Hunter Biden told Congress on Friday he would sit for a closed-door deposition so long as House Republicans issue an updated subpoena in the wake of their vote to approve an impeachment inquiry resolution.
Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner to Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) that their prior subpoenas, which Biden defied, were “legally invalid” because the subpoenas had been issued prior to the resolution passing.
“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Lowell wrote. “We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden’s behalf.”
The communication from Biden’s team marks a reversal from the first son’s previous stance on meeting with Congress. It comes two days after the House Oversight and Judiciary committees voted to advance a resolution to hold the first son in contempt of Congress because of his prior refusal to appear for a deposition.
Before Friday, Biden had repeatedly told Congress he was only willing to testify at a public hearing, saying Comer had openly floated that as an option. He also accused Republicans of planning to use a closed-door setting to leak material selectively from the interview to mislead the public.
Comer has vowed to release the entire transcript of any closed-door interview with Biden.
Republicans have also indicated that they prefer a closed-door setting because lawyers leading Congress’s investigative efforts can sit down with witnesses and question them at length, alternating by party in hourlong increments. In public hearings, lawmakers have five minutes each to ask questions.
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It remains unclear how Republicans will respond to Biden’s offer, but his willingness to appear for a deposition after months of back-and-forth is a small victory for GOP lawmakers.
Hunter Biden is central to the GOP’s impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden. They have long wanted to talk to the younger Biden about his foreign business dealings as they seek to gauge whether Joe Biden was inappropriately involved with those ventures while he was serving as vice president.
