Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena to testify before House panel

Hunter Biden has called an impeachment probe into his father "shameless," as he refused to testify at a private hearing with Republican lawmakers.

The president's son was subpoenaed to appear for closed-door testimony.

But Wednesday morning, he reiterated that he would only answer to Republicans at a public hearing.

It came as the Republican controlled House prepared to vote on formalising the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden later on Wednesday.

House Republicans allege that the president knew of, and benefited from, improper business dealings on the part of his son.

Hunter Biden was initially asked to testify on Wednesday morning, but after giving brief remarks near the Capitol, he got into his car and drove away.

He took aim at House Republicans for what he called an "absurd" investigation into his father, which he said was based on "distortions, manipulated evidence and lies".

"In the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances. But to suggest that is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond absurd. It's shameless," he said.

"There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen," he added.

Rep James Comer - one of the leaders of the impeachment proceedings - said later on Wednesday that Republicans would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Mr Biden.

And he defended the Republicans' desire for a private hearing, insisting it was part of "standard investigative" proceedings used by the House.

Republicans have led a months-long investigation into the president that has yet to uncover any concrete evidence of misconduct.

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The inquiry has centred in part around Hunter Biden, who also faces federal tax and gun charges. He has pleaded not guilty. The impeachment probe has focused on his work for companies overseas, including in Ukraine and China.

House Republicans have also alleged that the US Justice Department "impeded, delayed, and obstructed" an ongoing multi-year criminal probe into the president's son.

Since launching the inquiry, the three Republican committees leading the investigation have spoken with several Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service officials and have obtained thousands of pages of documents.

Speaking outside on a grass patch with the Capitol dome clearly visible over his shoulder, Hunter Biden claimed House Republicans had lied, invaded his privacy and attacked his wife, children and friends.

"They have taken the light of my dad's love for me and presented it as darkness. They have no shame," he told reporters.

He also claimed Republicans did "not want an open process" where their "baseless" inquiry would be revealed to the American public.

"All we want is the facts," Mr Jordan told reporters. "They should have been here today."

House lawmakers are expected to vote on formalising the impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Wednesday evening. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed the impeachment vote would occur in a post on X.

"The facts don't lie," he wrote in the post. "It's time to get the American people answers."

House Republican leaders have expressed confidence that they have the votes necessary to formalise the impeachment inquiry, despite an extremely narrow majority in the chamber in which they can only afford to lose three votes.

Democrats and even some Republicans have criticised the impeachment investigation, which the White House has called a "political stunt" designed to hurt the president's re-election bid.

But it comes amid growing pressure from hardline conservatives to take action against Mr Biden. Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched the inquiry in September claiming Republicans had unearthed a "culture of corruption" surrounding Mr Biden.

Republicans have held one hearing related to the inquiry, during which an expert witness called by Republicans said there was not yet enough evidence to impeach Mr Biden.

The oversight committee claims the Biden family and its business associates received more than $24m (£19m) from foreign sources in China, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia and Ukraine between 2014 and 2019.

Voting to formalise an inquiry places Republicans in "the strongest legal standing to pursue needed information and enforce subpoenas," Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole said on Tuesday.