Hunter Biden Case Could Actually Be “Big Nothing,” Says Darryl Issa

Republican Representative Darryl Issa offered a strange prediction ahead of Hunter Biden’s testimony on Wednesday, leaving room for the possibility that a statement from the president’s son could basically crumble the investigation.

“Thanks for covering what might be a big nothing, or an incredible opportunity to get to the bottom of this very complex scheme that the Bidens worked out for a decade,” Issa said on Fox Business.

It’s a bout of unexpected waffling from the California Republican, who has been a vocal ally of former President Donald Trump since 2016. Issa has gone to bat on several conspiracies that were predicted to help Trump, including the 2020 election interference campaign.

The closed-door testimony will be the first time that the junior Biden yields to Republican insistence on a private meeting. In December, Hunter Biden made a splashy show by refusing to participate in a closed-door hearing, making a rare public statement just steps away from the U.S. Capitol and risking a contempt of Congress charge in the process.

Republicans are expected to press Biden on his father’s alleged involvement in his overseas business dealings and the contents of his infamous laptop—which, by the way, was never verified by the FBI.

Regardless of the apparently baseless allegations that President Joe Biden was tied to his son’s foreign business arrangements, appearing before the committee is a risky move for Hunter Biden, who is already under federal indictment for related tax crimes. Anything he says on the stand could potentially be used against him during his criminal trial.

Earlier this month, Republicans’ star witness Alexander Smirnov—an FBI informant who claimed Biden had pocketed millions of dollars from a Ukrainian oligarch—was indicted by the Department of Justice for lying to the FBI. Since then, Smirnov has admitted to law enforcement that top Russian intelligence officials were involved in cooking up the smear campaign against the sitting president and his son.

In a sane and rational world, you’d imagine that Hunter Biden’s appearance (which Republicans have purportedly been trying to secure for months) would be the pinnacle of their impeachment inquiry into his father. But instead, House Oversight Chair James Comer and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan have opted to hype another, forthcoming interview with special counsel Robert Hur. His invitation—just weeks after Hur issued a damning report on Biden’s health—could prove to add yet another dimension to the seemingly endless impeachment probe.

Meanwhile, Republicans are using the opportunity to stall yet again on a government funding package, this time with a pressing deadline set for Friday.