Hunter Biden makes surprise congressional appearence

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Hunter Biden arrived on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning to attend in person congressional committee meetings called to hold him in contempt of Congress — setting up an unprecedented standoff on live television between the son of the president and House Republicans who have long sought his testimony as part of their impeachment inquiry into his father.

Hunter Biden was accompanied by his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris and did not initially respond to questions.

House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary Committees were holding separate committee votes on Wednesday recommending that Hunter Biden be charged with contempt.

During the Oversight Committee's markup Wednesday morning, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called for Hunter Biden's arrest on the spot for defying the congressional subpoena.

"Hunter Biden you are too afraid for a deposition, and I still think you are today," she said.

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes," she added.

Hunter Biden and his legal team left the hearing shortly before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., delivered remarks at the Oversight hearing in which she called him a "coward."

Outside the chamber, Lowell said committee Republicans were motived by "improper partisan motives." He said he and his client had offered to work with Republicans on the committees on a half dozen occasions since February of last year, including on Wednesday, to see "how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided," but their offers were ignored. He called a GOP subpoena in November for a closed-door deposition "a tactic that the Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said."

"The Republican chairs today then are commandeering an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions," Lowell added. "The question there is, what are they afraid of?"

Asked by NBC News shortly after leaving the Oversight hearing whether he would testify today if asked, Hunter Biden replied "yes." He and his team left the building afterwards.

In a separate contempt markup by the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., mentioned Hunter Biden’s unexpected appearance on Capitol Hill before moving to adjourn the meeting in order to have the president’s son testify in public given his presence down the hall at the time. The motion failed in a roll call vote.