I have to hand it to Hunter Biden. Hi

has been

beating the MAGA Republicans in Congress at their own game.

The Republican Party is desperate for evidence that President Biden has unjustly benefited from his son’s foreign dealings. So far, the search and their impeachment inquiry have turned up nothing. But Republicans in the House of Representatives will not give up

behavior R

reminds me of the old joke about the room filled with horse manure:

She

Just know there’s a pony in there

somewhere. Hunter

Biden has repeatedly said he would testify in their dishonest investigation. But hey

wild

do this in public, not behind closed doors. Not good enough,

said

the Trump mushrooms, who secretly want to grill him. Why would closed-door testimony benefit Republicans?

Let me tell you all why no one wants to talk to you behind closed doors, explained Democratic Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett to her Republican colleagues on the House Oversight Committee before voting Wednesday to recommend that to the full House

Find Biden contemptuous. Because you’re all lying. (Partisans, she meant, would selectively leak classified testimony damaging to the Bidens. Republicans have said, and not without merit, that an open hearing would devolve into partisan bickering and posturing.)

To the committee’s surprise, Biden appeared in the front row for Wednesday’s hearing. But not for long.

To his credit, when it was MAGA Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes’ turn, Biden did the most contemptuous thing: he abruptly stood up and walked out of the room.

Wow, that’s too bad, said a disappointed Greene. I think it’s clear that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong conservative women. What a coward.

Aaron Rupar, the Washington journalist who covered the hearing on X, posted a screenshot from Fox News’ disingenuous chyron: Hunter flees hearing room over GOP questions.

The departure was certainly not the act of a coward, noted Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California. Finally, he said, Greene is the one who showed nude photos of Hunter Biden. I’m showing dick pics in this committee room! (At a hearing last summer, Greene showed photos of Biden stolen from his infamous laptop.) Undeterred, Greene did it again on Wednesday, exploiting Biden as he was in the grip of addiction and despair over his brother’s death. Beau. Why should Hunter Biden sit idle because of Greene’s transparent attempt to humiliate him?

You have members of this committee who deal with revenge porn, said Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. MAGA Republican representative Nancy Mace had already set a bizarre and itchy tone by telling Biden, “You are the epitome of

w

a privilege. What are you afraid of? You have no balls.

Between Greene’s foolish display, Mace’s criticism, and sorry, but I have to mention the unseemly boyfriend of Colorado MAGA’s Lauren Boebert, who groped her in a Denver theater in September, you really have to wonder about the obsession MAGA Republican women have with the male anatomy.

To the MAGA Republicans trying to dethrone his father, Hunter Biden is so much more than a troubled son

has benefited

the surname. He is their chance to keep a Biden non-scandal in the news. If they can

generate negative noise

If the headlines about Hunter are out, maybe some of the stink will be on his father.

I think what they’re doing to Hunter is cruel, Jill Biden told MSNBC host Mika Brzezinksi on Thursday.

That is true, but to his credit, Hunter Biden refuses to let this be done without a fight. He has a wealthy and loyal friend in Hollywood, entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris, who has been by his side since 2019 and has lent him money to pay his back taxes, and a smart and aggressive new lawyer in Washington, Abbe Lowell.

On Friday, in a surprise move, Lowell told the chairmen of the two House committees seeking Biden’s testimony that his client would appear behind closed doors if they issued new subpoenas. I’m assuming Biden has failed rather than risk a House vote to bring contempt charges against the Justice Department, which could further worsen his legal troubles. Anyway, he had already made his point. Republicans, for their part, said they would pursue contempt charges regardless.

Nevertheless, Hunter Biden, with the help of his father’s Democratic allies in Congress, has been

successfully

MAGA Republicans in their own hypocrisy.

Congressional Trumpists have done just that

refused

to hold in contempt their own colleagues who have rejected lawful subpoenas. The double standard is as predictable as it is sloppy.

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz a whole list has been rattled off of them on Wednesday: GOP Reps. Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs and former Republican Chairman Kevin McCarthy, all of whom declined subpoenas to testify in Congress

S

investigation into the January 6 uprising

.

Show the American people that we apply the law equally, Moskowitz said. If you despise them, I vote for Hunter Biden contempt. (Ultimately, no Democrats voted to forward the contempt resolution to the full House.)

On Thursday, Hunter Biden sat in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles and pleaded not guilty to tax charges. The case against him, which came after a plea deal collapsed, is serious, but he has already reinstated the government and paid back the taxes he owed, plus penalties and interest.

As for the MAGA-led committees hoping to use the son to cast doubt on the father? They can dig through all the Biden dirt they want, but they’ll never find a pony there.

@robinkabcarian