WASHINGTON ― Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) passed up her chance to ask Hunter Biden about the compromising photos she had showed during committee hearings.
Greene attended an hourslong deposition with President Joe Biden’s son on Wednesday but was among many lawmakers who asked no substantive questions, according to a transcript released Thursday evening.
One of Hunter Biden’s vocal antagonists on Capitol Hill, Greene has repeatedly used her time during committee hearings to display images of him apparently engaged in sex acts with prostitutes.
Greene said the photos showed that the younger Biden had committed crimes — namely, violations of the Mann Act, a federal law that forbids transporting a person across state lines for illegal sexual activity.
“This is showing Hunter Biden paying for a victim’s United flight,” Greene stated during a July hearing, saying that the flight went from Los Angeles to the Washington area. She held up posters with censored images of a naked Biden with unnamed women alongside images of documents that she said indicated he had paid them for sex.
“I believe this is a violation of the Mann Act. This is Hunter Biden’s, this is his proof that he bought the ticket. He bought it for this woman right here,” Greene said.
The accusation has nothing to do with the corruption allegations that Republicans have chased in their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden. But Greene claimed that she’s trying to expose the double standards of a Justice Department that had not prosecuted an obvious crime and had failed to “vindicate the rights of these women.”
When the House oversight committee in January voted to recommend holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for refusing to sit for a deposition, Greene displayed the pictures again.
“This is important evidence of human trafficking, Mann Act violations that we had questions for the president’s son about,” Greene said.
The images came from Hunter Biden’s hard drive when he was in the depths of an addiction to crack cocaine while earning millions of dollars from a Ukrainian energy company and other foreign sources. Republicans have claimed that a Ukrainian oligarch used the younger Biden to influence his father, though their main bribery allegation collapsed last month when the Justice Department said that an FBI informant had made it up.
In his memoir, Hunter Biden acknowledged that he had perused ads for escort services, though he claimed that he was only looking for drugs.
During Wednesday’s deposition, it was Biden who first asked a question of Greene, challenging her to say whether she trusted certain FBI agents and informants involved in his case.
The transcript suggests there was some cross-talk before Biden and Greene had a sarcastic exchange that went nowhere.
“Are you a businessman, or are you involved in government, Mr. Biden?” Greene asked.
“Here’s what I am,” Biden said. “I’m both an attorney, a businessman, and a concerned citizen, Ms. Greene. That’s what I am.”
“Just an average citizen,” Greene said.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the House Judiciary Committee chair, then cut them off and directed a staff attorney to ask a question.
Greene later chimed in during a round of questions from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), prompting Biden to say, “Come forward, Ms Greene.” Gaetz then resumed his questioning.
Other Republicans asked Biden about his past drug addiction, but nobody brought up his use of escort services. Biden conceded that he’s “made mistakes” but said that they had nothing to do with his father. He said he’s been sober since 2019.
Investigatory material obtained and released by Republicans shows that the Justice Department did consider prosecuting Biden for Mann Act violations. He has since been charged with failing to pay his taxes on time and illegally owning a firearm. It’s possible he will face more charges.
Hunter Biden has said that he believes Joe Biden’s enemies are trying to humiliate him into a relapse to destroy his father’s presidency.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.
