Hunter Biden has agreed to a deposition scheduled for February 28 before a House panel as part of a Republican-led impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden. The announcement follows weeks of negotiations with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, who have previously resisted inquiries from Congressional Republicans.
The GOP investigators have accused President Biden of profiting from overseas business deals, allegations the White House has dismissed as baseless. Oversight Chair James Comer stated that the committee intends to make the deposition transcript public as quickly as possible after the interview. The deposition is part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, where they allege that President Biden personally and financially benefited from his family’s foreign business dealings. However, the probe has yet to produce direct evidence implicating the president.
The House Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee had issued a subpoena to Hunter Biden last year, but he refused to testify behind closed doors, delivering remarks on Capitol Hill instead. Hunter Biden had rejected the subpoena originally, expressing concerns that Republicans might selectively leak the transcript. He demanded to testify in a public hearing, but committee leaders insisted on the closed-door deposition.
The recent agreement for the deposition comes after discussions between committee staff and Hunter Biden’s attorneys. The two parties are said to be negotiating a way for Hunter to provide facts that address his concerns. Last week, investigating committees announced plans to mark up resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena. The tensions escalated when Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at the hearing to discuss the contempt resolution.
While Republicans had planned to vote on the resolutions this week, the decision was put on hold after Hunter Biden’s lawyers indicated his interest in testifying. Throughout the week, investigators worked with Hunter Biden’s legal team to set the deposition date while GOP leadership delayed the contempt resolutions. The deposition is expected to involve appearances before both the Oversight and Judiciary Committees.
House Republicans have consistently claimed that President Biden profited from his family’s foreign business dealings, but concrete evidence directly linking the president to such gains has not been presented. The upcoming deposition marks a significant development in the ongoing impeachment inquiry, with both parties engaging in negotiations to address concerns and move forward with the investigation.