On Wednesday, the House officially approved the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, despite Republicans’ inability to present evidence demonstrating that the president gained financial benefits from his family’s business engagements.
The House voted along party lines, with a tally of 221-212, to initiate the inquiry. This decision came after President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, declined a subpoena for a closed-door deposition with House members. Instead, he held a press conference on Capitol Hill, expressing his willingness to testify publicly, an offer rejected by House Republicans.
“I am here to testify at a public hearing today, to answer any of the committees’ legitimate questions,” Hunter Biden stated. “Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say.”
Hunter Biden is now confronting two federal indictments on gun and tax charges. During his address to reporters on Wednesday, he expressed remorse for his past actions while condemning what he referred to as Republicans’ “lies” about his family.
In response, President Joe Biden issued a statement denouncing the Republican move as a “baseless impeachment stunt.” He suggested that Republicans are diverting attention from “the issues facing the American people” and criticized their focus on what he deemed a “baseless political stunt.”
The impeachment inquiry empowers Republicans to enforce subpoenas and defend their investigation in court. The White House has contended that House Republicans’ subpoenas lack legitimacy because the full chamber never voted to authorize the inquiry. A successful vote on Wednesday could challenge this argument.
Earlier in the day, Republican chairs of the House oversight committee and judiciary committee, James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio, issued a joint statement, stating, “Today, the House will vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution to strengthen our legal case in the courts as we face obstruction from the White House and witnesses. Today’s obstruction by Hunter Biden reinforces the need for a formal vote.”
The former House speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy, initiated the inquiry in September without a formal vote. Some moderate Republicans expressed reservations about launching a formal inquiry at that time due to a lack of clear evidence regarding Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings.
Comer and Jordan have signaled their intention to pursue contempt of Congress charges against Hunter Biden if the resolution is approved. House Democrats have defended Hunter Biden’s decision to defy the subpoena, accusing Republicans of attempting to selectively use testimony to promote unfounded allegations against the president.
“They wanted to conduct the deposition in a closed-door interview, so the public couldn’t see it and so they could continue to cherry-pick little pieces of evidence and distort and misrepresent what had taken place there,” said Jamie Raskin, the leading Democrat on the House oversight committee, in a statement to reporters. Raskin emphasized that Republicans have not presented any evidence implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing, let alone an impeachable offense.