Hunter Biden defies congressional subpoena, says will only testify in public

AP :
Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the US Capitol that he will only testify in public.
In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a GOP subpoena requesting closed-door testimony, saying it could be manipulated.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”
Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has said Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters later Wednesday that they will begin looking at contempt of Congress proceedings in response to Hunter Biden’s lack of cooperation. “He just got into more trouble today,” Comer said.
For months, Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie President Joe Biden to his son Hunter’s business dealings. So far, they have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing.
Democrats have been united against the Republican impeachment push, saying it’s “an illegitimate exercise” merely meant to distract from GOP chaos and dysfunction. “We are at a remarkable juncture for the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. “Because this is an impeachment inquiry where no one has been able to define what criminal or constitutional offence they’re looking for.”