Hunter Biden’s legal team diligently worked for months to ensure that his closed-door hearing before the House Oversight Committee would be made public, and their efforts paid off.
Despite the hopes of Republicans, the hearing did not unfold in their favor. Throughout the day, they faced accusations of disregarding evidence in support of the president’s innocence and failing to uncover any substantial evidence.
However, the recently released transcript of the meeting, made available late Thursday, sheds light on a tense exchange between Hunter Biden and Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. Gaetz attempted to probe Biden about his past struggles with addiction, particularly during his time on the board of Burisma.
“Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board?” Gaetz questioned, alluding to the committee’s previous focus on allegations that Joe Biden had profited from his son’s connections to the Ukrainian company—a theory that has since been debunked, with the primary witness admitting to fabricating the story in collaboration with Russian intelligence officials.
Matt Gaetz’s Interrogation of Hunter Biden Ends in Spectacular Backfire (Credits: The New Republic)
Biden responded sharply, asking Gaetz, “Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think that’s appropriate to ask me?”
Gaetz stood by his line of questioning, asserting, “Absolutely.”
Biden challenged Gaetz, highlighting the irony of his inquiry given Gaetz’s own history of alleged drug use, which has been widely reported. Gaetz has faced accusations of attending drug-fueled gatherings, engaging in cocaine use with strippers, and allegedly discussing his consumption of erectile dysfunction medication with other politicians.
Furthermore, Gaetz is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, which he vehemently denies.
Biden addressed the issue of his past addiction candidly, stating, “I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use. Again, I spoke to you all earlier this morning about that. I’m sorry; I’m an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over four and a half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it.”
He questioned the relevance of Gaetz’s line of inquiry to the matter at hand, asking, “What does that have to do with whether or not you’re going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?”
