The House will vote to hold President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in contempt of Congress if he does not show up next week for a deposition about his father’s role in the family’s business deals, lawmakers said Wednesday.

In a letter to Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said the president’s son is compelled to appear for the deposition under a subpoena issued on Nov. 8.

Hunter Biden has so far refused to provide a closed-door deposition and, through lawyer Abbe Lowell, has offered instead to appear at a public hearing.

“There is no ‘choice’ for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13,” lawmakers wrote to Mr. Lowell. “If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committee will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.”

Mr. Lowell did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Washington Times.

Hunter Biden’s testimony is central to the GOP’s ongoing impeachment inquiry into whether his father helped his family secure lucrative business deals while serving as vice president. Hunter Biden raked in millions of dollars from China, Ukraine, Russia and other countries, and witnesses say he secured the deals by leveraging the “Biden” brand, namely his father.

Witnesses say the elder Biden frequently phoned in to his son’s business meetings and stopped by in person at several of them.

But Hunter Biden believes Republicans are pursuing a partisan inquiry aimed at damaging the Biden family name and his father’s re-election prospects.

President Biden has repeatedly denied involvement in his family’s business deals and said he’s not received money from them.

House Republicans have produced direct payments from both Hunter Biden and Mr. Biden’s younger brother, James Biden, to the president’s bank accounts. The money appeared to originate from business deals but has been explained by the Biden family as loan repayments.

If the House Oversight or Judiciary Committee votes to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, it would then require a majority vote in the GOP-led House, followed by a referral to the Biden-led Justice Department, which is unlikely to pursue charges against the president’s son.

Hunter Biden is under investigation by Special Counsel David Weiss over unpaid taxes and is facing three criminal charges for purchasing a gun while addicted to drugs.

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.