When Hunter Biden briefly appeared before the House Oversight Committee, then left in a huff after just a few minutes, on January 10th, that created a mess for the White House and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre, who was asked about the matter repeatedly after it occurred during that day’s White House Press Briefing.
One reporter who asked her about the incident was Selina Wang, the Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News. She asked KJP both about whether Biden was involved in speaking to Hunter about his appearance before Congress and about what Rep. Nancy Mace said about Hunter after he appeared before the House Oversight Committee.
As background, Rep. Mace said, when Hunter appeared, “My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That’s my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege. Coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a Congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here.”
Emphasizing her main point, though striking the racial language from it, in a comment to The Independent about the issue, Rep. Mace said, “I mean, the nerve of him to show up to our committee is the epitome of privilege. He should be held accountable like everybody else.”
So, asking KJP about Hunter Biden, Wang first asked, “Did the President speak to his son before or after his appearance on Capitol Hill?” KJP refused to give an answer, saying, “I — I’m not going to speak to the President’s private conversation with his families.”
Then Wang pressed KJP over what Rep. Mace said about Hunter, asking, “And is there any response to what Representative Nancy Mace said about Hunter Biden today? She’s called him, quote, “the epitome of white privilege,” and that Hunter “should be arrested right here, right now” and go to jail.” KJP again refused to give an answer, saying, “I’m not going to respond to that.”
Watch them here:
CNN White House Press Correspondent asked KJP about the Hunter Biden stunt as well, asking, “Karine, you’ve referred to the Republican impeachment inquiry as a “stunt.” The President himself has said that it was a “political stunt.” So, I guess, if the whole thing is a stunt, how does the White House see the President’s son himself pulling a stunt by appearing at this contempt hearing?”
KJP refused to give an answer to her as well, saying, “I — I don’t have anything else to add. The decisions that are made by Hunter Biden is — are his own. He’s a private citizen. And I’m just not going to speak beyond that. If you ask me about the impeachment of — or what the — the GOP and Congress is doing as they’re — as they’re trying to impeach multiple Cabinet members, I can speak to that. But Hunter Biden is a private citizen. I’m just not going to speak to that.”
Similarly, Nancy Cordes, Senior White House Correspondent for CBS News, asked, “Was the White House informed in advance that Hunter Biden would be showing up at the House Oversight Committee’s hearing on Capitol Hill today?”
Once again, KJP refused to give an answer, saying, “So, here’s what I’ll say, and I’ve said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, is a private citizen. He’s not a member of this White House. He makes his own decisions, like he did today about how to respond to Congress. And so, I would refer you — any further questions, any additional questions about — about this process, certainly, to — I’d refer you to Hunter’s representatives.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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