Hunter Biden Agrees to Deposition With GOP Lawmakers

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to appear before House Republicans for a private deposition after previously resisting congressional subpoenas.

The deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees is scheduled to take place on February 28. The committees had approved contempt of Congress resolutions against Biden for not complying with subpoenas for testimony in the Republicans' impeachment inquiry into his father.

Hunter Biden had previously said he would agree to testify publicly in what he called an "illegitimate" investigation.

Representative James Comer, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Representative Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Panel, said in a statement that Biden's "deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates. We look forward to Hunter Biden's testimony."

The statement added that the committees are continuing to work with attorneys for James Biden, the president's brother, to schedule an appearance.

Newsweek reached out to the White House and Hunter Biden's legal team via email on Thursday evening for comment.

Republicans launched their impeachment inquiry into the president in September. The probe has attempted to connect Hunter Biden's international business dealings with his father, but thus far no evidence has implicated the elder Biden in any wrongdoing.

Hunter Biden was subpoenaed in November to appear in a private meeting the following month. He responded by saying a closed-door interview could allow partial details to be leaked. Biden instead announced he would be willing to testify in an open forum, a request denied by Republicans.

Biden defied the subpoena but appeared outside the U.S. Capitol on December 13, where he spoke to reporters.

"I'm here today to make sure that the House committee's illegitimate investigations of my family did not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies. And I'm here today to acknowledge that I've made mistakes in my life, and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded," Biden read from a prepared statement. "For that, I'm responsible, for that I'm accountable and for that, I'm making amends."

Later that day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during a press briefing if President Biden had watched his son's appearance, to which she said that "the president was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say."

On January 10, the Judiciary Committee and the Oversight Committee passed resolutions recommending Hunter Biden be found in contempt of Congress. Shortly before the vote, he surprised the Oversight Committee by entering its chamber, where he stared down Republicans before leaving approximately a half hour later.

Update 01/18/24, 7:06 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include more information.