Hunter Biden arrives in Washington ahead of deposition where Republicans will grill him behind closed doors

First son Hunter Biden has arrived back in Washington – and this time he is ready to give evidence in the Republican Congress's attempts to impeach his father.

DailyMail.com spotted healthy-looking Hunter as he touched down at Dulles Airport outside of the nation's capital, giving himself plenty of time to prepare for Wednesday's behind-closed-doors hearing.

Surrounded by at least three Secret Service protectors, Hunter had flown in first class seat 1B on United Flight 1596 from Los Angeles.

This time during his stay in Washington – when he will likely stay at the White House – he says he will speak to members of the Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means Committees, all of which have a role in the impeachment hearings.

That is in stark contrast to December when he refused to appear in secret, saying he would only give evidence if the hearing was in public.

DailyMail.com spotted Hunter Biden at Dulles Airport on Sunday after he flew in from Los Angeles for Wednesday's showdown with Congress

Hunter arrived in Washington, DC ahead of him sitting for a deposition this week as part of the Republican effort to impeach his father

Hunter, dressed in jeans and a cap, stopped to sign a fan's baseball before making a quick exit to his car

The First Son will appear on Capitol Hill Wednesday for closed doors questioning from the House Oversight and Judiciary committees

Hunter made a quick exit to his car accompanied by security on Sunday 

Hunter, dressed in jeans and a cap emblazoned with the California state flag, stopped to sign a fan's baseball before making a quick exit to his car.

He flew in on Sunday night and was driven from the airport in a convoy of three SUVs and a police cruiser.

His arrival came after he had given a rare interview to Axios, in which he  said he knows his sobriety could be a key issue in November's presidential election, which looks all but certain to be a repeat of the 2020 battle between his father and Donald Trump.

And he says that staying sober is for him the 'ultimate test.'

President Joe Biden's 54-year-old son revealed that he often thinks about the 'profound consequences of failure' if he relapses before the election in November.

'I have something much bigger than even myself at stake. We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy,' Hunter said.

If Hunter did slip and begin using drugs again it could heavily impact President Biden's reelection efforts this year. His drug use and addiction have been a frequent line of attack from conservatives  – who have pushed the theory that cocaine found in the White House last year belonged to the first son.

No evidence to support that theory has ever been produced. 

President Biden has also expressed privately that he's worried the daily attacks could take a toll on his family and could even lead to his son relapsing.

'Most importantly, you have to believe that you're worth the work, or you'll never be able to get sober,' Hunter told Axios about his addiction. 'But I often do think of the profound consequences of failure here.'

'Maybe it's the ultimate test for a recovering addict – I don't know,' he continued.

'I have always been in awe of people who have stayed clean and sober through tragedies and obstacles few people ever face. They are my heroes, my inspiration.'

Making it through the 2024 election clean and sober is a 'responsibility' that Hunter feels he has to his family.

'I feel a responsibility to everyone struggling through their own recovery to succeed,' Hunter added. 

Hunter Biden says he feels a responsibility to remain sober for the sake of his father President Joe Biden's  reelection against Donald Trump. 'I have something much bigger than even myself at stake. We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy,' he said

Hunter said on a firearm report required for his gun transaction that he was not a user of illicit drugs – but a timeline in his book details his use of crack cocaine during the time of purchase. 

In a September hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke said Hunter has repeatedly tested negative for drug and alcohol use starting in August 2023. And he has tested negative since that hearing in the fall, a representative from Hunter's legal team told Axios.

A picture from Hunter Biden's abandoned hard drive shows him passed out with a crack pipe hanging out of his mouth

His foreign business dealings, as well as his actions while he struggled with addiction from 2013-2018 will be a focus of his testimony this week.

Republicans seeking to impeach the President claim that Biden used his position to enrich his family. But specifically they are looking for hard evidence that Biden influenced foreign policy to the financial benefit of his family.

The impeachment attempt was dealt a severe blow last week when key witness Alexander Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI about Biden's contact with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. 

In July 2023, Hunter said in federal court, while under oath, that he has been sober since June 2019.

But Hunter has lied about his drug use before.

On a federal form to purchase a firearm in 2018, Hunter said he was not a user of illicit substances. But in his own memoir, he detailed a timeline of his drug use and battle with narcotics, which included at the time of purchasing the gun.

As part of the promotional blitz for his book Beautiful Things, Hunter told CBS News that at one time he was 'smoking crack around the clock'.

Video discovered on Hunter's abandoned hard drive shows him naked and brandishing a handgun in a hotel room in 2018, allegedly five days after buying the gun.

'I don't care whether you're 10 years sober, two years sober, two months sober or 200 years sober — your brain at some level is always telling you there's still one answer,' Hunter told Axios of his daily struggle with addiction.