were “interesting,” to say the least.
The impeachment probe stems from Republican scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s overseas business relationships and the extent to which his father was connected to them, according to Fox News.
As part of the investigation, the committee is looking into Hunter Biden’s past work with Ukrainian gas company Burisma when Joe Biden was vice president.
Joe Biden has denied any involvement in his son’s business dealings.
Hunter Biden has also stated publicly that his father did not financially benefit.
The committees have heard testimony from several of Hunter Biden’s former business associates, including Tony Bobulinski, who claimed Joe Biden was involved in the family’s business.
Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said that Republicans have documented how “Biden has met with nearly all of his son’s foreign business associates as they were collectively funneling millions to the Bidens,” according to NBC News.
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Hunter Biden initially defied a subpoena to testify in December, but his attorneys later negotiated for him to appear.
Since the hearing was a closed-door session, the public will not know exactly what went on there until the transcripts are released, which could happen in as little as 24 hours, according to CNN.
However, Gaetz gave us a little teaser of the explanation Hunter Biden provided as to why he was on the board of Ukrainian company Burisma.
Speaking to the press immediately after the deposition, Gaetz said there had been a number of interesting moments during the deposition, “but perhaps none more interesting than when Hunter Biden told us that he joined the Burisma board ‘to counter Russian aggression.”
“I hadn’t heard that one before!” Gaetz said scoffingly.
“Thank goodness we had Hunter Biden on the Burisma board because that was essential to his strategy to stand up to Vladimir Putin,” Gaetz added.
🚨 Matt Gaetz says Hunter Biden claims he joined the Burisma board to counter Russian aggression.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 28, 2024
When asked whether Hunter Biden had told them what value he brought to these companies, Gaetz smiled.
“Yeah we’ve asked those questions, and there is an illusory value,” he said.
“It’s a mirage to believe that Hunter Biden was engaged in international business,” Gaetz said.
“This was a bribe masquerading as an international business transaction. Nothing more, nothing less,” he added.
When asked what he thought of Hunter Biden’s opening statement, Gaetz responded, “I thought it was a pretty strange statement — perhaps it jumps off the page when he says it in his own words.”
According to CNN, in his opening statement, Hunter Biden said Republicans “hunted” him in their “partisan political pursuit of my dad.”
“You have trafficked in innuendo, distortion, and sensationalism — all the while ignoring the clear and convincing evidence staring you in the face. You do not have evidence to support the baseless and MAGA-motivated conspiracies about my father because there isn’t any,” he added.
While Hunter Biden’s exact words can only be confirmed after the transcript is released, if Gaetz’s account of Hunter’s reason for being on the Burisma board is accurate, it’s another great Biden story to add to the rest.
Whether it’s being arrested on the way to meet Nelson Mandela or a cute encounter with a long-deceased Amtrak conductor, as Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed, or having to be on the board of a corrupt Ukrainian energy company to “counter Russian aggression,” the Biden tales are always, as Gaetz put it, “interesting.”
It would also be “interesting” to know how Hunter Biden’s presence on the board is supposed to have prevented Russian aggression.
Biden joined the board of Burisma in the spring of 2014, according to the “influence peddling timeline” provided by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Since 2014 was also the year Russia invaded Crimea, it could be safe to say Hunter Biden did not earn the $83,000 a month he received from the energy company, according to Reuters, if he was indeed being paid to prevent Russian aggression.
Someone PLEASE ask him how he was “asked” to be on the board!!! Did they contact him TWO MONTHS after being kicked out of the Navy and say something like….
I see you are free now. Even tho you’ve never worked in the Gas industry or visited Ukraine we’d LOVE to have you on our…— David Gray (@DGrayTexas45) February 28, 2024
At the end of the day, the story relayed by Gaetz is laughable and ridiculous.
But we can just add them to the list of laughable and ridiculous Biden family stories.
