Hunter Biden Investigation May Backfire on Republicans

Hunter Biden may have created a public relations nightmare for House Republicans who have sought to make him a political boogeyman for his father, President Joe Biden, and the Democratic Party.

Hunter, the subject of countless GOP attacks since his father took office, appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday to repeat his offer to publicly testify before the House, defying a Republican-issued subpoena that asked him to appear for a closed-door deposition.

"For six years, I have been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting 'Where's Hunter?' Well, here is my answer: I am here," Hunter told reporters. "Here I am, Mr. Chairman, taking you up on your offer when you said, 'We can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose.'"

But the offer to appear for testimony as part of this father's impeachment inquiry, as long as it's public, is bad PR news for Republicans, who are likely to raise eyebrows when they refuse to allow Hunter to testify publicly instead insisting on questioning him behind closed doors, experts told Newsweek.

"[House Republicans] will continue to fight. And it will hurt them in the election with voters who are starting to tire of a do-nothing majority in the House," Public relations expert Richard Laermer told Newsweek. "Optics is the word. Because they're all bad for the GOP contingency when it comes to Hunter. GOP plans for him are falling apart, PR-wise."

Congressional leadership has already pledged to hold Hunter in contempt over his refusal to comply with their subpoenas, saying he would not receive "special treatment because his last name is Biden." But the president's son has portrayed himself as willing to cooperate, telling lawmakers on Wednesday, "I am here to testify at a public hearing today, to answer any of the committees' legitimate questions."

"Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say," Hunter said, adding, "I'm here today to make sure that the House committees' illegitimate investigations of my family do not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies."

Communications consultant James Haggerty called Hunter's remarks "a bold change in strategy" that moves the president's son "from dodging and weaving to a full-throated challenge to Congressional Republicans to fight things out in public."

Haggerty told Newsweek that the shift could also provide Hunter with a line of defense for a future contempt prosecution "since he can now argue he tried to comply--he just needed the proceedings to [the] public to protect his rights."

While contempt proceedings take months to play out, Hunter will have "his day in the court of public opinion," Haggerty said, adding, "Advantage Biden."

Laermer said Republicans also "timed it wrong," arguing that they should have forced the issue back when Hunter's laptop was the big story. The laptop controversy arose a month before the 2020 election when the New York Post published a story presenting damning emails from a laptop that reportedly belonged to Hunter and that was said to have been abandoned at a Delaware computer store in 2019.

"[House Republicans] wasted a lot of valuable media time discussing 'the contents' rather than getting Hunter in then," Laermer said. "It did not seem to be a cohesive strategy. The laptop became a national joke! How could a punchline possibly help the GOP when they're trying so hard to embarrass the president?"

Republicans could also lose support if they continue to attack Hunter's struggle with drugs and alcohol addiction, GOP strategist Alex Patton told Newsweek. Patton said after watching his own parents deal with his late brother's substance abuse, those attacks on Hunter's history "makes the GOP look foolish."

Statistics show that at least half of Americans know someone who is struggling with substance abuse problems.

"There was nothing [my parents] wouldn't have done to help [my brother]," Patton said.
"They would have tried to move heaven and earth to help him."

While Laermer said the accusations about Hunter and the impeachment will be a "PR nightmare" for Republicans, Patton said "it will likely be noise and muddied water" for Americans who are not paying attention to the Hunter Biden saga, "The exact intent of the GOP."

However, Patton said the longer it drags on and "remains nothing," the more Democrats will be likely to build their case against the House GOP being "unserious about governing."

Laermer agreed, saying he "firmly believe[s] our beleaguered nation wants action from Congress."

"Our country is a mess. The world is watching our every move, and House Republicans are executing on nothing but going after Biden and his son," he said. "I get 'the Trump trials are a witch hunt' line being bandied about by the GOP. Yet the populace—and in particular the voters—can tell apples from oranges."