Republicans in the House of Representatives announce the deposition of Hunter Biden in the impeachment inquiry

Republicans in the House of Representatives said Thursday they had set a Feb. 28 impeachment date to interview Hunter Biden, President Biden's son, their latest effort to gain his cooperation in their impeachment inquiry after he declined an earlier subpoena to privately to give evidence.

The announcement by Representatives James R. Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, came on the day the House was initially scheduled to vote to appoint the younger Mr. Biden is in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a previous subpoena.

“His statement will take place after several interviews with Biden family members and associates,” Messrs. Comer and Jordan said in a joint statement. “We look forward to Hunter Biden's testimony.”

Mr. Biden and the two committees have been at odds in recent weeks over the terms of his testimony. The panels initially subpoenaed him to testify in November, weeks before the full House voted to authorize an impeachment inquiry into the president.

But Biden declined to appear at a closed-door deposition because he feared Republicans in the House of Representatives would selectively leak parts of his testimony to misrepresent his story and try to harm his father. He repeatedly volunteered to answer questions at a public hearing.

Republicans responded by disparaging Congress' charges against Hunter Biden, which their panels approved during a pair of raucous committee meetings last week.

With House action imminent to refer the indictment to the Justice Department, his lawyers argued that the subpoena was invalid because it was issued before the House approved the impeachment inquiry and should be reissued.

A representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday on whether he had agreed to the date.