Certain Republicans and Fox News personalities seem very intent on having Hunter Biden testify behind closed doors only, and a number of prominent critics think they know why.
On Fox News’ “Outnumbered” on Tuesday, hosts accused President Joe Biden’s son of “seeking attention” and trying to change the narrative, after his attorney said he was willing to testify in the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into the president — but only if he could do so publicly.
Hunter Biden’s attorney argued that closed-door sessions could be used by Republicans to “manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public.” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) rejected the offer.
“I prefer hearings to be done behind closed doors because I think that they actually get to the to the heart of the matter,” “Outnumbered” panelist Michele Tafoya said during Tuesday’s discussion, arguing that “Hunter Biden would love nothing more than to sit, have cameras pointed at him and try to generate the narrative that he wants to form.”
A number of Democratic lawmakers and prominent political figures reacted to a clip of her comments.
“Translation: we want it to be secret so we can tell you how earth shattering it is without you getting to see for yourself what actually happened,” MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary for Joe Biden, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said the reason Republicans don’t want a public hearing is because Democrats on the Oversight Committee “have hoisted them by their own petards in every public hearing this year.”
“They’re scared of getting humiliated for not having an actual case (again), so they need to hide. There’s your answer,” she wrote on X.
At Republicans’ first impeachment hearing in September, their own witnesses said they did not have enough evidence to impeach the president.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), who later suggested Comer was “scared” of being caught lying publicly, wrote simply, “Transparency... Bad,” with a laughing emoji.
“Lmao the Republican spin machine has completely lost it. Hunter is agreeing to a public hearing, let’s get on with it,” tweeted Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).
And Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee, warned Hunter Biden not to walk into the GOP’s “trap,” writing: “there is NOTHING to be gained from sitting behind a door the GOP wants closed.”
House Republicans have preferred to hold private depositions rather than public hearings in their impeachment investigation, which revolves around their allegations that Joe Biden was improperly involved in his son’s business dealings.