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In Long-Awaited Testimony, Hunter Biden Assails G.O.P. Impeachment Inquiry
The president’s son, who had resisted testifying, condemned Republicans’ efforts to impeach his father and addressed key claims in their case.
Reporting from the Capitol
Hunter Biden, the president’s son, sharply rebuked House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry during a closed-door deposition on Wednesday, condemning their investigation as a “partisan political pursuit” that was based on a “false premise” and fueled by “lies.”
Conducted in an office building on Capitol Hill, the interview was the latest bid by Republicans to unearth evidence that President Biden was inappropriately involved in his son’s foreign business dealings. So far, their impeachment investigation has turned up no proof.
Hunter Biden, 54, sought to refute G.O.P. claims about his relationship with his father, making clear in his opening statement, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, that he planned to cede no ground.
“You have trafficked in innuendo, distortion and sensationalism — all the while ignoring the clear and convincing evidence staring you in the face,” Mr. Biden said. “You do not have evidence to support the baseless and MAGA-motivated conspiracies about my father because there isn’t any.”
During the deposition, Mr. Biden gave testimony on two key pieces of evidence in the Republican inquiry. He addressed a much-publicized email in which a business associate suggested involving his father in their company, and said that associate was “out of his mind for even suggesting Joe Biden get involved in their joint venture,” according to a person familiar with the testimony who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the details of a private interview.
Mr. Biden also discussed his history of addiction and a message alluding to his father’s presence, according to two people familiar with the testimony. He said that he was high or drunk when he sent a WhatsApp message claiming his father was sitting beside him as he pressured a business associate, that he had sent it to the wrong recipient and that he was now embarrassed by the message, the people familiar with the testimony said. They said that Mr. Biden added that his father had not, in fact, been sitting next to him.
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