Hunter Biden appears on Capitol Hill as the House of Representatives prepares for contempt vote

Hunter Biden, the president’s son, surprised Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday morning when he briefly appeared in the hearing room as they were about to vote to hold him in contempt of Congress for failing to participate in private testimony.

The arrival of the younger Biden, who has repeatedly offered to testify publicly in the impeachment inquiry against President Biden but declined to be interviewed behind closed doors, threw the proceedings into chaos as Democrats and Republicans bickered over whether or not they liked him let it be heard. .

The exchange pitted some of former President Donald J. Trump’s staunchest supporters against his successor’s son and chief political rival, underscoring the bitter polarization underlying the impeachment inquiry.

Democrats on the panel urged Republicans who control it to let Mr. Biden testify on the spot, but Republican lawmakers insisted he must submit to a closed-door deposition as ordered by their subpoena .

When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, began speaking out against the younger Biden, he and his entourage left the chamber shortly after arriving, prompting Ms. Greene to label him a “coward.”

“Hunter Biden is terrified of strong conservative Republican women because he can’t even face my words,” said Ms. Greene, who had shown nude photos of Mr. Biden during an earlier committee hearing.

Rep. Robert Garcia, Democrat of California, called her actions “shameful” and argued that Mr. Biden was justified in leaving as she spoke.

“She is the person who showed nude photos of Hunter Biden in this committee room,” he said.

The spectacle was the younger Biden’s latest attempt to undermine Republicans’ claim that he had failed to comply with their subpoena by showing he was making himself available to testify publicly. He did not address the panel Wednesday but has previously said he does not want to be interviewed behind closed doors because he fears Republicans would selectively leak his testimony in an effort to misrepresent it.

The younger Mr. Biden is under federal indictment on charges of tax crimes related to his foreign business interests. Republicans are looking for evidence that his father was improperly involved in his foreign business dealings and are working to build a case to charge the president with bribery and corruption, but have so far found no evidence of either.

At a news conference on Capitol Hill on the day Republicans hoped to oust him last month, Hunter Biden acknowledged his personal shortcomings, which were described in scandalous detail in the indictment against him, but said they had nothing to do with his father had to do and that his father had done so. no financial involvement in his company.

This is a development story. Check back later for updates.