Two House Republican committee chairs say they plan to issue a fresh subpoena for Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, to give a closed-doors deposition “in the coming weeks."

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced their plans in a letter Sunday to Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell.

After Jordan’s and Comer’s panels voted Wednesday to hold Hunter Biden in criminal contempt of Congress for defying two earlier subpoenas, Lowell sent a letter to the committee chairs Friday indicating the president's son is now willing to testify.

But Lowell insisted a new subpoena be issued, claiming the summonses from November were not legitimate because they were issued before the full House authorized the impeachment inquiry.

“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Lowell wrote. 

In Sunday’s letter, Jordan and Comer maintained the earlier subpoenas were legally valid. They said Congress is not bound by a 2020 opinion by the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which Lowell cited in his letter, and also argued the OLC opinion conflicted with a 2019 ruling by a federal court.

In addition, the Republican committee chairs argued the subpoenas were legal because the panels’ work also includes a legislative purpose. They also wrote that Lowell never raised the question about the legitimacy of the summonses until Friday’s letter.

“The Committees welcome Mr. Biden’s newfound willingness to testify in a deposition setting under subpoena,” Jordan and Comer wrote. “Although the Committee’s subpoenas are lawful and remain legally enforceable, as an accommodation to Mr. Biden and at your request, we are prepared to issue subpoenas compelling Mr. Biden’s appearance at a deposition on a new date in the coming weeks.”

House Republicans are conducting an impeachment inquiry into the president, which includes investigating possible links between Joe Biden and his son’s foreign business deals. They have claimed to have substantial evidence but to date have produced no solid proof that the president profited from his son’s business deals or that Hunter Biden’s professional interests influenced the elder Biden’s actions in office.

President Biden has repeatedly denied having any involvement in or knowledge about Hunter Biden’s business affairs. 

Hunter Biden was subpoenaed to give a private deposition last month. Instead, he appeared outside the Capitol the day of his scheduled testimony reiterating to reporters his willingness to testify publicly, an offer House Republicans rejected. He and his lawyers have said they fear his closed-door testimony would be distorted by GOP lawmakers.

Jordan and Comer say a public testimony would be “inconsistent with the practice of these Committees in this matter as well as the practice of congressional Committees in recent Congresses.” Comer has promised to release a transcript of the interview.

As the Oversight Committee met last week to vote on whether to hold the president’s son in contempt, Hunter Biden and his attorneys made a surprise appearance in the gallery, a move that angered Republicans.

The contempt of Congress measure passed by the Judiciary and Oversight panels must now go before the full House. If approved, it would be referred to the Justice Department, which would decide whether to prosecute. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced Friday that the House would hold the floor vote this week. 

On Sunday, Scalise said during a call with the House GOP conference that Republicans will move forward with the vote unless they first reach an agreement with Hunter Biden’s team for a deposition, POLITICO reported.