In a letter obtained by CNN, lawyers representing Hunter Biden have informed the House Oversight Committee that the president's son is willing to testify publicly on December 13 in relation to their ongoing inquiry into his actions. The offer for public testimony comes as a response to concerns raised by Biden's legal team about closed-door sessions potentially distorting facts and misleading the public.

"We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings," stated Biden's lawyers in the letter addressed to the committee.

It's important to note that an offer to testify at a public hearing does not guarantee it will happen. Federal courts have consistently upheld the authority of House committees to subpoena private individuals and entities. Nevertheless, House Republicans may face difficulty turning down the opportunity to question Hunter Biden in front of a national audience, which would deviate from their usual approach to oversight probes.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer has rejected the suggestion that a public hearing should replace the scheduled deposition but agreed that Hunter Biden should have the opportunity to testify publicly at some point. Comer stated, "Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won't stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have the opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date."

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who also issued Hunter Biden a subpoena, expressed his satisfaction with Biden's decision to cooperate and conveyed the committee's anticipation for his deposition on December 13, followed by a public hearing.

Earlier this month, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden and James Biden, President Joe Biden's son and brother, marking a highly anticipated showdown as House Republicans strive to determine whether the president committed an impeachable offense related to his family's foreign business dealings.

While the potential public testimony from Hunter Biden remains uncertain, it appears that the president's brother, James Biden, is engaging with the panel regarding his own subpoena. James Biden's counsel, Paul J. Fishman, stated, "We have been in contact with the Oversight Committee staff about their requests."

The subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee signify the first time it has directly subpoenaed members of the Biden family. These actions come as House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary committees focus on conducting high-profile interviews before concluding their impeachment inquiry into the president.

Despite Republican allegations of "corruption" by the Bidens, these claims remain uncorroborated, and their efforts to connect Joe Biden to his son's financial dealings in China and elsewhere have largely been unsuccessful.

Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, has strongly criticized the Republican-led investigation, labeling it a "political stunt" riddled with "discredited conspiracies about the Biden family." In the letter responding to the subpoena, Lowell urged the committee to instead focus their investigation on former President Donald Trump and his family's business activities.

The House Oversight Committee has also issued a subpoena to an assistant US attorney involved in Hunter Biden's criminal case, following allegations of political interference made by whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service. However, high-ranking IRS officials and the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden's case, David Weiss, have refuted these claims during congressional testimony.

As the back-and-forth between Hunter Biden's legal team and House Republicans continues, the criticism from the top Democratic representative on the Oversight panel, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, underscores the disagreement between the two parties. Raskin criticized his Republican colleagues for insisting on a deposition before a public hearing, stating, "Chairman Comer's insistence that Hunter Biden's interview should happen behind closed doors proves it once again. What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth."

The ongoing battle regarding Hunter Biden's testimony will likely shape the course of the House Oversight Committee's inquiry, as it seeks to uncover any potential wrongdoing within the Biden family's business dealings.