Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, has agreed to sit for a deposition on Feb. 28 in the House impeachment inquiry into his father, relenting after Republicans threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing an earlier subpoena to testify privately.
Representatives James R. Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, announced on Thursday that they had secured a date for Mr. Biden’s appearance. The House had initially been scheduled to vote on the contempt charges on Thursday.
“His deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates,” Mr. Comer and Mr. Jordan said in a joint statement. “We look forward to Hunter Biden’s testimony.”
Mr. Biden and the two committees have been at odds for weeks over the terms of his testimony. The panels initially subpoenaed him to testify in November, weeks before the full House voted to authorize the impeachment investigation into the president.
But Mr. Biden refused to appear at a closed-door deposition, saying he was worried that House Republicans would selectively leak portions of his testimony to misrepresent his account and try to harm his father. He volunteered repeatedly to answer questions at a public hearing, making two appearances on Capitol Hill to showcase his willingness to do so.
Republicans responded by drawing up contempt of Congress charges against Hunter Biden, which their panels approved last week in a pair of raucous committee meetings.
With House action imminent to refer the charges to the Justice Department, his lawyers argued that the subpoena was invalid because it had been sent before the House authorized the impeachment inquiry, and had to be reissued to have legal weight.
Mr. Biden is expected to be deposed under a new subpoena, according to spokespeople for Mr. Comer and Mr. Jordan, though one has yet to be issued.
A representative for Hunter Biden confirmed on Thursday that he had agreed to the deposition next month, but declined to comment further.
The panels have yet to offer Mr. Biden a date to testify publicly.
