Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin made his stance clear as the House Oversight Committee's hearing on alleged corruption in the Biden family kicked off on Wednesday.
The hearing, led by House Republicans, focused on unsubstantiated accusations against the Bidens, particularly targeting Hunter Biden's recent plea deal over his taxes.
Raskin, the committee's ranking member, wasted no time in challenging the Republicans and their star informants, IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler, during his opening remarks. He pointed out the lack of evidence to support the allegations against President Joe Biden and his administration, calling it a "complete and total bust."
The committee's top priority, as declared by Chairman James Comer, was to find evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden.
However, Raskin expressed his disappointment, particularly regarding the committee's "star witness," Gal Luft, who has been touted by Comer. Luft is currently facing charges of acting as a foreign agent for China, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, and arms trafficking, making him a fugitive from American justice.
You can hear what Raskin said in the video below.
Raskin said:
"I thought we might be here today on the matter that the chairman declared his top priority—the crusade to find evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden—but now, the majority’s long-promised star witness turns out to be a fugitive from American justice."
Raskin pointed out that the investigating federal prosecutor, David Weiss, was appointed by former President Donald Trump and hand-picked by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, another Trump appointee, to lead the investigation.
Raskin said:
"At today's hearing, we're going to hear about wrongdoing by Hunter Biden, who's pleading guilty on two tax charges and a gun charge next week. We'll hear about the back and forth among investogators, prosecutors, and a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney...
“One thing you will not hear today is any evidence of wrongdoing by President Joe Biden or his administration. Like every other try by our colleagues to concoct a scandal about President Biden, this one is a complete and total bust.”
“In fact, the ongoing case that the majority invites us to interfere with today is actually a striking illustration of the success of the American system of independent prosecutors operating under the rule of law and outside the realm of the kind of political influence my colleagues are trying to exercise today.”
He also contrasted Biden's response to the investigation with Trump's previous labeling of investigations as "witch hunts," highlighting the president's respect for the rule of law.
Many appreciated Raskin's succinct summation of the conspiracy theories surrounding the President's son.
Conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden's business dealings have been a favorite in conservative circles for some time.
A 2020 New York Post investigation published emails suggesting Hunter Biden introduced his father to an executive with Burisma Holdings–a Ukrainian gas firm–in 2015.
The story received criticism for shaky reporting and Twitter's attempts to block the news outlet from sharing the story received criticism from Republicans who accused the tech giant of censoring conservative voices.
But this Burisma story was looked into and dismissed back during the Trump administration when Trump attempted to goad President Zelenskyy into investigating Joe Biden, which ultimately led to Trump's first impeachment.
