We previously discussed how Hunter Biden was gracious enough to say that he might appear before Congress after receiving a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee when “the time is right.” As I noted at the time, that is not quite how subpoenas work. It is really not an invitation. Now a date has been set for December 13th, but Hunter’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, is suggesting that he will not appear in private but only in a public hearing. Again, Hunter fundamentally misses the point of a congressional subpoena.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., quickly disabused Hunter of the point of the subpoena and said that he will indeed appear in a private session before a public hearing. That is precisely what the Democrats have done, including with dozens of witnesses in the January 6th committee.
This is a bad start for Hunter, who is a lawyer. For years, he has been able to manipulate the media and create ever changing rationales for his role in the alleged corruption scheme from expert to addict to victim.
Those spins could now come at a cost. While the Justice Department slow walked his investigation and allowed the statute of limitations to run, any misrepresentation could be charged as a new felony with a new statute of limitations.
Hunter will appear in the place set by the Committee. He can choose his answers, but not his forum. Putting the bravado of the letter aside, he now has a date with Congress and he will no longer be able to orchestrate how he will appear in public.
Here is the letter from Lowell:
2023.11.28-A.-Lowell-Letter-to-Chairman-Comer-
Growing up when someone would get upset, a bystander might have said “Don’t have a Cow”, everyone knew that it was said in jest and never took it literal, I mean humans can’t have Cow’s after all. Back in yonder years calling someone a Long Down Scoundrel may have got you [???]. I make these examples to highlight Mr. Hunter Biden’s problems, because back not too long ago his dalliances of self-dealing would have put him behind the proverbial 8 ball. Special privileges’ accorded relatives of executives in government are an affront to general order, they waste trust in the judiciary branch and cause distrust in the entirety of agreed framework of a civil society. Laws for a by the people, without regard to their post, acclaim, or worth is utopian I know, still it should be strived for. It seems in today’s history, laws are just words on paper having no more use than to bind, cover and place on a shelve and never to read.
This latest example of privilege (Hunter) will eventually join: Neil, Billy, Samson, Roger, John Payne Todd, Jenna & Barbara just to name a few. Or maybe Mr. H, Biden will be as lucky as Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Representatives Ames and James Brooks (Credit Mobilier of America) an escape charges or damning investigations.
And speaking of Maybe’s: it may be possible for President Trump to match Grover Cleveland, being elected to serving non-sequential terms as the President!!!
Why bother? When Newsom becomes POTUS he’ll pardon the whole lot of them. 🤬
That is allot to bet on. I wonder what happens if the Republicans win the White House.
Biden will pardon his family – no doubt about that. Like many, I have become convinced that he will not run. Accordingly, he will be free to hand out pardons (which are not subject to any review or consent). Of course there will be a firestorm of criticism but Biden’s handlers will write some lovely stuff about the MAGA attacks that ruined his Presidency and heaped lies on his family. Joe will be the victim. The only question is whether Michelle is interested in being President. Her entrance in the race would take the VP out of the picture. Michelle’s inexperience would not be a factor. She can run a campaign similar to Biden’s in 2020 – make very few appearances and say nothing substantive. Her husband knows the ropes in Washington. They will be able to continue to spend most of their time in Nantucket, as the Bidens have in Delaware.
Should they follow through with a successful impeachment Biden will be unable to pardon anyone. Especially anyone complicit in the same criminal acts he is accused of being involved with. If the evidence is clear, both Dems and Republicans will have to impeach him, they will have no other choice in the public eye. My bet is there will be overwhelming evidence provided and it will be a deal made either get out of 2024 or be impeached and prosecuted.
Are here Bathhouses in Nantucket, asking for a friend…
Who needs a bathhouse when you have a personal chef?
Oops.
Sort of like Attorney General Ashcroft missing the point of Ronald Reagan’s torture treaty – legally binding under federal criminal law and under Article VI Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution – but none of the Bush torture attorneys were ever even indicted!
21st Century laws are optional-when-convenient, Bush created that precedent. It’s all BS!
Terrorists give no quarter nor should they be given any.
Anonymous – we can debate the sins of the bush administration or the Obama admin or …
And I may even agree with you on many things.
There is absolutely no doubt that DOJ/FBI have been corrupt and abusive of the rights of citizens for decades. Bush II was not the first abusive president.
Nor was all abuse in government done with the complicity or knowledge of the president.
If your goal is to say that government is not to be trusted – I am 100% with you.
I am not entirely with you on the torture thing. The facts are Torture is rarely a good idea.
But there is no US president that has or ever will rule it out entirely.
There is always a possible scenario when it will be the only option short of anhilation.
Have we abused that greatly – 100%.
What was done under Bush and to a lessor extent Obama was reprehensible.
As to Treaties – Though we call it “law” there is actually no such thing as international law.
The relationship of nations with each other is the perfect representation of how Anarcho-capitalism works. It has been that way forever and will never change.
What you call intenational law – treaties are not binding, They are things we agree to by choice and continue to abide by, by choice.
We can not wake up one day and say – I am not going to abide by the laws against murder today. That will result in very severe consequences.
But nations can wake up one day and decide they will not follow international law.
If you are the US – there will be little or no consequences.
If you are jibbutti the consequences might cause many nations to shun you.
That is the limits of the power of international law.
Further – though the US has violated international law in ways that it should not, and that I oppose.
At the same time there is absolutely no way that I or any other US citizen should ever agree to be absolutely bound by international law. The application of international law makes Woke Jurists in the US look like rank amateurs.
While some aspects of international law are reasonable. Much of it is garbage.
Nations will agree not to torture – until they feel existentially threatened – and then there are no rules. That is not changing.
Finally, your fixation on Bush II is strange. Bush was not a particularly good president.
Neither was Obama or Biden. Got that. Agree.
I really really do not like Bill Clinton.
I would have impeached him and removed him in a second.
A president that would lie under oath and suborn others to do the same is exactly what impeachment was designed for.
Clinton was pretty bad on foreign policy – how can I count the ways.
His DOJ/FBI was evil. But overall his domestic policy was pretty good. He accomplished many things. Things that republicans favored, and that worked well.
Things that Obama and Biden have abandoned.
The point is that our country and our leaders are imperfect – just as our founders were.
We must judge them accordingly.
This country has done bad and good things – it still is overall the light on the hill.
Bush II was a poor president. But he was better than Obama and Biden.
Clinton was a bad president in many ways. On net he was still better than every 21st century president except possibly Trump. Trump likely is better than Clinton – because though Clinton’s economy was actually better, Trump was better overall.
Biden is giving James Buchannon a run for the title Worst President ever.
cant wait to see the questions that the Democratic members of the committee will ask Hunter
https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee/
Funny how subpoenas differ. When they are issued to Republicans, they must be complied with immediately and without contest. But when issued to Democrats, they are negotiable.
There are no words left for the Bidens or the modern democratic party. This is all patently clear, and if you still believe the MSM you deserve to be punched in the face – that would be kinder than what they have in store for you. They and their globalist allies absolutely intend to destroy society by 2035 with their ‘transitions’ tat nobody asked for/voted for and ‘safe guards’ that nobody asked for/voted for, and if you don’t want to be a serf enjoying a bug burger, the time to put aside petty grievances and vote your little *** off in opposition is right the h*ll now. The useful idiots will be voting in droves and will make your personal bugaboo seem pretty bloody stupid. Vote for everything you can and unseat these people. We can go gently into the winter night or not, but this is what it is. Decide. If we do not do the easy thing now, the hard thing later is going to be very, very ugly; we are getting a preview in the Middle East. Enough is enough, or it should be. Let’s stop this now, before parents are shooting at their own progeny out of self-preservation, because it might come to that.
Imaginary Examination of Abbe Lowell, lawyer for Hunter Biden:
Re: 2023.11.28-A.-Lowell-Letter-to-Chairman-Comer- (linked in red at the end of Professor Turley’s post, supra)
Q; In the second paragraph of your correspondence to James Comer, did you [Lowell] expressly state the following:
“Disposing of any possible confusion as to your [Comer’s] motives, you [Comer} agreed with a Fox News journalist on
May 22, 2023, that yours was an improper political purpose to “absolutely” move the needle of
political support for the 2024 election.1”
A: Yes
Q: And did you [Lowell], at the end of the above statement to Comer, cite as reference the following Footnote at the bottom of the same page:
“1 In response to a question posed as to whether the investigation had ‘moved this needle with the media,’ you [Comer] stated:
‘Absolutely. There’s no question. You look at the polling, and right now Donald Trump is seven points ahead of Joe
Biden and trending upward; Joe Biden’s trending downward. And I believe that the media is looking around,
scratching their head, and they’re realizing the American people are keeping up with our investigation.’”
A: ….yes…
Q: Now the question asked of Comer during the Fox interview was “whether the investigation had ‘moved this needle with the media,’ correct?
A: …..well, yes.
Q: Did the question to Comer ask him if his was “an improper political purpose?”
A: …..well, …no, not exactly
Q: No. No. No. Such as question was NEVER asked of Comer, was it?
A: …well….
Q: SO Comer could not have “agreed” to a question never asked to him, could he?
A: ….well…
Q: Did the question ask Comer if it was his purpose “to move the needle with the media?”
A:…well……no, not exactly
Q: SO Comer could not have “agreed” to a question never asked to him, could he?
A: ….well…
Q: –Indeed not. IN fact, The actual question to Comer was about whether he believed the investigation might have “moved the needle with the media,” correct?
A: …well…yes..but…
Q; So you not only falsely accused Mr. Comer of an improper purpose, but also falsely stated that Comer AGREED that his was “an improper purpose,” didn’t you?
A: (silence)
Q: And further, you falsely accused Mr. Comer of conducting the investigation with the intended purpose to “absolutely move the needle of political support for the 2024 election,” correct?
Q: silence
Q: But, in fact, Mr. Comer said no such thing, did he?
A: …well..he implied that this was…
Q: No, No, No….it was YOU who implied that this was his intent and purpose, correct?
A: ….well….
Q: (imitating Kamala Harris) Just answer the question, yes or no.
A: (silence)
Priceless summation. Bravo👍🇺🇸👍
I think you are reading this sentence incorrectly. It is by no means clearly written, but the above ignores the significance of the first dependent clause: “Disposing of any possible confusion as to your [Comer’s] motives…”
“Yours” therefore refers to the “motives” for launching the investigation, while “improper political purpose” is the conclusion Lowell is making with respect to said motives, which were identified by the journalist.
Thus, it translates to:
“You agreed with a Fox News journalist regarding your motive for launching the investigation. Specifically, you responded “absolutely” to the the Fox News journalist’s contention that the purpose of the investigation was to ‘move the needle of political support for the 2024 election.” As you are aware, launching an investigation for this purpose is improper.
“If we had ham, we could have ham and eggs, if we had eggs.”
(unattributed Anonymous)
Specifically, you responded “absolutely” to the the Fox News journalist’s contention that the purpose of the investigation was to ‘move the needle of political support for the 2024 election.”
Liar. The journalist did not make any such contention, so Comer couldn’t have agreed with it.
In addition:
As you are aware, launching an investigation for this purpose is improper.
Says who?
I wish svelaz would stop by and tell us his opinion. It’s so hard to know what he’s thinking because he hardly ever comments.
I think he has a crush on Hunter Biden. It’s cute.
He can plead the 5th, but the laptop from hell won’t.
I’d like to offer a witty comment here but there’s nothing funny about what’s happening to our nation and the average citizen. It’s all in your face and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Margot,
Well said.
That is why we find the BCF so disgusting and how them and the DNC have turned America into a banana republic.
We all know that any trust in our justice system at this point is worthless. Watch this farce because all it will amount to is click bate for the upcoming election cycle. Cleaning out “The People’s” government is the only solution and I am afraid we do not have the quality of individuals remaining to do this as we did when we broke free from England. We have allowed the progressives, since before the time of Woodrow Wilson, to slowly and effectively compromise our very government to the point of a gasoline engine that was run without oil, we are clogged up and frozen.
What arrogant, disgusting people! The Bidens have taken advantage of the good will of the public. Hunter Biden is a loser who has abused not only the American people but our system of justice. Would any American get away with this? BTW – who is paying for all his legal troubles? The American taxpayer?
Mr. Lowell’s letter hits all of the mandatory Democratic talking points trashing the efforts of the House Oversight Committee. No surprises there certainly. I’ll be interested to see the searing analysis coming from this esteemed Yale Law School grad.
“I don’t recall.” is the stock answer these days.
When did We pass from Constitutional Law> to >Entertainment Law?
Congressional Subpoena My Ass! Give Me a Prime Time Special across the Networks.
When 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 don’t suit You,
You Change the 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄.
-What’s new about That.-
The question is:
-What Kind of Privilege is that?-
Party Privilege?
Executive Branch Privilege?
White Privilege?
Male Privilege?
Heterosexual Privilege?
Media Privilege?
Criminal Privilege?
Addict’s Privilege?
Special Privilege?
I’m a Nice Guy -really- Privilege?
I’d like to know, cause I wanna get Me some (Privilege) 😉
I doubt the interview with Hunter will get anywhere.
More important is whether any progress is being made in answering the question whether Joe Biden took actions as VP to favour those paying the family. Comer had subpoenas out to Blinken demanding State Department documents related to US policy towards Shokin in the fall of 2015, when Joe Biden demanded he be fired.
What has happened to those document demands?
My money’s on Hunter. Also, I think you meant to say either “could come at a cost” or “could not come at a greater cost.” “Could not come at a cost” makes no sense in that context, although it is probably true.
A good PR move by Lowell. Public or private, Hunter is taking the 5th which is his right. Now he can assert his rights not under the guise of potential self incrimination but only because the forum is illegitimate and his assertion is thus a shield to prevent a greater legal abuse. i.e., the committee harrassing him and creating a public spectacle. No lawyer worth a nickel would ever expose Hunter to questioning. It would be malpractice. And in Hunter’s case, legal suicide.
The Bidens, in fact all Democrats, actually do think they are above the law. They have weaponized the federal government to cover for them while attacking their opponents. They appear at hearings but do not answer simple questions, or conveniently forget what they said, wrote, or did. The administration’s spokespeople push misinformation and blatant lies continually. They have actively, on several fronts, worked to censor people with different views, and to push misinformation and lies. They have classified parents as “domestic terrorists.” And on and on. Yet, they claim their opponents are “fascists” and a “threat to democracy.” It is maddening.
A few months ago on Twitter I saw a so called “progressive” not only acknowledge the double standard but rationalize it. According to her worldview, conservatives have made a choice to be treated by the double standard. If they want to be treated fairly and by the same standard, then all they have to do is choose to be progressive. She was completely serious.
Not sarcastic.
They ALL admit this, in one way or another. There is no doubt the ends justify the means. Its mantra.
Even our beloved Dennis McIntyre who said
“Violence is acceptable to democrats if it’s for the right causes.”
Lowell is nothing but a Democrat shill, he’s not stupid, he knows Hunter and Joe et al are guilty of numerous crimes, but hey, he’s just being a lawyer. His letter is actually pretty funny.
Typical Lawyerese B.S. He spends a lot of paper and ink trying to get his client out of a jam of his own making. Good try, it won’t work…