Hunter Biden appears at House Oversight contempt hearing

President Joe Biden’s son on Wednesday appeared in the gallery during a hearing by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. The hearing—and another like it held by the House Judiciary Committee—concerned a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress. Both committees approved the resolution. Congressional Republicans allege that he defied lawful congressional subpoenas from the Oversight and Judiciary committees by failing to appear for testimony on Dec. 13. Hunter Biden had objected to testifying behind closed doors, and on the day in question instead gave a prepared statement to media from elsewhere on Capitol Hill.

Why did Hunter Biden need to appear before Congress members? The Committee’s resolution says members sought to question Hunter Biden as part of an investigation into his father’s connection to businesses of Biden family members. Members also sought to ask Hunter Biden about whether his father affected any policy changes that would have benefited his family members’ business dealings. Hunter Biden has defended his non-compliance by saying that in a confidential hearing, his remarks could be leaked or mischaracterized.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel R. Suhr’s column in WORLD Opinions asking whether justice will ever come to the president’s son.