AOC and top Democrats rip 'embarrassing' Republican impeachment inquiry as Hunter Biden sits for deposition: The GOP's 'wild goose chase' is OVER after FBI informant was charged with fabricating Biden family bribery scheme with Ukrainians

House Democrats at Hunter Biden's congressional deposition called the ongoing impeachment inquiry an 'embarrassment' for Republicans, adding that their pursuit of the president's son is nothing more than a 'wild goose chase.'

Hunter Biden appeared Wednesday morning to a fanfare of media for his highly-anticipated deposition in his father's ongoing impeachment inquiry as Republicans continue to probe Joe Biden. 

The GOP-led committee has asserted that President Biden improperly used his influence to help his son Hunter's business, netting the younger Biden millions of dollars through shady dealings over the years. 

They are also investigating whether the president was ever paid for his influence.

Democrats, however, have repeatedly called the impeachment inquiry a sham and a waste of time. 

'It's just so embarrassing that the Republicans continue to be on this wild goose chase after President Biden,' Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, said Wednesday morning before entering the deposition.

'I mean, they're acting like Hunter Biden is running for president.'

Another Democrat told reporters that Hunter asked the GOP lawmakers about foreign investments that former President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner secured after he left the White House. 

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, enters a federal building to before being deposed for an impeachment inquiry into his father

House Democrats at Hunter Biden 's congressional deposition called the ongoing impeachment inquiry an 'embarrassment' for Republicans, adding that their pursuit of the president's son is nothing more than a 'wild goose chase'

Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez said the Republican-led inquiry is tainted because one of the central informants in the case had ties to Russian intelligence

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Raskin have come out firmly in support of President Biden 

'He drew the distinction between what he has done in a business world with independent businessmen, versus foreign governments, which he did not do any business with, unlike Jared Kushner,' said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

Some Democrats who sat in the deposition similarly told reporters that the meeting was lackluster.

'If you ever wonder why 50 percent of this country doesn't vote, you don't have to look further than the hour we just spent in there on this deposition,' Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said after exiting the closed-door meeting after an hour. 

The first hour of the deposition 'was the nail in the coffin to what is a complete, bogus and sham impeachment inquiry,' Rep. Daniel Goldman said after exiting.

Republicans are 'so desperate to humiliate the president they started asking the president some personal details about a divorce that happened almost 10 years ago. That's where this has been reduced to,' Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., told reporters. 

One of the lead Democrats pushing back against the inquiry, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the hearing was a 'tremendous waste' of time and resources. 

This has been a 'comedy of errors from the beginning,' he stated.

He said he 'understands' why Hunted wanted to testify publicly after sitting through the first three hours of the deposition. 

Raskin also said there was 'paranoid suspicion' being cast on the Republicans' focus on the over 20 speaker business phone calls of Hunters' that Joe sat on. 

Republicans, meanwhile, said the president's son was not being forthright. 

Hunter Biden was 'defiant and dishonest' in his deposition, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said after exiting the room. 

Democrats also decried Republicans' use of information by former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov in the inquiry as he was just recently accused of having ties with Russian intelligence agencies. 

Smirnov 'lied' about an alleged Biden family 'bribery scheme' with Ukrainians and had 'high-level contacts with Russian intelligence operatives,' according to prosecutors.

The falsified bribery scheme involving a $10 million payment to Joe and Hunter by a top Ukrainian oil executive was at the center of the Republican's impeachment push until a few days ago.

Last week, Special Counsel David Weiss charged Smirnov with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden taking the bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

'Their main source was collaborating with Russian intelligence forces,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Wednesday.

'The fact that Republicans received that information, that the entire country received that information, and they are still continuing with their impeachment proceedings and investigations should be a four alarm fire for this entire country.'

The progressive likened the impeachment inquiry to a 'deep sea fishing expedition.'