(NewsNation) — Hunter Biden on Tuesday offered to testify before Congress publicly in response to a subpoena from Republican lawmakers, but Rep. James Comer rejected Biden’s proposal. Now, one Republican congressman who says he will likely “draw the ire” of his colleagues for his stance doesn’t seem to be concerned about whether Biden testifies privately or in public.
“I don’t really have a problem either way. I’m an open-door kind of guy,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told NewsNation host Dan Abrams.
The early-November subpoenas to Biden and others from Comer, who leads the House Oversight Committee, were related to their investigation into members of the Biden family.
Biden’s lawyer called the inquiry a “fishing expedition,” but Comer said Republicans on the committee expect “full cooperation” with their original demand for a closed-door deposition Dec. 13.
Burchett thinks getting testimony — no matter the setting — is what matters most in the House committee’s investigation.
“I’m falling on the side of let him (Hunter Biden) come. I don’t care if he wants to sit in a bathtub and do it. I don’t care. Just get his dadgum butt before the committee and let’s ask him some tough questions,” Burchett said.
Lawmakers maintain they have evidence that shows “influence peddling” in business dealings associated with the Biden family. So far, evidence directly implicating President Joe Biden in any wrongdoing has not been uncovered.
Burchett says he suspects the committee will find more in their investigation.
“I just think we need to get to the bottom of this thing and stop messing around. We either need to fish or cut bait, and right now, all we’re doing is cutting bait,” Burchett said. “And the American public’s growing very tired of it.”
According to an October poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 35% of U.S. adults believe Joe Biden has personally done something illegal related to the business dealings of his son.
Hunter Biden insists his business dealings are legitimate. His attorney Abbe Lowell said he is willing to speak publicly before the committee instead of behind closed doors because he doesn’t want any selective leaks that could potentially be used to manipulate facts.
“If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings,” Lowell wrote to the committee.
Along with the congressional investigation, Hunter Biden faces a criminal case after an expected plea deal collapsed. He is charged with three firearms felonies linked to the 2018 purchase of a gun during a time he has acknowledged being addicted to drugs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.