Republicans are promising to move to the "next phase" of their impeachment witch hunt with public hearings just as they were humiliated by Hunter Biden yet again during their closed door deposition this Thursday. The proceeding wasn't recorded, but if the transcript is any indication, things didn't go so well for Republicans.

This exchange which was flagged by Mediaite was particularly entertaining. Biden threw some serious shade at Gaetz for having the gall to be the one questioning him about his drug use given Gaetz's shady past.

Mr. Gaetz. What value did you bring to Burisma?

The Witness. I would love to, again, read you the entirety of my resume.

Mr. Gaetz. No, that's the things you did before Burisma. I mean, when you were working at Burisma --

The Witness. Well, that's the value that I brought to Burisma. The things that I did before, my experience, the vast experience that I had. I was on over 13 different boards. I was the chairman of the board of the largest humanitarian organization, that supports the largest humanitarian organization in the world. I was the vice chairman of the board of the largest national passenger rail system.

Mr. Gaetz. Mr. Biden, I don't need you to go back through your resume.

The Witness. You just asked --

Mr. Gaetz. The question is, how did you deploy that experience for a million bucks a year for Burisma?

The Witness. How did I deploy that experience? By serving on the board in a transparent and ethical way, providing the best advice that I could give. Just like any other board member on any other company in any other organization, that's how you provide your value. And the value is your experience. The value is your ability to then transfer that experience into real-world action.

Mr. Gaetz. But you didn't have any experience as an energy executive, did you?

The Witness. Well, I would -- I would like you to understand what a board is. If you look at any board, most boards do not pick board members that are necessarily members of the particular industry in which they are in. What they do is they pull from different areas in which there is a need. They didn't need anyone to tell them about how to drill natural gas. What they needed someone to do is to be able to help them with oversight and accountability and to do corporate governance. What they needed was someone like Alan Apter, who was not an energy executive but a lawyer in -- working at --

Mr. Gaetz. What need did you fill?

The Witness. What they -- I'm not finished. What they needed was someone like Cofer Black, who had a wide range of experience in foreign policy and in that area of the world. What they needed was like -- someone like President Kwasniewski, who had a real 16 understanding of the issues and the pressures that they were under at the time, none of which were energy executives. And I don't -- I would challenge you to look at the Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Gaetz. What need did you fill, Mr. Biden? What need did you fill?

The Witness. What need? Was corporate governance. And I was an of counsel to Boies Schiller, one of the best law firms in the world at the time, and I, you know, specialized in corporate governance. I was the chairman of the corporate governance on the Amtrak board.

Mr. Gaetz. Were you on drugs when you were serving as the Burisma board member?

Mr. Lowell. I'm not objecting to that. Hold on. One of the things that I spoke to staff that you just asked about as to whether it's outside the bounds. If you want to spend the next part of the last hour you have asking about his drug use, go at it.

It's outside the scope. It certainly has no relevance to an impeachment inquiry nor does it have anything to do with oversight of ethics legislation that may address family members of Presidents or Vice Presidents. So go at it, but it's outside the scope and you're wasting your time.

Mr. Gaetz. Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board?

The Witness. Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think that's appropriate to ask me?

Mr. Gaetz. Absolutely.

The Witness. Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think that's appropriate to ask me?

Mr. Gaetz. Yeah. Are you going to answer it?

Mr. Lowell. You don't have to answer it.

The Witness. I'm not going to answer it. I've been explicit about --

Mr. Gaetz. So you're telling me --

The Witness. I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use. Again, I spoke to you all earlier this morning about that. I'm sorry; I'm an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over 4 and a half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it.

Let me answer. I work really hard at it, under an enormous amount of pressure. Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict. What does that have to do with whether or not you're going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

Republicans are going to have their hands full if they follow through on their promise.