Hunter Biden appears set to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a major development in the marquee House Republican investigation.
The chairs of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Sunday said they were preparing to issue a new subpoena “in the coming weeks” to compel Hunter Biden to testify. It’s a critical pledge that seeks to satisfy an offer Hunter Biden’s lawyer made on Friday.
Hunter Biden had resisted a subpoena to testify behind closed doors for weeks, instead demanding a public hearing to avoid selective leaks. House Republicans rejected this and moved to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
In a bid to stave off contempt, Hunter Biden’s legal team said he would “comply for a hearing or deposition” if the House GOP issued a new subpoena.
Still with us? Good. We’ll have to see how the newfound cooperation will affect the ongoing contempt proceedings. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told GOP lawmakers on Sunday night that the House is still planning to go ahead with a contempt vote this week but that the schedule may change depending on whether a deal is reached between the two sides.
It remains unclear how much information Hunter Biden will even divulge if he testifies. It’s a distinct possibility Hunter Biden may just plead the Fifth given the number of federal tax and gun charges he’s facing.
— Max Cohen
