US: Hunter Biden agrees to private testimony in Congress

US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, will testify before the House Republicans in February, GOP officials said on Thursday.

The two Congressional Committees overlooking an impeachment probe against the US president on Thursday announced that Hunter Biden had agreed to sit for a private deposition to be held on 28 February.

"The president's son is a key witness in this investigation and he's gonna be able to come in now and sit down and answer questions in a substantive, orderly manner," James Comer, chair of the Oversight Committee, and Jim Jordan, chair of the House Committee, told reporters.

"Hunter's deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates. We look forward to Hunter Biden's testimony," they added.

The development ends months of resistance from the president's son against giving his testimony in private.

His insistence on a public testimony stemmed from fears that the leaking of selective details could be manipulated by the Republican party.

Hunter Biden will be able to testify publicly sometime after his deposition, Comer added.

The contentious saga between Hunter Biden and House Republicans

The Republicans have been investigating Biden's overseas business dealings for over a year in an attempt to implicate his father. They opened an impeachment inquiry against the president in September, claiming that he had benefited from his son's foreign deals, but without providing any evidence.

Hunter Biden and his legal team refused to appear for a private testimony in December after being subpoenaed for the first time in November.

"There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen," the president's son said in remarks outside the Capitol in December.

But Biden appeared to change course this week, writing a letter to Comer and Jordan saying that he would be willing to come in for a private deposition.

Separately, he is also facing two criminal charges. He has been charged in Delaware for allegedly possessing a gun while being a drug user in 2018 and has been additionally charged with failing to pay $1.4 million (€1.29 million) in taxes.