(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Republicans have halted the process of pursuing a contempt of Congress vote against Hunter Biden for defying a subpoena in the impeachment inquiry of his scandal-ridden father, President Joe Biden, Fox News reported on Tuesday.
The House Rules Committee will temporarily not consider the resolution for contempt of Congress against Hunter Biden. This decision arises from ongoing negotiations involving Republicans in the House Oversight Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, and Hunter Biden’s attorneys, focusing on the specifics of a deposition.
“Following an exchange of letters between the parties on January 12 and January 14, staff for the committees and lawyers for Hunter Biden are working to schedule Hunter Biden’s appearance,” claimed a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee, as reported by Fox News.
“Negotiations are ongoing this afternoon, and in conjunction with the disruption to member travel and cancelling (sic) votes, the House Rules Committee isn’t considering the contempt resolution today to give the attorneys additional time to reach an agreement,” the Republican spokesperson added.
The battle between Hunter Biden and Republicans began on Nov. 8, after the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to Hunter Biden for a behind-closed-doors deposition on his knowledge of Joe Biden’s involvement in an alleged illegal influence-peddling scheme.
The deposition never took place because Hunter Biden insisted on a public hearing, contrary to established congressional rules. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., rejected this special treatment request.
On Dec. 13, the scheduled deposition day, Hunter Biden skipped Congress and held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. During the conference, he refuted claims of wrongdoing, disregarding scathing evidence presented by House Republicans.
In response, Comer and Jordan threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. However, Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued that the subpoena was illegitimate as it was issued before the House officially approved an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.
Lowell suggested that Hunter Biden would consider a deposition if a new subpoena were issued—an option Comer and Jordan accepted, emphasizing their need for the first son’s testimony.
“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,” they wrote in a Jan. 14 letter to Lowell. “Our willingness to issue these subpoenas is rooted entirely in our interest in obtaining Mr. Biden’s testimony as expeditiously as possible.”
