WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — House Republicans have backed off on plans to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena, citing negotiations with his attorneys that could end their standoff.

Republicans were set to advance the contempt resolution against Hunter Biden to the House floor in a procedural step Tuesday, but held off “to give the attorneys additional time to reach an agreement,” according to a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee.

The move comes days after an attorney for President Joe Biden’s son indicated a willingness to cooperate with Republicans’ ongoing impeachment inquiry following months of defiance.

Still, attorney Abbe Lowell wrote Friday that his client’s cooperation is dependent on the committee issuing a new subpoena.

Until last week, Hunter Biden had defended his lack of compliance with the GOP-issued subpoena, which ordered him to appear for closed-door testimony in mid-December. Biden and his attorneys have said information from private interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated by House Republicans and insisted that he would only testify in public.

Further angering Republicans, Hunter Biden and his team have chosen to appear at the Capitol on two separate occasions — once at an Oversight hearing last week and another time on the day of his scheduled deposition last month.

In both instances, the younger Biden refused to testify privately.

As a result, both the Oversight and Judiciary panels approved contempt of Congress charges against Hunter Biden last week.

Follow NEWSnet on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.