EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans told Hunter Biden’s attorney on Sunday that they would issue new subpoenas to the first son after the attorney argued their prior subpoenas were illegitimate.
Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote to Abbe Lowell in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner that they “are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks.”
The revelation comes after extensive back-and-forth between Lowell and the two Republicans, who have long sought to talk to Hunter Biden as part of their impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden.
Lowell had initially repeatedly argued that Hunter Biden was only willing to testify at a public hearing, observing how Comer had openly floated that as an option in media appearances. Lowell also accused Republicans of attempting to use a closed-door setting to selectively leak material from the interview to mislead the public.
Lowell’s position shifted last week; however, two days after Comer’s and Jordan’s respective committees, the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, voted to advance resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with the subpoenas they issued to him in November.
Lowell argued that because those subpoenas were issued prior to the House voting to formalize its impeachment inquiry, which it did in December, they were “legally invalid.”
However, Lowell also, for the first time, conveyed that his client would comply with new subpoenas if Comer and Jordan issued them in the wake of the impeachment resolution vote.
“The Committees welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena,” Comer and Jordan wrote on Sunday, noting they would issue the new subpoenas “as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request.”
However, they adamantly rejected Lowell’s claims that their initial subpoenas were improperly issued.
“To be clear, the issuance of these subpoenas does not in any way suggest or imply that the committees believe the assertions in your January 12 letter to have any merit,” Comer and Jordan wrote. “Our willingness to issue these subpoenas is rooted entirely in our interest in obtaining Mr. Biden’s testimony as expeditiously as possible.”
Assuming Hunter Biden complies with the new subpoenas, the first son will avert being held in contempt of Congress and instead appear in a closed-door interview, despite previously arguing that that was not his preference.
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Republicans have indicated that they prefer a closed-door setting because lawyers leading Congress’s investigative efforts can sit down with witnesses and question them at length, alternating by party in hourlong increments. In public hearings, lawmakers have five minutes each to ask questions.
Comer has also vowed to release the transcript of any closed-door interview with Hunter Biden to the public.