The House will be voting today to make the Biden impeachment inquiry official.
On Wednesday, the House will be voting on making the Republican-led impeachment inquiry of President Biden official. This could potentially give them more legal authority to investigate his family’s financial affairs.
The upcoming vote will require Republicans in districts that were won by Mr. Biden in 2020 to publicly state their stance on an investigation that has not found any evidence of wrongdoing by the president. GOP leaders will need to ensure that only a small number of their members oppose the vote in order for it to pass on Wednesday.
Members of the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees, who are primarily Republican, have been attempting to demonstrate for several months that Mr. Biden received financial benefits from his family’s international business ventures and also accepted bribes. However, the entire House of Representatives has not taken a vote to initiate an impeachment investigation, causing many Democrats to question the legitimacy of the effort.
By formally authorizing the inquiry, they would gain more power in court to obtain documents and testimony from witnesses, such as Hunter Biden.defied a subpoena
Scheduled to give closed-door testimony in front of House representatives on Wednesday.
The stated reasoning has influenced certain Republicans who were unsure about initiating a formal investigation. GOP Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska, who represents a constituency that favored Mr. Biden, stated that he reversed his stance on formalizing the inquiry due to the president’s lack of cooperation in providing information.
Bacon stated on Tuesday that earlier in the summer, he questioned the necessity of an inquiry if the president was already sharing information. However, his opinion changed when the president ceased providing information.
The battle concerning impeachment.
The decision to approve the investigation sets guidelines for public hearings and instructs the committees to create a report for the public based on their discoveries. A different decision grants the committee leaders the power to seek legal action against individuals who ignore their subpoenas. If the investigation is not officially established, a judge may determine that the subpoenas are not within a committee’s jurisdiction.
On Wednesday, Republican Representative Tom Cole from Oklahoma stated that the protocols we are implementing today closely resemble those established by the Democrats in 2019.
In 2019, the House, led by the Democratic party, passed a resolution allowing for an impeachment inquiry of former President Donald Trump, while witnesses refused to testify before Congress. The current measure contains similar language to the previous resolution.
The Democrats claim that the investigation into Mr. Biden is in response to the impeachments of ex-President Donald Trump, who is currently the leading candidate for the Republican nomination in 2024.
Louisiana’s House Speaker, Mike Johnson, stated last week that it was crucial to vote for the probe’s authorization due to the White House’s refusal to cooperate.
The picture is credited to Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Johnson stated that they are declining to hand over essential witnesses for testimony, despite being served subpoenas. Additionally, they are also refusing to release thousands of documents.
He attempted to alleviate worries that the vote may pose a political risk for certain members of his party, clarifying that the House is simply voting to prolong the investigation and not to impeach Mr. Biden.
“Currently, it doesn’t matter if someone supports or opposes impeachment,” stated Johnson.
The leading Democrat on the Oversight Committee, Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland, cautioned Republican lawmakers from districts where President Biden won in the 2020 election that the vote on Wednesday regarding the impeachment of the president is a precarious path.
On Monday, Raskin stated that it would be like trying to stop a wild horse, it would be an impossible feat.
Bacon expressed disagreement with the idea that impeachment was unavoidable, stating that it was “likely, but not certain” that the investigation would conclude without any charges of impeachment.
to the Mueller report was
The White House issued a statement in response to the Mueller report.
Last month, the White House addressed the impeachment proceedings in a detailed memo, citing statements from both Republican party members and witnesses that disprove any claims of misconduct by the president. The memo also stated that Republicans have gathered extensive evidence, including bank records, documents, and testimony, to refute accusations of obstructing the investigations.
Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House, referred to it as a “partisan attack” and condemned Republicans for proceeding with it despite their own party members acknowledging the lack of evidence to justify impeachment.
According to a statement released on Monday, Sams stated that continuing with this unsubstantiated investigation only highlights the disconnect from reality. This will ultimately distract from important tasks such as reducing expenses, generating employment opportunities, and improving healthcare, which are of greater concern to the American people.
accused by Republicans of profiting from his father’s position by striking deals with Ukrainian firms
The decision was made shortly after allegations surfaced that Hunter Biden, the son of the president, had taken advantage of his father’s role for personal gain through business arrangements with Ukrainian companies.
charged with evading taxes
Presented by the appointed investigator, David Weiss.
The congressional committees are investigating Hunter Biden’s personal financial affairs and business activities, specifically to determine if the president gained any personal advantage from his family’s enterprises and if there was any attempt by Biden administration members to hinder investigations into his son’s actions.
is a son of former Vice President Joe Biden and was a member of the Obama administration.
Republicans are targeting Hunter Biden, a former member of the Obama administration and son of former Vice President Joe Biden, for interviews in the near future as part of their investigations into the president’s inner circle. rebuffed a subpoena
The Oversight Committee summoned him for a private questioning session on Wednesday, but Republican leaders quickly announced their intention to take action and hold him in contempt of Congress.
Hunter Biden stated that he would only provide testimony in a public hearing to prevent the committee from misrepresenting the truth.
Hunter Biden clarified that his father was not financially involved in his business ventures, whether it be through his work as a lawyer, his position on the board of Burisma, his partnership with a Chinese private businessman, his investments domestically or internationally, or his career as an artist.
He stated that there is no proof to back up the claims that his father had any financial involvement in his business, as it simply did not occur.
The Oversight Committee issued subpoenas
In September, the Oversight Committee, led by Kentucky Representative James Comer, requested the personal business records of President Biden’s brother James Biden and Hunter Biden. Representative Comer stated on Wednesday that the investigation is currently at a crucial stage.
Reporting was provided by Ellis Kim.
Caitlin Yilek
Source: cbsnews.com