Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has defied a Congressional subpoena demanding he testify before House Republicans probing his business dealings.

Instead, in a rare public appearance, he held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington where he slammed House Republicans' probe as "illegitimate" and offered to testify publicly.

"For six years, MAGA Republicans ... have impugned my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family and my friends. They ridiculed my struggle with addiction, they belittled my recovery and they have tried to dehumanize me all to embarrass and damage my father, who has devoted his entire public life to service," Hunter Biden said Wednesday. "For six years, I have been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine, shouting ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well here’s my answer — I am here."

"I am here to testify at a public hearing, today, to answer any of the committee's legitimate questions," he later added. "Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say."

“What are they afraid of?" the younger Biden asked of the House Republican investigators. "I’m here. I’m ready.”

Republicans, pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president, have been looking to tie the elder Biden to his son's business dealings. But they have yet to uncover any actual evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden. 

“Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not involved in my business,” Hunter Biden said. “There is no evidence to support the allegations my father was involved in my business because it did not happen."

He also took aim at the chairmen of the committees investigating him — House Oversight chairman James Comer, R-Ky., Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. — accusing them of lying "over and over again" and invading his privacy in an effort to damage his father, the president.

"James Comer, Jim Jordan, Jason Smith and their colleagues have distorted the facts," Hunte Biden said. "There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing."

"They have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life, so much so that their lies have become the false facts believed by too many people," he continued. "No matter how many times it is debunked, they continue to insist that my father's support of Ukraine against Russia is the result of a nonexistent bribe. They displayed naked photos of me during an Oversight hearing and they have taken the light of my dad's love ... the light of my dad's love for me and presented it as darkness. They have no shame."

Regardless, the Republican-controlled House is set to hold a full vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry on Wednesday. Republicans last week threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress if he defied their subpoena.

Comer and Jordan said in a statement that they will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter Biden for failing to appear for his scheduled deposition.

"We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden," the two GOP chairmen said in a joint statement, adding that his "obstruction" on Wednesday "reinforces the need for a formal vote" on the impeachment inquiry.

They signaled earlier Wedneday that they were open to moving ahead with moving to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, particularly once they move ahead with a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry.

"This has been a serious, credible, transparent investigation from day 1," Comer said, later adding: "We expect to depose the president's son and then we'll be more than happy to have a public hearing with him."

Jordan told reporters that "once we take that vote [to formalize the impeachment inquiry], we expect him to come in for his interview for his deposition and, frankly, we'll also, I think, look at contempt proceedings as we move forward."

“We think he should come in," Jordan said. "And so if he doesn’t, we’re going to move forward with contempt proceedings. There’s a process we have to follow, but we plan to do that.”

Democrats, on the other hand, made the case that  — and that Jordan himself failed to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 panel last year.

"Hunter Biden, through his attorney, contacted the committee and said he was ready and willing to come today ... Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan would not take yes for an answer," said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight panel.

"Why? Because they wanted to conduct the deposition in a closed-door interview, so the public couldn't see it and they could continue to cherry-pick little pieces of evidence and distort and misrepresent what had taken place there," the Maryland Democrat charged. 

"We are disappointed that we were not able to hear from Hunter Biden today," he later added. "We are certain that little article of evidence would support everything else we've seen through the last 11 months of investigation, which is that President Biden has done nothing wrong. They have not laid a glove on President Biden and they have no evidence of him committing any offense, much less an impeachable offense."