New talks between House Republicans and Hunter Biden’s lawyers seem to have halted their efforts to charge Biden in contempt of Congress. Due to these talks, the president’s son may soon comply with the Republican’s request to testify in closed quarters.
Biden surprised everyone last week by showing up unannounced at a congressional oversight committee hearing. Republicans vented their anger, saying he resisted their request for private testimony.
Regardless, the panel and the judiciary committee proceeded with contempt resolutions.
Both proposals are now on hold while the parties involved try to reschedule his testimony in the impeachment investigation of Joe Biden.
The attorneys for Biden have reportedly notified Republicans Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky that their subpoenas are “legally invalid” because they were issued before the December House vote authorizing the impeachment proceedings.
Reports say that the heads of the two committees have indicated their determination to issue further subpoenas. Furthermore, they were prepared to propose delaying the contempt vote if Biden cooperated and tried to set up a closed-door deposition.
At first, Biden had said he would only be ready to testify in open session before the committees. On the other hand, his lawyers have recently signaled their willingness to comply with further subpoenas for private testimony.
The Republican Party is seeking Hunter Biden’s testimony in connection with their investigation into claims of misconduct involving his father. Republicans, according to Democrats, want the hearing to take place behind closed doors because they know there is no evidence against the president.
As the president prepares to run for re-election later this year, Democrats see the measures to hold Biden in contempt and the impeachment investigation against his father as an effort to smear his reputation.
Pleading not guilty to federal tax charges, Biden appeared in Los Angeles last week. From 2016 through 2019, he allegedly participated in a four-year plot to avoid paying self-assessed federal taxes totaling at least $1.4 million.
